Category Archives: Wisdom

The feminine role model for men?

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16 A gracious woman gets honor,
and violent men get riches.
17 A man who is kind benefits himself,
but a cruel man hurts himself.
18 The wicked earns deceptive wages,
but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.
19 Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live,
but he who pursues evil will die.
20 Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord,
but those of blameless ways are his delight.
21 Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished,
but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.
22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
is a beautiful woman without discretion.

via Passage: Proverbs 11 (ESV Bible Online).

I started this post thinking to only include the first three verses. But it suddenly looks to me like the second mention of a woman could count as the end of a thematic piece. Perhaps more on that later. Notice now how verse 16 contrasts a woman and a man. Both get stuff they want. Verse 17, however, informs us that kindness helps men as well as women. Cruelty hurts the practitioner.  Then verse 18 points out that the riches gained by violent men won’t actually profit them.

I thought of these three verses while listening to a news roundup on TV which brought up recent celebrities who have mistreated women. The consensus was that men are savages without the help of women to bring civilization. My first reaction was to reject this idea, and I do reject a lot of the Darwinian framework in which this claim is usually fit.

But it does seem like Solomon observes that some women learn wisdom by adapting to their lack of power and that men would be well-served to observe their ways and refuse to use the power they have to get what they want. There are better ways to get there, and the wise woman, the woman Wisdom, knows it.

Introducing the speech issue in the second book in Proverbs

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I’ve already mentioned how Proverbs 10.1-5 form an introduction to the second book in Proverbs. It lays out foolishness and wisdom as basic choices related to whether one will plunder or produce. The next seven verses are a second stage introduction which adds to the choice between plunder and productivity the issue of speech:

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.

9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

10 Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,
and a babbling fool will come to ruin.

11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
but love covers all offenses.

A few comments:

The speech of the wicked is contrasted with the fact that the wise listen (v. 8).

Two kinds of speech are condemned: mindless chatter and scheming deception (v. 10)

Scheming doesn’t work because it gets discovered (v. 9).

In the end it is all about choosing love over hate (v. 12).

Wise speech is life-giving because it is selective and thus rare. This section begins with listening rather than babbling and ends with covering offenses in silence.

Watch out for the heresy ladies and schism grrls

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I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.

via Passage: Romans 16 (ESV Bible Online).

From Proverbs 2:

My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.

So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;
none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.

From Proverbs 5:

My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
incline your ear to my understanding,
that you may keep discretion,
and your lips may guard knowledge.
For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil,
but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
sharp as a two-edged sword.

From Proverbs 6:

My son, keep your father’s commandment,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching.
Bind them on your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
to preserve you from the evil woman,
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

From Proverbs 7:

Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
to keep you from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words.

The Protestant Love Ethic

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While in pagan mythologies Wisdom and Love are two very different and often-conflicting goddesses, in the Bible, Sophia is both. The evidence is not only in Canticles but in Proverbs. Proverbs is the love book.

Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated always in her love.

Hatred stirs up strife,
but love covers all offenses.

[“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” — 1 Peter 4.8]

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is
than a fattened ox and hatred with it.

Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

[“…does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. — 1 Corinthians 13.6]

A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.

[Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. — 1 Corinthians 13.7]

As a book about love, Proverbs stresses peace with and help to others.

Hatred stirs up strife,
but love covers all offenses. [again]

Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense,
but a man of understanding remains silent.
Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets,
but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.

The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife,
but every fool will be quarreling.

And more conventional “charity” is also covered. Helping the poor is an important concern in Proverbs:

Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner,
but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.

Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker,
but he who is generous to the needy honors him.

Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD,
and he will repay him for his deed.

Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself call out and not be answered.

Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed,
for he shares his bread with the poor.

And yet along with all these imperatives to love and share and promote peace, we find the basics of the market ethics laid out. In fact, in the second section of Proverbs, it is laid out right at the beginning. Proverbs 10.1-5:

The proverbs of Solomon.

A wise son makes a glad father,
but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
but righteousness delivers from death.
The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.

Notice the argument of these first five verses that set up everything that follows:

  1. You can be wise or foolish
  2. You can try to steal, plunder, or cheat but God will not allow you to prosper.
  3. The way of prosperity is faithful work. That is the wise way to go. Don’t be a shameful/foolish son.

