Tag Archives: Bible

Jan 15 2013

Proverbs 10 – Integrity and Love

Today, we begin our weekly Tuesday reading of the chapters in Proverbs which look more like what we would expect from the book.  Chapter 10 has 32 verses; but for today, this blog will look closer at just three that deal with integrity and love. For tips on getting the most out of Proverbs, see this previous post.

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.” (Proverbs 10:9)

heart001If we consistently try to do the right thing in all situations, refusing to compromise on truth, honor, and good will toward others, it fosters a peace within us.  When we know that our intentions are pure, our conscience gives us serenity.  We know that we will bring no justifiable harm upon ourselves because of our own actions, nor will we be as likely to bring others to harm.  But, as 1 Timothy 5:25-26 agrees, those who scheme and connive, who try to hide their corrupt actions and their deceitful heart cannot keep such a secret forever.  How many times in the last few years have we known of someone, famous or not so famous, whose scandalous behavior over a period of years finally came out?  The shame they brought upon themselves was bad enough, but what about the people close to them that were hurt?  Integrity matters – to God, and to us.

“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” (Proverbs 10:12)

“The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.” (Proverbs 10:18)

It is easy to move many people to discord, gossip, and to be hurtful to one another by our own hateful thoughts, words, or actions. Sometimes people do so without realizing they are doing wrong.  It is a matter of the heart; and the cure is love. James 5:20 and 1 Peter 4:8 repeat that “love covers a multitude of sins.”  When we seek to think of, and to do good to, others in a manner that shows we truly care about them, that love affects us  as well.  The reason that “love covers all offenses” is that it changes us – our hearts, our minds, and our lives.  It makes us better and happier men and women.  It was this wisdom that Jesus was trying to convey when he said that loving your neighbor was the second greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37-39.

The first part of verse 18 makes it clear that it is not enough to just hide ones hatred for someone and keep ones mouth shut about it.  Your words then betray you and make you worse than a mere hater, because you become a liar as well.  The change must come from within the heart.  The second part of the verse (“whoever utters slander is a fool”) ties the two verses together.  The answer is not to just “let it all out” and speak ill of those for whom you hold ill will, for by doing so, you harm them as well as yourself.

Wisdom demands that we examine our own thoughts and actions, and let the Lord speak to us through His word, helping us to shape our lives and our hearts.  What can we do this week to show someone we care about them?

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

Please “like” us on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/bobsboy01

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Jan 14 2013

Psalm 119:1-8; Psalm 1 – The Way of the Righteous

English: Aleph is the first letter of hebrew A...

English: Aleph is the first letter of hebrew Alphabet Deutsch: Aleph ist der Erste Buchstabe des Hebräischen Alphabets (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today we begin our reading of Psalm 119 with the first 8 verses.  It is the longest chapter in the Bible (176 verses), and it is one of a few acrostics in the Bible, employing all 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet in its structure.  We will have more to say about this incredible structure in this weekends preview of the coming week.  But for now we’ll focus on the Scripture itself.  These eight verses are brought to you by the letter “Aleph.”

As with the other 21 stanzas, these eight verses employ different synonyms for the word “law” (testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, rules).  These verses declare not only that God wants us to be diligent in keeping His commandments (verse 4), but also that by doing so our lives are blessed, and we can worship Him with our hearts in the right place.  It doesn’t mean that we can ever be truly blameless,  but our intentions to live according to His word will give us an “upright heart” (verses 5-7).

Psalm 1 begins in the first verse speaking instead on the path that the righteous do not take.  Two kinds of people are spoken of throughout the Bible – the servants of God and the enemies of the Lord.  It is the heart that chooses which of those paths one will not take that makes him part of the other group.  There is no middle ground.  Those who choose not to take the advice and example of the wicked are happy living under God’s law (verse 2).  Their lives endure the test of time by choosing righteousness (verse 3), but evil will not triumph in the long course of time (verses 4-6).

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

Please “like” us on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/bobsboy01

___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Jan 13 2013

Five Tips for Reading the Book of Proverbs

Having completed the first nine chapters of Proverbs, we now settle in to our regular reading schedule for this year (you can find details on this year’s schedule in this previous post).  Monday is Psalm 119 day.  On Tuesdays, we will read a chapter of Proverbs, Job on Thursdays, and different Psalms on Wednesdays and Fridays.  Today’s blog is focused on the subject of “Tuesdays.”

