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 attitudes to them was enshrined in the Ten Commandments (see 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 (see Prov.30:12).
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 over what he observed in life. In the process, he found things that could not be satisfied: (i) Sheol – the resting place of the dead has endless candidates (see Prov.30:16). (ii) There was no satisfactory answer to a barren woman (see Prov.30:16). (iii) The ground is never over-saturated with water (see Prov.30:16). (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 (see Prov.30:17). He was amazed at the excuses given by adulterous women (see Prov.30:20). He also found some things captivating and unfathomable: – (i) The effortless flight of an eagle (see Prov.30:19). (ii) The serpent on a rock (see Prov.30:19). (iii) A ship in the middle of the mighty ocean (see Prov.30:19). (iv) Romance between a man and a woman (see Prov.30:19).