Month: June 2010

Reference links:

2 Kings 15:1-16:20 Acts 19:13-41 Psalm 147:1-20 Proverbs 18:4-5

Overview of the Books of Kings Overview of the Acts of the Apostles Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

More kings, some with very short reigns. Each entry is nearly exactly the same. Boring! Even the assassinations are boring (For reference, here’s the king chart again.)

We do learn that Menahem of Israel was a pretty terrible guy:

He killed the entire population and ripped open the pregnant women.

Has he no standards? Really, he should have lived up to the standards of David and Joshua and stopped at killing the entire population.

Also, what’s with the confusing names? In addition to more J and A names, we read that Pekahiah of Israel was assassinated by Pekah. That’s practically the same name!

I bet that this is another point in the Bible where people give up when they are trying to read through the whole thing.

New Testament

Today we read a story about a group of Jews attempting to cast out demons in Jesus’ name:

A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.

This is an interesting contract to the story in Mark and Luke:

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.”

“Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us. If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded.

Even though I think the whole idea of demons and the casting out thereof is ridiculous, this contrast does bring up some interesting thoughts about the different attitudes towards “outsiders” at different points in the development of the New Testament canon.

It makes wonder about the early attitudes towards outsiders casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Although the first story does not imply that the group in the first story always failed (indeed, it says that “on time when they tried it” they failed), it does have a different feel than the later story. The first story implies that only some have the power/right to use Jesus’ name to cast out demons. The second implies anyone does.

The second story in today’s reading tells about a riot in Ephesus. The craftsmen of Ephesus were upset because of the effect of Paul’s preaching. According to the text, their grievance was thus,

Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business. But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province! Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!

In this passage, the author undermines his own credibility in two ways. First, he falls into the standard trap of implying that those who had worshiped with the aid of representations thought that the representations were divine. Rather, most religions contemporary with the development of Judaism and Christianity understood that their idols were merely symbols of the divine.

Second, the author seems to need to imply that the Ephesians were upset mainly for economic reasons. Maybe that was the case, but let’s look at what was going on here. Their goddess was being threatened. I think that most people would be upset if they thought that someone was trying to eliminate belief in their god. Look at how upset people get at the imaginary “war” on Christmas.

By twice showing that he does not take the beliefs of the people of Ephesus seriously, the author of Acts does serious injury to his reputation, at least in my opinion. If he has to belittle the beliefs of others to prop up his own beliefs, it makes me think his own beliefs may not be worth as much as he wants us to think.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today’s psalm is another psalm of praise for God. It’s also another point at which every single natural phenomenon is attributed to God’s direct intervention. At least that’s more forgivable in poetry.

The second of today’s proverbs is awfully similar to Proverbs 17:15. Compare

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—
both are detestable to the Lord.

to

It is not right to acquit the guilty
or deny justice to the innocent.

Reference links:

2 Kings 13:1-14:29 Acts 18:23-19:12 Psalm 146:1-10 Proverbs 18:2-3

Overview of the Books of Kings Overview of the Acts of the Apostles Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Instead of trying to summarize, I will just link the chart of kings of Israel and Judah that another Bible blogger linked yesterday. The important point (which is to say, the only point I can remember clearly), is that most of the kings have names that start with J. Except for the ones whose names start with A.

I find it kind of odd that King Hazael of Aram named his son after Ben-hadad, the former king of Aram whom Hazael murdered.

We read about Elisha’s final prophecy today. He tells King Jehoash of Israel that he will defeat Aram. Then he has Jehoash beat some arrows against the ground. Jehoash does so three times and only then does Elisha bother to tell him that the number of times that Jehoash struck the ground would indicate how soundly he beat Aram (based on some undisclosed scale). How was Jehoash to know?

After Elisha died, his bone apparently had the power to bring people back to life. Creepy.

New Testament

Today we read about Apollos, “an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well.” Apparently,

He refuted the Jews with powerful arguments in public debate. Using the Scriptures, he explained to them that Jesus was the Messiah.

It is a pity the author of Acts did not seem to think it worthwhile to repeat these wonderful arguments. I am curious to see whether or not they are any less inane than modern apologetics.

The rest of the reading is about Paul’s journeying. We learn that

God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.

Today is the day for miracles transmitted by touch, isn’t it?

Psalms and Proverbs

Nothing particularly noteworthy.

Reference links:

2 Kings 10:32-12:21 Acts 18:1-22 Psalm 145:1-21 Proverbs 18:1

Overview of the Books of Kings Overview of the Acts of the Apostles Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

At about that time the Lord began to cut down the size of Israel’s territory.

