Proverbs for Women

Here are a few verses from the book of Proverbs apart from Proverbs 31 that speaks about women in particular. Who is an ideal woman according to King Solomon? Discreet, gracious, noble, prudent, not quarrelsome or nagging (goes without saying, but if only men listened!) and of course faithful

Proverbs 11:22

As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. (KJV)

Proverbs 11:16

A kindhearted (gracious in some translations) woman gains honor, but ruthless men gain only wealth. (NIV)

Proverbs 12:4

A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones. (NIV)

Proverbs 19:14

House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the Lord. King James Version (KJV)

Proverbs 21:9

Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. (NIV)

Proverbs 21:19

Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife. (NIV)

Proverbs 22:14

The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit; a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it. (NIV)

Proverbs 23:27

for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well. (NIV)

Proverbs 27:15, 16

A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand. (NIV)

Proverbs 4: 1 to 9 - Wisdom is Supreme

¹ Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction;
pay attention and gain understanding.

² I give you sound learning,
so do not forsake my teaching.

³ When I was a boy in my father's house,
still tender, and an only child of my mother,

⁴ he taught me and said,
"Lay hold of my words with all your heart;
keep my commands and you will live.

⁵ Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or swerve from them.

⁶ Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.

⁷ Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

⁸ Esteem her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you.

⁹ She will set a garland of grace on your head
and present you with a crown of splendor."

A father's plea to his son to get wisdom. Wisdom is always portrayed as a woman in the book of Proverbs. This woman is in stark contrast to the foolish woman and the adulterous woman who we are constantly warned to beware of.

Firstly who is this lady called Wisdom? The New Testament reveals to us that 'Wisdom' is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself ( Read: 1 Cor 1:24, Colossians 2:3, 1 Cor 1:30). So now how can Wisdom be a woman? The answer is that in both Hebrew and Greek the noun wisdom is feminine (Much like our Indian languages where there may not be a neutral gender.)

These verses urge us to get hold of wisdom though it cost us all we have. Are you truly seeking for wisdom, then go to the one person who is wisdom. Wisdom not of man but of God.

Ref: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+4&version=NIV ; 'Be Wise' by William MacDonald.

Proverbs 3: 27 to 35 - Do Good

²⁷ Do not withhold good from those who deserve it,
when it is in your power to act.

²⁸ Do not say to your neighbor,
"Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"—
when you now have it with you.

²⁹ Do not plot harm against your neighbor,
who lives trustfully near you.

³⁰ Do not accuse a man for no reason—
when he has done you no harm.

³¹ Do not envy a violent man
or choose any of his ways,

³² for the LORD detests a perverse man
but takes the upright into his confidence.

³³ The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous.

³⁴ He mocks proud mockers
but gives grace to the humble.

³⁵ The wise inherit honor,
but fools he holds up to shame.

Ref: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%203&version=NIV

So here I am back again after a really long time. I'm sorry that I sorely neglected this blog after getting caught up in a dozen different things in the past month. The month of April was a busy but wonderful month; I got to spend time teaching children at a VBS, crossed over to the dark side of 20's ;) and joined a writing course that was a long cherished dream but too expensive for me to afford at one time. All along this blog has been at the back of my mind nagging me to write. Today I'm going to quote from William MacDonald's book on Proverbs 'Be Wise'. (my thoughts in italics)

" 27. Here are four verses that begin with the words "Do not..." Do not refuse any inward prompting to do good. It came from the Lord. You miss a great blessing when you fail to act. Have you been putting of some action of good that the Lord has been prompting you to do? we always complain about lack of time or we sit waiting for the right time when now is the right time.

28. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do for your neighbor today. Tomorrow may be too late. A soul may be lost, a heart may be broken or a life may be ruined.

29. Don't plot against your neighbour. There is something very valuable about the tie between neighbors. Our Lord Jesus goes one step further asking us to love our neighbors, like the good Samaritan.

30. Don't strive with a man who hasn't done anything wrong to you. Inasmuch as possible live at peace with all men (Rom 12:18).

In the last four verses of this chapter, the writer contrast four types of people in whom the Lord finds no delight and four who please him...

34. Those who treat the word of the Lord with scorn and contempt are subject to divine contempt. But he showers humble people with His favor.

35. God will honor those who show their wisdom by trusting and obeying Him. Fools will inherit nothing better than shame and disgrace. We all reap what we sow. "

Proverbs 3: 21-26 Safe and Secure?

21 My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment,

do not let them out of your sight;

22 they will be life for you,

an ornament to grace your neck.

23 Then you will go on your way in safety,

and your foot will not stumble;

24 when you lie down, you will not be afraid;

when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

25 Have no fear of sudden disaster

or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,

26 for the LORD will be your confidence

and will keep your foot from being snared.

