Category: Proverbs
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The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
One fatal tree there stands, of knowledge called,Forbidden them to taste: Knowledge forbiddenSuspicious, reasonless. Why should their LordEnvy them that? Can it be sin to know?Can it be death? Paradise Lost, Book IV Adam was given only one rule or commandment regarding food: he may eat fruit of any of the trees of the garden, […]
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Proverbs 11
Proverbs 11 is a contrast of the wicked and the righteous — their desires, means, and ends. The desires of the wicked are to undermine and destroy the righteous, to take what he can get, to amass for himself riches. He tears down his neighbor with his mouth, slandering and exposing secrets. He relies on his wealth and his […]
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Father to Son
It is significant that the book of Proverbs is addressed from father to son. Teaching should take place within an existing relationship of trust and love, and that relationship must be cultivated if teaching is going to be effective. An estranged son will not be receptive to the wisdom his father offers. But this is […]
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Song of Songs
The Song of Songs is both a mystery and a beauty. It is elusive, dancing lightly from image to image, and as such is difficult to get a solid hold of in any sort of narrative-historical or allegorical way. Even so, it has been counted by Jews and Christians throughout history as the height of […]
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The Many
Man, when treated as a figure in a sum, does not try to go back to his uniqueness and singularity. -Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy This immediately calls to mind the 99 percent movement. Someone stands up and says, look, all you 99 percenters, we are being oppressed by the one percent. They have stuff we deserve! None […]
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Sons of the King
Proverbs 16:31 through 17:6 are book-ended with references to crowns of glory, the wisdom of age that is gained in a righteous life. This glory is shared between generations, as Peter Leithart points out, “Old men are crowned by having grandchildren. Through grandchildren, old men can reach into a future they will never live to […]
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Teach them diligently
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deuteronomy 6:6,7 Children play a prominent role […]
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An Excellent Wife
This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Genesis 2:23 Proverbs is a book of kingly training, written by King Solomon for his son to learn to rule justly. Throughout the book, Wisdom is personified as a woman. In chapter […]
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Lady Wisdom
In Proverbs 9, Solomon contrasts the Lady Wisdom and the foolish woman, Folly. Together they cry out to the simple from the high places in town, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” After the invitation to come in, Wisdom instructs, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. […]