September 30

Sep 30 - Today from Proverbs 30 we look at verses 11 and 17
"There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; The eye that mocks a father, that scorns obedience to a mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures."

Proverbs 30 is a real challenge to the Western mind. Whoever Augur was (verse 1), he had a true Eastern philosophical approach. Western thinking is more on the pragmatic side. Factual, actual and to the point. Eastern thinking is far more contextual. Their philosophers circle around the point in ever tightening loops with stories, illustrations, and analogies until they touch the reality of the subject. Jesus was raised and lived in an Eastern culture, and used this technique very effectively. The crowds He taught were much more likely to understand His teaching method than are we in the West. I remember our trip to India a few years ago. It seemed that at every opportunity our national host used the simplest of natural observances and wound them into a spiritual truth. He wasn't lecturing us. He was just enjoying the saturation of God's truth in every aspect of life. I observed much the same kind of approach to life with a dear Saint I met in Ethiopia while serving on a project there. So it is with Augur. Without understanding Eastern philosophy, this chapter is a quick read for us Westerners.
I only chose verses 11 and 17 to draw out the point Augur was making. Verses 12-16 are the concentric spiraling loops, which connect the two and give dimension to the entire illustration. Verse 11 starts with the observation that there are children who have made a decision to rebel against the authority of their parents (the first authority they encounter in life). The loops in verses 12-16 develop a picture of the character of such children as they mature into adulthood. The chief of these characteristics being covetousness and cruelty (the two daughters of the leech in verse 15). They consume life, and are never satisfied with their lot. No matter how much they may have, people who never have enough are never rich. They end up losing the ability to see the true richness and beauty of life (their eyes plucked out by the carnivorous birds). Such is the end of those who begin in rebellion against their parents, and continue to nurture their stubbornness and rebellion throughout life. Contempt of parental authority is a step onto a path of a life consumed but never fulfilled. The apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 6:1-3, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and your mother' - which is the first commandment with a promise - "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.'" In Light of Proverbs 30:11-17, I would say that the word "enjoy" might be a key focus in the Ephesians 6 text.