In the second of the awesome Keynes v. Hayek rap-videos, “Hayek” pleads:

We need stable rules and real market prices
So prosperity emerges and cuts short the crisis
Give us a chance so we can discover
The most valuable ways serve one another

I know that Hayek’s claim that the market is a means of serving others will meet with mockery and derision by some. But “Hayek” is obviously right and wise. Solomon would agree. Right along with loving your wife and refusing the ways of violence and theft and deceit (“force and fraud” as the Libertarians would put it) is the command to work hard, to save money, and to try with all diligence to become rich if possible.

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

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;
he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

The reward for humility and fear of the LORD
is riches and honor and life.

Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

What shows that we live in a foolish age is that we don’t see how all these imperatives to love entail and demand imperatives to work hard and save in order to build wealth. But it is the most obvious thing in the world:

How do you love your neighbor?

You help them out in their time of need.

How else?

Many ways.

And what don‘t you do?

You don’t rob or kill them.

Duh.

But a major point of Proverbs is that decisions to do right and refrain from wrong demand other decisions so that you can become a person who can do right. In this case, if you don’t want to take from others, you need to endeavor to provide for yourself. If it is more blessed to give than receive then it is more blessed to produce than to consume. And if you can’t support yourself, how can you ever help others? You will be too busy begging them to help you, and resisting the urge to steal from them. As the Apostle Paul summarized:  “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Ephesians 4.28).

Supporting oneself is fundamentally an act of loving one’s neighbor. Not everyone is able to do it, but everyone should want to do so. Because everyone is supposed to love.

In other words, if “capitalism” means a free market (rather than a crony kleptocracy), then to oppose capitalism is to oppose love and promote hatred.

Capitalism is the Marxist term for Christian society.

Related:

Biblical parenting?

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Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it. Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed.

When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” And Moses cried to the LORD, “O God, please heal her—please.” But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

via Passage: Numbers 12 (ESV Bible Online).

So is this some kind of example of “law” that we must look to “the Gospel” in order to be rescued from it? But how can it be “law” for God to acknowledge Miriam as a daughter and wait for her to be reconciled to Himself and the rest of her family (including Moses’ “foreign” wife)?

And in any case, Paul uses exactly the same ideas.

As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

via Passage: 2 Thessalonians3.13-15 (ESV Bible Online).

Nero never lasts

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It is an abomination to kings to do evil,
for the throne is established by righteousness.

via Passage: Proverbs 16:12 (ESV Bible Online).

I have never had time to prove all the ways this is true, but Romans 12 is stuffed with Proverbs. The point where he is acknowledge to quote Proverbs is almost misleading because almost everything else he says in chapter 12 is also from Solomon.

And if you know Proverbs, then the transition to Romans 13 makes complete sense. Paul’s perspective ™ on kings is Solomon’s view of kings. Objectively a king must practice righteousness to prosper on the throne. Evil kings there are many, but they always undermine their own dynasties.

And your job is not to talk up rebellion, but to appeal to the king’s only real source of security: you are to treat him as a judge who must do right.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

One thing that might help here is to realize that Solomon’s perspective is multi-generational. The righteous prosper through their children and grandchildren while the wicked are removed from power and wealth in three to four generations. Perhaps I can show that in a another post some time.

(The ™ thing is kind of an inside joke. If it doesn’t mean anything to you, don’t worry about it.)

Why rebellions don’t work (especially when they succeed)

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Solomon tells us to stay away from political revolutionaries. I think Solomon is inspired by God so I can’t accuse him of self-serving advice. And besides, his father, despite his career as an outlaw of sorts, set a consistent example.

So why stay away from revolutionaries?

Lets say that a country is run by a regime that is evil and oppressive. God sees it and decides it would be good to change it. So he searches about the land for some other culture or faction that would make wise, just, and good rulers over the country. After all, if the next regime will be as bad or worse, then unless God really wants to punish the population for some crime, he will keep things as they are rather than make them suffer all that turmoil and harm for nothing.

So will God choose people who want power?

Will he choose people who think that the world needs them to be in control because they alone are right?

Will he choose people who can’t tolerate opposition?

Will he choose people who respond to adversaries by lashing out?

Will he choose people who long to destroy all their enemies?