Proverbs 3:13

Proverbs 3:13 (Photo credit: heymarchetti)

So now that on every Tuesday we will be reading Proverbs, some good questions arise.  How can we get the most out of reading these other chapters?  Proverbs is, after all, a very different book from any other in the entire Bible.  There is no intuitive continuity of thought in each of the remaining chapters – seemingly just one “proverb” after another.  And really, just what is a proverb  anyway?  Is it just a wise saying, like “Early to bed and early to rise…?”  Like all Scripture, this book is inspired – it contains the wisdom of God!  One writer said that “God in His wisdom provided the book of Proverbs as a help in navigating life,” and that is an excellent description of them.  But one that we like even better was written by David Kidner is his commentary:

“It is a book which seldom takes you to church. Like its own figure of Wisdom, it
calls across to you in the street about some everyday matter, or points things out
at home. Its function in Scripture is to put godliness into working clothes; to
name business and society as spheres in which we are to acquit ourselves with
credit to our Lord, and in which we are to look for his training.”

Proverbs 1:7

Proverbs 1:7 (Photo credit: heymarchetti)

That is so true.  But even one chapter of this great book can seem very overwhelming if you try to take all of it in at once. There is wisdom to be had in this book that could fill volumes; and we may find proverbs in these chapters that apply to the circumstances and/or difficulties in our lives at any time.  But not every proverb in every chapter is going to seem applicable to our lives at all times.  And certainly any attempt to “blog” on an entire chapter of Proverbs in just a few short paragraphs would be woefully inadequate.

So we will be taking a different approach, focusing on selected verses in a chapter each Tuesday; and we suggest that you take a different approach to Proverbs as well.  And since there are only 22 chapters left, we will start again (with chapter 10 and following) later in the year, in order to focus on a few other verses.

Here are some tips for the Book of Proverbs as we go through the year:

  • As you read a chapter in Proverbs each week, underline, highlight, or copy and paste one or two verses that stand out as particularly relevant to your life at the time.
  • After reading the chapter, go back over those verses you singled out, and find one or two that seem really meaningful to you.  Work on memorizing one or both of those two verses during the week.
  • Consider speaking about that verse with someone you care for, a friend, or even posting a comment on one of these pages.  Your thoughts on the subject may be helpful to someone else!
  • Don’t forget to mark some of those that you simply do not understand in some different manner ( a separate list, different color highlight, etc.), so that you can look at some other time.  You will be surprised what a difference a fresh look and a different perspective can make.

Finally, and most importantly, begin applying the proverbs that you have singled out in your daily life.  As we “put godliness into working clothes” in 2013, we will surely have grown in wisdom by the end of this year!

/Bob’s boy

Please “like” us on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/bobsboy01

Summing Up

Each weekend, I am now posting a small PDF of one week of chapter summaries (on the website’s “Summaries” page), current to the beginning of the previous week.  I have posted the summary for Week 1 (January 2013 Week 1) of the schedule I am following this year.  This short PDF documents contains condensed comments about Proverbs 1, 2, 3, 9, and 10 with hyperlinks to the ESV version of each chapter for listening or reading.

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image © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Jan 11 2013

Proverbs 9 – The Way of Wisdom

Lady wisdom (2)

Lady wisdom (2) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Together with Proverbs 1:7, verse 10 serves as a parenthetical summary of these first nine chapters, as this section of Proverbs ends and ushers in the actual Proverbs of the remaining chapters.  But here, the “fear of the Lord,” it expounds, is the beginning of wisdom – these chapters have taught the difference between knowledge and wisdom.  And the second part of the verse explains it succinctly – “the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”  Here, Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly are each calling out to mankind (even the simple) to come to a banquet they have prepared, the former of which offers a path to insight (verse 6).

Verse 7 states that one who corrects a scoffer will get abuse, and the scoffer will hate those that reprove him.  This is because of the condition of the heart.  Such people who are hostile to God cannot receive the truth unless they change their heart, and only God can help with that (Romans 8:7-8).   Conversely, reprove a wise man and he will love you; and he will be wiser if you instruct him (verses 8-9).  A righteous man will increase in learning, with instruction.  Perhaps the greatest wisdom of this chapter is in verse 12 “If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it” (Job 22:2).  Those who reject the Lord do so at their own peril.

Verses 13-18 contain the final description of the call of Lady Folly.  She is loud, seductive, and knows nothing.  She implores the same simple ones to come, with the lie that “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”  But her guests have been led down the path of destruction with the dead.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Jan 10 2013

Proverbs 8 – The Blessings of Wisdom

An Oxford degree ceremony — the Pro-Vice-Chanc...

