Introduction to the first section

Posted on February 13, 2026 by Don Merritt

The first subsection in the “proverbs of Solomon” is chapters 10-12. Most of the subsections within this unit begin with the words “a wise son” as found in 10:1and 13:1. This first subsection contains maxims that are antithetical in their construction, meaning that each one contains a statement that illustrates a life of wisdom, and then an opposite statement that shows the principle in the life of folly. It is as if Lady Wisdom and Ms Folly are still debating their two sides of each issue, or more correctly, the results of their respective ways of life. As you will notice when you read these maxims, they are both powerful and practical for life’s application of their lessons.

Here are the first three of these, Proverbs 10:1-3, and a few thoughts of mine…

1 The proverbs of Solomon:

A wise son brings joy to his father,
    but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

We can begin to see Solomon’s approach right off the bat, here in the first verse. A wise son, and the result or blessing of his wisdom, versus the foolish son and the curse his foolishness has brought upon his poor mother. Although Solomon is painting with a broad brush in many of his wise sayings, they are true to life even after millennia have passed.

Here’s the next one, verse 2:

2 Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value,
    but righteousness delivers from death.

This one represents a common theme in Scripture: The short-term gain of disreputable behavior, versus the life-long, even eternal benefit of righteous living. Money and treasure cannot last; it can be lost, stolen, burned, or used up. Righteousness does not suffer these perils.

3 The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
    but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

Our last one for today brings another common theme from Scripture: God blesses the righteous, He sees the righteous through difficulty: He has their backs. The wicked are on their own in a dog-eat-dog world.

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Parable of the Weeds

Posted on February 13, 2026 by Don Merritt

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Matthew 13:24-30

The last thing anybody wants when they are planting seeds is to discover later that their seeds included the seeds of weeds, so seed providers are very careful to ensure that their seed packages are clear of such an infestation. In this parable, a farmer had good wheat seeds, free of weeds, but his enemy came into the field under cover of night and infested the man’s fields with weeds− nice guy.

Jesus began the story by saying that the Kingdom of Heaven is like that. I’m sure I don’t really need to explain this to anybody, but obviously, the Gospel is represented by the seeds, the enemy is Satan, and the weed seeds are the notions, cares and philosophies of this world. As the Gospel message begins to grow inside a person, the weeds of the enemy grow and seek to choke out the pure message of hope. In the end, when the time has come for harvest, the Harvester will pull out the weeds so they can be burned, and the wheat will be harvested.

You might want to take note of the apocalyptic implications of this, for when Jesus returns, those weeds in the harvesting fields will be separated from the harvest and burned.

We might also note, considering the previous passage, that the parables Jesus is using to explain the Kingdom are really not very hard to follow, unless of course, you just don’t want to follow them.

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Parable of the Growing Seed

Posted on February 12, 2026 by Don Merritt

He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

Mark 4:26-29

When I was in school, I was pretty good at science. When it was time for the test on seeds and plants and how plants grow, I could recall all the answers to the questions. I could say that the cells in the plants grow and divide, and that the DNA of the plant determines how they will grow and what parts form and all of that, but can I say that I understand how all of this happens; really understand? No.

Maybe you understand it, but I don’t, even though I could explain what I learned about it. Maybe you noticed the subtle difference between knowing about and understanding…

In this parable, Jesus is talking about the Kingdom; after all, He is on the Kingdom Tour… He’s talking up the Kingdom.  I know a lot about the Kingdom, and even though there are those who know more about it than I do, I know more than most. Yet can I say I fully understand it? No, not at all, for there is a component within the Kingdom that I cannot begin to understand fully, even though I know about it: The life power of God.

Down through the years, I have planted a great many seeds, maybe that’s why I do this blogging thing… maybe that’s why you do it, too. I’m not sure that I fully understand it, but I know that if you and I plant enough seeds, a crop will grow, and if we keep our eyes and ears open, we will see and hear evidence that tells us that a portion of the crop is ready for harvest. Hopefully, we’ll decide to get involved in that harvest and help to bring some of it in, along with unknown numbers of others all around the globe, for this is how the Kingdom works. I have harvested many in whom others planted the seeds, and many others have brought in a harvest from seeds I planted; it’s all good!

