Bible Study this Friday at Church (room G234)

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?