The Old Testament is often presented as a record of God’s role in the history of his chosen people. However, when I read things like the books of Kings, it seems to me more like a record of people trying to interpret the twists and turns of history as the manifestation of God’s will.

Now that we are no longer isolated tribes and kingdoms but have a wider view of the rise and fall of countries and peoples, it seems almost silly the way that the books of the Bible attribute every success or hardship directly to God’s plan. The very idea of a chosen people lacks credibility when you see that their ups and downs are no different than those of everyone else.

Back to the reading. In Israel, King Jehu dies and is succeeded by his son Jehoahaz. In Judah, After Ahaziah’s death, his mother, Athaliah, kills all of his children and becomes queen. However, one child manages to escape with the aid of Ahazia’s sister Jehosheba. Athaliah does not seem like a pleasant person. In addition to having murdered her grandchildren, everyone seems quite ready to rebel against her when the rescued child, Joash, is made king at age seven.

Joash is made king due to the actions of the priest Jehoiada (keeping all these names straight? I’m not). Jehoiada makes a convenant bewteen God, the king, and the people. He also starts a campaign of destroying the worship of Baal. As of this point, Jehu has cleared out the Baal worshippers in Israel and Jehoiada under Joash has cleared them out in Judah.

Joash has a long reign and acts in ways that are pleasing to the Lord (including repairing the temple). However, as is usual, he is still not perfect: he does not destroy all the pagan shrines nor does he stop people from worshiping there.

Worship of non-Yahweh deities is so persistent that it seems obvious that Yahweh was not considered the god of the people. Seen in that light, the systematic destruction of anyone and anyplace dedicated to worship of other Gods takes on the flavor of a military and priestly elite forcing their beliefs onto the common people. When I look at it that way, I feel sorry for the worshipers of Baal and the pagan deities.

New Testament

More travels of Paul: Corinth, Cenchrea, Ephesus, Caesarea, Jerusalem, and back to Antioch. The standard pattern is followed:  Paul preaches, some people are converted, others are not. Sometimes people get mad at him and chase him out of town.

I do find this scene entertaining:

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.”

This seems like rather unnecessary advice. One thing Paul has never been is silent. Over and over (and over and over and over) again we have seen Paul preaching and teaching his beliefs, regardless of his own safety.

Psalms and Proverbs

Nothing particularly noteworthy.

Reference links:

2 Kings 9:14-10:31 Acts 17:1-34 Psalm 144:1-15 Proverbs 17:27-28

Overview of the Books of Kings Overview of the Acts of the Apostles Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Today is a bloody, bloody day. Jehu kills King Joram of Israel as well as King Ahaziah of Judah in his quest for the throne of Israel. He then kills everyone who might be a threat to him: any relative, friend, or associate of Ahab, the former king. Some of the gruesome highlights. Jezebel, the wife of Ahab and mother of Joram, was killed like this:

So they threw her out the window, and her blood spattered against the wall and on the horses. And Jehu trampled her body under his horses’ hooves.

Next, he has all of Ahab’s sons killed and their head sent to him and placed in heaps.

Now the seventy sons of the king were being cared for by the leaders of Samaria, where they had been raised since childhood. When the letter arrived, the leaders killed all seventy of the king’s sons. They placed their heads in baskets and presented them to Jehu at Jezreel.

The final gruesome highlight is the massacre of the followers of Baal. Jehu gathers all of the priests and followers of Baal for what he claims will be a huge sacrifice. He then traps them all in the temple of Baal and his men murder them all.

The amount of death and destruction wrought by Jehu must have been sickening to behold (at least for one with modern sentiments). Even if Joram was corrupt and terrible and even if this was supposedly of fulfillment of God’s prophecies against Ahab and Jezebel, I just cannot like Jehu after he led such a bloody, compassion free rebellion. Fortunately, I don’t think I am expected too since after all of this he

did not obey the Law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit.

New Testament

Paul and Silas continue to go around preaching. Some of the Jews and gentiles in the cities where they preach accept them. Others are jealous and cause trouble for them.

Paul then continues onto Athens where he preaches to the council there. He seems to have received a more friendly reception there, quite possibly because the people of Athens were much more open to new ideas and discourse.

It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.

As usual, Paul convinced some of them and not others. Paul shows that he has a much better understanding of the human mind than Jesus did. Instead of starting with a condemnation of those he was trying to persuade, Paul started by complimenting them:

Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.

When I was in Athens with my family, we visited the Areopagus, where this group met. While we were there we saw a man dressed as Paul reciting some scripture (I am guessing this passage). Biblical LARPing!

Psalms and Proverbs

Today’s psalm has lots of nice lines, but somehow fails to come together as a coherent whole (in English translation, at least).

