Wise Proverbs...
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A marriage with pure freindship is as an armed barge of iron;
But where a wife closes her heart and a husband stops his ears,
there is a shanty shack made of driftwood built on the sand of the sea shore.
But where a wife closes her heart and a husband stops his ears,
there is a shanty shack made of driftwood built on the sand of the sea shore.
Book of Proverbs 28:25 — Hebrew Exegesis
Hebrew (MT):רְחַב־נֶפֶשׁ יְגָרֶה מָדוֹן
וּבֹטֵחַ עַל־יְהוָה יְדֻשָּׁן
Transliteration:
Reḥav-nefeš yegāreh mādon; u-votēaḥ ʿal-YHWH yedushān.
“He who trusts in the LORD”
וּבֹטֵחַ (u-votēaḥ) — “but the one trusting”
- Root: בטח (b-ṭ-ḥ) — to trust, feel secure, rely upon.
- Participle form → describes a continual posture, not a one-time act.
- Implies settled confidence, resting weight upon someone stronger.
עַל־יְהוָה (ʿal-YHWH) — “upon the LORD”
- The preposition ʿal (“upon”) conveys leaning your weight on.
- Trust here is directional and relational — dependence upon Yahweh Himself.
“Will be prospered”
יְדֻשָּׁן (yedushān)
- Root: דשן (d-š-n) — to be fat, made rich, luxuriant, fertile.
- Passive (Pual) imperfect → “will be made fat / enriched.”
- Agricultural imagery: a field that is well-watered and flourishing.
- Abundance
- Vitality
- Blessing
- Inner flourishing
The First Line for Contrast
רְחַב־נֶפֶשׁ (reḥav-nefeš)
Literally: “wide of soul”- Idiom for a greedy, grasping, insatiable person.
- Someone with an enlarged appetite.
יְגָרֶה מָדוֹן (yegāreh mādon)
- “Stirs up strife.”
- Greed and self-reliance produce conflict.
| Self-expansion | God-dependence |
|---|---|
| Wide appetite | Leaning trust |
| Grasping | Resting |
| Creates strife | Receives nourishment |
Theological Insight
This proverb teaches a paradox:- The one who tries to enlarge himself creates turmoil.
- The one who rests his weight on Yahweh becomes inwardly abundant.
Application
Biblically, prosperity =- Inner security
- Freedom from grasping
- Steady provision
- Soul-nourishment
but a tree planted and watered.
It's better to have less unrigteousness than what you estimate yourself to have,
than to claim you're without sin and be a hypocrite.
than to claim you're without sin and be a hypocrite.
A couple from study abroad in mexico years back.
Everybody talks about the fair according to the time he had
And if my grandmother had wheels she'd be a bicycle
And then a few from the "apostle of common sense":
A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.
Everybody talks about the fair according to the time he had
And if my grandmother had wheels she'd be a bicycle
And then a few from the "apostle of common sense":
A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.
Proverbs 20:3—
It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.
It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.
I was going through Proverbs 8 in one of my devotional readings today and these verses stuck out to me:
Proverbs 8:32-36
Now therefore, O sons, listen to me,
For blessed are they who keep my ways
Heed instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.
Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.
For he who finds me finds life
And obtains favor from the Lord.
But he who sins against me injures himself;
All those who hate me love death.
Proverbs 8:32-36
Now therefore, O sons, listen to me,
For blessed are they who keep my ways
Heed instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.
Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.
For he who finds me finds life
And obtains favor from the Lord.
But he who sins against me injures himself;
All those who hate me love death.
Pro 30:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
One can reach for the stars with all their strength,
but they'll only tire their arms out if they can't actually grab them.
but they'll only tire their arms out if they can't actually grab them.
