Week 22 Proverbs
I finished reading Nehemiah yesterday. Near the end of the second-last chapter I saw this: for in the days of David and Asaph, in ancient times, there were leaders of the singers, songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving to God
The reason I mention it is because while I was reading that exact verse I had one of those weird & sudden & unsettling out-of-the-blue questions flash into my mind. It was: why in the world am I reading this book because the whole exercise seems like such a pointless and stupid waste?
The question doesn’t come up too often. Occasionally it just kind of drifts out like a puff of smoke seeping through a crack in the ground from a sulfurous subterranean cave. It’s a here-then-gone question. But it smacks me with a powerful emotional Whap! A disregardable question that’s tough to disregard.
Anyway I started reading Proverbs this morning and in a nice follow-up coincidence Solomon starts out by giving a pretty good answer to my question: why in the world am I reading this because it seems like such a pointless and stupid exercise?
Solomon says: the purpose of these proverbs is to teach people wisdom and discipline, and to help them understand wise sayings. Through these proverbs, people will receive instruction in discipline, good conduct, and doing what is right, just, and fair.
None of which sound pointless and stupid.
Note: quotes from Nehemiah 12:46 (NASB) & Proverbs 1:2-3 (NLT)