A few weeks, I did a post on Proverbs 23, which admonishes us not to strain to become rich. As a follow up, I love the message I found in the Mercury News a few weeks back. The article details the life of Jim Safka, former CEO of Ask.com. Through a series of unfortunate events, Jim Safka is confronted with his own mortality and decides he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life slaving away at some job. (Yes, CEOs can be slaves as well. They report to the Board of Directors and to the shareholders.)
So he quit his job at Ask.com and found something closer to home and with some more flexibility.
Sounds like he really took Proverbs 23 to hearth, perhaps without even knowing it.
Verse 3:
When I was a boy in my father’s house,
still tender, and an only child of my mother
This is an interesting bit of narrative. Solomon was the son of Bathsheba. The woman with whom David committed adultery. He subsequently murdered her husband, and tried to cover it all up. But God knew better. But this seems to indicate that (at least for a while) Solomon was an only child. I wonder if he was always an only child, or if Bathsheba and David subsequently had other children who are not mentioned. Interesting…
This can’t be good news for Apple. Michael Arrington, one of the most powerful men on the web according to Forbes, is giving up his iPhone. He was an avid fan of the iPhone when it first came out, but apparently, the debacle over Google Voice was the last straw.
In the article, Arrington declares that he’ll be moving to an Android-based phone for the time being, and when Google offers Google Voice on the Palm Pre, he’ll move to that.
I’ll bet a certain CEO in Cupertino is about to blow a gasket.
Verses 1-2:
My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you prosperity.
Seems to me that Solomon is not only admonishing his son, but us as well, that the wisdom contained in the Proverbs is useful for prolonging life and bringing about prosperity.
Verses 5-6:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Two of my favorite verses in the entire Bible, and the very first two I memorized. Such a great comfort and affirmation. When we trust in God with all that we are, He takes care of the rest and makes our paths straight. It’s only when we fail to do this that we end up in trouble.
Verse 7:
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
An admonition to not be haughty or proud. It seems that fearing God and shunning evil go hand-in-hand.
Verse 6:
For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
This is why James so admonishes the “12 tribe scattered among the nations” to ask God for wisdom. He’s the only one who can truly give it to us.
Verse 12:
Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse
Does this seem to imply that wicked men are foolish? Not sure whether or not the context allows the converse to be true.
Verses 16-17:
[Wisdom] will save you also from the adulteress,
from the wayward wife with her seductive words,
who has left the partner of her youth
and ignored the covenant she made before God.
It’s an odd context to be reminded from. But this is a lesson Charlene and I learned in our pre-engagement class. When you make your wedding vows, they are not primarily to the other person. They are made primarily towards God. In that way, the other person’s actions have no bearing on our vows. It doesn’t matter what they do or what they say, the vows I made to God on my wedding day are still in effect.
According to this verse, the adulteress has ignored this covenant to God.
Verse 10:
My son, if sinners entice you,
do not give in to them.
Such a bold statement in the first Proverb. I like the admonition to refrain from being swayed by peer pressure.
Verse 20:
Wisdom calls aloud in the street,
she raises her voice in the public squares
I find it interesting that wisdom is personafied as a woman. (Not that women can’t be wise. I just find it an interesting way to anthropomorphize Wisdom.)
Charlene is already aware of this, but this was part of the set of criteria I was looking for in my future wife before we even started dating. I’ll do a more thorough analysis of some of the verses, but for now, here’s verse 10:
A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Indeed, a wife such as this is quite valuable. I am blessed to have a wife of noble character. They’re not impossible to find, but they are quite rare.