Read the Bible in 2023 ◊ Week 30: Thursday
He who walks with the wise will be wise,But the friend of fools will suffer harm.
Thursday’s Bible reading is Proverbs 13. This chapter is in the third section of Proverbs: “The first book of Solomon.”1
As you read through these chapters of collected proverbs, a proverb may or may not be connected to the one that follows it, and a chapter probably won’t break easily into paragraphs. Look for themes you can trace through a chapter. I mentioned some in Proverbs 1: Wisdom & Children: relationship with the Lord, benefit of wisdom, results of foolishness, the snare of wicked companions, integrity, sexual purity, money, the tongue, scoffing, respect, anger and work. The tongue is one theme of this chapter, as is money, work, the benefits of wisdom and the results of foolishness.
Rather than seeing these chapters as a jumbled up basket of spools of thread. Think of each theme as a specific thread you are tracing through its weaving within the book of Proverbs.
Obviously, the main theme of Proverbs is wisdom, but chapter 13 includes a variation on wisdom and its benefits, your attitude towards a wise person who is trying to teach you wisdom, as well as the consequences of being foolish and despising wisdom. The father and son relationship is mentioned here as well as other wise counselors.
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
But with those who receive counsel is wisdom.
But the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.
The instruction of the wise is a fountain of life,
To turn aside from the snares of death.
Good insight gives grace,
But the way of the treacherous is unrelenting.
But he who keeps reproof will be honored.
Read this chapter and think about yourself. Do you seek out the counsel of those who are wise? For that matter, do you know how to measure wisdom and discern those who are wise? Proverbs can help you with discernment. Ask the Lord to bring wise people into your life and to help you discern and know those who are wise. Look for those who are godly and those who are humble and who speak God’s truth without retreat from it and with love for God and love for you. Talk with them—or read their books—and learn from them.
Consider those who are older than you are. While some only become more rigid with age or frozen in immaturity, the Bible teaches that those who are truly godly will grow in wisdom. You can benefit greatly from those who learned wisdom in their earlier years. Their experience of years of knowing the Lord, of knowing other people and going through the ups and downs of life can be of great value to you. Wise people point you to God and not to themselves. They can share the hard lessons they learned—their sins and God’s forgiveness and help. They can share their insights into people and relationships and difficult situations. They can offer encouragement and help you discern wise choices.
The verse I began this post with is one of my favorites in Proverbs. Walk with the wise and be wise.
For a brief overview of the main divisions of Proverbs see my post, The Book of Proverbs.
Silvesterzug Laterne: Bk muc. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spools Of Thread: USDA. Public Domain.
The Days Catch: Daniel Ridgway Knight. Public Domain.
1A. F. Walls, “Proverbs,” The New Bible Commentary: Revised, D. Guthrie, J. A. Motyer, eds., A. M. Stibbs, D. J. Wiseman, contributing eds., (Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove IL: 1970) 550.
I’m using Michael Coley’s Bible reading plan (one page PDF to print) to read through the Bible in 2023. Each day my posts are on different books because he divides Bible readings into seven categories, one for each day of the week: Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy and Gospels. There’s more information on his plan and other ones at Read the Bible in 2023.
Copyright ©2011–2023 Iwana Carpenter
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