Exploring the Scriptures Together
Proverbs 11:14-12:28
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
Proverbs 11:25
and one who waters will himself be watered.
Put another way, Jesus says:
Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.
Luke 6:38
See also:
Proverbs 10:1-11:13
You might notice that our text today is quite different from Proverbs 1-9. I could address that here, but rather than repeat myself, I’ll ask you please just to look back at the first link from 2022 below. I’ll wait…
So, making no attempt to cover all the individual proverbs in today’s reading, I’ll pick just one. Let’s see. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe…
A slack hand causes poverty,
Proverbs 10:4
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Hopefully, the truth of this proverb as a “general rule” should be fairly obvious to all of us. (If it is not, then perhaps you should reconsider your worldview.) It should also be fairly obvious that at any given moment we can find some counterexamples; that is, we can point to lazy rich people and hard-working poor people for whom the end results of this proverb have not yet materialized. (Even so, though, disregarding other factors, given enough time, the lazy rich will squander their wealth and become poor, and the hard-working poor will eventually be less poor, perhaps even rich.) All of that goes to say that we need to be careful how we read such proverbs. We cannot say that diligent hard work always produces abundant wealth; nor can we say that sloth instantaneously impoverishes. But we can most certainly say that (wholesome) hard work is a good deal more likely to improve one’s economic condition than just sitting around doing nothing.
No wishful thinking by individuals, business owners, or governments will ever change that reality. So if you have any desire to improve your own (or anyone else’s) economic condition, recognizing the truth of this proverb — and acting accordingly — is a good place to start.
See also:
Proverbs 9
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
Proverbs 9:4a,16a
Both Wisdom and Folly call to us, issuing the same invitation. One sincerely offers life in paths of righteousness and justice. The other is a con artist, whose promises are empty and whose paths lead to death. It is easy here in the text to discern which is which, but in our daily lives those voices may not be so obvious, and most people are rather easily seduced by Folly.
To whom are you listening?
See also:
Proverbs 8
I think items #2 and #3 in Search the Scriptures today — seeing Wisdom as a foreshadowing of Christ and comparing the gifts Wisdom offers with those found in Christ — are well worth considering. For your convenience, here are the suggested cross-references:
To those I would add the following:
Yes, take a good long look at Wisdom and Christ, and recognize that in pursuing Wisdom you are, in fact, pursuing Christ, in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col. 2:3)
See also:
| Date | Reading(s) | Verses |
| 01-Sep | Proverbs 8 | 36 |
| 02-Sep | Proverbs 9 | 18 |
| 03-Sep | Proverbs 10:1-11:13 | 45 |
| 04-Sep | Proverbs 11:14-12:28 | 46 |
| 05-Sep | Proverbs 13:1-14:21 | 46 |
| 06-Sep | Proverbs 14:22-15:23 | 37 |
| 07-Sep | Proverbs 15:24-16:33 | 43 |
| 08-Sep | Proverbs 17-18 | 52 |
| 09-Sep | Proverbs 19:1-20:13 | 42 |
| 10-Sep | Proverbs 20:14-22:16 | 64 |
| 11-Sep | Proverbs 22:17-23:35 | 48 |
| 12-Sep | Proverbs 24 | 34 |
| 13-Sep | Proverbs 25:1-26:12 | 40 |
| 14-Sep | Proverbs 26:13-27:27 | 43 |
| 15-Sep | Proverbs 28-29 | 55 |
| 16-Sep | Proverbs 30 | 33 |
| 17-Sep | Proverbs 31 | 31 |
| 18-Sep | Romans 1:1-17 | 17 |
| 19-Sep | Romans 1:18-32 | 15 |
| 20-Sep | Romans 2:1-16 | 16 |
| 21-Sep | Romans 2:17-29 | 13 |
| 22-Sep | Romans 3:1-20 | 20 |
| 23-Sep | Romans 3:21-31 | 11 |
| 24-Sep | Romans 4:1-15 | 15 |
| 25-Sep | Romans 4:16-25 | 10 |
| 26-Sep | Romans 5:1-11 | 11 |
| 27-Sep | Romans 5:12-21 | 10 |
| 28-Sep | Romans 6:1-14 | 14 |
| 29-Sep | Romans 6:15-7:6 | 15 |
| 30-Sep | Romans 7:7-25 | 19 |
Proverbs 6-7
Here is item #3 in Search the Scriptures today:
Test your life in the light of Proverbs 6:16-19.
That’s not a bad exercise. But I wonder if the language of those few verses might be such that most of us would be fairly quick to acquit ourselves, perhaps prematurely. For example, I don’t generally think of myself as having hands that shed innocent blood or feet that make haste to run to evil, and I bet you don’t either. But maybe we need to take a bit more time and think more deeply and more thoroughly. We might just find that we are not so innocent after all.
