I just finished my capstone paper for the Proverbs class focused on the heart.  It was an amazing study.  I had no idea how much the Bible speaks to the heart as the core of our full inner being.  Even though postmoderns might claim that the writers of Scripture actually were referring to the upper cortex or higher brain functions when they talked about the heart, I may disagree to some extent.  Yes, the higher brain functions to form beliefs, values, etc. but, its more than an academic construct.  There is feeling, passion and emotion with our faith and that must come from more than our logical side.  It is no wonder that the Sages teach the young to 'guard diligently' the heart for from it comes all the issues of life.

This week, for my capstone paper, I've been drilling down into various articles and pop media references to the heart and it's sway on decisions in life.  I'm amazed at how prevalent the idea of simply going with one's heart is for our culture.  Of course, by context, I think they mean feelings.  Comparing that with the many, many Biblical references to the heart (some 900 references!), it is clear that the heart may lead us up or down depending on a number of factors.  Overall, however, a heart not regenerated and made new by God is going to lead us down the wrong way if we blindly follow!

The NAIVE Wins!

This past week in the class, many people chose (including me) to focus on the portrait in Proverbs of the naive.  I'm wondering why that was?  Maybe there is a part of us that longs for a time when we didn't know as much about the world and didn't catch all the innuendos and doomsday predictions.  Staying naive about what is evil could get one into trouble, however, we're told in Romans 16 that we're to be innocent of evil.  Maybe innocent and naive are not the same, but, to me there is some similarity.

Choosing Words Carefully!

This week in the Proverbs class we're looking at what comes out of our mouths.  Not only does WHAT we say matter, but HOW we say it.  As James in the NT mentions (James 3:3-12), words can start fires like a rudder can turn a ship.  But, as Proverbs 15:1,2 state, we are wise to craft our statements and corrections and conversations in a way that helps, not hurts relationships.  This can apply even to hard topics and correction.  We can be gentle and sensitive rather than harsh, blunt and hurtful.  We can 'adorn' our words so that we build up, not tear down!

Fasting for Spiritual Growth

On day 4 now of the 'Daniel Fast' where the diet is attempting to follow the food requested by Daniel back in Babylon.  His actions seem to be in line with Proverbs 23:1-3 where there is a warning about fine food and a mixed motive ruler:  "When you sit to dine with a ruler,  note well what^[a] is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.  Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive."  Daniel and his associates, fellow Jewish exiles taken captive from their home in Judah in the 580's B.C., were striving to honor God with their food and diet (Daniel 1:6-16).  This may have seemed crazy for the Babylonians for them to desire fruits & vegetables rather than choice meats and sweets and simple water over fine wines.  So, my wife and I took on this similar fast to honor God and grow in our faith and trust.  Even though going without coffee is really tough, it feels great to sacrifice even in small ways to give God glory.  As Proverbs reads, I think many of us lean toward gluttony and crave the sweet stuff and the tasty, decadent food (2005, Waltke, NICOT, 239).  Rather than simply being satisfied with what we need, we crave and desire more and better.  May God help us embrace moderation with more diligence!

Work and Personal Integrity

This week we've been wrestling with what Proverbs says to work and diligence.  I've been thinking that this may in the running for my big capstone paper due to the discussions that have ensued.  This is a big issue.  Our work takes up a majority of our time and energy.  It provides for our financial needs.  It gives us some of our identity and our purpose, and, in many ways, HOW we work is a reflection on our own personal character.  The Bible has much to say about work and money.  Maybe a good dose of Solomon wisdom surrounding work could be helpful for each of us and the people we minister to in our community.

UPDATE - saw this today on the The Onion...fits the theme here:

My 'Either/Or' Quandary

After reading Proverbs 10-31 a few times through, I'm finding myself polarizing between the good and the bad, the righteous and the evil, the wise and the fool.  The black and white, either/or parallelism starts to push me toward extremes.  The righteous, wise, upright, good person is clearly the desired posture, however, humans have a sin issue, a bent toward evil, and a rebellious disease buried deep.  As  the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 7, we're a mixed bag of motives, emotions and behaviors.  How do we reconcile this with the antithetical parallelism that dominates Proverbs (Zuck 1995, page 155)?