This is what Jesus is trying to teach here: Plant seeds, lots of seeds. Pay attention and bring in the harvest when and where the time is ripe. We don’t really need to understand every detail; we just need to plant, pay attention and harvest.

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An Interesting Challenge

Posted on February 12, 2026 by Don Merritt

Blogging through the Proverbs provides an interesting challenge, unique in my experience.  We have completed the first major section, chapters 1-9, and now we enter the second major section, chapters 10-22. This section, called the “proverbs of Solomon”, contains 375 maxims that are loosely organized and more or less disconnected from each other; each one can just as easily stand alone. Thus, the challenge is: How does one “blog through” something like that?

This question has been banging through my mind since January when I decided to take this project on, and I’ve been hoping for a brilliant idea by the time I arrived at this juncture, but sadly none has come my way. I have consulted the writings of others on the subject, and what I have largely found is that they “force” their way through these chapters as though there was something more cohesive to write about, but the best of the lot simply divided things up along the lines of its loose structure and then paraphrase each proverb, making them more complicated than they really are. Since I do not have a publisher demanding a commentary that includes Proverbs to complete a larger commentary set, I am free to reject this approach… and I have.

My plan through these chapters is to introduce each subsection briefly and choose a proverb from each chapter (at minimum) and post my reflections on it in a morning post. No attempt will be made on my part to cover each and every one of the 375 maxims in this section, so those of you who may have favorites along the way will likely not have any comments from me on them, unless you drop me a note to request one in particular. If you do so, then that’s the one I’ll pick. If all of you send in requests, if time permits, I’ll do all that are requested. In addition, there are a couple of “bonus posts” on Proverbs that I’d like to add into the mix as time goes on, and I’ll do that as well.

That’s it for now, see you next time!

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Photo of the Week: February 11, 2026

Posted on February 11, 2026 by Don Merritt
1114 046

This is Montpelier, the home of James Madison near Orange, Virginia on December 31, 2013.

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Parable of the Sower

Posted on February 11, 2026 by Don Merritt

Jesus tended to tell parables in bunches, and this is the beginning of the first of those bunches. You will notice that each of these texts is broken into two parts, with verses missing in between. Those are the verses we covered in our Introduction because they give Jesus’ reason for speaking in parables. Recalling that the reason He gave was that people with eyes that see and ears that hear will get the meaning, and the rest will not, you can easily see His application of that principle in these texts. Thus, we can say that Jesus anticipated that most people will choose not to hear His true message.

Mark 4:1-9; 13-20

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

—

Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

Matt. 13:1-9; 19-23

 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

—

Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Luke 8:4-8; 11-15

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

—

 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

In Matthew’s Gospel, this event takes place right in the middle of a section that recounts the growing Jewish opposition to Jesus. Increasingly, Jesus is really only preaching to His disciples, and you can see that in this case. In Mark’s account, this is a time when Jesus is still teaching about the Kingdom, but problems are growing.

It’s important to note here that each of the four Gospels is aimed at a different audience. Matthew is writing primarily to a Jewish audience and ties the story of Jesus into the larger context of Jewish history and prophecy. Mark is writing to a largely Roman audience, who take little notice of Jewish tradition, and concentrate on action and deeds. Luke is writing to a largely Greek readership and brings in mostly straight history. John, who doesn’t record any parable per se, is writing from a heavenly viewpoint, and gives the spiritual and strategic view of things.

These distinctions are often very subtle.

Notice that the real point Jesus is making here, is that, for whatever reason, most people are not going to receive His message. In our time, preachers and even teachers tend to emphasize the obstacles to receiving the message; a preacher might preach a sermon on rocky soil, for example. It has been a long time since I heard a sermon about good soil, and the results of the seed falling there. A disciple who makes disciples, multiplying 30 times, or 60 times or 100 times.

