Posted on by Heather McEwan
Times Twelve Proverbs Reading Club
The stench of bat droppings and the heaviness of dark encroaches on the senses where the only louder sound is the terror of the killer silently approaching and the desperation to get beyond his deadly intent.
The need to move outstrips the fear of the crawling black backs that glint in the approaching torchlight as you search and grope for the hidden lock.
Something indents under your hand – Whirring and clicking and movement in stone, light beyond, a way opens, relief washes, need propels and movement happens.
Riddles. I hate them. They break my brain. As do untangling knots in chains or wool, jigsaw puzzles and banging my head on brick walls.
However I do love:
- Metaphor
- Patterns
- Parables
- Word pictures
- And hidden meanings when they shift into perspective- which could possibly mean I like certain riddles and puzzles.
- Reading the book of Proverbs can be kinda flat.
- Or seem kinda obvious.
- Or seem closed and obscure.
- Or be interesting.
- Or be enlightening.
– Any and all on the same day.
Until
- Need propels you
- Readiness positions you
- Light informs you
- And old mysteries laid out for discovery open up and
– Understanding happens.
Wise movement is possible.
Click.
Whir.
Pivot.
The hidden opens.
A closed thing unfolds.
Light pours out.
Focus happens.
Understudying comes.
A way is seen.
Why is Proverbs full of riddles?
I recon for the same reason Jesus spoke in parables.
It’s amazing to me, how often on a day with something difficult scheduled, the chapter that day holds a treasure of help and direction. Not always – but often.
If I had to pick just one chapter that brought the biggest whirring of hidden things unfolding – it would be chapter 8. It has been for me, the turning of the key for the rest of the book – and it opens to more wonder every time I read it through. (Both ch 8 AND then the rest of the book) Read why here.
If you want to join the Proverbs Times Twelve “club” just jump in. Start reading the chapter that corresponds to the day anytime you like. Optimally, find someone to do it alongside of you so you can chat about what you discover along the way!
Here’s a few “themes” you could use month by month if you’d like a prompt to help you think diffently than the rote kind of reading that often happens when something becomes very familiar.
- Look for clues on what wisdom is and how one attains it.
- Look for things that make you say “huh???” and spend some time investigating those!
- Look for themes of friendship
- Look for themes on foolishness
- Look for male/female and role usages. Are the verses that use male or femal ONLY to apply to one gender? Are the principles broader than that? What about rols like ‘king’, ‘ruler’, ‘servant’? Are the principles singular or broader?
And here’s a link to some other thoughts of mine on Proverbs.
If you want to use the files I made to print and use month by month you can download them below.
Proverbs – whole book AMPLIFIED
Here’s a sample of how it looks for me…
Heather
