Tiny Devotional for Friday, 07-16-2021

A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, (it’s a secret!).

The plans of the heart belong to a person,
But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
Proverbs 16:1, NASB


What does THAT mean?

I consulted two respectable commentaries, and searched my favorite deep-dive Bible meaning website, 

AND

I discovered I’m not the only one who is confused by this verse. One commentary went so far as to say “it means this, or it means that,” showing that even the scholars aren’t sure enough about the meaning to commit a single answer to paper.

My confusion isn’t with the first phrase; I understand clearly that I can plan all I want to. It’s the PAIRING that confuses. A basic structure of Proverbs is “On one hand, on the other hand,” with the occasional addition of “but the gripping hand” (hat-tip to Niven and Pournelle). 

Given that pattern, I WOULD have expected the pairing of PLANS and EXECUTION. Instead, it’s plans and speech. Not sure what to make of that.

However! There is another pairing/contrast possibility: the heart, and the tongue. So, I looked at that.

Other verses in Proverbs describe the tongue as: lying, smooth, like choice silver, perverted, healing, soothing, destructive, containing life and death, to be guarded, gentle, gossiping, flattering, teaching kindness.

I find no rabbit on these trails.

MAYBE it is implied/understood that when we make plans, we speak to God about them. With our tongues.

That means the verse reads like this: we plan in our hearts; we speak our plans in prayer to God; He answers our prayers, according to His will.

I ain’t saying this is right. But it works.

Peace be on your household.


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