The bible is truly literary art. It has elements of poetry, memories, drama and biographies. 

Several days ago, the verse of the day was Proverbs 3:7:

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.“

It’s easy to look at these two statements independently, but they are connected for sure! One who is well versed in scripture might understand the connection of the clauses right off the bat, but if you’re like me, my hint was the semi-colon. 

The Holy Spirit is the teacher of all things. I kid you not, He gave me a grammar lesson for this verse. This is how the conversation went:

Holy Spirit: What do you think of this verse?

Me: It’s pretty straightforward.

Holy Spirit: Did you notice the semicolon?

Me: I did. I never use semicolons, but the bible does a lot. 

Holy Spirit: Why was a semicolon used?

Me: *opens Google and searches* “When to use a semicolon?”

Me: A semicolon is used to connect two closely related independent clauses.

Holy Spirit: Now re-read the verse again and tell me what you think.

Me: The first clause is related to the second. Being wise in your own eyes is not wisdom. True wisdom, looking at the second clause, is fearing God which we know from Proverbs 9:10. 

Holy Spirit: Bingo! The word of God will reference the word of God. Take your time to read and look for all meanings that can take you deeper. Even down to the punctuation there intentionality. 

See you next week!