February 28

Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
The memory of the righteous is a blessing,
but the name of the wicked will rot.
The wise of heart will receive commandments,
but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
but he who makes his ways crooked swill be found out.
Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,
but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
Proverbs 10:6-11

thoughts to come...

February 27

The proverbs of Solomon.
A wise son makes a glad father,
but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
but righteousness delivers from death.
The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
but He thwarts the craving of the wicked.
A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
Proverbs 10:1-5

thoughts to come...

February 26

The woman Folly is loud;
she is seductive and knows nothing.
She sits at the door of her house;
she takes a seat on wthe highest places of the town,
calling to those who pass by,
who are going straight on their way,
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
And to him who lacks sense she says,
“Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
But he does not know that the dead are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Proverbs 9:13-18

thoughts to come...

February 25

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
For by Me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
if you scoff, you alone will bear it.
Proverbs 9:10-12

thoughts to come...

February 24

Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
Proverbs 9:7-9

It is interesting (isn’t it?) that the one who is being “abused” in this story is not the one on the receiving end of the correction. The party described as being attacked is not the party being confronted. Rather, the divine commentary is just the reverse. The one who is “hated” is the one who does the correcting. The one who is presumably slandered is the one who is trying to help. The one who is seen as the outcast is the one who is reaching out in the first place!

The fact is, “a scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.” (Proverbs 15:12). Fools “will despise the good sense of your words” (Proverbs 23:9). It is true that gossip and insults and mistreatment and even violence may be a part of confrontation – but it is most often the “correctee” doing those things, not the “corrector.”

The reality is that trying to help others get back on the righteous track is a messy business, and pursuing those who have wandered from the path of righteousness opens us up to all sorts of unpleasantries. Take your pick from loss of relationships, loss of reputation, loss of influence, loss of status, etc., etc.

So why bother at all? Isn’t that the impression that verse eight gives us anyway? “Just don’t worry about the scoffer. Let him do what he wants. Don’t try to make him do something he doesn’t want to do.”

The reason we bother is because, simply, it is the right thing to do. It is the biblical thing to do. It is the spiritual thing to do. It is the brotherly thing to do. It is the most loving thing we could possibly do. We correct and confront one another because how we reflect God’s glory is the most important issue in the universe. We exhort and admonish one another with the living and active Word of God. We have living hope that the Spirit of God will help us to “stir up one another to love and good works.” And we remember that our patient faithfulness to the task may someday be the most appreciated thing we’ve ever done:

Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor
Than he who flatters with his tongue.
Proverbs 28:23

May God help all these who are spiritual to restore those caught in any transgression in a spirit of gentleness, and may He cause the hardhearted to remember what they’ve heard and repent.

February 23

Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her beasts;
she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her young women to call
from the highest places in the town,
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who lacks sense she says,
“Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Leave your simple ways, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”
Proverbs 9:1-6

thoughts to come...

February 22

“And now, O sons, listen to me:
blessed are those who keep my ways.
Hear instruction and be wise,
and do not neglect it.
Blessed is the one who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting beside my doors.
For whoever finds me finds life
and obtains favor from the Lord,
but he who fails to find me injures himself;
all who thate me love death.”
Proverbs 8:32-36

thoughts to come...

February 21

“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His work,
the first of His acts of old.
Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth,
before he had made the earth with its fields,
or the first of the dust of the world.
When He established the heavens, I was there;
when He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
when He made firm the skies above,
when He established the fountains of the deep,
when He assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress His command,
when He marked out the foundations of the earth,
then I was beside Him, like a master workman,
and I was daily His delight,
rejoicing before Him always,
rejoicing in His inhabited world
and delighting in the children of man."
Proverbs 8:22-31

thoughts to come...

