Proverbs 14:22-15:23

Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD;
how much more the hearts of the children of man!

Proverbs 15:11

In case you are wondering, “Sheol” is the place of the dead. It is neither Heaven nor Hell and does not properly imply an afterlife. We might just as well replace “Sheol” with “the Grave” (capital “G”) and arrive at much the same meaning. “Abaddon” literally means “doom” or “destruction” and goes hand in hand with Sheol as the place of the dead, but with more of a hint of torment along the lines of Hell. One might replace “Abaddon” with “the Abyss” (capital “A”).

Reading Proverbs 15:11, my very first inclination is to cringe. Like Adam and Eve after the Fall, I want to hide myself from the LORD. (Gen. 3:8) But all such hiding is futile. The LORD sees everything. There are no secrets from Him. We are indeed laid bare before Him. So our best course of action is to simply stop wasting our energy in our silly attempts to hide from Him. Take off the masks and confess (that is, “say with” Him) whatever it is we want to hide. It is in that confession that we find freedom.

So cringing at Proverbs 15:11 is a poor response. Instead, I should embrace it and rejoice in the fact that the LORD knows me better than I know myself. Rather than trying to hide, I should invite Him to reveal to me what He already knows, to show me those sins of which I am not even aware, to let me see my brokenness that He has already solved on the Cross.

Yes, the LORD sees me — all of me. And He loves me anyway.

See also:

• July 10 (2022) / Proverbs 14:18-35
• July 11 (2022) / Proverbs 15:1-17

Proverbs 13:1-14:21

A wise son hears his father’s instruction,
but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

Proverbs 13:1

We’ve all seen it. We’ve witnessed bratty kids ignoring their parents and making nuisances of themselves. We’ve all witnessed headstrong teenagers defying their parents’ instructions and sailing into predictable storms. And we’ve seen full-fledged adults do the same. More than likely we have not just witnessed those characters — we have been those characters.

But let’s think beyond simply receiving or rejecting instruction from one’s parents, as significant as that may be. Let’s read that proverb with a capital “F” for “Father”. Now how does it sound? How well do you hear the Father’s instruction through His Holy Spirit? Do you listen to rebuke from the Holy Spirit? Or do you just press on, going your own way, heedless of His voice?

I, for one, have far too often closed my ears and my heart to God’s loving call, too proud to submit to His counsel. But that way — my way against His — is Folly and leads only to death.

There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.

Proverbs 14:12

Let’s not continue in such foolishness. Listen to the Father’s instruction. Do not reject His rebukes, but receive them in humility and repent.

See also:

• July 7 (2022) / Proverbs 13:1-13
• July 8 (2022) / Proverbs 13:14-25
• July 9 (2022) / Proverbs 14:1-17

Proverbs 11:14-12:28

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered.

Proverbs 11:25

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:

• July 4 (2022) / Proverbs 11:16-31
• July 5 (2022) / Proverbs 12:1-14
• July 6 (2022) / Proverbs 12:15-28

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,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Proverbs 10:4

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:

• July 1 (2022) / Proverbs 10:1-16
• July 2 (2022) / Proverbs 10:17-32
• July 3 (2022) / Proverbs 11:1-15

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:

• May 28 (2022) / Proverbs 9:1-6
• May 29 (2022) / Proverbs 9:7-12
• May 30 (2022) / Proverbs 9:13-18
• May 7 (2023) / Proverbs 8-9

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:

• John 17:5
• John 1:1-3
• Colossians 1:15-17
• Matthew 11:27
• Hebrews 2:17-18
• Matthew 11:29
• Luke 11:28
• John 14:21; 17:2-3; 3:36

To those I would add the following:

• Colossians 2:2b-3
• Hebrews 1:2-3; 11:3
• Revelation 4:11

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:

• May 25 (2022) / Proverbs 8:1-11
• May 26 (2022) / Proverbs 8:12-21
• May 27 (2022) / Proverbs 8:22-31
• May 28 (2022) / Proverbs 8:32-36

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:

• May 18 (2022) / Proverbs 6:1-11
• May 19 (2022) / Proverbs 6:12-19
• May 20 (2022) / Proverbs 6:20-26
• May 21 (2022) / Proverbs 6:27-35
• May 22 (2022) / Proverbs 7:1-5
• May 23 (2022) / Proverbs 7:6-23
• May 24 (2022) / Proverbs 7:24-27

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:

• May 12 (2022) / Proverbs 4:1-9
• May 13 (2022) / Proverbs 4:10-19
• May 14 (2022) / Proverbs 4:20-27
• May 15 (2022) / Proverbs 5:1-6
• May 16 (2022) / Proverbs 5:7-14
• May 17 (2022) / Proverbs 5:15-23

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:

• May 4 (2022) / Proverbs 2:1-8
• May 5 (2022) / Proverbs 2:9-15
• May 6 (2022) / Proverbs 2:16-22
• May 7 (2022) / Proverbs 3:1-8
• May 8 (2022) / Proverbs 3:9-12
• May 9 (2022) / Proverbs 3:13-18
• May 10 (2022) / Proverbs 3:19-26
• May 11 (2022) / Proverbs 3:27-35