I do like today’s proverbs, even if I do often have problems using few words:

A truly wise person uses few words;
a person with understanding is even-tempered.

Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent;
with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.

Reference links:

2 Kings 8:1-9:13 Acts 16:16-40 Psalm 143:1-12 Proverbs 17:26

Overview of the Books of Kings Overview of the Acts of the Apostles Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Elisha continues to favor the kind woman from Shunem. He warned her of an upcoming famine, so she and her family went elsewhere for the duration. Once they returned, she went to the king to ask for the return of her home and land. Just as she arrived, Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, was telling the king about the time Elisha brought the woman’s son back to life. The king was so excited to meet the woman and her son, that he promises them everything they lost,

including the value of any crops that had been harvested during her absence

Since she was gone during a famine, that’s probably not saying much.

We then read about th death of King Ben-Hadad of Aram. This is the guy who, in yesterday’s reading, tried to have Elisha killed for thwarting his attacks against Israel. Today, Ben-Hadad sends gives to Elisha along with an inquiry as to whether or not he will survive his sickness. One wonders why Ben-Hadad thought he’d get a good reception.

Ben-Hadad’s messanger was Hazael. Hazael asks if the king will recover and Elisha says:

And Elisha replied, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But actually the Lord has shown me that he will surely die!”

We then read that Elisha sees into the future and the terrible things that Hazael will do as king of Aram:

I know the terrible things you will do to the people of Israel. You will burn their fortified cities, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women!

Hazael’s response shows us a lot about his disposition:

Hazael responded, “How could a nobody like me ever accomplish such great things?”

He did not deny that he would do these things given the power. He only denied that he would have the power to do such things.

Elisha then reveals that Hazael will be king. At which point, Hazael goes back home and murders Ben-Hadad. Ben-Hadad does not die of his sickness. He is murdered by Hazael after Elisha tells him that he will become king. It seems to me that Elisha is partially responsible for this murder. He’s the one who told Hazael that Ben-Hadad would die and that Hazael would become king. Perhaps Hazael would have murdered Ben-Hadad anyway, but it seems to me that Elisha inspired Hazael to muder as soon as he returned home.

And… more kings of Israel and Judah. Some of them we have heard about. Others are new. As of the end of this reading, Ahaziah rules Judah and Jehu has just been secretly anointed king of Israel.

New Testament

Some things about human nature never change. Today we read about how Paul and Silas were imprisoned because of financial dispute. The two men had exorcised a demon from a slave girl. Her owners were making money from her possession and resented this. Thus, Paul and Silas end up in prison.

This story gives some interesting insights into the role of the author of Acts in the ministries of Paul and Silas. He was not active; he seems to have been just an observer or, perhaps, and observer and recorder. You can tell because Paul and Silas were the ones sent to prison, not the author (a noticeable shift from “we” back to “they”).

In any case, a miraculous earthquake breaks down the prison. That seems like a lot of probable destruction to the town just to free Paul and Silas. Instead of taking advantage of the situation, Paul, Silas, and all the prisoners stay put. This convinces the guard to listen to Paul and Silas, and he and his whole family convert.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today’s psalm is a poignant description of unfulfilled faith. Over and over again in this psalm, the poet expresses his faith in God along with his fear and loss of hope. He is counting on God to come to him quickly and save him from the despair he is falling into. And yet, in the context of the psalm, he is never saved. He is never helped.

I never was a believer, but I have read stories of those who deconverted, and it seems that this psalm speaks to a common experience of many ex-believers. They start feeling twinges of doubt, but they have full faith that God will rescue them. When he fails to, their doubt becomes stronger, until finally they despair and give up faith. The happy ending to these stories is that they then realize that they can actually live quite well without faith or religion. (I’m not claiming that the last step always happens, but it generally did for atheist bloggers or those people who are sharing their story on an atheist blog.)

Interesting proverb:

It is wrong to punish the godly for being good
or to flog leaders for being honest.

To ever so briefly comment on current events… flogging our leaders seems like a perfect description of what the media does whenever a politician dares to speak honestly, dares to speak their mind against convention or the party line. They get villainized, analyzed,  and generally abused. And yet, we should appreciate it when our leaders share truth with us. We may not agree, but we should respect the fact that they are not just pandering the perceived desires of popular opinion.

Reference links:

2 Kings 6:1-7:20 Acts 15:36-16:15 Psalm 142:1-7 Proverbs 17:24-25

Overview of the Books of Kings Overview of the Acts of the Apostles Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Random miracle! Elisha and a group of prophets build a new meeting place. In the process, one of them drops a borrowed ax head. Elisha makes it float to the surface so it can be retrieved. I am glad borrowed goods will be returned successfully and all, but I don’t completely see the point of this story (other than, I suppose, to continue showing that Elisha is powerful).

