Thoughts On Proverbs 27

This morning, my husband came home from working an afternoon shift – midnight shift double. We visited for a few minutes before I took the girls, loaded them into the car, and went over to my mother in law’s so the house would be quiet and he would be granted a wealth of rest.

We arrived at mom’s about 10 minutes after loading the girls into the car. I had just shut off the car, when my Bible on the dash reminded me that I hadn’t read it yet, so as Selah was saying “Out! Memaw! Mommy! Memaw!” in all the excitement an almost two year old can contain, I pull the Bible into my lap and tell her, “Let’s read our Bible. It’s sit still time.”

She then settles down, and is relatively still as I read the Proverbs for the day. Our pastor has encouraged us to read a Proverb a day. He said, “You know, as a young believer, I remember hearing people tell me “Oh, I used to read a Proverbs a day when I was first saved.” and thinking to myself, ‘Why do they say that as if they have arrived to a place that is wiser than Solomon – The wisest man on earth?’” That being said, I have heard his voice every time my flesh tries to convince me that I have ‘arrived’.

We try to demonstrate the habits we want our children to develop, and one of those is a love and desire to know our God. These are just some surface musings and personal application of a sinner, saved by grace, who has come to enjoy her “Proverbs A Day keeps the World, the Flesh, and the Devil at bay”

My pastor’s wife recently encouraged myself and a few other ladies to take one verse a day and ‘flesh it out’.

While I did not take the time to show the Hebrew origins / Webster Dictionary meanings to these verses, These are the thoughts that came to mind after doing so.

Proverbs 27:1-27 KJV

 1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

² Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

³ A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.

⁴ Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

⁵ Open rebuke is better than secret love.

⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

⁷ The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

⁸ As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.

⁹ Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.

¹⁰ Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

¹¹ My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

¹² A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

¹³ Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

¹⁴ He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

¹⁵ A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

¹⁶ Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.

¹⁷ Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

¹⁸ Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

¹⁹ As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.

²⁰ Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

²¹ As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

²² Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

²³ Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

²⁴ For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?

²⁵ The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.

²⁶ The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.

²⁷ And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.

1. Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Don’t presume you have tomorrow; don’t assume God will give you a second chance. Say “I love you.” Witness to that person the Holy Spirit has placed upon your heart. Don’t go to bed angry. You never know what the day will bring.

² Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

Sadly, too often our American culture shouts, “I! ME! LOOK AT MY ACCOMPLISHMENTS!!” but how annoying, and at times even repulsive, is it to hear someone bragging on themselves? At times, it can be with humor, but that’s the exception.

I think of turning that phrase to the other side of the coin too – should we not be praising those who have done well? Whether the well doing is in an accomplished action, or simply intent, whether the action was fulfilled in perfection of their efforts? For instance, Selah was trying to help and throw away Joy’s dirty diaper today for me. I praise her as she picks it up, and starts for the trash can. Selah successfully puts it in there, and claps her cubby little hands, turns and grins at me, looking for the praise her obedience typically gains. I clap with her, then turn to finish dressing Joy. Suddenly, I hear the wonderful two syllables any parent wants to hear, “Uh Oh!”

Jerking up, I rise from my position on the floor to see my sweet little helper holding a napkin with crumbs and green food dye. “Uh oh, mama! Uh oh.” She repeats, pointing to the floor. Apparently, that napkin had been holding a “Grinch cinnamon roll” my sister-in-law had made, completed with vibrant green icing, which was now turned upside down and resting itself on my mother-in-law’s floor after it’s sky diving adventure.

“Selah! What are you doing with that?”

“Tash!” She explains as she then meticulously steps through the mess on the floor, now tracking it to the trash bin, and placing inside of it the napkin. As before, she claps, turning to me with a grin at how helpful she was. Her intentions were good, although I am still unsure as to how my almost two year old reached on top of the table and got the napkin, I can choose to be frustrated with her and discourage the habit of cleaning up, or I can praise her for throwing trash away, and then guide her in how to clean up the other mess she made.

I also have two seperate quotes come to mind on this topic that I have been dwelling on for the last number of days. They go as follows:

“Want to stay out of gossip and drama in the work place? Observe the strengths of your co workers and compliment them behind their backs.”

“Happy is the wife who learns to praise her husband in public.”

All too often, I find myself falling short on this front. I adore my husband. He is one of my greatest gifts entrusted to me by God. He is my best friend, the love of my life, the one I go to when I’m considering a venture and need a sounding board of options, plans, advice and sound judgement. He is the one who keeps me from being an utterly foolish woman and has helped me learn discernment, digression, and who inspires me to have a closer walk with God each day…and yet, there are days where drops in the bucket of every day living come up, and in not reigning in my tongue, my words convey the exact opposite to those near me. Instead of love, contempt pours out. Instead of thankfulness, disgust at the situations life brings us, not because I feel that way when I pause and look at the goodness of God and my husband, but because I have fallen prey into this idea that men are not worthy of praise, grace or even the energy it takes for me to look past the thing and recognize the intention.

On the phone with a friend a few weeks back, she and I were fellowshipping over the growth in our lives and I had shared how thankfulness was one thing God has been building within me. How it changes my aspect in life and love. She shared how God is helping her realize that just because her husband gifts her with things he enjoys doesn’t mean that she can’t accept the gift as that – a gift – from a husband who does love her and is trying. Whether she enjoys an entire roll of bologna or not is beside the point; what she enjoys is the fact that he loves her enough to buy his favorite thing to eat, give it to her, and sacrifice enough not to eat any of it because in his mind – “It’s the tastiest morsel on the planet and I want my wife to enjoy it.” Would she have enjoyed chocolate more than bologna? Sure! But what she is learning to do is recognize his intent – striving to always come to the positive conclusion, and enjoying his heart for her.

I pray my ramblings will encourage others and will allow them to draw closer to themselves and others.