Solomon Says...

Proverbs 19:

Proverbs gives a lot of attention to how prudence leads to a prosperous life because poverty can be so damaging and embarrassing. This doesn't mean that the rich are automatically good and the poor are bad. But we have to recognize that poverty can destroy our lives. Therefore, we should seek to follow biblical wisdom--not in order to get rich but in order to be free of the clutches of poverty and the power of the rich. Also, although the Bible speaks of God's compassion to the poor, it never glorifies poverty. 19:13 is probably a verse you've heard mentioned before..."a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping." We tend to think of the drip, drip, drip of the sink. However, they didn't have sinks. Solomon was probably referring to a leaky roof, something many people during this time had experienced. A leaky roof would not just be annoying, it would cause major damage to the house. Solomon is showing that a quarrelsome wife is not only a headache, but causes a great deal of trouble for the husband and everyone else in the house. In the last few verses of the chapter and into the next we hear about the 'mocker.' A mocker in Proverbs is someone who rejects wisdom, authority, etc. How do you address a mocker? Sarcasm! Notice verse 27..."stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge." It could be translated this way...'stop listening to instruction, my son, so that you may wander from intelligent words.' Gotta love sarcasm!