WISDOM FOR LIVING - Proverbs 28-31

WISDOM FOR LIVING – A STUDY OF PROVERBS

PROVERBS 28-31

  Colossians 1:9
So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.

  Colossians 1:28
So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.

  Colossians 3:16
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.

  Titus 2:12
And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God,

LEADERSHIP

28 ¹ The wicked run away when no one is chasing them,

but the godly are as bold as lions.  ------The guilty consciences of the wicked cause them to run from imagined pursuers (28:1). Knowing they have done wrong, they suspect they are being chased by lawmen. By contrast the righteous are as bold (i.e., self-confident; cf. “confidence” in 31:11) as a young lion. God gives them courage; they have no fear of reprisal from wrongdoing.

²      When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily.

But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.

⁵      Evil people don’t understand justice,

but those who follow the Lord understand completely.

⁹      God detests the prayers

of a person who ignores the law. ----Refusing to obey God’s Law (cf. vv. 4, 7) has disastrous results. Prayers of such a person are hypocritical. Therefore those prayers, hated by God, are not answered (cf. 15:8; Ps. 66:18; Isa. 59:2). If a person does not listen to (obey) the Lord, the Lord will not listen to him.

¹⁰      Those who lead good people along an evil path

will fall into their own trap,

but the honest will inherit good things.

^29:7      The godly care about the rights of the poor;

the wicked don’t care at all.

 - LEADERSHIP WITH ALCOHOL WARNINGS

31:²      O my son, O son of my womb,

O son of my vows,

³      do not waste your strength on women,

on those who ruin kings.

⁴      It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine.

Rulers should not crave alcohol.

⁵      For if they drink, they may forget the law

and not give justice to the oppressed.

⁶      Alcohol is for the dying,

and wine for those in bitter distress.

⁷      Let them drink to forget their poverty

and remember their troubles no more.

⁸      Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;

ensure justice for those being crushed.

⁹      Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless,

and see that they get justice.

-----31:4-5. In verses 4-7, Lemuel’s mother warned about the dangers of alcoholism. Her advice echoes 20:1; 23:20-21, 29-35. The particular danger of drunkenness to a king lies in its tendency to cloud his memory and judgment, resulting in injustice (18:5) to the oppressed (cf. 31:8).

31:6-7. Beer (“strong drink”; cf. comments on 20:1) and wine (mentioned in reverse order from the way they are mentioned in 31:4) may have been acceptable as anesthetics or drugs to deaden physical pain or deep emotional bitterness (and the pain of those who were dying). Or verses 6-7 may be saying that though others may have used drink as an escape, the king was not to do so.

HONESTY/ CONFESSION

13  People who conceal their sins will not prosper,                                                                                            

but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy. 28:13. After a person sins he may try to conceal (trans. “covers over” in 17:9) that fact from God and others. But hiding sin does not pay off. Solomon’s father David knew this from experience (Ps. 32:3-4). It is far better to deal with sin by confessing and renouncing it. As David found out, confession results in God’s mercy and forgiveness (Pss. 34:5; 51:1-12).

¹⁴      Blessed are those who fear to do wrong,^*

but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble.

¹⁷      A murderer’s tormented conscience will drive him into the grave.

Don’t protect him!

²⁰      The trustworthy person will get a rich reward,

but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble.

^30;12      They are pure in their own eyes,

but they are filthy and unwashed.

CHARACTER & INTEGRITY

²¹      Showing partiality is never good,

yet some will do wrong for a mere piece of bread.

²²      Greedy people try to get rich quick

but don’t realize they’re headed for poverty.

²³      In the end, people appreciate honest criticism

far more than flattery.

²⁴      Anyone who steals from his father and mother

and says, “What’s wrong with that?”

is no better than a murderer.

²⁷      Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing,

but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.

29 ¹ Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism

will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery.

^29:6      Evil people are trapped by sin,

but the righteous escape, shouting for joy.

^29:20      There is more hope for a fool

than for someone who speaks without thinking.

ANGER

^29:11      Fools vent their anger,

but the wise quietly hold it back.

²²      An angry person starts fights;

a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin.

^30:33      As the beating of cream yields butter

and striking the nose causes bleeding,

so stirring up anger causes quarrels.

DISCIPLINE

^29:15      To discipline a child produces wisdom,

but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child.

¹⁷      Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind

and will make your heart glad.

¹⁸      When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild.

But whoever obeys the law is joyful.

¹⁹      Words alone will not discipline a servant;

the words may be understood, but they are not heeded.

GOD

^30:4      Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down?

Who holds the wind in his fists?

Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak?

Who has created the whole wide world?

What is his name—and his son’s name?

Tell me if you know!

⁵      Every word of God proves true.

He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.

⁶      Do not add to His words,

or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.

⁷      O God, I beg two favors from you;

let me have them before I die.

⁸      First, help me never to tell a lie.

Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!

Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.

⁹      For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”

And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

FOUR THINGS THAT ARE NEVER SATISFIED, that never say, “Enough!”:

¹⁶      the grave,^*

the barren womb,

the thirsty desert,

the blazing fire.

FOUR THINGS THAT AMAZE ME – THINGS I DON’T UNDERSTAND…

¹⁹      how an eagle glides through the sky,

how a snake slithers on a rock,

how a ship navigates the ocean,

how a man loves a woman.

FOUR THINGS THAT MAKE THE EARTH TREMBLE – IT CANNOT ENDURE:

²²      a slave who becomes a king,

an overbearing fool who prospers,

²³      a bitter woman who finally gets a husband,

a servant girl who supplants her mistress.

FOUR THINGS ON EARTH THAT ARE SMALL BUT UNUSUALLY WISE:

²⁵      Ants—they aren’t strong,

but they store up food all summer.

