Through Solomon, we get to hear counsel from King David that appears no where else in all the historical accounts and psalms we have read. Proverbs 4:4-9 is a quote, or more probably a paraphrase or restating of things David said to Solomon.
Verse three seems to be saying that Solomon was an only child. He never met his only full-sibling; the older brother who died as judgement for David’s sin with Bathsheba.
The one verse I’d like to focus on in chapter 4 is:
“Remove from yourself deceitful speech, and abolish devious talk from yourself.”
Proverbs 4:24 LEB
While we usually (and rightly) take this to mean that we should not speak to others in any dishonest way, the way the LEB has rendered this passage made me consider that we should also remove deceitful inner-speech and devious self-talk.
Thinking is just internal speech. What you say to yourself is just as important as what you say to others. Perhaps more. The Enemy of our souls is a deceiver and the “Father of Lies.” If he can get us to come into agreement with a lie (which is exactly what happened at the Fall), then the lie – no matter how small – will work on us until it has pulled us far from the path of truth.
Aircraft pilots and ocean navigators have to watch their headings very carefully. A small deviation at the beginning can turn into being hundreds of miles off course.
What I’m trying to say is… You may have been told things as a child… led to believe you were incapable, not enough, too much, a burden, hard to love… And you may try to brush that off as a small thing. But do you agree with it? Do you inwardly – even a tiny bit – regard it as truth? And what says the Word of God about it?
Wisdom says you should come out of agreement with lies and put them far from you. Feelings will have to be re-informed of truth which we must all receive from the Word of God.
It would be a shame to be scrupulous about being honest with others while continuing to be dishonest with our own hearts.
Chapter 5 and the “Strange Woman”
She is not “strange” in that she has 50 cats and claims to have visited Mars on a flying saucer. She is strange as in – a stranger.
Remember how, in Song of Songs, we compared the intimacy of husband and wife to the High Priest going into the Temple?
🙄 Ugh! How can I forget? You’ve ruined me! I can never unsee that now, thank you very much.
(Sigh.) I’m sorry. Anyway…
The High Priest was the only one with access. Anyone else who entered faced the death penalty. Anyone besides the High Priest was considered a stranger. In fact, the term stranger was used of anyone not part of the covenant community.
😏 Authorized Personnel Only. Got it.
Well, it’s the same for the husband. For the High Priest of Yahweh to worship in the temple of another god or bring the worship of another god into Yahweh’s temple would be the worst offense. A married man being intimate with a woman who is not his wife is an enactment of idolatry.
😯 Oh… so that’s why adultery and idolatry are used like synonyms in the OT?
Yes.
🤔 So is that why Solomon married so many gals? That’s a lot of authorized access. 😏
Let’s forego comment on Solomon’s wives until we get to that point in the narrative.
Chapter 6
- 3 Things Warned to be Against, Yea, 4
- 6 – Yea 7 – Things Yahweh Hates
The 3 – yea 4 – things that Solomon warns against are split. Three in the first part of the chapter (v1-15), and another – also 15 verses – at the end (v20-35). They are:
- Guaranteeing a Loan (called “surety” or a “pledge”, it means agreeing to be responsible for another person’s debt)
- Laziness (seems to include lack of planning and procrastination)
- Worthless People (and keeping company with them)
- Adultery (or any emotional entanglement or flirtation with a married woman, heed to an adulteress, or engagement with a prostitute.)
The meat of this “warning sandwich” is a list of 6 – no 7! – things that the LORD hates. It reads a bit like a physical exam that goes from head to toe.
It’s interesting to note that Solomon had witnessed or knew about all of these in his own family. He knew what the unpleasant consequences were. He had to grow up with them.
- 👁️👁️Haughty eyes (basically eyes that look down on others)
- 👅A Lying Tongue
- 🤲🏼 Hands That Shed Innocent Blood (an oft overlooked argument against abortion)
- 🖤A Heart That Plots Evil
- 👣 Feet That Run to do Wrong
- 🤥 A False Witness who pours out lies
- 😠 A Person Who Sows Discord Within A Family
Let’s take a moment and reflect on this list. A few of these things could land you in prison. But some of them get barely a shrug. That’s OUR perspective. These are all equally hated by God. If God puts arrogance, dishonesty, and pitting people against one another on the same level as the murder of an innocent person, perhaps we should be more ruthless against those things in our lives and communities.
To The Reader 