February 20

“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
and I find knowledge and discretion.
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way
of evil and perverted speech I hate.
I have counsel and sound wisdom;
I have insight; I have strength.
By me kings reign, and rulers decree
what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly.
I love those who love me,
and those who seek me diligently find me.
Riches and honor are with me,
enduring wealth and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,
and my yield than choice silver.
I walk in the way of righteousness,
in the paths of justice,
granting an inheritance to those who love me,
and filling their treasuries."
Proverbs 8:12-20

thoughts to come...

February 19

Hear, for I will speak noble things,
and from my lips will come what is right,
for my mouth will utter truth;
wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the words of my mouth are righteous;
there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.
They are all straight to him who understands,
and right to those who find knowledge.
Take my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold,
for wisdom is better than jewels,
and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.
Proverbs 8:6-11

thoughts to come...

February 18

Does not wisdom call?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:
“To you, O men, I call,
and my cry is to the children of man.
O simple ones, learn prudence;
O fools, learn sense.
Proverbs 8:1-5

thoughts to come...

February 17

And now, O sons, listen to me,
and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
do not stray into her paths,
for many a victim has she laid low,
and all her slain are a mighty throng.
Her house is the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.
Proverbs 7:24-27

thoughts to come...

February 16

With much seductive speech she persuades him;
with her smooth talk she compels him.
All at once he follows her,
as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast [16]
till an arrow pierces its liver;
as a bird rushes into a snare;
he does not know that it will cost him his life.
Proverbs 7:21-23

thoughts to come...

February 15

And behold, the woman meets him,
dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.
She is loud and wayward;
her feet do not stay at home;
now in the street, now in the market,
and at every corner she lies in wait.
She seizes him and kisses him,
and with bold face she says to him,
“I had to offer sacrifices,
and today I have paid my vows;
so now I have come out to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
I have spread my couch with coverings,
colored linens from Egyptian linen;
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
aloes, and cinnamon.
Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
let us delight ourselves with love.
For my husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey;
he took a bag of money with him;
at full moon he will come home.”
Proverbs 7:10-20

thoughts to come...

February 14

For at the window of my house
I have looked out through my lattice,
and I have seen among the simple,
I have perceived among the youths,
a young man lacking sense,
passing along the street near her corner,
taking the road to her house
in the twilight, in the evening,
at the time of night and darkness.
Proverbs 7:6-9

thoughts to come...

February 13

My son, keep my words
and treasure up my commandments with you;
keep my commandments and live;
keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
to keep you from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words.
Proverbs 7:1-5

thoughts to come...

February 12

Can a man carry fire next to his chest
and his clothes not be burned?
Or can one walk on hot coals
and his feet not be scorched?
So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;
none who touches her will go unpunished.
People do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;
he will give all the goods of his house.
He who commits adultery lacks sense;
he who does it destroys himself.
Wounds and dishonor will he get,
and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
For jealousy makes a man furious,
and he will not spare when he takes revenge.
He will accept no compensation;
he will refuse though you multiply gifts.
Proverbs 6:27-35

thoughts to come...

February 11

My son, keep your father's commandment,
and forsake not your mother's teaching.
Bind them on your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
to preserve you from the evil woman,
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,
but a married woman hunts down a precious life.
Proverbs 6:20-26

thoughts to come...

February 10

There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.
Proverbs 6:16-19

thoughts to come...

February 9

A worthless person, a wicked man,
goes about with crooked speech,
winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,
points with his finger,
with perverted heart devises evil,
continually sowing discord;
therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.
Proverbs 6:12-15

thoughts to come...

February 8

Go to the ant, O sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief,
officer, or ruler,
she prepares her bread in summer
and gathers her food in harvest.
How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
Proverbs 6:6-11

The book of Proverbs has much to say to sluggards. The word sluggard conjures up, at least in my mind, an unattractive picture. A sluggard is a person who is idle and slothful. Of course, slothful is a great word in its own right. It is an adjective describing one who is "disinclined to work or exertion." This is a person who is "work-shy," lazy, or indolent.

