Day #170

Sermon - Audio
Proverbs 27-29 - Audio
Proverbs 27-29 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

27.2: Two things flow out of this proverb: First, “Don't toot your own horn”. Second, communities of faith should toot the horns of those who deserve honor.

27.3: When a fool speaks nonsense in the midst of a terrible situation and believes he is bringing wisdom it is unbearable.

27.9: It’s a huge deal to have wise friends who can give you counsel.

27.12: Fools go where angels fear to tread.

27.13: Another warning about promising financial backing for someone you don’t know.

27.14: For the non-morning person this is a great and important truth that morning people need t0 hear and understand.

27.23-27: On the surface these verses speak of the wisdom of caring for one’s flocks so that they are healthy and provide in turn for the needs of one’s family. These words, however, are part of a section of Proverbs that come from Hezekian Collection (Hezekiah was a king of Judah), therefore they more broadly speak of how a king needs to care for his people.

28.2: The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about how a society functions and how it is ruled. This Proverb is not calling for a single ruler, but it does make us ask about how our leaders interact and maintain the order of our society. This Proverb warns that when a country is rebellious it will produce a wide variety of opposing leaders. The result of this is disastrous. An example of a country’s rebellion and the result can be seen in the book of Hosea where many foolish rulers came over the people.

28.8-9: Based on verses like these in the OT, the church forbade lending until the time of the Reformation. During the reformation John Calvin and other discerned that loans were important for economic development. For the first time wealth was being created and not simply handed down from one generation to the next. In this context Calvin noted a difference between loans for capital development and loans in the Bible that were given to assist the poor in hard times. He continued to insist that loans to the poor be given without interest, but allowed loans with interest for economic development.

28.22: “Stringy man” is literally translated as “bad of eye” which was a Hebrew idiom for a greedy person.

29.4: A leader who is greed for wealth will destroy a nation. In a slightly different context Paul tells us that those who lead the church may not be greedy for gain or lovers of money (1 Timothy 3).

29.7: The rights of the poor are spelled out in different places in the Old Testament. They have the right to borrow money without interest, to glean fields, to have a kinsman redeemer and so on. A righteous man (note that in the Hebrew Bible Ruth follows directly after Proverbs and shows us just such a righteous man: Boaz) knows these rights. A wicked man ignores them.

29.9: Another reason that it does no good to argue with a fool. Also, such an argument brings grief to the wise person who has to listen to the fool rant.

29.11: Contrary to what many of have been told a truly wise person restrains anger rather than letting people have it with both barrels.

29.15: God expects parents and communities to train their children in his ways. Children do not simply come to faith on their own, it is a community effort to bring children up in the fear of the LORD.

29.16: The reality is that all wicked people and all wicked kingdoms finally do fall. Whether from death or decay they can’t survive.

29.17: For a child to give a parent “peace” or “rest” means that they don’t cause the parent concern because they have wandered from God’s ways. The idea of peace brings a picture of wholeness and well being.

29.18: Without the words of the prophets and the Torah a people cast off restraint and life outside of God’s wisdom. The perfect example of this is what happened at Mt. Sinai with the making of the golden calf.

29.20: Wise people are slow to speak, quick to listen because they know that a snap judgment or word can’t be taken back.

29.27: Whoever you are, someone will not like you.