Proverbs 12
One of my favorite television programs to watch is Judge Judy. Judge Sheindlin is a no-nonsense judge who doesn’t hold back what she’s thinking from the litigants who come into her courtroom. And one of the things she says often (especially to people who have lied or are trying to lie to her!) is, “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to have a good memory.”
Proverbs 7
It seems rather ironic that Solomon wrote so much about women. Since he ended up with 700 wives and/or concubines, it would seem he either didn’t take his own wise advice… or he gained some of his wisdom through unfortunate experience! Either way, I think we can learn something very important about God by comparing Him with the women Solomon has been referencing in the last few chapters of Proverbs:
Psalm 120
I love the abruptness of the Hebrew in the opening stanza of this psalm. The original wording of the verse goes like this: “To the Lord in my trouble—I called and He answered me.” (vs 1) The psalmist’s trouble is stressed in the first half of the verse, and then the two actions come like staccato thumps (only two words in the Hebrew) in the second half of the verse: Called. Answered.
Psalm 15
In English, when we say that somebody is “above board,” it means that they deal completely honestly and fairly with others. Ironically, its origins are from the gambling world: In a card game, if a person put their hand “below the board” (sideboard was a common word for table), it was easier for them to cheat. Keeping their hand “above board” ruled out the option of dishonesty.
DEUTERONOMY 25
God is a master of relationships, and the first key to any relationship is honesty. When you think about it, the whole world — even the universe — is in the mess it’s in because one of God’s creatures decided to be dishonest instead of honest. Up in heaven, Lucifer began spreading lies about God, and when Adam and Eve bought into his lies in the Garden of Eden, our planet began to descend into chaos.
Photo © Unsplash/Will O
Jacob wanted Rachel to wed.
Laban gave him Leah instead—
Makings of a Gordian Knot.
Of the two, Leah's working womb
Had Rachel spending days in gloom,
Though she had the love Leah sought.
We don't esteem our position,
Chained, as we are, by ambition:
We always want what we ain't got.
*Nove Otto: A poem with nine lines, eight syllables per line, and a rhyming scheme of aacbbcddc.
The sins of the fathers
are visited upon the children
unto the third and fourth generations.
/raise a child
and learn firsthand
the awful truth/
The Sins of the Fathers
silently transmitted (like DNA)
proudly passed down (like family heirlooms)
meticulously cultivated (like cherished hobbies)
systematically served up (like three meals a day)
Words /like birds/ fly
up down and around
in out
alighting departing
flitting
fluttering
fleeting
Actions
settle in
take root
cement
That Isaac weaved
his father's tangled web
is no surprise.
The miracle would have been
a son of Abraham
who didn't practice the deceit
that had permeated the air
from the first moment
he drew breath.
NUMBERS 30
There is a very simple point in this chapter: God listens when we speak. Our words are important to Him. And He wants us to take our words as seriously as He takes them.
Nowadays, business is run on the basis of written contracts. If you have to take a business partner to court, the court will make a judgment based on the terms of the signed contract. With little exception, what is contained in "the four corners of the contract" determines the outcome of the case.