Here is sort of a grocery list of characteristics of the lazy:

Sluggards love sleep. You can see that in the above passage. The rhetorical question in verse nine suggests that the lazy love to lay in bed (see also 20:13; 26:14).

Sluggards make excuses. Whether it is being so tired that they just "need a little nap" (v.10) or making up something ridiculous to get out of work (22:13), it is ironic that the lazy will do more work just to get out of work.

Sluggards are starters, not finishers. 12:27 pictures the man who has caught his dinner, but who is too lazy to cook it. 26:15 describes an even more ludicrous scene: a man sitting at the table with the dinner prepared but who is worn out to bring the food to his mouth.

Sluggards are self-seeking. This is seen by way of contrast with the righteous in 21:25-26. The lazy want what they want when they want it without doing any work for it.

Sluggards are short-sighted. This is the purpose for the ant analogy in 6:6-8. The lazy apparently have brains smaller than ants (or at least brains that are no smarter) and are unable to grasp the big picture.

Sluggards need supervision. Again, even ants don't need someone constantly watching over their shoulder (6:7-8).

Sluggards will suffer. This is the constant theme of wisdom (6:11; 19:15; 20:4). No work equals no good, no food, and no satisfaction. Perhaps we could rework an old English proverb and say, "Sleep never pays."

Consider the ant!

February 7

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
have given your pledge for a stranger,
if you are snared in the words of your mouth,
caught in the words of your mouth,
then do this, my son, and save yourself,
for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor.
Give your eyes no sleep
and your eyelids no slumber;
save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Proverbs 6:1-5

thoughts to come...

February 6

For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord,
and He ponders all his paths.
The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,
and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
He dies for lack of discipline,
and because of his great folly he is led astray.
Proverbs 5:21-23

thoughts to come...

February 5

Drink water from your own cistern,
flowing water from your own well.
Should your springs be scattered abroad,
streams of water in the streets?
Let them be for yourself alone,
and not for strangers with you.
Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated always in her love.
Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman
and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
Proverbs 5:15-20

thoughts to come...

February 4

and you say, “How I hated discipline,
and my heart despised reproof!
I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
or incline my ear to my instructors.
I am at the brink of utter ruin
in the assembled congregation.”
Proverbs 5:12-14

We talk about the idea of "damage control" today. But the damage from immoral relationships is so catastrophic that it cannot be controlled or undone. In Proverbs 5 Solomon warns us to weigh the temporary pleasures with the terrible temporal and eternal consequences.

This is a subject Solomon knew a lot about. He knew well of the hazards of impure relationships from the example of his own father and mother, David and Bathsheba, as well as from his own life choices. The sheer volume of space he devotes to this subject leaves us no doubt that the sage Solomon saw sexual sin as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, hazards lying in the path of young men.

And more than that, Solomon saw it as his responsibility, as father, to instruct, to admonish, to warn his son on the issue of relationships. It was as father that he was concerned for the purity of his son. It was as father that he had an urgency to explain to his son the need for self-control. It was as father that he explained the antidote to sinful relationships through waiting for the full blessings of marriage.

But in verses 12-13 the King paints a picture of the son (or student, or parent, or whoever) who rejects this loving counsel. Here is a heart full of well informed regret and remorse. Here is a heart that should have known better; that did know better. The greatest agony in the end is the realization that this could have been avoided. "If only I had listened to my father." "If only I had listened to my pastor."

If only...

February 3

And now, O sons, listen to me,
and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
Keep your way far from her,
and do not go near the door of her house,
lest you give your honor to others
and your years to the merciless,
lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,
and at the end of your life you groan,
when your flesh and body are consumed,
Proverbs 5:7-11

thoughts to come...

February 2

For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil,
but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death;
her steps follow the path to Sheol;
she does not ponder the path of life;
her ways wander, and she does not know it.
Proverbs 5:3-6

thoughts to come...

February 1

My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
incline your ear to my understanding,
that you may keep discretion,
and your lips may guard knowledge.
Proverbs 5:1-2

thoughts to come...