Proverbs 20: Here’s the ones I find most interesting in this chapter:
Continue reading “3/10 Reading (Proverbs 20-22; Psalms 90-92)”
3/9 Reading (Proverbs 16-19; Matthew 6)
Some additional notes on this next section of proverbs (16:1-22:16): “The second section of the second collection of sayings from Solomon shifts from wisdom sayings that contrast the wise and the foolish and the wicked and the righteous to those contrasting God’s wisdom and the limited wisdom of human rulers” (p. 1028 OT-1029 OT)
3/8 Reading (Proverbs 13-15; Matthew 5)
Proverbs 13: Here’s the ones I find most interesting in this chapter:
3/7 Reading (Proverbs 10-12; Matthew 4)
Looking in the notes revealed some really interesting aspects of the proverbs attributed to Solomon (Proverbs 10:1-22:16). First, the first half of Solomon’s proverbs (10:1-15:33) are contrasting statements (antithetic parallelism), in which the second line restates the first line in an opposite way and the second half are synthetic statements, in which the second line repeats or extends the message of the first line. Pretty cool. Second, there are many common themes in Solomon’s proverbs: “Along with the more generic wise/foolish and righteous/wicked themes, note the frequency of themes such as wealth/poverty, work/sloth, speech (truth/lying, etc.), relationships (neighbors, family, king), and attitudes (anger, love/hatred, etc.)” (from How to Read the Bible Book by Book).
3/6 Reading (Proverbs 7-9; Matthew 3)
Proverbs 7: This chapter continues the theme from the previous chapter which was to avoid dangerous and cunning women. The father encourages the son to rely on wisdom and understanding in order to avoid people like this. The father then tells what happened to a man who didn’t do this and was seduced by a married woman. Apparently the man died.
3/5 Reading (Proverbs 4-6; Matthew 2)
Proverbs 4: So I may have to pull back from my view in the first three chapters that when the text referred to a son I argued it could just be children. The reason why is this chapter starts with reference to children. Oops. Anyway, the parents tell the children they need to seek out wisdom first. Then they can get understanding. But they need to focus on seeking out wisdom and then respecting it.
3/3 Reading (Proverbs 1-3; Psalm 89)
To anyone reading this, if you don’t have a study bible, get one! I recommend either the CEB study bible or the NRSV study bible. Both are very interesting.
Introduction to Proverbs: The CEB study bible has a nice introduction to Proverbs. I especially like part of it. Instead of rewriting the whole part, I’m just going to include a screenshot below (p. 1006 OT):
3/2 Reading (Job 40-42; Psalms 86-88)
Job 40: God asks Job to respond and he does in the beginning of this chapter. But with a very short response. Job pretty much tells God that he’s already said what he needed to say and he won’t say it again. God gives his second speech.
3/1 Reading (Job 37-39; Matthew 1)
Job 37: The theme from the end of the last chapter continues here. Elihu continues to describe God’s power and control over natural events. Most of the events are focused on weather related disasters. His point here is that he wants to emphasize that God is a powerful being who controls everything. Elihu ends his speech telling Job that God is pretty much too busy to listen to him specifically.
2/28 Reading (Job 34-36; 2 Timothy 4)
Job 34: This is the start of Elihu’s second speech. He initially addresses the three friends and then turns to Job again. In his statements to the friends he pretty much argues that God doesn’t do evil things, God doesn’t sin. Instead, God “repays people based on what they do, paying back everyone according to their ways” (34:11). He argues that God doesn’t do wicked things or distorts justice. In essence, he seems to be agreeing with the friends.