Proverbs 21:1-10

1 Good leadership is a channel of water controlled by God; he directs it to whatever ends he chooses.

2 We justify our actions by appearances; God examines our motives.

3 Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to God than religious performance.

4 Arrogance and pride - distinguishing marks in the wicked - are just plain sin.

5 Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind.

6 Make it to the top by lying and cheating; get paid with smoke and a promotion - to death!

7 The wicked get buried alive by their loot because they refuse to use it to help others.

8 Mixed motives twist life into tangles; pure motives take you straight down the road. Do Your Best, Prepare for the Worst

9 Better to live alone in a tumbledown shack than share a mansion with a nagging spouse.

10 Wicked souls love to make trouble; they feel nothing for friends and neighbors.

Proverbs 21:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 9

This chapter relates a second vision Solomon had at Gibeon, in which he received an answer to his prayer in the preceding chapter, 1Ki 9:1-9 that passed between him and Hiram king of Tyre, 1Ki 9:10-14, the places that Solomon built or repaired, 1Ki 9:15-19, the Canaanitish people that became bondmen to him, and the officers he had among the children of Israel, 1Ki 9:20-23 the removal of Pharaoh's daughter to the house built for her, 1Ki 9:24. Solomon's attention to religious services, 1Ki 9:25 and the navy of ships he employed, which brought him in great riches, 1Ki 9:26-28.