Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 681 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday. Every Wednesday along life’s trails we dig for the nuggets of wisdom that are found within the book of Proverbs. Today we will explore Proverbs 24 from The Voice Translation which will give us a fresh perspective on this book of timeless wisdom.
We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Since Paula and I will be traveling for business the last half of August and I am recording all these podcasts in advance, we will be substituting our regular podcast with short Wisdom Nugget episodes for three weeks, except for our Wisdom Wednesday episodes. After that, we will return to our regular format.
Today in Proverbs 24 we will learn…
The first half of this chapter (1-22) contains the final twelve of the “Thirty Sayings of the Wise.” The “do not” theme from Chapter 23 continues here: don’t envy (1), don’t lie (15), and so on (see verses 17, 19, 21). Wisdom is often measured by self-control; desire is managed by discipline.
Again, the voice of the father is imploring us to take this seriously. Notice the wisdom of Proverbs is laced with parental care, nurture, and love? The next time the Lord tells you “Do Not,” please remember that it stems from a heart of Fatherly love.
At verse 23 a new, small collection begins called “The Wise Also Say” (verses 23-34). Here are the main ideas of this small collection:
Verses 23b-25 prepare us to recognize good from bad in both words and work. If you think about it, words and work are the sum total of a person’s life, and they determine the quality of that life. If you were to measure your life with these sayings, how would you fare?
Listen intently as I read Proverbs 24.
1 Do not envy evil people
or seek their friendship;
2 For they are conniving and violent,
and all they talk about is causing trouble.
3 Wisdom is required to build a house;
understanding is necessary to make it secure.
4 Knowledge is needed to furnish all the rooms
and fill them with beautiful...
