June 4 - Proverbs 4-6: Investing in Wisdom and Good Women

Today’s Reading: Proverbs 4-6

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

There are things God hates. Take note.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Listen to my father's passed-down-generation-after-generation advice. Buy Wisdom and search for Understanding—it's worth the investment.
Evil people dream of evil deeds. Their road leads to darkness.
Listen, your heart is the source of life. Stay on the right path.
A seductive woman is bad news—stay far away. Stay with your own woman; it's better.
If you make a terrible mistake, rectify the situation without delay.
Work hard like the ant. Lazy people wind up poor.
God hates six things and loathes seven: arrogance, lies, innocent-murders, evil hearts, cheap thrills, truth-evading, and family-busting.
Don't commit adultery. It's deadly. Don't.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Invest in Wisdom and Understanding

One of the issues schools have today is how to help students gain a love of learning while teaching them what they need to know. Schools could teach thousands of facts, but if the student is not invested in learning they are not prepared for life. When we invest in wisdom and understanding (with our foundation set in God) our lives become beautiful. Think of the most beautiful people you know. They are most likely lifetime learners.

The road of the wicked looks like an easy bypass but is a death road.

The get-(insert here)-quick scheme always seems the best until you start doing what they suggest. Then you realize it isn’t as easy as you thought. They have either tricked you into going down the hard path or are trying to get your money/life. The "bypass" around the hard parts of life turns out to be a road of bones—dark and treacherous because of the dangerous people there.

Stay away from cheap women.

"Nothing but Sin and Bones" is the heading for this section in The Message. In reality, that is what a woman who seduces men becomes. Stay away! She only leads to tears. In reality, her love cannot satisfy as much as a woman who makes you "earn" her love. Compare the outcomes from the lovers in the Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) to the lovers of "cheap thrills woman" or the Seductress. Solomon wanted to pound this into our heads. It's repeated tomorrow as well. Stay away from cheap, seductive women. Find a woman who helps you earn her love. They're worth the investment.

Don't wait to set things right.

Solomon uses the negative side of this coin to illustrate how important setting things right should be. If you make a mistake go quickly and set things right. There's no time to lose! Maybe your swiftness can help you get out of the bad decision. If you make a mistake, set things right now! Don't wait!

God hates things that do not set things right.

God is Love (we'll read that in the New Testament). Yet even He hates when people do not set things right. All seven prevent things that set things right. Purge yourself of these seven things:

eyes that are arrogant,
a tongue that lies,
hands that murder the innocent,
a heart that hatches evil plots,
feet that race down a wicked track,
a mouth that lies under oath,
a troublemaker in the family. (6:17-19, The Message)

What are your investments?

June 2 - Song of Songs (Song of Solomon): Pure Love Allowed to Ripen

Today’s Reading: Song of Songs (Song of Solomon)

The Message


English Standard Version

Today’s reading is the entire book of the Song of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon (book 13). It is a love poem between a man and a woman with a chorus interjecting to ask questions. It is frustratingly vague as to who the woman could be; therefore, it is placed in this position.

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Each person earnestly desires to be with the other.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

This is the best of all songs--Solomon’s song!
A woman calls out to her lover because she misses him while he works. They lovingly exchange intimate feelings of love. They compliment each other on their beauty and strength. They belong to each other. Being apart causes anxiety.
One night, he came to her door asking to come in. When she finally opened the door, he was gone. She went looking for him but was caught and mistreated. She does not wish to ever leave her lover again! Each tell of their lover’s wonder and long to reunite soon.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Do not rush love—allow it to bloom until it is ripe.

The woman in this song repeats this theme three times. True, wonderful love is allowed to ripen before it is taken and consumed. What wise advice for lovers of any age. Don’t rush into a relationship—allow it to blossom and grow naturally and it will be enjoyed by both. When love is prematurely devoured it leave both sides feeling worse.

Be possessed with love—do not possess love.

The woman twice exclaims “My lover is mine, and I am his” (2:16, 6:3, The Message). They also humble themselves to believe they did not “earn” the love of the other but were brought up to a higher place. Neither believes they “own” the relationship and allows the other to possess them. When you allow your lover to possess you, you realize that your feelings toward each other glue you together instead of chain you up.

Why is this book here?

This question applies to this book more than most. It does not discuss God’s love with His People. It does not even include God’s name. So why is this book here? I believe it is here because the Song of Songs—Solomon’s Song displays pure love between man and woman. It shows what love can be when it stays unmolested by either side taking control or allowing cheap love alternatives to spoil it.

Do you have a ripened love?