Passionflower wrote:

Proverbs 8 verses 22-31, which starts: 'The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old'
What does anyone think this means?

Apart from that, I get that this proverb is about the value of wisdom. Grateful for anyone's thoughts on my question

22 "The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. 23 I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth; 26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, Or the primeval dust of the world. 27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep, 29 When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, 31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world, And my delight was with the sons of men.

I interpreted that as wisdom personified speaking. So it is saying that from the beginning God possessed wisdom and through wisdom He created everything. Before His works of old - before the creation. Before there was an earth, before He separated the waters in Genesis 1, etc. It is personifying wisdom so it says wisdom was beside Him acting as His craftsman. So this is metaphor; there was not a separate person "wisdom" there. But it was God's wisdom through which He crafted all creation.

The Matthew Henry Commentary says: That it is an intelligent and divine person that here speaks seems very plain, and that it is not meant of a mere essential property of the divine nature, for Wisdom here has personal properties and actions; and that intelligent divine person can be no other than the Son of God himself.

It then links this to John 1. You can read a very long explanation from Matthew Henry (scroll down to the section entitled Verses 22-31) or a Concise Matthew Henry Commentary.
 

Ok, lots in Proverbs 10. I am reading it and pondering it. Will post more extensively later. But all the focus on the tongue and on being careful how we speak reminded me of a lesson I learned.

So, I frequently worked remotely and my IT Manager absolutely knew this, that I was a heavy remote worker and I would log into my account from home. So, I was trying to log into my account and could not get in. So, when I went into the office the next day, I see a note on my desk from the IT Manager saying he had to change my password and come see him to find out what it was. Well I thought that was crazy to not call me or tell me before hand. Putting a note on my desk when I am rarely in the office was not going to be helpful. How would I know there was a note on my desk? I would just wonder why I could not log in and I was unable to get my work done.

So, I was so mad, in fact I was livid. I went to him and boy was I going to lay into him and tell him how "stupid" that was. Well before I could speak he said, "Oh I had to change you password and since I know what a strong Christian you are I changed it to xxxxx." He had changed it to something that pointed to my commitment to Christ. Boy did I feel convicted because I was about to not act very Christian. I am so, so, glad that I did not have a chance to say anything first. Boy did God protect my testimony and His reputation. But a very good reminder for me to be careful with my words and anger. The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

James 1:19-20
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Courntey has a great post on this today as well at Good Morning Girls.

Last edited by TBG (6/26/2015 11:35 am)

                                        
                                             Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
                                                                  (Proverbs 10:12)

                                                                   H  eavy heart
                                                                   A  nimosity
                                                                   T  roublesome
                                                                   R  evenge
                                                                   E  vil
                                                                   D  evil

Hatred may begin with a heavy heart, but it can be softened by the power of the Holy Spirit through forgiveness. But…when we do not allow the process of restoration to take place, we hold animosity which means we never really deal with the root of the issue. Roots are hard to dig up and a root of hatred is not easy to get rid of; however, with prayer, fasting, and the indwelling of Holy Spirit it is possible to break the chains of hate. Sometimes we don’t want to put in this kind of effort, so we never really deal with the heart of the matter which becomes troublesome to our mind and spirit. We deny our own soul the freedom of becoming a well spring of life. Hatred is death it is the opposite of life. It may even lead to revenge which is evil and playing into the devil’s hands.

Let’s free ourselves from hate and choose life.

Have a wonderful day,

Theresnoplacelike Home  

Last edited by Theresnoplacelike Home (6/27/2015 4:36 pm)

Week of June 29
This Week’s Reading Assignment
 
S.O.A.K. any verse of your choosing.
 
Monday
Reading: Proverbs 11
Optional GMG Discussion Question:
Living righteously brings us life, how are we to pursue righteous living?
 
Tuesday
Reading: Proverbs 12
Optional GMG Discussion Question:
It is foolish to do what is right in our own eyes. When have you chosen to listen to someone else's advice and not do what you thought should be done?
 
Wednesday
Reading: Proverbs 13
Optional GMG Discussion Question:
When we are corrected and accept it, we will receive honor. How have you seen this come true in your life?
 
Thursday
Reading: Proverbs 14
Optional GMG Discussion Question:
Everybody has an opinion to share, but we must be careful to consider where God is directing our lives. How do you weigh the opinions of others before acting on them?
 
Friday
Reading: Proverbs 15
Optional GMG Discussion Question:
When we speak we can bring life to those around us. How do you strive to ensure that your words speak life?

Memory Verse

Proverbs 10

Sorry I was away traveling and getting back into the swing of things, but I'm back!

What stands out in this chapter is how careful we should be with our words. We should always bring forth wisdom, positivity and insight as Christians when we speak. I definitely work on this one daily. Here are the repetitive scriptures that bring it home mentioned in this chapter.

The mouth of a good person is a deep, life-giving well, but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭10‬:‭11‬ MSG)

You’ll find wisdom on the lips of a person of insight, but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬ MSG).

The more talk, the less truth; the wise measure their words. The speech of a good person is worth waiting for; the blabber of the wicked is worthless. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭10‬:‭19-20‬ MSG)

A good person’s mouth is a clear fountain of wisdom; a foul mouth is a stagnant swamp.
The speech of a good person clears the air; the words of the wicked pollute it. (‭Proverbs‬ ‭10‬:‭31-32‬ MSG)