The Proverbs Study

Hello my readers!

I am so very sorry I haven't posted anything recently. I have been extremely busy with finals and concluding the school year, that I have not had a chance to sit down and post. :( I am planning on continuing this summer for sure. :) Meanwhile, I will post a once a week verse and my thoughts on it. Feel free to comment on anything and let me know what spoke to you in each verse! I would love to hear your thoughts. :)

Blessings,
Sarah

Proverbs 31:3~ Day 3

"Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings."

~Proverbs 31:3~

It is right for fathers and mothers to teach their children what is good and what is wicked. When children are young, they are mostly under their mother's eyes. It is best to mold and fashion their soft and innocent minds before they grow too old and independent. With that said, we can imagine Lemuel as a young king sitting before his mother, quietly listening to her wise advice.

In this verse, verse 3, Lemuel's mother warns her one sin; uncleanness. Matthew Henry's commentary on this verse says this, "He (Lemuel) must not be soft and effeminate..." This, I believe has become a big problem in our culture today. The words effeminate means, "(of a man or a boy) having traits, tastes, habits traditionally considered feminine, as softness or delicacy." I hope you see this is our culture! Sadly, it has become quite welcomed and common. The Bible makes it very clear in Genesis that a man and a woman are separate. God created man with a different role in life than women as well as physical appearance. God created women with a different role in life than men as well as physical appearance. There is a clear picture of how simple it is! The world makes it so much more complicated where now, if someone wanted to, they could change their physical features to be more like the gender they wanted. It is a devastating picture of how evil our world is.

Another aspect of this verse is, that Lemuel's mother is warning him also about the lust of the flesh. She desires her son to save his heart and body for his future wife. Her advice is to not even "give your strength to women" for it will destroy him in the end. Like in my last post, her concern is genuine. 

The next section of this verse says, "nor your ways to that which destroys kings." Firstly, she says do not give your strength to women and now she says "nor your ways". His ways would mean his course of life. He should not give up his life for any woman, unless it is his wife. "That which destroys kings." Now Lemuel's mother gives him a reason for all of this. It is because it will destroy him in the end. Sin destroys. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Sin not only destroys us spiritually, but it can also destroy us physically. Lemuel's mother is warning him about the dangers of living in sin. As he is king, Lemuel could probably relate. He had so much power as king, that the thought of being destroyed must have put a little bit of fear in his heart. 

We can get a lot out of this small verse. Firstly, sin is highly dangerous. It will destroy, no matter what you think. Sin is like a disease that can only be cured by the blood of Jesus Christ. If you choose not to get that type of cure, you will die spiritually and physically. But with Jesus as our Savior, we will live eternally with Him in heaven! Secondly, Lemuel's mother was again showing her deep love and concern for her son. By showing him the evils of this world, she was able to communicate her concern for him. There is yet ANOTHER wonderful example of a virtuous mother!

Proverbs 31:2~ Day 2

"What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows?"

~Proverbs 31:2~

This verse is an awakening to King Lemuel before his mother begins speaking to him.  Lemuel's mother is evidently concerned for her son's welfare. "What, my son?" she says. I can only imagine her concerned voice as she speaks to her son. In context with the rest of the verses, vs. 1-9, it shows that Lemuel may have had a struggle with the constant temptations of the world when he was a young man. Wine, women, bitterness, etc. Therefore, his mother is extremely worried for his livelihood and his reputation. She is concerned with the path he took or was taking and she saw fit to bring her concern to his attention. She then says, "and what son of my womb?", the child she bore in pain is has chosen a wicked path. Her last question is, "and what, son of my vows?". In other words, she prayed for him and God blessed her with a son. 

I am not a mother, however I can only imagine how her heart must have been breaking. In my last post, I talked about the blessing of having a mother. This post is about the blessing of being a mother. When a child does something unimaginable, like Lemuel seemingly did, a mother's heart must just break at the thought that the child she prayed for, birthed, and raised, is going in another direction contrary to the teachings they were brought up under. This is how a mother's heart should be. Her heart should be concerned for her children's welfare. She should desire her children to prosper for the rest of their life! 

Lemuel's mother is a perfect example of a concerned mother. This type of concern is not a stressful, anxious concern. It is a healthy concern that is only for the benefit of her children. If Lemuel's mother did not have this genuine concern for her son, I believe Proverbs 31 would be very different than it is today! :) Her words to her son were full of love and concern. Let us use this beautiful example to use now (if you are a mother) and in the future (when you become a mother). :) May you all have a wonderful day in Him!

Proverbs 31:1~ Day 1

Hello friends! I must apologize for not posting anything for a couple months. For some reason my email address is linked with Google which disabled me to log in to my blogger account. :( I can finally log in and I am thrilled with the thought of being able to write again! :) For the couple months I have not been writing, I have been pondering what I should write about. As a young woman, my desire is to save my heart purely and completely for my future husband. I have read a couple books on this subject. One of them is "Before you meet Prince Charming" by Sarah Mally. The other is "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris. They are both amazing books regarding purity for young women. Th second book by Joshua Harris is also appropriate for young men. :)

Any who, I have decided to write each day, for 31 days, on each of the 31 verses in Proverbs 31! Proverbs 31 is a great chapter talking about a virtuous woman. It is a whole chapter of King Lemuel's mother giving him advice on how to know if a woman is virtuous. This can go for both guys and girls. For the guys, this will teach them what to look out for in a girl. The guys make the first move so it has to be a good one! For the girls, this will teach them what a virtuous woman should look like. All girls should strive to be this type of woman! We are not perfect. But these are God's words to us, so we must strive to obey them. So.... let's start! :)

