Proverb 27 (NKJV)
My Son, Be Wise
01 Do not boast about tomorrow,
00 For you do not know what a day may bring forth.
02 Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth;
00 A stranger, and not your own lips.
03 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
00 But a fool's wrath is heavier than both of them.
04 Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent,
00 But who is able to stand before jealousy?
05 Open rebuke is better
00 Than love carefully concealed.
06 Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
00 But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
07 A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb,
00 But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
08 Like a bird that wanders from its nest
00 Is a man who wanders from his place.
09 Ointment and perfume delight the heart,
00 And the sweetness of a man's friend gives delight by hearty counsel.
10 Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend,
00 Nor go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity;
00 Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.
11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad,
00 That I may answer him who reproaches me.
12 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself;
00 The simple pass on and are punished.
13 Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger,
00 And hold it in pledge when he is surety for a seductress.
14 He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,
00 It will be counted a curse to him.
15 A continual dripping on a very rainy day
00 And a contentious woman are alike;
16 Whoever restrains her restrains the wind,
00 And grasps oil with his right hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
00 So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
18 Whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit;
00 So he who waits on his master will be honored.
19 As in water face reflects face,
00 So a man's heart reveals the man.
20 Hell and Destruction are never full;
00 So the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
00 And a man is valued by what others say of him.
22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,
00 Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.
23 Be diligent to know the state of your flocks,
00 And attend to your herds;
24 For riches are not forever,
00 Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
25 When the hay is removed, and the tender grass shows itself,
00 And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in,
26 The lambs will provide your clothing,
00 And the goats the price of a field;
27 You shall have enough goats' milk for your food,
00 For the food of your household,
00 And the nourishment of your maidservants.
The purpose of Writing the book of Proverbs was to reveal the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations. It appears that no topic escaped King Solomon's attention. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and Godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings.
Without wisdom, knowledge is nothing more than an accumulation of raw facts, influenced by emotional feelings. Many highly educated people are in positions of power in the United States, but very few of those educated leaders have the wisdom needed to rule properly.
One can say that they have been educated well beyond their intelligence. A cursory look at the court system will prove my point that knowledge without wisdom will only lead to an immoral society that eventually crumbles from within. Judges are supposed to be above the fray, and immovable to emotions. Instead, the vast majority of judges today are Godless individuals who are vacant of wisdom. So their rulings are totally based upon emotional feelings.
We the people are to blame, because we ignored God's guidance in appointing our leaders. Instead of putting leaders full wisdom in power, we instead chose those who would scratch our itchy ears to lead us.
Of the 31 Proverbs, only the first 24 were written by Solomon. King Hezekiah wrote 5, Proverbs 25 to 29, Agur wrote Proverb 30, and Lemuel wrote Proverb 31. Now many believe Lemuel was in fact King Solomon and Lemuel was just a nick name his Mother, Bathsheba gave him. We are told that Solomon write over 3000 Proverbs and composed 1000 songs, but the only Proverbs God decided to preserve for us are Proverbs 1-24. Like the New Testament epistle by James, it is impossible to get a chronological outline for a study since they all bounce from subject to subject.
Along with my daily routine of reading the Bible, I try to read through the book of Proverbs once a Month. It's an easy task when you consider there are 31 Proverbs. So all you need to know is what day of the Month it is. In the Months that have 30 days, or in the case of February, I just double up by reading more than one two proverb so I can begin the next month with Proverb 1 on the first again.
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