PROVERBS 27

PROVERBS 27   (KJV)

   1) Boast not thyself of to morrow;

     for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

   2) Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth;

     a stranger, and not thine own lips.

   3) A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty;

     but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.

   4) Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous;

     but who is able to stand before envy?    

   5) Open rebuke is better 

     than secret love.

   6) Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

     but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

   7) The full soul loatheth an honeycomb;
     but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

   8) As a bird that wandereth from her nest,
     so is a man that wandereth from his place.

   9) Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart:
     so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.

   10) Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity:
     for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

   11) My son, be wise, and make my heart glad,
     that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

   12)  A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself;
     but the simple pass on, and are punished.

   13) Take his garment that is surety for a stranger,
     and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

   14) He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,
     it shall be counted as a curse to him.

   15)  A continual dropping in a very rainy day
     and a contentious woman are alike.
   16) Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind,
     and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.

   17) Iron sharpeneth iron;
     so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

   18) Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof:
     so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

   19) As in water face answereth to face,
     so the heart of man to man.

   20) Hell and destruction are never full;
     so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

   21) As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold;
     so is a man to his praise.

   22) Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle,
     yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

   23) Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks,
     and look well to thy heards.

   24) For riches are not for ever:
     and doth the crown endure to every generation?

   25) The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself,
     and herbs of the mountains are gathered.

   26) The lambs are for thy clothing,
     and the goats are the price of the field.
   27) And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food
     of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.

DEFINITIONS

wrath:  extreme anger; rage; fury

COMMENTARY

   Verse 1)  This is self-explanatory.  We are not promised tomorrow.

   Verse 2) The politicians should pay attention to this verse, but so should we.  If we have to brag about ourselves or what we do, surely we are coming up short.  If we are not impressive enough for someone else to notice, maybe we should try harder.

   Verse 4:  We are directed to the story of Joseph and his brothers to understand envy (Genesis 35 - 43).  Wrath and anger are hot sins, but envy is cold-blooded, calculating, and cruel.  Rather than envy, we should try to be content whatever our situation and not get our self-worth by comparing ourselves to others.

   This (envy) reminds me of the late Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Street Sweeper Speech", which you can find here:  https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/2015/01/dr-martin-luther-king-jrs-street.html


   Verse 6:  We are reminded of the deceitful kiss of Judas which signaled his betrayal to Jesus; we see Jesus as that faithful friend.

   Verse 7:  Let me see if I can do justice in explaining this verse:  When your belly if full, you don't bother to find more to eat, even if it is your favorite food.  However, if you are hungry, well, look at how people in third world countries live.  Some scour trash heaps for food.

   Now, let's apply this to the spirit:  There is so much information and entertainment available today, that we fill ourselves on that which is worthless to our relationship with The LORD.  Who has time for religion?  Furthermore, some of us act like we don't need to use our time to study The Holy Bible, because we know it all.  We are like the Pharisees, strutting about like a peacock, but our hearts are full of pride and we are heading straight to Hell.  The Holy Bible is The Living Word, It speaks to us and guides us EVERY DAY!  It brings us closer to our LORD.  We should hunger for The Word, even though It frequently convicts us of our sin and moves us to repent.

   Leave me a comment and tell me how I did on this.

   Verse 10:  A friend who has been tried and tested is to be valued.  A friend close by is better than family far away.

   Verse 11:  I personally, have to add this Proverb to the Fifth Commandment.  Honor your parents that you don't bring shame on their good name.  They work hard to establish a good name by their good character and fear of God.  Don't destroy that, but work hard to do even better, be even better than they are.

  Verse 19:  If I am understanding the commentaries on this verse, it says that as we see our reflection in water, so we also see our reflection of our hearts in each other; that is why we have the circle of friends we have (if their hearts are not like ours, we move to others who do reflect our hearts). 

   Have you accepted the precious gift of salvation?  You are encouraged to visit our "Pathway to Salvation" page:    https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html

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