Reading for January 22nd

Read Proverbs 8.1-36. In 8.1-36: Woman Wisdom and her blessings for her loyal disciples. The speech at personified Wisdom promising blessings balance her first speech (1.20-33) threatening those who left her. She appears in the busiest part of the city (vv. 1-3) and addresses the entire populace there, but singles out the simple (vv. 4-5). She establishes her credibility (vv. 6-11), promises her hearers skill in goverening along with riches and honor (vv. 12-21), explains her high status by her closeness to God at creation (vv. 22-23), and asks her followers to wait at her door as disciples (vv. 32-36). Unlike the seductive women in ch. 7 who speaks to a single youth in the dark of night, Wisdom addresses everyone in broad daylight, speaks trustworthy words and grants life rather than death. In verses 22-31: the verses are a cosmogony or creation account, which was used in ancient literature to explain and vailidate important aspects of reality. The first hall of the cosmogony (vv. 22-26) emphasizes the birth of Woman Wisdom before all else, thus underlining her unique priority. The second half (vv. 27-31) stresses her presence with God, I was there (v. 27)and i was beside him (v. 30). In verses 30-31: I was daily his delight ... delighting in the human race: The repetition of the words delight and rejoicing establishes a correspondence between Wisdom's delighting inthe Lord and her delighting in the human race. She bestows on the human race the wisdom and goodness that God put into creation. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 21st

Read Proverbs 7.1-27. In 7.1-27: An example of seduction by words. The tenth and final instruction is also the fourth of the four warnings against the seductive woman (2.16-19, 5.1-23;6.20-35). The preface (vv. 1-5) urges the disciple to become a lover of Wisdom rather than a foolish victim of the lying woman whose typical wiles are narrated. The woman is active and aware, speaking and acting decisively, whereas the youth is passive and naive, led in silence like a lamb to slaughter. The images are darkness and night, animals of sacrifice or the hunt, and death. In verse 4: You are my sister: A designation for the beloved used in love poetry (Song 4.9; 10.12; 5.1, 2). Other love terms are let us take our fill of love (v. 18; see Song 5.1) and the theme of finding and seeking (v. 10-15; see Song 3.1-4). In verse 14: Today I have paid my vows: An ambiivalent statement, which the youth takes as an invitation to a feast of meat offered in fulfillment of a vow, but which the woman intends its the sacrifice of the youth. Comparison with Jephthah's vow (Judg 11.30-31) is illuminating, for Jephthah also sacrifices an unsuspecting victim. In verse 20: He took a bag of money with him: the wife knows from the amount of money her husband took that he will be gone long eoungh for her to dally with the youth. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 20th

Read Proverbs 6.20-35. In 6.20-35: The dangers of adultery. The teaching 's parents, once memorized, becomes a lamp the exposes the danger of an adultress (v. 23). Unlike a liaison with a prostitute, whose hire is only a matter of money, an affair with a married woman can destroy one's life, bringing upon one shame, physical beatings, and an enraged husband. The instruction focuses more on the practical consequences of adulttery rather than on its theoretical immorality. In verse 30: Theives are not despised: A comparison is drawn betwen getting caught for satisfying one's appetite for food (a euphemism for the sexual appetite) and getting caught for adulttery. In the first case, a monetary payment makes things right. In the second, money cannot repair the loss of one's position inthe community or protect one from the vengence of a deceived husband. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 19th

Read Proverbs 6.1-19. In 6.1-19: Four short peces. The section is often judged to be an addition on the grounds that its topics and style are very different from the surrounding instructions. It is possible, however, that the editors wanted to insert related but miscellanous material at this point. Thematically, that section is concerned not with external obstacles to acquiring wisdom, such as violent and seductive women, but with internal obstacles, such as poor judgment (vv. 1-5) and laziness(vv. 6-11). It also sketches an evil character (vv. 12-15), which is wholly unacceptable to the Lord (vv. 16-19). In verses 1-5: Pledge: proverbs is entirely negative on the legal customs of a third party guaranteeing a loan (11.15; 17.18; 22.26), probbaly because it endangers the guarantor. In verses 6-11: Lazybones: proverbs look with disdain, and often humerously on the lazy person (for example, 10.4; 12.24; 24.30-34), preferring instead the energetic and responsible person. In verses 12-15: A scoundrel and a villian: A Proverbs type, who is here decribed as corrupt externally (mouth or speech, eyes, feet, fingers ) and internally (perverted mind). An evil destiny hangs over such a type. In verses 16-19: Proverbs often declares certain behavior "an abomination to the Lord" (see 11.1). Six and seven are an instance of ascending parallelism of numbers, like "three" and "four" in 30.18-19, 21-23. The organ such as the eye stands for the entire activity of seeing, an example of metonymy. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 18th

Read Proverbs 5.1-23. In 5.1-23: Choose the right woman! The teacher exhorts a youth to avoid adulterous liasons (the "wrong" woman, vv. 3-4) and to enjoy the company of his wife (the "right" woman, vv. 15-19). The poem has four sections (vv. 1-6, 7-14, 15-19, and 20-23), each of which begins with "my child" (implict in v. 15). Adulterous consorting with the wrong woman leads to loss of health (v. 9), dissipation of family wealth (v. 10), ruined reputation (vv. 9,14), and bitter regret (vv. 11-13). The context of Provverbs suggests a metaphorical level of meaning: Seductive and lying words lead one away from one's primary commitment to the tradition of wisdom. In verse 16: Should your springs be scattered abroad? A disputed phrase. Most probably, water is a metaphor for sexual pleasure, as exclusively with his wife in the context of the household. Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 17th

Read Proverbs 4.10-27. In verses 10-19: The two ways. The process of gaining wisdom is essentially the same in all instruction. One begins be memorizing the teaching and putting it into practice, then one receives wisdom as a gift. The passage develops the doctrine of the two ways, in which the moral life is dramatized as two competing paths, the way of wisdom and the path of the wicked. Each has its inherent destiny, represented here by the symbols of light and darkness (vv. 18-19). The two ways are not static, one must struggle to stay on the right path. It is possible to leave one path and walk on the other. In verses 20-27: Heed my words. This lecture emphasizes the vigo and sincerity for the pursit of wisdom The poem offers a psychological picture of discipleship. One perceives the teacher's examples and words through listening and seeing (vv. 20-27) and stores the perceptions in the heart (by memorizing them) where they are pondered (v. 23). One then puts into practice what one "knows," that which is in one'sheart or mind. Practicing wisdom means always speaking the truth (v. 24) and acting justly (vv. 25-27). Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 16th

Read Proverbs 4.1-9. In 4.1-9: The teacher's life as an example of wisdom. The teacher draws a parallel between his teaching his sons now and his father's teaching him as a youth. The authority of the teacher comes from obedience he showed to his father. The teacher now is a model of the blessings that come with reverence and obedience. In verses 4-9: Get wisdom: In vv. 4-6, the disciple is to take in the teacher's words and get wisdom. In vv. 6, 8-9 wisdom herself becomes active, guarding and honoring the disicple. Comments or Questions..