(The previous post covered the first three chapters of the Book of Proverbs which focused on causality through emphasis of the why and how over the what.)
Proverbs 4
1 Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father, And attend to know understanding:
2 For I give you good doctrine; Forsake ye not my law.
(Solomon started this proverb off with encouragement to understand his instruction because the Doctrine he gave was good: right and just.)
3 For I was a son unto my father, Tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
4 And he taught me, and said unto me: Let thy heart retain my words; Keep my commandments, and live;
(We saw in Psalm 19:7, David (Solomon’s father) wrote: "The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul: The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple.")
5 Get wisdom, get understanding; Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth;
6 Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee; Love her, and she will keep thee.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; Yea, with all thy getting get understanding.
(Wisdom is the principal thing, the greatest goal. Wisdom is a good decisions. The key to this existence is making good decisions.
Understanding would be a cause for wisdom. When we know the why, we can figure out how to act. Understanding is the cause and wisdom can be the effect. We ought to directly pursue understanding.
Notice, knowledge, by itself, does not lead to understanding. It can lead to understanding, and it can lead to pride. Hence, knowledge was not mentioned in this critical doctrinal passage. The devil has knowledge, which resulted in his pride. The devil does not have understanding, and he does not have wisdom.)
8 Exalt her, and she will promote thee; She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.
9 She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace; A crown of beauty will she deliver to thee.
(Wisdom gave ornaments to our heads. This was a picture of the place where our thinking took place being adorned with jewels.)
10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many.
11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in paths of uprightness.
(Walking in the way of wisdom was the path of uprightness.)
12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: Keep her; for she is thy life.
(Instruction meant "chastening; correction," being shown why you were wrong, not only what you were wrong about. We should be intentionally finding where we were wrong in order to become more right. This instruction was your life, your ability to repair.)
14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, And walk not in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it; Turn from it, and pass on.
(Avoid the ways (how/why) of the wicked.)
16 For they sleep not, except they do evil; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
(The path of the righteous was as a shining light that shined "more and more": growth!)
19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble.
(1 John 2:11 – "But he that hateth his brother is in the darkness, and walketh in the darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes.")
20 My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep them in the midst of thy heart.
22 For they are life unto those that find them, And health to all their flesh.
(The words Solomon wrote brought life to those who found them. We ought to embrace truth and allow it to affect our actions: wisdom.)
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.
(Guard your heart because what was planted in it would come out: causality.)
24 Put away from thee a wayward mouth, And perverse lips put far from thee.
25 Let thine eyes look right on, And let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Make level the path of thy feet, And let all thy ways be established.
(Consider the path you are walking. You ought to be aware of where you are going and why you are going there.)
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: Remove thy foot from evil.
Proverbs 5
1 My son, attend unto my wisdom; Incline thine ear to my understanding:
2 That thou mayest preserve discretion, And that thy lips may keep knowledge.
(Solomon encouraged his son, and you, to embrace his wisdom and understanding so that you could "preserve discretion." Preserving discretion meant that you observed and guarded the purpose given. Solomon’s purpose here was to help us live by wisdom and understanding.)
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil:
(Another reason to live by Solomon’s purpose: a "strange woman" would try to take you off course…)
4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death; Her steps take hold on Sheol;
6 So that she findeth not the level path of life: Her ways are unstable, and she knoweth it not.
(Not only were the "strange woman's" ways unstable, she was not even aware of it. However, "she" wanted you to join her on her path.)
7 Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me, And depart not from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove thy way far from her, And come not nigh the door of her house;
(Do not go on the path with this woman (cause) or you will have the following effects…)
9 Lest thou give thine honor unto others, And thy years unto the cruel;
10 Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, And thy labors be in the house of an alien,
11 And thou mourn at thy latter end, When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12 And say, How have I hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof;
13 Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
14 I was well-nigh in all evil In the midst of the assembly and congregation.
(If you walked down this wicked path with the "strange woman," one day you would recognize that you were in pride.)
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, And running waters out of thine own well.
16 Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee.
18 Let thy fountain be blessed; And rejoice in the wife of thy youth.
19 As a loving hind and a pleasant doe, Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love.
20 For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
(This was an exhortation for Solomon's son to love his own wife and to not be given to a "strange woman." Did Solomon heed his own advice?)
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah; And he maketh level all his paths.
(God was aware of everything.)
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.
23 He shall die for lack of instruction; And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
Proverbs 6
1 My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbor, If thou hast stricken thy hands for a stranger;
2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, Seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbor: Go, humble thyself, and importune thy neighbor;
(The solution given to the problem of being snared (trapped) with your words was to humble yourself. Humility was the ability to consider any perspective, including considering you were wrong.)
4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, Nor slumber to thine eyelids;
5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, And as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; Consider her ways, and be wise:
(Consider the ways of the "ant," an example of something that worked hard versus a sluggard who was someone that was lazy or a sloth (resting without working). "Be wise" meant doing things the right way, with a right how.)
7 Which having no chief, Overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her bread in the summer, And gathereth her food in the harvest.
(The "ant" accomplished work that would benefit itself and other "ants," in the long term.)
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 So shall thy poverty come as a robber, And thy want as an armed man.
12 A worthless person, a man of iniquity, Is he that walketh with a perverse mouth;
(Worthless people and men of iniquity walked with a perverse mouth. Their words were lies (wrong what) and deceit (right what with a wrong or no how/why). Worthless meant "unprofitable.")
13 That winketh with his eyes, that speaketh with his feet, That maketh signs with his fingers;
14 In whose heart is perverseness, Who deviseth evil continually, Who soweth discord.
15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; On a sudden shall he be broken, and that without remedy.
16 There are six things which Jehovah hateth; Yea, seven which are an abomination unto him:
(The wording of verse 16 is meant to get the attention of the reader. Another way this could be worded is: "There are six things which the Lord hates; and the seventh which is an abomination to His Soul.")
17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood;
18 A heart that deviseth wicked purposes, Feet that are swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that uttereth lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren.
(The list:
1) a proud look,
2) a lying tongue,
3) hands that shed innocent blood,
4) a wicked and scheming heart,
5) feet quick to sin,
6) a false witness, and
7) a sower of discord among brethren.
All of these were unprofitable because of wrong how's and wrong why's.)
20 My son, keep the commandment of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother:
21 Bind them continually upon thy heart; Tie them about thy neck.
22 When thou walkest, it shall lead thee; When thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee; And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; And reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24 To keep thee from the evil woman, From the flattery of the foreigner's tongue.
(One of the reasons Solomon encouraged his son to walk in the way of wisdom and understanding was to keep him from the evil woman. Did Solomon do this himself?)
25 Lust not after her beauty in thy heart; Neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a piece of bread; And the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can one walk upon hot coals, And his feet not be scorched?
29 So he that goeth in to his neighbor's wife; Whosoever toucheth her shall not be unpunished.
(Going "in to" your neighbor’s wife would be judged.)
30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal To satisfy himself when he is hungry:
31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; He shall give all the substance of his house.
32 He that committeth adultery with a woman is void of understanding: He doeth it who would destroy his own soul.
(Those who committed adultery were "void" of understanding. They were in need of understanding because they did not understand that they were destroying their own soul.)
33 Wounds and dishonor shall he get; And his reproach shall not be wiped away.
34 For jealousy is the rage of a man; And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
(Justice would be equaled out.)
35 He will not regard any ransom; Neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
(This post covered Solomon giving the principal cause of profitability: Wisdom. Then he proved that actions that were an effect of the wrong how/why resulted in unprofitability.)
Day 187
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