At the beginning of my Tuesday morning class, we always study one verse of Proverbs before starting our English reading. We choose one verse from a chapter that’s the same date that we’re on. Today’s the 28th, so we went to chapter 28.
• Proverbs 28:4 •
They that forsake the law
praise the wicked:
but
such as keep the law
contend with them.
When reading, we always use the Authorized Version (aka KJV), so there are almost always new words for the children to learn. After writing out the new words (e.g. “forsake,” “contend”), we simplify the verse to understand it better, and look for parallelisms, synonyms, and antonyms.
| • Paraphrased • The disobedient praise the wicked: but the obedient fight the disobedient. |
• Opposite • The disobedient curse the righteous: but the obedient make peace with the righteous. |
We started playing around with the words and talking about what opposites are. Opposition isn’t passive. The opposite of stealing isn’t simply not stealing … it’s being generous. And although cursing may not usually be thought of as the opposite of praise, if you think in covenantal terms, it can be. The opposite of black isn’t always white. It could be blue or green or grey or all or none. In class, we often make charts together of what we’ve learned, and today we got pretty carried away. (And by the way, here’s more fun with Proverbs.)
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