Proverbs 30:10-20
Q.1. Why should we exercise caution about speaking against others? What clues did Solomon give for when examining our own hearts? – (Prov.30:10-14)
Jesus taught – Do not judge and you will not be judged, and do not condemn and you will not be condemned; pardon and you will be pardoned (Lk.6:37). Solomon also called us to place a guard on our speech. He exposed the blindness and arrogance of those who sit in judgment of others – 12 There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes yet is not washed from his filthiness. 13 There is a kind–how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance (Prov.30:12-13). We should be especially careful about the way we speak about our parents because this was enshrined in the Ten Commandments (Prov.30:11 & 17 c.f. Eph.6:1-3). Solomon, as did Jesus, advised us to examine our own hearts. We are not to think too highly of ourselves or too lowly of others.
Q.2. What things cannot be satisfied? What caution did Solomon give to children and adulterers? What things did he find hard to fathom? – (Prov.30:15-20)
Solomon liked to ponder what he saw. In the process, he found things that could not be satisfied: (i) Sheol – the resting place of the dead has endless candidates. (ii) There was no satisfactory answer to a barren woman. (iii) The ground is never over-saturated with water. (iv) The fuel to keep a fire burning is inexhaustible. He warned that a child who fails to respect his parents will come to ruin (Prov.30:17). He was amazed at the excuses given by adulterous women (Prov.30:20). He also found some things captivating and unfathomable: – (i) The effortless flight of an eagle. (ii) The serpent on a rock. (iii) A ship in the middle of the mighty ocean. (iv) Romance between a man and a woman.