An Oxford degree ceremony — the Pro-Vice-Chancellor in MA gown and hood, Proctor in official dress and new Doctors of Philosophy in scarlet full dress. Behind them, a bedel, another Doctor and Bachelors of Arts and Medicine. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Solomon begins by personifying Lady Wisdom further, summoning the reader to hear her call.  This is the ultimate of these chapters illuminating the two paths of wisdom and folly, or foolishness. The fact that the “fear of the Lord” is the beginning of all knowledge is again made infinitely plain in this chapter.  “She” begins by further developing the inclusion of righteousness as an integral part of wisdom (verses 6-9), the reasons for seeking it so earnestly (verses 10-11), and the benefits it provides mankind (verses 15-19).

She calls upon all the “children of man” (verse 4) – the simple, the fool, the learned – all who seek wisdom diligently will find it (verse 17).  But again, we are reminded of the difference between mere knowledge and true wisdom – the insight that comes to those who seek it without wickedness, who have prudence, who are just and seek justice, and those who abhor evil and are not full of pride, arrogance, and who avoid perverse speech.  True wisdom does not dwell in those who do not walk in the path that the Lord has made for us, no matter how “intelligent” that person may be.  Verses 8-9 make clear that only those who truly understand these facts will attain that wisdom, and that is so because those facts are clear for them to understand.  The unrighteous cannot have that understanding, and so they are denied true wisdom.

Verses 22 and following detail how wisdom “was” before God created the earth and all things universal, and how he delighted in his creation.  He created all things physical, all things invisible, and even the abstract.  There would not even be any concept of things such as beauty, love, truth, right, wrong, or even the concept of such things as a name or a number, but for the power of the Lord.  And Jesus, the Son, was there and is Himself that wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:22-24, 1 Cor 1:30, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Colossians 1:15-18).

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Jan 9 2013

Proverbs 7 – Warning Against the Adulteress

When David sinned against Bath-sheba and her husband Uriah, God sent the Prophet Nathan to tell David of his sin and punishment (2 Samuel 12; 1 Chronicles 20:1-3).

When David sinned against Bath-sheba and her husband Uriah, God sent the Prophet Nathan to tell David of his sin and punishment (2 Samuel 12).

The chapter again opens with the plea to listen to wise instruction; and there are continued references to “Lady Wisdom” and “Lady Folly.”  Verse  4 advises the reader to keep wisdom as a sister, and insight as a friend.  His intimacy with discernment and understanding will keep the young person (and the older person) from adulterous behavior if their heart is in the right place.  The folly of succumbing to seduction here is applicable to male and female, young and old, the lonely,or the simply innocent or gullible.  The smooth talk, and the seductive looks and dress are equally tempting to all categories of people.  Notice the disconnect between the woman’s declaration of having performed her service to God, and the way she is living her life.  This is the same sort of contradiction spoken of in Isaiah 1:10-20, and  shows how people may represent themselves (and even believe) as though they are trying to be honest and upright, when in fact their behavior says otherwise.

The message in the end is that someone promoting the desire for lust may say or do anything to trap their prey – to pull the victim into their desires with their words.  The woman in these verses does not really care about this young man, nor did she seek him out in particular, as she suggests.  Any other young man may have been the target of her desires.  How often have young women (and men) been fooled by the flattering expectations that she engenders in this young man?  But the scripture reminds us of the path to destruction, down which the victim of these advances is being led.  Adultery takes from them that which was never intended for the adulterer, but for their spouse, when the time comes.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Jan 8 2013

Proverbs 6 – Practical Warnings

English: The signature of John Hancock on an e...

English: The signature of John Hancock on an envelope. Restored by Jim S. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The first five verses of this chapter deal with the issue of putting up security for someone else.  This would be today’s equivalent of co-signing a note for someone.  Certainly, many of us have done this sort of thing for one of our children; and the verses are not saying that putting up security like that even for someone other than our children is sinful – or even morally wrong.  But it is certainly unwise, and so much so, that the reader is urged to get out of it at once. In verse 2, being “snared in the words of your mouth” are the same as putting one’s signature on a promissory note.

Getting out of such an obligation these days is not so simple, but the point is – a wise person would not obligate himself in such a manner.  Doing so places one – and maybe also one’s own family – in peril of great loss, at the mercy of someone who ultimately may have nothing to lose (the actual debtor).  And if that becomes a reality, we have only helped them bring damnation upon themselves by not doing the right thing!  If we want to, and can afford to help someone out, give them a generous gift instead.  Such is wiser, and certainly approved of by the Lord.