Jesus is teaching that lesson, and it would seem that only His disciples are likely to take His point. Thus, for a disciple of Christ, this is a rather important teaching in troubled times.

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

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Wisdom: A Better Way

Posted on February 11, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 8

In the last chapter we saw a steamy scene in which folly, represented by a wayward woman, leads a young man away from the paths of righteousness into a slippery slope that leads to his ultimate destruction. Now as we begin the twelfth discourse, another woman, Lady Wisdom, seeks to lead us toward the paths of wisdom, a road that goes to a much better place.

She is pictured at the place where the paths meet near the city gate, calling out to all mankind urging them to listen to her message. (1-5) She tells the people that her words are trustworthy, true, right and just, as she contrasts them with what is wicked, crooked or perverse; her teachings are right. She will provide knowledge and wisdom which are better than silver, gold or rubies. (6-11)

Next, she tells us about herself: She dwells with prudence and has knowledge and discretion. (12) She abhors pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech because she fears the LORD and that is to “hate evil.” (13) Then she tells us what she has to offer:

Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
    I have insight, I have power.
By me kings reign
    and rulers issue decrees that are just;
by me princes govern,
    and nobles—all who rule on earth. (14-16)

She loves those who love her and those who seek her will find her, and when they do, they will receive riches and honor. (17-18) Switching metaphors, she compares herself to a tree (cf. 3:18) that yields superior fruit. This tree of wisdom yields fruit that is better than the purest gold or silver, for it yields righteousness and justice; treasures better than mere earthly riches can ever be. (19-21)

In verses 22-29, Lady Wisdom tells the people that she has been around since the very beginning of time before the creation was complete, and then she says something very interesting:

Then I was constantly at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
    rejoicing always in his presence,
rejoicing in his whole world
    and delighting in mankind. (30-31)

This reminds me of the way that Adam and Eve lived in the Garden. They walked and talked with God, they enjoyed His presence, and they delighted in Him and He in them. Of course, they eventually took a different path, the path of folly. In our passage, here is Lady Wisdom calling humanity to return to the paths of God: Who will heed her call?

The chapter ends with wisdom’s exhortation to follow her ways, to receive her gifts, to follow the paths of righteousness and the ways of life; to reject the ways that lead to death. Does this remind you of someone?

For those who find me find life
    and receive favor from the Lord.

Proverbs 8:35

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The Parables of Jesus- Introduction

Posted on February 10, 2026 by Don Merritt

Jesus often spoke in parables, using them as a device to enhance communication.  In this, He was/is not unique, for people have used parables for as long as people have been communicating. A parable is a literary device that is used to convey meaning in an indirect way, to illustrate a point, for example, without being directly antagonistic or indelicate. They tell stories normally, but the stories themselves are not literally true; they are illustrative.

Abrahan Lincoln was known far and wide for his creative use of parables that were little stories from his days out on the law circuit in Illinois and usually began with something like, “that reminds me of the man back in Illinois who…” When he was finished with the story, his listeners would have gotten his point, and be laughing all around, even though the point may have cut very close to home.

Jesus used parables to convey spiritual truths which might be hard for a person to understand any other way, because spiritual truths are not always easy to explain, for a variety of reasons. They might also be hard to explain because they can very uncomfortably personal.

On at least one occasion, Jesus used parables for a different reason, a reason He explained to His disciples when they asked him His reasons. This occasion is recorded in Matthew 13; Mark 4 and Loke 8…

Mark 4:10-12

When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”

Matthew 13:10-17

The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
    though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
    you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people’s heart has become calloused;
    they hardly hear with their ears,
    and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,
    understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Luke 8:9-10

His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see;
    though hearing, they may not understand.’

This is all that is recorded for us that is directly from Jesus about why He was teaching in parables, and some of it might come as a shock: Was Jesus really trying to keep the Truth from people so that they couldn’t receive forgiveness?

I doubt it.