Look at it this way: Either the world is changed by God in his providence or he has left us alone to save ourselves. If the latter is true, then the qualities of a good ruler will be whatever are best suited to take power by any means necessary. Otherwise, he cannot ever gain power. But if God gives authority to those he wants to have it, then other considerations should be important. If one wants to be put in power one must develop the will and skill to use power in a way that God commends. In that case, gaining more power is not your primary responsibility. Your responsibility is learning to do well with what little power you already have.

Will God prefer people who are cheerful in adversity, humble about themselves, and able to extend mercy, be tolerant, and show prudence?

If God prefers these latter qualities, are they ones he is likely to find in rebel movements, even those that have a just cause?

If you want a new and better government you need to be one first. Rebellion (or talking up rebellion) is not a path to that end.

Murray Rothbard’s testimony about Ludwig Von Mises as an exile teacher in the US

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…So in this state, Mises comes to the United States, he’s penniless, he’s about 60 years old or so. He starts writing in a new language, and he can’t get an academic post. This is the eternal blot on academia. This is a situation where every Marxist and semi-Marxist and three-quarter Marxist was getting cushy top chairs at Harvard and Princeton and whatever, and Mises couldn’t find an academic post, and he finally got one at NYU as a visiting professor with a salary paid for by outside businessmen and foundations. Same thing happened to Hayek. Hayek’s salary at the University of Chicago was never paid for by Chicago; it was paid for by outside business groups.

As a result, Mises was scorned, the dean was against him, the dean advised people not to take his courses and things like that. He was in a fantastically miserable situation, and yet–and here’s where I come into the picture; I get to know him at this point–when he started a seminar at NYU.

…How did he act? It was magnificent, I couldn’t believe it. He was cheerful, was never bitter, never said an unkind word about anything, any person, and very sweet, and it was just a magnificent experience…

One reason it is better to make a habit of not talking (or blogging, ironically)

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So while I was trying to memorize Proverbs 10 (done, by the way, but I think telling you means I just lost my reward in heaven), I had my son help me. And he stopped me at this one:

The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,
and whoever utters slander is a fool.

Does this means we’re supposed to be open about our hatred?

I suggested not, that we shouldn’t hate at all.

But what if one is in the presence of someone that one justly despises? If it is wrong to have lying lips, what does one say?

I came up with a second option: get into the habit of not saying anything. If you don’t normally speak then you won’t be put in situations that tempt you to have lying lips.

It wasn’t until a week later, or more that I noticed how this proverb works with the next one. In fact, they may really count as one proverb:

The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,
and whoever utters slander is a fool.
When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

So there you go.

You need trained soldiers in your army

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No matter how awesome you battle plan or how ingenious your general, a conflict can only be won by trained troops. If the soldiers run in the face of danger, don’t listen to orders, or don’t follow orders; if they get into arguments that distract them from their duties, they are doomed.

Soldiers can’t expect to do well without weapons and armor, but also weapons and armor will be wasted if the soldiers aren’t trained to constantly care for their equipment.

Likewise, sports. The greatest coach in the world cannot bring a team to victory if the players won’t exercise or practice.

Solomon knows that God has given the law. But he also knows that you can’t follow it naturally. No, I’m not talking about “the natural man,” I’m talking about the impossibility of relying on habits and impulses alone to guide you in a course of action.

Any course of action.

God made us this way. Sin had nothing to do with it at this level. If all humans were supposed to do one and only one thing throughout history, then it could have been wired into us. But God had more diversity in mind. So we can shape ourselves (or commit to shapelessness). We can drive ourselves (or be driven by forces outside our control).

And since this is the way we are, submitting to God’s commands takes a similar form. You can’t decide not to lust after a woman in your heart without mapping out and practicing certain responses with your neck, face, and eye muscles when your walking across the mall and the Victoria’s Secret store is by your path. Oh, you can “decide” all you want. But until you’ve got your body parts working in formation, it will be a fruitless promise. “Let not him who puts his armor on boast as he who takes it off.”

I was talking to one of my son about some of these concepts. He watches more basketball than I do (so do you, probably; he also watches a fair amount). He told me that he’s noticed that some players, when they disagree with the ref, simply cannot shut up and end up getting their whole team penalized.

Here are people who have forced their bodies into shape doing amazing things and yet they unable to overpower their own mouths?

You are not just a soldier in God’s army, you are a heavenly host. Your eyes, hands, feet, and mouth are your soldiers. Your soul is your drummer keeping time. You need to get him to slow down if he is prone to charge at the wrong occasion.