When faced with family ruin, sudden disasters, calamities, death or sickness, life suddenly seems to take a downward spiral. Trouble seems to follow more trouble and all hope seems to vanish.

Many times looking back, we realize that a lot of trouble we face in life could have been avoided, if we had just been a little wiser or a little cautious. Unfortunately, most of us learn things the hard way.

Then again, if we look at the life of Job, we see that not all disaster can be avoided by being wise. What then is the use of all righteousness and wisdom if it can’t give you a guarantee against bad things happening to you? This is the part where I always seem to have a problem with Proverbs. It seems to put things in a cut and dried manner- Good will happen to those who are good and bad to those who are bad. And when I look about me all I see is the opposite happening.

It’s easy to question the truth of these words. Even King Solomon in all his wisdom found this a though question to answer. (Read Ecclesiastes) So what then must we conclude?

I found that the answer to this question is not learned easily. It needs to be experienced to actually say with confidence that the LORD will keep me from all harm and disaster. I am thankful that the Lord taught me at a young age that he is true to his promises. When my family went through a time of crisis, at a time when we had lost almost everything, the Lord showed us his mercy and carried us through, and although we never recovered all the material things that we lost, we as a family gained a lot more in spiritual wisdom, more than any book would have taught us.

Looking back these are the things I learned:

1) A lot of time trouble can avoided if we are not so naive about how the wicked and unjust the world really is. The truth is that there are people out there who will always wish you harm. Hence the need for “sound judgment and discernment.”

2) Even though we went through tough times the Lord never let us down. When we were foolish, we learned to depend more on HIS Wisdom rather than ours.

3) Evil may seem to win but that will not last forever. If you count you loss or trouble in terms of material wealth or blessing, it will always seem that the bad guys always win.

4) A person who trusts in the Lord need not have anything to fear, no matter how bad the situation seems to look at the moment, it will always bring forth blessing you may never have imagined.

Trust is the most important thing, sometimes it easy to doubt. Faith is built one step and one day at a time. It’s only when we look back that we realize how far we have really come.

Proverbs 3: 19-20 : Created with wisdom

19 By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations,

by understanding he set the heavens in place;

20 by his knowledge the deeps were divided,

and the clouds let drop the dew.

Words cannot describe the feeling that I get when I think of the beauty and precision of the universe. Men boast of reaching new heighst in science every day, we boast of going to the moon and giant telescopes and sending probes to other planets. Yet the more we learn about the universe, the more we realize that we are creatures of very little significance. Our minds cannot begin to grasp the vastness of the heavens above us.

With wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations. He set the earth in the perfect spot in the milky way, at the exact distance from the sun, made it the perfect size, set a single satellite at the exact distance, all so that life will be possible on earth. How much coincidence can lead to such perfection? For the earth is perfect in all regards for it to sustain life.

If you are in India please visit the Asha Kiran Planetarium Belgaum to learn more about the Universe and the God who created it. Visit http://ewei.org.in/ for more details.

Proverbs 3:13-18 - Life giving wisdom

¹³ Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
the man who gains understanding,

¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.

¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.

¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.

¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

Have you found wisdom yet? Are you still searching in all the wrong places? Blessed is the person who finds wisdom… the question is; “Where will you find wisdom?”

The Lord Jesus Christ once asked his disciples if they were going to continue to follow him inspite of his hard teachings. To this Peter replied “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…” (John 6: 60 to 68) There is only one person in this world you can go to, who can grant you life giving wisdom. The world can offer you all kinds of wisdom on “How to live your life, how to make loads of money, how to make your home look pretty, how to stay healthy and fit…” but what will it profit you, if you lose your soul? At the end of it all, you will die just like anyone else in the world.

Stop looking in all the wrong places. Go! Find that one person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who holds with him the words of eternal life.

(Ref: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%206:%2060-69&version=NIV)

Proverbs 3: 11,12- Tough Love

11 My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke,

12 because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

Does God punish us when we do something wrong? That’s a difficult question… I am not a bible scholar to answer that one. It is, however, clear from these verses that the Lord does disciplines his children.

If you are a child of God and knowingly continue to sin then be ready for some discipline. The Lord could use anything to discipline his children; it could be a sermon you listen to which pricks your heart, a bible verse, a Christian friend, or the circumstances you find yourself in as a result of sin. Rebuke and discipline is never pleasant or easy. The hurt of it could sting for days.

One must remember however, that not all bad circumstances are a result of God’s discipline. If you are going through troubles of some sort then closely examine your life to see if there is sin in your life. If there isn’t, then it could be that the Lord is using those circumstances to build your faith and make you stronger in him. No matter what the circumstances though, the most important thing is, to never doubt the love of God and never question his ways.

To read more about God's dicipline in the Bible, please read Hebrews 12: 7 to 12. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews%2012&version=NIV)