Tag Archives: Proverbs

Disputes, part 2

Posted on March 23, 2026 by Don Merritt

From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled;    with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death,    and those who love it will eat its fruit. He who finds a … Continue reading →

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Disputes, part 1

Posted on March 20, 2026 by Don Merritt

Proverbs 18:15-24 is a section that deals with disputes, both their avoidance and ways to blunder into them unnecessarily. The first several verses deal with ways to avoid disputes… 15The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge,    for the ears of the … Continue reading →

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Enduring Spirit

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Don Merritt

The human spirit can endure in sickness,    but a crushed spirit who can bear? Proverbs 18:14 Studies routinely show that people of faith have a higher recovery rate from serious illnesses than those without faith. I doubt that many Christians would … Continue reading →

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Actions Relating to Friendship

Posted on March 18, 2026 by Don Merritt

V. 9: The slacker (one who doesn’t work) doesn’t produce, and the destroyer destroys what has been produced. The results are the same: there is nothing to show for one’s time and efforts, Therefore, they are said to be “brothers”. … Continue reading →

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More Contrasts

Posted on March 17, 2026 by Don Merritt

Chapter 18 is an interesting one; it seems to have a theme loosely structured by friends and foes. This develops quickly in the first four verses: An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends    and against all sound judgment starts quarrels. Fools find … Continue reading →

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Promoting Restraint

Posted on March 16, 2026 by Don Merritt

These last three verses of chapter 17 promote restraint. They do so in our actions, in our temperament and in our speech. If you stop and think about it, we all know that the people we respect, that we consider … Continue reading →

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Parental Tranquility

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Don Merritt

These verses can be understood in context by noting the similarity of vv. 21 and 25. Because of this textual feature, we can understand vv. 22-24 as referring to the relationship of parents and children, especially parent pf disappointing children. … Continue reading →

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The Keys to Tranquility

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Don Merritt

Most people would like to live a tranquil existence, even carefree if possible. Solomon has given us five verses here in chapter 17, which present some keys to finding tranquility. Looking at the first one, it doesn’t take a genius … Continue reading →

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Disruptions of Tranquility

Posted on March 11, 2026 by Don Merritt

11 The “rebellion” here under consideration was anarchy against the existing government. With the monarchical form of government of those days, this was common and accounted for many assassinations. When any such rebellion was detected, the rebellion was immediately put … Continue reading →

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The Pursuit of Tranquility

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Don Merritt

Chapter 17 has a theme which is that there is an ambiguity to human actions; we seek one thing and often get another instead. With that in mind, the first 10 verses show an ambiguity in our pursuit of tranquility. … Continue reading →

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