1 Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.
2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
***3 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.
4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
5 Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.
7 Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.
8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.
***9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.
11 An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly.
13 If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.
***14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
Comment: We are dealing with wisdom literature when we read proverbs. Unlike commands, which when spoken by God are to be obeyed; unlike historical books, from which we may get glimpses of where God is leading and sometimes they may have doctrinal insights; but basically they are giving us history which gives us knowledge of the past from we are supposed to become wiser! Wisdom literature is to help us take knowledge and become wise! They take thought! Well directed thought! If I were to deal with these 14 proverbs deeply, you’d be reading until tomorrow! So I will just write about three of them, and leave you to think. Number 3 – The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts. Gold melts at 1064 celsius; silver at almost 1000 celsius – that’s hot! Why didn’t the writer use illustrations less demanding? I think because refining human hearts isn’t easy, and God wants the best for us. Number 9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. I wonder why the writer used the word ‘cover’? You can bury a dead body and cover a murder; you can cover a meal to keep the flies off; you can cover up a truth; you can cover up a wound and leave it festering underneath the dressing. I fancy the meaning is more like cover it by going to the roots of the problem and seeking healing. Definitely no gossiping! Number 14 – The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out. Should you put a finger in a hole in a leaking dyke in Holland? My mind goes to Barnes Wallis and the ‘bouncing bombs’ against the Germans to cause a leak in the Mohne Dam! What a mess that caused! So quit before a quarrel starts.
Prayer: May I love and develop wisdom, Father!
As I read it! 