Elisha seems to have a much better relationship with the King of Israel than Elijah did. In today’s reading, Elisha repeatedly warns the king where the Arameans plan to attack so that Israel can counter them. Eventually, the King of Aram catches on and tries to capture Elisha. Elisha calls upon the power of the Lord to trick the attacking army and trap them in Samaria, which seems to be the current acting capital of Israel. We then get this intriguing tidbit:

When the king of Israel saw them, he shouted to Elisha, “My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?”

“Of course not!” Elisha replied. “Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink and send them home again to their master.”

The bit I find interesting is Elisha’s “Of course not!”. From the first pages of Joshua down through the battles of David, the answer has been “Of course!”, and God heap punishment upon those who did not kill their war prisoners. When did this transition from “Of course!” to “Of course not!” happen, and why did we not hear more about it?

The rest of today’s reading talks about the King of Aram’s siege of Samaria. The city experiences a great famine, and eventually people start to eat their own children. The King of Israel fetches Elisha, intending to kill him because of the hardships visited upon the city. Although this might seem like a bad thing, it seems to be the very thing which spurred Elisha to action. It was not until the king took action that Elisha and/or the Lord saw fit to save Samaria.

In any case, God caused the Arameans to hears the sound of a great army approaching, and they fled. The people of the city of Samaria were then able to pillage the belongings the army left behind. Hurrah for no more starvation!

New Testament

Today we shift from what has been our narrative for the last few days (the adventures of Paul and Barnabas) to a new mode. Paul and Barnabas go separate ways over a disagreement over who they should take with them. Paul then starts to travel with Silas. As they start to travel, we get a super sudden (like, almost mid-thought) shift from third person to first person plural.

According to the footnote, this is where Luke joined Paul. This seems reasonable because the rest of today’s reading becomes a lot more detailed about the travels of Paul and his companions. I could believe that Acts up until this point was written by someone who had the earlier parts told to them. Since the relation was second hand, those parts were less detailed. Now that the author is actually travelling with the person he is writing about, the level of detail increases.

Another interesting tidbit from today’s reading: one of the converts in Macedonia is Lydia from Thyatira who is a merchant. Yay for female entrepreneurs!

Psalms and Proverbs

David continues to put his faith in God and cry for rescue from his enemies.

Reference links:

2 Kings 4:18-5:27 Acts 15:1-35 Psalm 141:1-10 Proverbs 17:23

Overview of the Books of Kings Overview of the Acts of the Apostles Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Elisha totally continues to prove himself the model which the New Testament writers looked to when deciding what miracles should be attributed to Jesus. He brings a boy back to life, he feeds 100 people with 20 loaves of barley bread and a sack of grain, and he heals a leper. In addition, he removes poison from a stew.

Today’s reading also gives the impression that Elisha is not exactly social. Originally, he did not want to go to the dead boy. Instead, he just wanted to send his servant. The mother of the boy insisted that he come (and it is a good thing he did since the servant’s action did not bring the boy back to life). Later, when Elisha heals Naaman, the leper, he sends a messenger out to him instead of meeting with him. Elisha later meets with Naaman after he is healed, but I get the impression that Elisha does not like to be too directly involved with the miracles. Maybe it is because he is shy or humble or anti-social. Maybe he figures that by not showing himself before the miracle has occurred, he can get the miracle recipient to focus on God instead of himself.

Also, we learn that Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, cannot resist worldly temptation. Naaman offers Elisha many gifts. Elisha refuses them, but Gehazi later tricks Naaman into giving those gifts. As punishment, Elisha infects Gehazi with Naaman’s leprosy (Gehazi and all his descendants, which seems a little unfair).

New Testament

The topic of today’s reading is which parts of the Mosaic law do the gentile followers of Christ have to obey. In particular, Paul and Barnabas were dealing with the question of whether or not gentile believers needed to be circumcised. The general consensus is that since the believers are receiving the gifts of the holy spirit without circumcision, it need not be required. Instead, the gentile believers need only:

abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood.

The demands that the gentile believers were circumcised came from believers who were Pharisees. Given the way Pharisees are represented in the gospels, this might cause some people to immediately dismiss this concern. Of course Paul and Barnabas were right and gentile believers do not need to be circumcised!

