Solomon was right about ants and sluggards

I have seen this clip in a nature DVD I watched a few years ago, but it’s a good reminder to be industrious and hard-working.

Proverbs 6:6, “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”

As Jim Hamilton points out, these ants are amazing.  Their accomplishments are impressive:

• The ant “megalopolis” was built of the equivalent of 10 tons of cement.
• The ant megalopolis covered 50 square meters.
• Forty tons of soil was moved in the construction project.

Read Full Post »

Lance Quinn on Proverbs

One of my favorite books in the Bible is Proverbs.  I preached on it a few years ago (about 13 messages I think) and I really grew in my appreciation and love for it.  Lance Quinn recently preached at the NANC Conference (a conference for biblical counselors) and he gave this breakdown of this book which I think is helpful for us as we seek to interpret  and apply this book in God’s Word.  Thanks to Paul for sharing it.

1. Listening to Lady Wisdom vs. Madame Folly (Ch. 1-9)
2. Short Sayings for a Long Life (Ch. 10-22:16)
3. Admonitions & Warnings (Ch. 22:17-24:34)
4. Comparisons & Contrasts between Godly and the Ungodly (Ch. 25-29)
5. Knowledge of God & His World (Ch. 30)
6. Advice for Leadership & Ladies (Ch. 31).

Read Full Post »

Answering a fool: to do or not to do?

My OT prof, Dr. Bob McCabe, explains how we are to interpret passages like Proverbs 26:4-5 which seem to be a contradiction on the surface.  If you like Proverbs or other biblical wisdom literature and want help in interpreting this book, read on here where Dr. McCabe points out the value of knowing there are three different kinds of prescriptive proverbs.

Read Full Post »

Wise counsel on our tongues

Our church is memorizing Ephesians 4:29 this week.

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29, ESV)

Those are inspired words from the Apostle Paul.  Here are some more inspired words from the wisest man who ever lived. Words to live by! Consider them before you speak today!

1. The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool. (Proverbs 10:18)
2. When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. (Proverbs 10:19)
3. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth. (Proverbs 10:20)
4. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense. (Proverbs 10:21)
5. An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble. (Proverbs 12:13)
6. From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him. (Proverbs 12:14)
7. There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. (Proverbs 12:18)
8. From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good, but the desire of the treacherous is for violence. (Proverbs 13:2)
9. Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. (Proverbs 13:3)
10. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. (Proverbs 15:2)
11. A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. (Proverbs 15:4)
12. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. (Proverbs 18:21)
13. Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. (Proverbs 21:23)

Read Full Post »

How’s your speech?

How has your talk been so far today?  We know that the Bible has a lot to say about the tongue. Two books deal more with our speech than any others in the Bible:  James and Proverbs.  Solomon shares rich gems of wisdom about the tongue.  Read, assess, and be changed today by God’s grace:

“When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.” (Proverbs 10:19)

“If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.” (Proverbs 18:13)

“The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.” (Proverbs 15:14)

“The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.” (Proverbs 15:28)

“The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.” (Proverbs 10:32)

“Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” (Proverbs 13:3)

Read Full Post »

Our own version of a prosperity gospel

David Mathis uses a quote from Richard Pratt to illustrate how we need to be careful of another kind of prosperity gospel we can easily fall into right now.  The way we do so is by turning proverbs into biblical promises.

Parents, a good word for us. Click here to find out what he’s talking about.

Read Full Post »

A lesson on laziness

Do you struggle with laziness? Are you a procrastinator?  What’s the book of Proverbs say about this? Want some biblical teaching on this issue?

Here’s a helpful overview  from Proverbs on the consequences, the characteristics, and the cure for laziness.

It’s worth looking at today. . . or you could wait I guess till tomorrow if you don’t feel like it right now.

Read Full Post »

Proverbs on quarreling

Kevin DeYoung:

Quarrels don’t just happen. People make them happen.

Of course, there are honest disagreements and agree-to-disagree propositions, but that’s not what the Bible means by quarreling. While studying Proverbs recently I was struck by the fact that most of the advice about conflict is not on how to resolve it, but how to avoid it.

Quarrels, at least in Proverbs, are unnecessary arguments, the kind that honorable men stay away from (17:14; 20:3). These fights aren’t the product of a loving rebuke or a principled conviction. These quarrels arise because people are quarrelsome. Some Christians have a lifeline to Speedway and love to pour gasoline on every tiny spark of conflict.

You don’t have to be a card-carrying member of the nice Nazis to believe that quarreling is wrong. You only have to believe the Bible (James 4:1). Hot-headed, divisive Christians are not pleasing to God (Proverbs 6:19). We are told to drive them out (22:10) and avoid such people (Rom. 16:17). This doesn’t mean we only huddle with the people we like. We are not talking about awkward folks or those who disagree with us. We are talking about quarrelsome Christians–habitually disagreeable, divisive, hot-headed church people.

So what does a quarrelsome person look like? What are his (or her) distinguishing marks?

Read the rest here!

 

Read Full Post »

Don’t flirt with temptation

I’m reading John Kitchen’s commentary on Proverbs as part of my daily Bible intake.  I found these comments from chapter 5,which deals with a father strongly exhorting a son to avoid adultery, full of gracious warning.

“There is more wisdom in never letting yourself be tested than in proving the strength of your convictions by flirting with temptations.” (p. 123)  Solomon exhorts us, “Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, ” (Proverbs 5:8, ESV).

“The passing pleasure of sin carries a high price and long-lasting consequences that are seldom contemplated before the illicit rendevous.” (pl. 124)

“As the diving board appears disproportionately higher after having climbed to the top, so the cost of a diversion into illicit pleasure looks infinitely greater after the pleasure has passed.” (p. 124)

Read Full Post »

Get this!

“You shall find this to be God’s usual course: not to give his children the taste of his delights till they begin to sweat in seeking after them.”–Richard Baxter

“Get wisdom, get insight!. . . Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight”–Proverbs 4:5,7

Read Full Post »