Verses 6-11 warn us that laziness and being unprepared can result in great poverty, while verses 12-15 admonish that evil behavior such as knowingly cheating others will “catch up” with such a person, and often in a horrific way (certainly to be the case after life’s end).  Verses 16-19 list seven things that God finds truly despicable.  Read through these, and notice that every one of them is a deed that is bound to bring harm to others.  God cares deeply about how we treat each other.  That fact resonates in book after book, and chapter after chapter of His word; and Jesus makes that clear in Matthew 7:12 and Mark 12:30-31. Verses 20-35 are more warnings against sexual immorality in general, and adultery in particular.

 

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Jan 7 2013

Proverbs 5 – Warning Against Adultery

After the opening verses, again admonishing the reader to both hear and to understand, the chapter immediately begins its warning against sexual promiscuity.  Most people rightly see the particular application to young people.  But the message to parents is somewhat more subtle if one does not focus on it.  Take verse 23 in particular: “He dies for lack of discipline.”   Nothing should be more sobering to parents than this warning about how much is at stake.

Bible-time weddings were festive occasions, sometimes lasting a week or more, with great celebration and joy.

Bible-time weddings were festive occasions, sometimes lasting a week or more, with great celebration and joy.

Our young people today more than ever grow up in a world that is rich in media that glorifies sexual immorality, with role models and adults in positions of authority that do little to contradict (and most often, reinforce) this outlook.  It is the job of the parent to educate the souls of the little ones entrusted to them concerning the intention God has for right use of the sexual relationship – between a husband and wife.   Verses 15-20 (“Drink water from your own cistern…” and “…let them be for yourself alone…””) remind of Jesus in Matthew 19:4-5, quoting Genesis 2:24: “the two shall become one flesh.”

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Jan 6 2013

Introductions Continue – Proverbs

Book Of Proverbs

Book Of Proverbs (Photo credit: neonbubble)

This week, we will finish our reading of the first nine chapters of Proverbs, before setting into our regular schedule for the year (for more details on that schedule, see this previous post).  These first nine chapters are a series of discourses that convey the message about wisdom that Holy Spirit is teaching us in this book – about life itself, service to God, and our salvation.  A proper understanding of these nine chapters will prepare us for the actual proverbs of the remainder of the book.  Much of the proverbs themselves are self-explanatory, but the knowledge they convey takes a little work to gain the insight Solomon speaks of (Proverbs 4:1).  After this week, we will find a “voice” to express what this writer is taking away from some of those proverbs.

Summing Up

Each weekend this year (beginning next weekend), I will be posting a small PDF of one week of the daily reading summaries (on the website’s “Summaries” page), current to the beginning of the previous week.  I will post the summary for Week 1 (January 2013 Week 1) of the schedule I am following this year next weekend.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
image © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Jan 4 2013

Proverbs 4 – A Father’s Wise Instruction

Father reads the Scriptures from a scroll to his family as the mother prepares food to eat.

Father reads the Scriptures from a scroll to his family as the mother prepares food to eat.

A quick plea – not for money (this site takes in no revenue, and NEVER will).  We appreciate SO MUCH the WordPress members who click the “Like” button on this blog!  And we certainly want that to continue!  But after finding out we had reached people in 122 countries last year, we decided to give Facebook a try.  We won’t go so far as to say you might help save a soul by clicking the “Like us on Facebook” button you now find on the right side-bar, but it will help our exposure, and who knows what ways God uses us…?

The assumption by some that these words from Solomon were ever intended solely for his own sons is completely shattered in verse one.  In the same sentence that he calls upon the reader (“O sons”) to hear, just exactly what they are to hear is said to be “a father’s instruction” – not your father’s instruction.  He then goes on to say how he received his own instruction from his father.  The Book of Proverbs is replete with the conveyance of the importance of the instruction given to children by a father and a mother.  But the message here is more than that.  It is the timeless wisdom passed on through generations both by earthly father to father, and by our heavenly Father.  God has made Himself known to all, both by His word and through the knowledge that He reveals to us daily in the world He created (Romans 1:18-20, Psalm 19:1-2).

Verse 7 may seem difficult to understand at first, but it simply means that in order to acquire wisdom, we have to work at it.  We have knowledge freely available to us, but wisdom only comes from searching through that knowledge for understanding – insight – and applying it to our lives.  This is true of worldly wisdom, and of the wisdom that comes to us by reverence for our Creator (“fear of the Lord”).  The wisdom and understanding both comes from, and leads to, the pursuit of a righteous and godly way of living, increasing its effectiveness in our lives as we gain it (verses 10-13).

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.