I think, however, it is worth investigating more closely why the Pharisees might have thought this necessary. My guess is that, despite the representation of the Pharisees in the gospels, the Pharisees did not see obeying the law as a matter of right or wrong, justification or lack thereof. Instead, I hypothesize that they saw living by the law as a way of living a more pure life and, therefore, putting themselves in a mindset which would make them more accepting of God’s presence. Thus, this debate was not just a matter of blind following of the law verses God’s true desires.

And given that the decision in Jerusalem was only reached after a long decision, I am guessing that the apostles in Jerusalem did not think that this issue was trivial to decide either.

Psalms and Proverbs

Another psalm which cries for help. I find it interesting that this psalm seems to reinforce the idea that rebuke and correction should be welcomed when it is from the right person:

Let the godly strike me!
It will be a kindness!
If they correct me, it is soothing medicine.
Don’t let me refuse it. 

Reference links:

2 Kings 3:1-4:17 Acts 14:8-28 Psalm 140:1-13 Proverbs 17:22

Overview of the Books of Kings Overview of the Acts of the Apostles Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Too tired for commentary, so I’ll settle with making sure we all stay up to date on the plot.

Moab rebels. Joram attacks. Jehoshaphat joins. King of Edom joins. Elisha calls on God for miraculous water. Elisha predicts victory for Joram and co. Joram and co. win.

Elisha calls forth miraculous oil, reminiscent of the loaves and fish (if “reminiscent” is the right word for a book that came long before the gospels). Elisha promises a woman a son in her old age reminiscent of all of the other babies given to those who could not have them.

New Testament

Paul and Barnabas are mistaken for Greek gods (Hermes and Zeus, respectively). They protest against it. They almost fail to restrain the people from sacrificing to them. The crowd proves fickle. Paul is stoned. He lives. They travel to other cities. They travel back to Antioch.

Psalms and Proverbs

Violent psalm. Good proverb.

Reference links:

2 Kings 1:1-2:25 Acts 13:42-14:7 Psalm 139:1-24 Proverbs 17:19-21

Overview of the Books of Kings Overview of the Acts of the Apostles Overview of the Psalms Overview of the book of Proverbs

Old Testament

Started 2 Kings today. No summary needed because 1 and 2 Kings are pretty much one book. In fact, I hardly noticed we had made a transition until the fact of Elijah’s being taken up tickled some neurons.

The King of Israel after Ahab was Ahaziah. He was destined to die because his father had sinned against God. He morally injured himself falling through the latticework of an upper room of his palace. Being somewhat interested in the architecture of the home, the description of Ahaziah’s injury made me wonder about the home in ancient Israel. What were the living quarters of palaces like? What were common homes like? Did they follow the typical Mideastern/Mediterranean courtyard plan, favored for it’s cool interior? How were they arranged within the community? Were homes clustered or spread out? Make me want to reread The House: Its Origins and Evolution. Anywho, that’s completely beside the point of today’s readings.

God decides to let Ahaziah die because he has the presumption to try to ask another God whether or not he will live. Elijah is referred to as “Elijah from Tishbe” as if there’s some other Elijah we might get him confused with. The fire of God, summoned by Elijah, kills 100 men who were doing nothing more than following the king’s orders (and not even being that pushy about it); Elijah didn’t let up on the killing until the king’s captain groveled.

After this, Elijah is taken into heaven by a whirlwind accompanied by a chariot of fire. Jesus didn’t get anything as cool as that. Elisha inherits Elijah’s power. He immediately uses it for some good (purifying the water in the town of Jericho) and then some bad (killing 42 children who made fun of him). If the text supported it at all, it would be so easy to frame this in terms of Elisha getting use to his power; he does not realize how much power his curses have now and so unintentionally murders the children. Instead, it appears that he is just a jerk with power (but he’s God’s jerk with power, so it’s all okay, right?).

New Testament

Today’s reading is easy to sum up: Paul and Barnabas preach to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Some Jews resent that and acted against them. The reading does contain this interesting line:

and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers.

One point for predestination, I suppose.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today’s psalm talks about how God knows you completely and knows everything you do. Super inspiring to believers, I can guess, but super creepy to the rest of us.

I am intrigued by today’s first proverb:

Anyone who loves to quarrel loves sin;
anyone who trusts in high walls invites disaster.

Looking at the different translations, this is obviously a difficult proverb. To me, this makes the most sense if it is understood metaphorically. The one verse on that link which translates this metaphorically (which, it’s worth noting, claims to be from the same translation I am reading) as well as the text notes on the first translation imply that this should be taken as boasting inviting disaster. This is obviously not a metaphor in usage in the US these days. But I find it interesting that there is a metaphorical interpretation that makes sense in modern US metaphor (and is, therefore, almost certainly completely divorced from the actual text): high walls could be seen as cutting oneself off emotionally.