Readings for: 
Monday, July 15: Proverbs 7 – 9 
Tuesday, July 16: Proverbs 10 – 12

Have you noticed the number of times that Solomon refers to the “prostitute” or the the fondness of women? Chapters 5, 6, and 7 have several references, that you could look back on to. They might seem off, but lets remember the inner courts of Solomon were likely filled with women as he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. (1 Kings 11:3) That’s a lot of women, and with that many ladies around I am sure they had an influence on how he saw the world and how his “wisdom” was shaped. Perhaps that helps refresh our memory on why Proverbs keeps pointing us to the prostitute, and lets hope that Solomon thought more fondly of his wives than as sexual servants!

As we turn to Chapter 10, we begin to get a better feel for how the rest of Proverbs will flow, with one short “proverb” after another. I had to laugh at the summary included in The Twibble, written by Jana Riess; She writes (or tweets) for Chapter 10:

“Here we get 20 chapters of wise sayings attributed to Solomon.
Or is court secretaries. Or random people 500 years later. Whatever.”
(The Twibble, pg 145)

So onward for another 20 chapters of wise sayings . . . .

Peace,
Pastor Bailey

Readings for the next few days: 
Wednesday, July 17: Proverbs 13 – 15 
Thursday, July 18: Proverbs 16 – 18
Friday, July 19: Proverbs 19 – 21
Saturday, July 20: Proverbs 22 – 23