It seems to me that He recognized a very basic fact of human behavior, which is that people tend to see what they want to see, to hear what they want to hear, and to believe what they want to believe. At least in this occasion, He used parables so that people who were open to the truth would see it (eyes that see) or hear it (ears that hear) and to thus, believe it. All the while, the ones who were not open to the Truth remained clueless: It was their choice to do so, as Isaiah had foretold in Isaiah 6:9.

With this basic understanding of parables, we will get started in our study tomorrow, see you then!

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Innocence Abroad

Posted on February 10, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 7

The teacher changes his approach in the eleventh discourse of Proverbs; now he portrays Wisdom as a lady, a sister in fact, and Folly as a harlot to show a young man how he can find himself ensnared. We begin with the first five verses pretty much as we’ve become accustomed, with the teacher urging his pupil to pay close attention and to take his advice to heart. In telling his “son” to consider wisdom to be his sister, an image of love and closeness, yet also one of purity and honor, he is seemingly trying to make wisdom seem dearer than a mere abstract. The antagonist here will be the adulterous woman.

This time, he teaches his lesson in the form of a narrative; he sets the scene with himself viewing the street from behind a lattice, where he can observe events as they unfold and remain unseen. The young man who comes along is described as having “no sense” in the NIV. The Hebrew can also be taken as simple minded or not real smart; clearly, he is meant to seem as though he isn’t quite sure what he’s walking into. A woman comes out to meet the young man. She is dressed like a harlot and is clearly looking for action. She makes her move in verses 15-20; she is quite brazen; she has made preparations to entertain a man. It isn’t entirely clear whether she and this hypothetical young man are already acquainted or if he just happened along at the right time, but she seduces him in either case.

The trap is sprung in verses 21-23 as the young man is unable to resist her charms and off, they go. Yet the teacher makes it clear that the young man is really going to his doom. The woman is not a prostitute, she is a married woman whose husband is out of town; even if he is single, she is not and he has fallen into adultery. What will happen when her husband finds out what he has done? What if she becomes pregnant? What if she has a disease? By implication, it really doesn’t matter which peril befalls him, for the young man has gone where no man should go.

The conclusion is found in 24-27 and contains the sort of warnings we have come to expect.

To a modern reader this will likely seem just a bit sexist: The innocent young man, the wayward woman leading him astray… and all those old worn out images. In ancient times, warnings of this sort were always given to young men, for they, unlike young women, were able to roam more or less freely in the streets. Young women on the other hand, would have been protected from masculine predators and kept either at home, or under the watchful eye of a trusted relative. Thus, these warnings were written for young men. However, in our times, these warnings apply to both young men and young women, for both are subject to temptations and manipulation; both can be led astray by cunning people with ulterior motives. Thus, I would suggest that the principles taught are timeless: Beware!

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Blog Update

Posted on February 9, 2026 by Don Merritt

Happy Monday to Everyone!

I’m writing today to fill you in on some of my ideas for this blog, and to follow up on some ideas I had several weeks back when I posted an update. At that time, I mentioned that I would very much like to complete a series of posts on the Life of Jesus in a side-by-side study of the four Gospels, as I have done many times in my Sermonary teaching days. My concern going into that was really about the imitations of Word Press as far as presentation of four Gospels at once. A second concern is the length of that study in a blog format.

You might also recall that I did use this format with my series in December on the Christmas Story, but these issues weren’t a factor because no part of the Christmas Story is mentioned in more than one of the Gospels, and I thought that one went fairly well.

I am going to try another experiment, starting tomorrow at 11:30 am Eastern time. I will be running a series on the Parables of Jesus, and there are quite a few of them that appear in Matthew, Mark and Luke- John didn’t record any. The Introduction will run tomorrow, and even in the introduction, I have three Gospels recording the same explanation of why Jesus spoke in parables, and I am not satisfied with the way they display in Word Press…

Still working on it.

If you have any suggestions or ideas you’d like to share, I’d be very happy to hear from you; see you tomorrow!

Don

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