That is not to say that we should get stuck in interminable navel-gazing, wallowing around in our own muck. But we should honestly examine ourselves, measuring ourselves against Scripture, repenting of evil, confessing our sin, and turning to the Lord. It is the wise person who does so.
See also:
By the way, I hope that you consider the pursuit of wisdom worthy of the few extra minutes it might take to read those prior posts.
Proverbs 4-5
Why is it, do you think, that Solomon uses such strong words encouraging us (or, rather, pushing and pulling us) toward wisdom? Why does he need to use such strong entreaties? Why is it not enough to spend just a verse or two saying that wisdom is a good thing and that maybe we should get a little?
Perhaps it is because we are all naturally inclined toward folly and laziness — and sin. Then, even when we recognize wisdom and righteousness as good things and we decide to put forth some effort to pursue them, we tend toward self-reliance. We don’t need to listen to our parents (we think), because we already know better than they. We don’t need to worry about assorted temptations, because we’re better than that. But we’re fooling ourselves — and we ultimately make fools of ourselves.
In fact, our tendency toward self-reliance is so strong that even as we read these chapters in Proverbs and agree that we need to pursue wisdom vigorously, we immediately tend to go about it our own way and rely on our own strength. But that is a trap.
Yes, we need to put forth effort — serious effort — to gain wisdom, but it must always be in full reliance on — and submission to — the Holy Spirit. We must not forget what we just read in Galatians:
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Galatians 6:8
See also:
Proverbs 2-3
Wisdom.
Reading these chapters, I’m guessing that we’d all readily agree that wisdom is a good thing. We all recognize that it is to be prized (Pr. 3:4), that it has immense practical value, that it is life-giving and is fully consistent with righteousness and justice and equity, every good path. (Pr. 3:9) And so, we would all like to be considered to be wise. No one wants to be thought of as a fool.
Yet which of us truly seeks for wisdom diligently? Oh, sure, we’ve all spent time studying in school, some devoting years in the pursuit of advanced degrees. But is true wisdom (not just knowledge) really a high priority for us? Are we honestly willing to start at the beginning, with the fear of the LORD? Or do we want to skip that bit? Are we willing to lay aside our own ideas and preferences, submitting all to the Lord? Do we trust Him fully? (Pr. 3:5-6) Or are we holding back?
If we are honest with ourselves, most (if not all) of us would have to admit that we do not routinely pursue wisdom with vigor. We’re happy to stumble upon bits of wisdom here and there, but we do not search it out wholeheartedly. Let’s change that. Let’s listen to Proverbs. Let’s seek out Wisdom, and in so doing seek the Lord Himself.
See also:
As Fred heads off to Europe for the next few months, he has asked me to provide the daily commentary as we head into Proverbs. Those of you who have been with RTB for the past few years know that we went through Proverbs at a slower pace in 2022, and then flew through it again in 2023 at an insanely fast pace. Before we dive in for this year, I would encourage you to read our Introduction to Proverbs from 2022. Likewise, as we go through each day, you may also want to (re)visit the rest of our commentary from 2022 (and a bit from 2023). Yes, that will take a few more minutes each day (especially for the next few days), but I do not think you will regret it.
Proverbs 1
Wisdom.
We learn right up front in this book that wisdom — obtaining wisdom and conveying wisdom from one generation to the next — is the objective at hand. But wisdom does not come naturally. It involves a choice. We can choose to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity (v. 3) or reject it. We can practice the fear of the LORD, or we can despise wisdom and instruction. (v. 7) We can pursue righteousness and life, or we can fall in with the wrong crowd and be enticed toward unjust gain — and our own demise. (Pr. 1:8-19) We can listen to the voice of Wisdom as she calls out to us in the streets, or we can stop our ears and go our own way until it is too late. (Pr. 20-33) Most people do the latter.
So choose. What will it be? Are you willing to listen to Wisdom?
See also:
Galatians 5:25-6:18
Dear RTB’ers,
Better late than never?? Actually, packing pre-empted posting! We have a plane to catch in six hours. Please remember to pray for us while we’re gone.
Paul has a number of disparate thoughts in today’s reading – no common denominator that I could find. But what is interesting to me is that as he closes his letter, he returns to where he began in Gal. 1:6 – focusing on those Jewish Christians who are forcing circumcision on the Gentiles and forcing obedience to the Law on all the believers (Gal. 6:12,ff). I think Paul is being a bit sarcastic in verse 13a: For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law…. Paul is on good authority here. Jesus had challenged the Pharisees with being “whitewashed sepulchres”: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matthew 23:27-28) I’m reminded of a line from a Moody Blues song, “If only you knew what’s inside of me now, you wouldn’t want to know me, somehow.” Too true, too often, for me…!
Blessings!