Are Proverbs promises?

[Annie]

Rationalistic folly of heart I fear. You haven't all the facts and so you reach the wrong conclusions because you haven't sought them by faith. Your logic reminds me so much of the sadducees trying to prove to Christ with their logic that there is no literal resurrection. :sad

Psalm 37:37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

Think about that verse and see if you can find the answer to Proverbs 16:7.

What you have done here is precisely what needs to be done when interpreting the Proverbs; thank you! I was hoping that someone else would bring in other Scripture rather than simply interpreting this proverb at face value. As I said earlier in this thread, Proverbs taken at face value (without being qualified and clarified by other Scriptures) do not communicate everything God is teaching us about those issues. (The whole reason this thread--which was originally about child rearing--morphed into a discussion about Proverbs is that some were making statements like the ones directly above, without considering other Scriptures.) So, thank you again for reinforcing the point that other Scriptures need to be considered.

[Revelation3:20]

I was hoping that someone else would bring in other Scripture rather than simply interpreting this proverb at face value.

Sigh... I am interpreting proverbs at face value. I believe your problem is that either consciously or unconsciously when you come to different passages you don't understand you view the scriptures as containing apparent contradictions that you must reconcile rather than viewing them as containing truths you have not yet discovered. A seemingly small difference in approach, but it is the difference between unbelief and faith, and that radically effects your conclusions. On the one hand you will only have human rationalism, and the often flawed, stumbling results of that, but on the other hand you can have the wonderful light of God which seems to grow more and more until that the perfect day. If you would abandon the former and follow the latter you would never want to go back.

BTW :bd: Annie.

[Annie]

Sigh... I am interpreting proverbs at face value. I believe your problem is that either consciously or unconsciously when you come to different passages you don't understand you view the scriptures as containing apparent contradictions that you must reconcile rather than viewing them as containing truths you have not yet discovered. A seemingly small difference in approach' date=' but it is the difference between unbelief and faith, and that radically effects your conclusions. On the one hand you will only have human rationalism, and the often flawed, stumbling results of that, but on the other hand you can have the wonderful light of God which seems to grow more and more until that the perfect day. If you would abandon the former and follow the latter you would never want to go back.[/quote']
I think maybe "at face value" was a poor choice of words on my part. I do not see Proverbs as "contradicting" any other Scriptures, and I don't feel that I have to try to "reconcile" the Scriptures. I do think that we should interpret Scripture with Scripture. That's what I think you have done with the proverb about "a man's enemies." I agree with your approach, if not your conclusion.

Thanks...but my b-day's not until October. :ooops :tum (I need to check my profile; I must have put the wrong date somehow--hee hee, very funny!)

EDIT: I found out what I did. On the profile page, the birth DAY is listed first, then the MONTH. I was born 10/4/73, but since I wasn't paying attention to the order when I filled it out, my birthday is listed as 4/10/73. Funny!

[His by Grace]

The answer I found spoke volumes to me: Psalms 37:39-40 But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him. I just wanted to share how the LORD had blessed me thru this not cause any arguement!! In Christ, His by Grace

Rationalistic folly of heart I fear. You haven't all the facts and so you reach the wrong conclusions because you haven't sought them by faith. Your logic reminds me so much of the sadducees trying to prove to Christ with their logic that there is no literal resurrection. :sad

Psalm 37:37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

Think about that verse and see if you can find the answer to Proverbs 16:7.

[Jerry]

I missed this thread until it resurfaced just now.

Proverbs contains many promises - and also contains many true statements of fact. We can take them all at face value - all of it applies to the believer. Like any other portion of Scripture, we are to study to shew ourselves approved unto God and not rip one verse out of context - no verse is intended to stand alone, apart from the rest of the Bible.

As far as Psalms go, they were meant to be taken at face value as well. We take the figures of speach literally - as a picture of something - then go the to rest of the Bible to see what God intends by that picture. No, God does not have wings - but what the passage teaches about being under His wings is very true and is a promise to those who abide in Him. For example, just like the armour of God - no, we do not literally put on physical pieces of armour - but what those pieces refer to and where they go are to be taken at face value. His truth is to be the belt that binds about me, God's righteousness is to cover my heart, His helmet of salvation is to cover my head/mind - so that it affects my thinking, His shoes of peace are to be on my feet leading me where He would have me go and be a witness, His Sword and shield of faith are to be in my hands and used daily to ward off the attacks of the enemy and strengthen me in all my spiritual battles.

[Anon]

We can't forget the free will of man either. I mean my parents made alot of mistakes. But they tried their best to raise me. And I think I would be considered to be going in the "way I should go". However tomorrow I could choose to leave my family and shack up with someone and totally reject church. Does that mean God broke a promise to my parents? Does that mean my parents messed up? No it means I didn't have my own relationship with God and I used my free will to sin. God will not force me to "behave" just because He needs to reward good parents.

I don't think its really a promise...I think Proverbs is mostly "facts of life". Its a fact that if you raise your kids right, they will most likely turn out right. Not always...not completely...but its something we should go by. My husband believes that even if someone is lost, if they would follow Proverbs, they would be a successful person because its full of basically "right living" and "successful living".

[John81]

We can't forget the free will of man either. I mean my parents made alot of mistakes. But they tried their best to raise me. And I think I would be considered to be going in the "way I should go". However tomorrow I could choose to leave my family and shack up with someone and totally reject church. Does that mean God broke a promise to my parents? Does that mean my parents messed up? No it means I didn't have my own relationship with God and I used my free will to sin. God will not force me to "behave" just because He needs to reward good parents.

I don't think its really a promise...I think Proverbs is mostly "facts of life". Its a fact that if you raise your kids right, they will most likely turn out right. Not always...not completely...but its something we should go by. My husband believes that even if someone is lost, if they would follow Proverbs, they would be a successful person because its full of basically "right living" and "successful living".

Very true Suzy, and there are examples of all this throughout history.