Proverbs 20: Hereās 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): āThe 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 Godās wisdom and the limited wisdom of human rulersā (p. 1028 OT-1029 OT)
3/8 Reading (Proverbs 13-15; Matthew 5)
Proverbs 13: Hereās 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 Solomonās 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 Solomonās proverbs: āAlong 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.)ā (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 didnāt 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 donāt 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, Iām 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 heās already said what he needed to say and he wonāt say it again. God gives his second speech.
2/28 Reading (Job 34-36; 2 Timothy 4)
Job 34: This is the start of Elihuās 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 doesnāt do evil things, God doesnāt sin. Instead, God ārepays people based on what they do, paying back everyone according to their waysā (34:11). He argues that God doesnāt do wicked things or distorts justice. In essence, he seems to be agreeing with the friends.
2/26 Reading (Job 28-30; 2 Timothy 2)
I had a great chat last week with Father Kevin. Itās been a while since we talked, but it felt good to share how this is all going. I mentioned the idea of writing a book someday and how Iāve noticed that at the foundation of all of this is asking questions. Itās important for us to ask questions while reading the Bible as well as questions associated with religion. And guess what…itās also important for us to ask questions in science too. This is not to argue that science and religion are the same, but perhaps if people started to view religion with this mindset then maybe not everyone would leave. Just throwing ideas out there now.