A Stand-out Proverb

I am reading Proverbs a bit differently now as I'm being exposed to ancient poetry styles and grouping similar themed verses together topically.  Its like having some new lenses to view the Scriptures from.  There are many verses that can be paired up and arranged together, however, there is one particular verse of interest that seems to stand alone: Proverbs 16:6.  Although it ends with the recurring idea of 'the fear of the Lord' and the benefits therein, its a bit of a stand out phrase.  It struck me because it speaks of getting sin removed and paid for way in advance of Jesus Christ's ministry.  Here there is no mention of either animal sacrifices nor ritual cleansing.  The word in Hebrew for atoned gives the idea of a protective covering over something.  Its only used once in Proverbs so it tends to stand out to me.  I'm now excited to study this concept through...

Does anyone have a curiousity like mine to know what those other mysterious 22 books the Bible mentions that are outside our normal 66 book collection?  This website highlights the references in a nice way:

http://www.answering-christianity.com/lost_books.htm

In my next block of free time perchance?

Even a quick reading of the first 9 chapters of Proverbs confronts the reader with a teaching father.  What an advantage to a son to have a father spend the time going through what works and what doesn't work in this life.  My own father was largely absent during my formative years and even now I wonder what having a Godly father would have been like.  Wisdom is something that isn't just taught in an isolated classroom but in the daily life classroom.  What an asset for Solomon's sons to be taught like we see in Proverbs.  I pray I can be that sort of teacher for my son Dylan.

Just how LOUD is the 'woman of wisdom' versus the 'woman of folly' portrayed in Proverbs 1-9?  Both seem to be 'crying out in the street' raising their voices?  The woman of wisdom has built a nice place up on the heights for good visibility, has setup some nice feasts and offers life whereas the woman of folly is seductive, wild, simple, and appealing toward those who don't want to think too much.  Who finds the most success?  Wisdom isn't hiding but neither is folly and it seems folly is getting the upper hand - at least it did for Solomon later in his life...

In my quiet times with the Lord the last several years, consistently reading through Proverbs has been a staple of my Scripture plan.  I've always thought the first chapters were in fact more personal and focused on a relationship between a father and his son (namely Solomon and say Jereboam?).  Now that I've been studying more in depth, there is definitely a change of pace between chapter 9 and chapter 10.  I love how a whole new set of ideas are confronting me, like for instance, how the first 9 chapters set up the wisdom statements that follow starting in chapter 10.  There is definitely a foundation created in those first 9 chapters that I never really considered.  Once again, everytime we study, we find new gems in the Scriptures!  What other book is like this?

Proverbs and Amenemope

So even Solomon, in his immense wisdom, may likely have been influenced by the wisdom literature available to him as he composed his wisdom work Proverbs.   The Egyptian wisdom collection called The Instruction of Amenemope, written several hundred years before Solomon's birth, contains some similar phrases and notes of wisdom.  Now, as a new Christian or Bible college student, I would likely have been shocked by this.  How can that be?  Does this cast a shadow over the divine inspiration of Biblical books like Proverbs?  Well, even though knowledge of this may give rise to Bible critics and their theories, I maintain that Solomon would have been, as a literate leader, well versed in any available literature and if he found The Instruction of Amenemope helpful to his compilation, I am not offended.  In fact, I may be strengthened in my faith knowing that Solomon knew the importance of being well-read as well as well grounded in his relationship to God as his father David was.

I was unaware that there was another ancient wisdom document from Egypt called The Instruction of Amenemope that survived antiquity.  The entire document was quite interesting to read really...

Some light reading...mmmmkay?

I'm excited to be starting my journey toward a Masters degree with my first graduate level class through Corban University!  Proverbs here we go!