This Friday we will be finishing, Lord willing, chapter 6 in Proverbs. I encourage you all to read over the text each morning, it only takes a few minutes, and to think over some of the questions so that we can all participate in the discussion on Friday.
Here are the questions to think over as you read the text. I have included the actual verses from the ESV translation to assist in your reading.
Proverbs 6.20 ¶ My
son, keep your father’s commandment,
and forsake not your
mother’s teaching.
Proverbs 6.21 Bind
them on your heart always;
tie them around your
neck.
Proverbs 6.22 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.
Vs 20 -- What does it mean to "keep" and "forsake not?" This is very similar to what phrase in Prov 1:8?
Vs 21 – “Bind” and “tie” signify what? What
verses in chapter one do these verses recall? To “bind always” carries what
kind of meaning? How might you do this
in your life? Are you doing it? What might it mean to “tie the commandment
around your neck?”
Vs 22 – “They” is really a singular “it” in these verses. What might this "it" refer to? What does this mean that "it"will lead you, watch over
you and talk with you? Can you think of any verses in the New Testament that might support this
idea?
Proverbs 6.23 For
the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline
are the way of life,
Vs 23 – Word
translated as teaching here is “tora.” What does it mean that, "the reproofs of discipline are a way of life?"
Proverbs 6.24 to
preserve you from the evil woman,
from the smooth tongue
of the adulteress.
Vs 24 – Do you
have any notes in your bible here? What are they? What are the two types of
women here? What keeps you from these women?
Proverbs 6.25 Do
not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her
capture you with her eyelashes;
Vs 25 – What New Testament principle does the first part of this verse recall? What does the
word “capture” bring to mind? What progression, if any, do you see in the son’s
situation within this verse?
Proverbs 6.26 for
the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,
but a married woman
hunts down a precious life.
Do you have a
note here in your bible? What does it say? How might you paraphrase the first
part of this verse as it’s written and as it’s written in the note? How about
the two parts of this verse together? What is being contrasted in this verse
with and without the note? Is
going to a prostitute condoned by these verses?
Proverbs 6.27 Can
a man carry fire next to his chest
and his clothes not be
burned?
Proverbs 6.28 Or
can one walk on hot coals
and his feet not be
scorched?
Vs 27 & 28 --
How does this rhetorical question fit with the rest of the verses in this
chapter? Would you view it as a punishment from God if you burned your feet
when you walked on hot coals? Why or why not?
Proverbs 6.29 So
is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
none who touches her
will go unpunished.
Vs. 29 – What
word ties this verse to the proceeding verses? If we follow the hot coal
example where does punishment come from? What
can you learn from the punishment of an adulterer from this analogy?
Proverbs 6.30 People
do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his appetite
when he is hungry,
vs 30 – what is
the only other reference to food in this chapter?
Proverbs 6.31 but
if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;
he will give all the
goods of his house.
Vs 31 – Where is
the other reference to being caught in this chapter? How might these verses relate to the prostitute and adulteress parallel?
Proverbs 6.32 He
who commits adultery lacks sense;
he who does it destroys
himself.
Vs 32 – Who
destroys adulterer? Who made things that way? What does this tell us
about God’s view of adultery?
Proverbs 6.33 He
will get wounds and dishonor,
and his disgrace will
not be wiped away.
Vs. 33 -- Who is the "He" here? What
will he get?
Proverbs 6.34 For
jealousy makes a man furious,
and he will not spare
when he takes revenge.
Proverbs 6.35 He
will accept no compensation;
he will refuse though
you multiply gifts.
Vs. 34 & 35 -- Who is the man
here? “For” ties jealousy to wounds and dishonor. Whose
jealousy is being referred to here? What is connection between this jealousy
and God’s punishment which adulterer is responsible for?
