Some Thoughts From Proverbs 7

Proverbs 7:1ff

¹My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you;
² keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
³ bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”  and call insight your intimate friend,
⁵ to keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words.

This is the last of the "my son" passages. The writer gives a description of the simpleton and the adulteress. It is noteworthy that adultery is of considerable concern to the writer. It is a part of the constant warning he gives.

In this passage he describes her dress, her speech, her seductive cleverness, her disregard for loyalty, and her casual religiosity.

 In his description of the man he begins by saying, "he is a young man lacking sense," or a simpleton. He then puts him in the wrong place at the wrong time. A careful examination of adultery will show that this is nearly always an ingredient of the sin.

 He is persuaded by her seductive speech. But I would venture this youth seeks and desires persuasion. "As an ox goes to the slaughter," what a compelling picture because it leads to the most pitiful of all the words in this context. Verse 23 C "He does not know it will cost him his life." And in that moment he does not care.

Some Thoughts From Proverbs 5

Proverbs 5:12-14

¹² and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
¹³ I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴ I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”

The adulterer is guilty and without excuse. He has not heeded the simple fail-safe in vs 8. In 5:12-14 he examines himself:

 A. Verse 12 There is personal recrimination. He is without excuse. It was not from ignorance nor deception. He and he alone must bear the blame.

  B. Verse 13 Now there is regret, but it is too late. He did not do what he should have done to prevent his fall. But regret satisfies nothing

  C. Verse 14 He must bear the reproach that is due him. He faces the rejection of those he knows he should prize most.

Be sure there are sins that deserve and require the reproach of the congregation. The church is a home for repentant sinners. But it is equally true that the church must have discipline. And rebellious offenders left undisciplined will bring the discipline of God on the church as sure as it did on Israel.

Some Thoughts From Proverbs 3

Proverbs 3:1

¹My son, do not forget my teaching,
    but let your heart keep my commandments,

Proverbs 2:1

¹ My son, if you receive my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you,

The" teachings" give context to the commandments and the commandments give structure to the teaching. Its only when both are pursued that a balanced, and anything approaching a complete, view of God is received.

In Vs 2 it is the "words" and the commandments. The “words" contain the vital truth of creation, redemption, providence, and election.

The Apostle’s Creed indicates the importance of creation. "I believe in God, maker of heaven and earth”. This ancient confession begins with critical truth of God and man. We are His creation. The creature is at the mercy of the Creator. So we are. If any member of the Trinity is truly God, He is the Creator and therefore absolutely Sovereign. As Adam did not “let” God breathe the life into him, we do not let God do anything.

The commandments are the moral order of the universe. Sin in whatever it is, is the disregard and disobedience to the commandments.

 The Blessed person of Psalm 1 is commended that he delights in the Law and meditates them day and night."  Do not forget it.

Some Thoughts From Proverbs 2

Proverbs 2: 12

¹² delivering you from the way of evil,
    from men of perverted speech,

There is a book, I can't recall the author, the title is The Mystery of Iniquity, which by title warns

the difficulty in understanding evil.

The most glaring illustration of the way serial killers are handled; when caught and convicted they are either imprisoned for life, or in Texas are given capital punishment. This is in spite of labeling them as sick. They are said to be evil but the evil is a sickness.

It is cruel beyond description to put a person to death or imprison them for life because they are ill. The statement which is spoken often is “they must be sick or they would not have done what they did”.

Those that say the above have absolutely no understanding of sin. "The way of evil" is anything the mind of man can conjure. From burning cats to killing and eating his mother, the sinner is subject to the evil of his nature to whatever degree it is unrestrained.

Some Thoughts From Proverbs 1

Proverbs 1:7 

⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
    fools despise wisdom and instruction.

I think I have said this before that I see this verse as the key verse in the whole of Proverbs. This can be only if we understand what the “fear of the Lord” is.

This is, by most, recognized to be a Holy Reverence of God. It is this and it is much more. We have done a disservice to the word "fear" if we do not recognize the acknowledg­ment of God's wrath in the term. We can believe this is not a servile fear and still respect the fact that God's wrath is a fearful thing.

 The "fear of God" as it is used in this verse includes a knowledge of the Lord or the Covenant God of Israel.  And this can never be said without knowing that calling God "The Lord" is often only by those with the faith of the Covenant.

The second part of this verse can be either antithetic or synthetic. It can either be the opposite of the first or explain and complete the first. I take it to be synthetic. It shows what is not “the fear of the Lord" and therefore all that is not wise. That is the fool.

Some Thoughts From Proverbs 31

Proverbs 31  The Virtuous Woman

The three outstanding features of the Virtuous Woman.

1. She is committed to her family.

2. She understands her place in the community.

3. She is known for her faith in the God of Holy Scripture.

As you look at these three features there is nothing here that the modern feminist movement accepts.

They have no respect for the traditional family. They have used their influence to its fullest to deny and disrupt any concept of a Biblical family, from homosexual marriage to refusing to accept the roles of wife and mother.  With "Rosie the Riveter has come a disruption in family, bringing with it repercussions that are overwhelming.  Divorce and cohabitation are destroying stable family life.

The feminist movement has only itself as an end. They really care little about anything else. 

And there is no concern for Biblical faith.

Some Thoughts From Proverbs 30

Proverbs 30:11-14

¹¹ There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
¹² There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth.
¹³ There are those—how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift!
¹⁴ There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives,
to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind.

The writer of Proverbs is very plain in his description of the wicked.  And in this context he lets us look at the internal motivation of the person who has little or no redeeming features.

A.     Vs 11-This person does not have the natural affection of a child for his parent and shows his heart with a callous disregard for respect.

B.     Vs 12-The fact is that this person should not surprise us.  He has no concern for introspection and therefore he will admit no fault.

C.     Vs 13-Pride is what we would expect from such a one and we are not disappointed.  This one is a mountain to himself.  He looks down on everyone.

D.    Vs 14-The cruelty of the truly wicked person should never surprise a Christian.  Sin doesn’t entertain love and therefore there is no respect there. 

Along with these verses 11-14 be aware also of verse 20.  The failure to recognize and acknowledge sin is as old as the transgression against God.

Adam wipes his mouth to clean away the forbidden fruit and said, “It was the woman.”