Devotional

Wednesday, September 23, 2026   “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.” (Prov. 10:11) Proverbs 10 begins a section in which Solomon gives us short, compact sayings, frequently represented as contrasts: righteous and wicked, wise and foolish, diligent and lazy. Verse 11 belongs to a small cluster concerned especially with the use of the mouth. “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life” The Hebrew behind “fountain ...

Wednesday, September 16, 2026   “The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.” (Prov. 10:7) This chapter marks an important transition. Chapters 1–9 consisted largely of extended discourses on wisdom. Beginning with chapter 10 we find the shorter, compact sayings for which Proverbs is best known. This verse is a classic example of antithetical parallelism in which the first idea stands in sharp contrast to the second: the memory of the righteous is ...

Wednesday, September 9, 2026   “Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, reprove a wise man and he will love you.” (Prov. 9:8) Proverbs 9 presents the great contrast between Wisdom and Folly. After Wisdom’s invitation in verses 1–6, Solomon pauses in verses 7–12 to describe one of the clearest differences between the fool and the wise person: their response to instruction and correction. Verse 7 warns that correcting a scoffer may bring abuse upon the person ...

Wednesday, September 2, 2026   “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts. For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD. But he who sins against me injures himself; all those who hate me love death.” (Prov. 8:34–36)   Throughout Proverbs 8, Wisdom has been personified as a woman publicly calling people to listen. Unlike the seductive woman of the preceding chapter, Wisdom does not entice ...

Wednesday, August 26, 2026 “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate.” (Prov. 8:13) Proverbs 8 continues Solomon’s personification of Wisdom as a woman calling men to hear the truth of God. Earlier in the chapter Wisdom called to the naive and the foolish: “Listen, for I will speak noble things” (8:6). Verse 13 now tells us something essential about the character of genuine wisdom. Wisdom ...