Author: Mark Horne

Ruling Your “Angels”

One of the strangest (yet obvious) facts to discover in Scripture is that the Spirit hovering over the waters in Genesis 2 at creation is the same as the pillar of cloud and fire that led Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground. That theophany occurs several times in Scripture, and is identified with Jesus’ own body.

Meredith Kline did the work to show how it all comes out in Scripture.

The Spirit/Cloud manifestation led Israel to Sinai where it touched down. And one of the components of this cloud was the heavenly host–an army of angels. We’re told so unambiguously in Psalm 68:15-17. Continue reading “Ruling Your “Angels””

God Loves to Give Wisdom

Solomon famously asked for wisdom as he was given kingly authority to rule Israel (1 Kings 4). God gave it to him.

Does that mean Solomon had not been taught wisdom before?

No! A child should be taught wisdom, and a young man should remember what his parents taught him, but he needs to acquire apropriate wisdom as an adult with new responsibilities. Continue reading “God Loves to Give Wisdom”

Spider-Man & Proverbs: The False Wisdom of Vices

I argued recently that Uncle Ben’s urgent plea to Peter Parker is quite similar to Solomon’s exhortation to his “son” in Proverbs. The Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movie really brought this out.

But there is another aspect to that franchise that also is quite similar to the warnings of Proverbs.

Peter Parker’s development of unexpected and profound new powers threatens to lead him to a bad end. For years he’s been bullied by stronger and faster jocks. Suddenly, they are in the inferior position and he has a chance (he imagines) to replace them and attract the female that he thought would never notice him. Continue reading “Spider-Man & Proverbs: The False Wisdom of Vices”

Why Wisdom Should Not Be Restricted to Making Judgments

There is a common conception or model of Biblical wisdom that portrays it as something that you use while seated and thinking. Solomon was a wise king and he certainly did just that. So we get Proverbs like: “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (18:17).

But many matters addressed in Proverbs seem pretty far from an official courtroom situation. Continue reading “Why Wisdom Should Not Be Restricted to Making Judgments”

“Jesus Is Lord!” A practical suggestion for struggling with sin

I wrote this back in 2001 and had forgotten about it. Someone brought it to my attention and it seems to me that, though not about Proverbs in any way, it actually shows I was thinking in ways that would eventually help me to understand Proverbs.

All Christians struggle with sin.

Many times even relatively mature Christians commit sins they thought they had long since left behind and end up struggling anew with sinful habits in thought, word, or deed. Naturally, this means they must rouse themselves to action in putting to death the deeds of the flesh. Continue reading ““Jesus Is Lord!” A practical suggestion for struggling with sin”

What would Solomon think about social media?

Let me just say at the beginning: I don’t know what Solomon would think about social media.

I’ve occasionally had fun with the question in the title of the post…

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#irony #SolomonSays #Proverbs #NotAStrictTranslation #Wisdom

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…but I don’t know the answer to my question and neither does anyone else. Continue reading “What would Solomon think about social media?”

Proverbs on Strength and Gender

I posted this image of the text of Proverbs 31:17 on Instagram back in February mainly because I thought female lifters, as well as male lifters, would find it cute.

Since then, I’ve begun to wonder about the significance of this verse. Why is there no passage in Proverbs commending a man who “dresses himself with strength” or “makes his arm strong”? Why is this said of the godly wife? Continue reading “Proverbs on Strength and Gender”