Sunday, 03Jun2012, at Ipoh Airport.
I thought I'd read a passage from the book of Proverbs while waiting for a family member to board a Firefly flight to Singapore. The TEV (GNT) Bible's Outline of contents show that the Proverbs of Solomon are recorded in the section from Proverbs 10:1 to 29:27.
So I turned to chapter 10 and began reading.
What I thought was Proverbs 10 turned out to be Ecclesiastes 10, the book after Proverbs! I realised it only after almost reaching the end of chapter 11 where it says in 11:8 that we should be grateful for every year of our lives because no matter how long we live, our days of death will be much longer than our days of life.
Wow, that's astounding.
Well, since nothing happens without the good purpose of our Creator, I think the Lord YHWH our God has allowed me to read from the wrong chapter for his own purpose: that I might learn something from Him this morning.
Here are some observations from Ecclesiastes chapter 10:
- A little stupidity is like a little fly - it makes an entire bottle of perfume smelly.
- By nature (or instinct?), the wise does right while the foolish does wrong.
- An injustice is caused by rulers when stupid people are given high positions, where slaves ride on horseback while noblemen have to go on foot.
- If you dig a pit, you fall in. If you break through a wall, a snake bites you.
- A wise man's words bring him honour. A foolish man's words bring him destruction.
- He who starts silly talk ends up mad. A fool talks on and on.
- A country is in trouble when its king is a youth and its leaders feast all night long.
And last, but not least,
Ecclesiastes 11: 1 is rendered by the TEV in modern day equivalent terms as
Invest your money in foreign trade and one of these days you will make a profit.
