Archives: Pastors' Corner

I have always liked this section of Proverbs 6…let’s read verses 6-11: Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,  7 Which, having no captain,
Overseer or ruler, 8 Provides her supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest. 9 How long will you slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?  10  A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep—11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man. In the previous section Solomon wrote about the dangers of being surety for a friend in a […]

Growing up I often heard adults say things like, “Never co-sign a loan for someone else.”  As I matured I understood what this means.  If you co-sign a loan, then you are obligated to pay the loan should the person who took out the loan fail to do so.  That is sort of what the beginning of Proverbs 6 is warning against.  Let’s read verses 1-5:   My son, if you become surety for your friend,
If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,  2 You are snared by the words of your mouth;
You are taken by the words of […]

Let’s read the end of chapter 5 in Proverbs: Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.  16 Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?  17 Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you. 18 Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with the wife of your youth.  19 As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be enraptured with her love. 20 For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?  21  For the ways […]

Proverbs 5 continues with the theme of the dangers of sexual sin.  Let’s read verses 7-14 below:    Therefore hear me now, my children,
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.  8  Remove your way far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house,  9 Lest you give your honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;  10 Lest aliens be filled with your wealth,
And your labors go to the house of a foreigner; 11 And you mourn at last,
When your flesh and your body are consumed,  12 And say:
“How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!  […]

The Dangerous Path of Sexual Sin Proverbs 5 speaks to the dangers of sexual sin.  This begins a section of proverbs which deals with this issue.  We know that Solomon had hundreds of wives and hundreds of concubines.  A concubine was sort of a “royal mistress”.  I wonder if looking back on his life, Solomon began to see all of the errors of his ways in this part of his life.  Let’s read the first 6 verses:  My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
Lend your ear to my understanding,  2 That you may preserve discretion,
And your lips may keep knowledge.  3 For […]

A “Body” of Wisdom Please read these verses from Proverbs 4:  My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.  21 Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;  22 For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.  23 Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.  24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.  25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.  26 Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your […]

Do not enter the path of the wicked,
And do not walk in the way of evil.  15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.  16 For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;
And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.  17 For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.  18 But the path of the just is like the shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.  19 The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them stumble.  In this passage from Proverbs 4 […]

Years ago there used to be a TV show called “This is Your Life”.  It was a pretty interesting show, sort of like today’s reality shows except without the sex, cursing, violence and obvious situations which are not “real”.  The show was focused around one person and the show would bring back people from his/her past and reunite them and interview them.  It was sort of a warm-hearted show.  I was reminded of that show as I read the following verses from Proverbs chapter 4: Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, 
And the years of your life will be […]

I’m going to take a break from the usual to think about the context in which the verses below were written.  Remember that Proverbs was written by King Solomon, who was the son of David.  Solomon was Bathsheba’s son.  And Bathsheba was the one with whom David committed adultery and then had her husband Uriah killed in battle.  Solomon was born to David and Bathsheba after the child conceived in the adulterous act was killed by God as a consequence of David’s sin.  Now read these words from Proverbs 4: Hear, my children, the instruction of a father,
And give attention […]

Once again we see Proverbs as a book of contrasts.  In the verses below from Proverbs 3 we see a contrast between those whom the Lord is “for” and those whom He is “against”: Do not envy the oppressor,
And choose none of his ways;  32 For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord,
But His secret counsel is with the upright.  33 The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,
But He blesses the home of the just.  34 Surely He scorns the scornful,
But gives grace to the humble.  35 The wise shall inherit glory,
But shame shall be the legacy […]