²⁶      Hyraxes^*—they aren’t powerful,

but they make their homes among the rocks.

²⁷      Locusts—they have no king,

but they march in formation.

²⁸      Lizards—they are easy to catch,

but they are found even in kings’ palaces.

A WOMAN of Noble Character

^31:10     Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?

She is more precious than rubies.

¹¹      Her husband can trust her,

and she will greatly enrich his life.

¹²      She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life.

¹³      She finds wool and flax

and busily spins it.

¹⁴      She is like a merchant’s ship,

bringing her food from afar.

¹⁵      She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household

and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

¹⁶      She goes to inspect a field and buys it;

with her earnings she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷      She is energetic and strong,

a hard worker.

¹⁸      She makes sure her dealings are profitable;

her lamp burns late into the night.

¹⁹      Her hands are busy spinning thread,

her fingers twisting fiber.

²⁰      She extends a helping hand to the poor

and opens her arms to the needy.

²¹      She has no fear of winter for her household,

for everyone has warm^* clothes.

²²      She makes her own bedspreads.

She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.

²³      Her husband is well known at the city gates,

where he sits with the other civic leaders.

²⁴      She makes belted linen garments

and sashes to sell to the merchants.

²⁵      She is clothed with strength and dignity,

and she laughs without fear of the future.

²⁶      When she speaks, her words are wise,

and she gives instructions with kindness.

²⁷      She carefully watches everything in her household

and suffers nothing from laziness.

²⁸      Her children stand and bless her.

Her husband praises her:

²⁹      “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,

but you surpass them all!”

³⁰      Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;

but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.

³¹      Reward her for all she has done.

Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Proverbs 31

The real contribution of this passage, however, is to demonstrate that women played an important social and economic role in Old Testament times. The Expository Dictionary of Bible Words (Zondervan, 1985) notes that in that agrarian society women actually filled roles that were the same as men. Thus the noble wife of this chapter “supervised a staff of workers (v. 27). She served as buyer for her enterprises (v. 13). She sold what her staff produced (vv. 18–24), and she invested her profits (v. 16). She had the freedom to give to help the needy (v. 20). She was respected for her wisdom and responsibility (vv. 14–15, 26–31).” Each of these is a “business” function, and while the woman’s activities were linked to her home and family, the biblical picture of the woman’s role is a far cry from the “stay–home–and–care–for–the–kids” concept of many moderns. In Old Testament times women had the opportunity to use their God–given abilities. Key verse. 31:10: The noble wife is an accomplished person. Personal application. Watch out for the “biblical view of women” that is merely male chauvinism dressed up in a misapplied text.

INSIGHT

The Bible’s portrait of women. The creation story makes it clear that both men and women were created in the image of God and thus are equal as persons (Gen. 1–2). With sin, the biblical ideal for male/female relationships became distorted, as did all other things in life (cf. Gen. 3:16). The fact that women were not automatically deprived of politically or spiritually sensitive roles by their sex is illustrated by the many significant women the O.T. singles out. Among them are Abigail and Ruth, who functioned within the traditional women’s role (1 Sam. 25; Ruth). But there are also women who broke the mold and served as prophets (Ex. 15:20; 2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chron. 34:22) and even one who served as a judge (Jud. 4:4–5).

If we are to see women in adequate perspective we must first of all affirm their absolute unity with men as persons of value and worth. We must also realize that women must be given, within society, opportunities to utilize all the capacities of personhood with which they have been endowed. Women are equal to men in ability, and gifted individuals should be encouraged to use their abilities within, and at times outside of, culturally defined expectations. Like the “noble wife” of Prov. 31, each woman, as well as each man, should be given the opportunity to achieve and be honored for every accomplishment.

^[1]

Proverbs 31

Only in eternity will we fully see the blessing that godly women have brought to this world. Proverbs has much to say about wicked women in chapters 1–9, and about nagging wives (21:9 and 25:24); the book closes, however, with a glorious tribute to the godly, dedicated woman who brings honor to God and joy to her family. Many servants of God thank God for godly mothers and godly wives. Next to making a decision for Christ, the most important decision a Christian will make is the choice of a life’s mate. “A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband” (Prov. 12:4). “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord” (Prov. 18:22, nkjv). “A prudent wife is from the Lord” (Prov. 19:14). Christians must not be unequally yoked together with unsaved mates (2 Cor. 6:14–18). They are to marry “in the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:39). A Christian woman who marries an unsaved man may be endangering her life in childbirth; see 1 Tim. 2:12–15. This chapter of Proverbs describes the “virtuous woman” and lists her fine qualities.

I.     Her Spirituality (31:1–9)

II.     Her Loyalty (31:10–12)

III.     Her Industry (31:13–22)

IV. Her Modesty (31:23–26)

V. Her Piety (31:27–31) reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations: quality or state of being: saintly dutiful respect or regard for parents, homeland, etc.:

WISDOM FOR LIVING – A STUDY OF PROVERBS

PROVERBS 28-31 --- GROUP WORK

1.     as you consider the passages from colossians and titus… what will you do to continue your development of wisdom and… how will you position yourself to share it with others?

2.     Go through the topics and share your insights from the passages presented.

         leadership

         honesty/ confession

        character & integrity

        anger

        discipline

        god – attributes

        4 things never satisfied

         4 things that amaze me

        4 things that make the earth tremble

        4 things on earth that are small but unusually wise

        proverbs 31 woman

---

i.e. id est, that is

trans. translation, translator, translated

^* Or those who fear the Lord; Hebrew reads those who fear.

^* Hebrew Sheol.

^* Or Coneys, or Rock badgers.

^* As in Greek and Latin versions; Hebrew reads scarlet.

^[1]Richards, Lawrence O.: The Bible Readers Companion. electronic ed. Wheaton : Victor Books, 1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996, S. 393