A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it (Proverbs 22:3).

I'm now more than two-thirds of the way through this "Proverbs 365" project.  I've been using a highlighter to mark the verses that I've used for my reflections, along the way, and it seems that there's now more pink than white -- more highlighted than unhighlighted -- in my Bible's Proverbs section.  This is cool to see, but it also leads to an interesting, recurring point of confusion when I read through my daily dose of Proverbs.  I'll be reading along and come to a verse which is white (unhighlighted) but which I feel almost certain to have covered already, earlier in the year.  So inevitably, I scan the archives just to make sure that I didn't accidentally forget to highlight the verse in my Bible.  And inevitably, discover that I was not mistaken about having already covered that particular theme -- but neither had I forgotten to do my highlighting.  Rather, it turns out that there are quite a number of these "double Proverbs" throughout the book, with the same text (excepting minor variations) occuring in more than one part of the Proverbs.

Case in point:  Proverbs 22:3 and Proverbs 27:12.  Both Proverbs read as follows:  "The prudent (or 'a prudent man') see(s) danger and take(s) refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it."  Almost word-for-word, except for the singular versus plural subject of the sentence.

If you want to read my reflections on the wisdom of this (these) particular Proverb(s), you can look up my Proverbs 365 entry from February 27th -- but for today, I think it's also interesting to consider the question of why such seemingly-random repetition is included in throughout the Proverbs.  Was Solomon just a forgetful old guy, who tended to ramble and accidentally repeat himself, not realizing that he had already said the exact same thing earlier?  Or could this phenomenon point to the idea that the Proverbs are more of a compilation or anthology, rather than a book written primarily by Solomon (as tradition holds) -- different authors htting on the same points of wisdom from slightly different angles?  Could it simply be clerical error that allowed the same Proverb to be included twice?  Or could it be something else?

I, for one, believe that the repetition of these Proverbs is not only intentional -- but it's also extremely insightful and beneficial.  For each of us, we have certain life lessons that we've learned in special circumstances or through special means -- deeply imprinting them on our souls and providing something of a spiritual rallying point.  Thus, when we're repeating ourselves, it's actually for our own benefit!  Or perhaps it's a unique message for a unique group of people who are close to us and who need to hear the same truths over and over again, in order for them to remain at the forefront of our consciousness.  For instance, these Proverbs about seeing danger and taking refuge -- these were likely tough lessons that Solomon learned along the way and would have desperately wanted to pass along to his son (and successor) Rehoboam.  Honestly, Solomon should have known better than to collect wives and concubines as if they were baseball cards.  He should have known that intermarrying with a bunch of foreigners, who worshipped other gods, would ultimately undermine his own devotion to the LORD.  He should have seen the danger and taken refuge... but he didn't.  He kept going and suffered for it.  He learned the wisdom of this double-Proverb the hard way, but he eventually learned it and, apparently, claimed it as something of a life lesson -- something to be repeated over and over again for the rest of his days.

It makes sense that one of the primary recipients of this repetitive message would have been Solomon's son, Rehoboam, the one who would succeed him as king of Israel.  Clearly (as history shows), it was a lesson that Rehoboam needed for leadership.  But unfortunately, Rehoboam did not see the danger coming and did not take refuge.  When he assumed the throne following his father's death, he made some ill-advised, imprudent, dangerous decisions to lead by authoritarian threats -- and he, too, suffered for his lack of foresight.  But just think:  How different it could have been if he had listened and paid attention to the repetition of the double-Proverbs!

We do well to listen carefully to the double-Proverbs -- and to pay attention to the repetitive lessons in our own lives as well.  It's good to listen carefully to the things that our parents and spouses and children repeat over and over to us.  It's good to mentally rehash the things we've already learned along the way and make sure that we never let ourselves forget.