Community Memory

Proverbs 10:6-8:

6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
8 The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

I've mentioned the practical blessings that wisdom (wealth and long life) and submission brings. There are also benefits in community respect. The life you live determines how you are remembered. The last verse hints at what a "righteous" looks like. Heading good commands.

When to Work

Proverbs 10:5:

5 He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.

Work hard when the time is right. This isn't condemning rest or praising hard work for work's sake. It lays out when to work, during harvest. This is important when you realize what happens when you don't. The family relationship here is also not arbitrary because of how our effort impacts those closest to us.

Rewarded Diligence

Proverbs 10:4:

4 A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

The path to wealth is full of hard work. There are no get-rich-quick schemes. This is not so much a call for Christian capitalists as much as it is a description of the world. Though I believe it is an indictment against those able to work who don't. The Bible is full of verses calling us to help the needy. There is a clear distinction between sloth and need.

Encouraging a Good Appetite

Proverbs 10:3:

3 The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

The wisest thing you can do is to earnestly ask for Godly wisdom. Here is the promise that the LORD (capital letters imply God's personal name, Yahweh or Jehovah) will never let a soul go hungry. On the flip side, he promises to hinder immoral desires.

Unprofitable Profit

Proverbs 10:2:

2 Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death.

As appealing as ill-gotten wealth can be, it does not satisfy. Recent economic events can attest to that. Only real righteousness brings our greatest profit.

External Benefits of Wisdom

Proverbs 10:1:

1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

Here begins a new section of the book of Proverbs consisting of wise sayings from Solomon, a man famous for his God given wisdom. The first one here shows how our pursuit of wisdom has a direct impact not only our ourselves, but those around us. Wise children make their loved ones happy, foolish children bring them sadness. It seems obvious, but how often do we take others into account when we think about our own learning and discipline?

The Opposing Message

Proverbs 9:13-18:

13 The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
15 calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way,
16 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" And to him who lacks sense she says,
17 "Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant."
18 But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

The first part of this chapter we've seen wisdom, personified as a women setting a feast for all who are hungry. Here we see the opposite of wisdom, folly. Like wisdom, foolishness is in the center of town, calling out for followers. Both seek the simple, which suggests the wise will not fall for folly's trap. The difference between the two calls is in their message. Wisdom offers a feast, folly suggests stealing one. And where wisdom offers life, here the opposing message only delivers death.

Righteous Admit Unrighteousness

Proverbs 9:7-12:

7 Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
11 For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

Advice only helps if it is received. The scoffer (or one who ridicules others) arrogantly ignores suggestion. Sadly this response is not uncommon. Here (again), God's logic seems backward to us. The righteous man isn't the one who has it all together, it's the one who admits he doesn't. How do we find this strong humility? Understand God's greatness, or as it is put here, fearing God. The humble receive God's gifts, the proud deny their need for it. These words are helpful in our daily interactions with others, but also our daily interactions with God.

Only for the Simple

Proverbs 9:1-6:

1 Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars.
2 She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town,
4 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" To him who lacks sense she says,
5 "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight."

The house is sturdy, the feast is plenty, and the call has been made. The importance of wisdom has been belabored in the Proverbs, but yet there are many who don't come. At first glance it seems they aren't invited. Wisdom's helpers only call out to the simple. Then I'm reminded of the theme throughout the Bible. God pursues the poor, the needy, the enslaved. Not because they are in the most need, but because they are the most willing. A tax collector knows his sin, a pharisee does not. Wisdom calls out to the simple because the proud won't accept.

Wisdom of Salvation

Proverbs 8:32-36:

32 "And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.
34 Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.
35 For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD,
36 but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death."

Wisdom, who is speaking here, is more than just practical benefits and prudence in decision making. It is the gateway to salvation. Realization of our helplessness and acceptance of the grace offered in Christ is not only the wisest decision, it leads to Godly wisdom. All who desire it, gain it.

Joyful Creation

Proverbs 8:30-31:

30 then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always,
31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

Remembering that the speaker here is wisdom personified, it's interesting to see it's interaction with God. Before the world there was God, and the concept of wisdom. God in his wisdom joyfully created the universe. Delighting in the natural world, and his most prized creation, man. All too often Christians focus on how the world has been a series of failures (and it has). But it's important to remember what glory and excitement it was created under (and will one day return to).