"The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him:"

~Proverbs 31:1~

Some people believe that King Lemuel is a different name for King Solomon, while others believe the writing of King Lemuel is just of the same nature as Solomon's, therefore it is put into the book of Proverbs. The first 9 verses of chapter 31 is advice from his mother on the dangers of the lurking temptations in the world. This first verse is the introduction to these 9 verses of advice. First it says, "the words of King Lemuel", which means these are the writings of Lemuel. What are his writings? His writings are "the utterance which his mother taught him." To me, I can already see a virtuous woman characteristic. Lemuel's mother is teaching her son things of God. Mothers, as well as fathers, must teach their children. I believe a mother's primary role is to teach her children. The father is the head of the household and does teach from the Bible. He is the ultimate teacher in the house. However, in our day and age, while the father is at work, what should the mother be doing? She should be teaching her children. Not just education by the world's standards, but education by God's standards. She must teach her children the things of the Lord and how to live a godly life. I believe Lemuel's mother is doing that here. Everything she says in Chapter 31 of Proverbs is her advice to her son. Who knows, she may have been speaking all of this to her other children as well. I also like the fact that Lemuel wrote "which his mother taught him." He very well could have not added that into his writing. The fact that he acknowledge's his mother, is very humble. I am certain that even now, we can looks back and see how much we owe to our mothers. Everything they taught us, we will be able to put to use. Sometimes I have a hard time seeing that, myself. Sometimes I think, "Oh I won't use that in my day to day life!" But then most of the time I end up wrong. I may find myself in a circumstance where I used that much needed advice. 

Mothers are important in one's life. I know some people do not have mothers in their life. Or maybe they do, but she is not a good role model. But we (ladies) can use use this example in the Bible as our guide to be role models for our children someday. It is no excuse to say that because you did not have a mother or  because she wasn't a good role model, that you cannot strive to be that good example to your future children. Let's keep this advice in our back pocket for when God makes us wives and then mothers! :)

Weak vs. Mighty

"But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence."

~1 Corinthians 1:27-29~

My new years resolution for 2013 was to read through all the letters in the New Testament (Romans to Jude), a chapter a day. The letters are very fasconating to me and I love how easily put they are for the most part. :) There is a lot of applicable lessons that I can use in everyday life. On Thursday I finished Romans and today I am starting 1 Corinthians. I must confess; I am here in Minnesota and we have been so busy with family that I have neglected my bible studies for a couple days. :( Today is the coldest (high of -4) so we are staying inside for the day and so I have time to spare. :) Anywho, I came across this verse and really liked it.

When I read these verses, I thought of David. He was an unattractive, small, inferior, young teenager who had done nothing significant with his life other than keep watch over the sheep. He was also the youngest of his tall, burly, attractive brothers which made it even worse. In other words, David was small and insignificant. However, God used him greatly! David was a big part of Isreal's history and he contributed much to the Bible. If it weren't for him, the Psalms would not exist. Goliath would not have been defeated, and he was also known as the greatest King in Israel's history! The Lord used him mightily. Throughout the Bible, God used men coming from all different backgrounds; primarily the poor and insignificant in the world's eyes.The world expects the heroes of the world to be wealthy, attractive, and powerful. Whereas God is pleased with using the "weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty." John the Baptist is another good example of how God uses the weak things of the world for His glory. Although John was spiritually strong, he was weak in the way that he was poor. John lived in the wilderness, ate honey and locusts all to simply preach the Word of God to the people. When Jesus picked his disciples he did not go into the temple and pick the knowledgable, wise and holy priests. He sought his followers among the poor fishermen, the despised tax collectors, the doctors, etc.

However, it is truly amazing to me that the most perfect example is Christ's birth into this world. Jesus could have come like the Jews expected Him; majestically in royal clothing, on a valiant steed. That would have been like any other king, though. Jesus, as humble as He is, came as a weak baby lying in a manger, born into a poor family. His humble birth brought surprise to many, but it is truly humbling for us.

The way God works is not how we work, and it is definitely not how the world works. the world expects the rich and popular things to prosper not the inferior and weak things. Jesus very well had the power to put on a show the day of His birth, but He did not. The Lord works in marvelous ways! :) If you are feeling insignificant or you have a "nobody cares about me attitude" just remember that God has the best plan for you and your future. Just trust in Him and allow Him to use you every step of your life with Him! :) 

Sharpening: A "Friendly" Tool

 "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

Proverbs 27:17

Just a few days ago, I hosted a get-together with my six best friends. My desire was to just get the girls over to have a fun time of fellowship, games and customized pizzas. :) I was so excited as were my friends. We rarely have time to have fun because of the business of school and life. I had been looking forward to this evening for quite some time and it had finally arrived. During dinner, my dad took me aside and suggested that as we sit around the fire pit and chat, that we take turns and say what we would like to see the Lord do in each of our lives this new year. So, when we were ready to go outside, we did that. At first I thought it would be a quick 5-10 minutes of taking turns talking, but it soon turned into a "popcorn" discussion. One girl would bring up something in her life, and another would chime in and encourage her. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was! The quick 5-10 minutes turned into a God-filled 30-40 minutes of deep discussion! After the party, the verse above in Proverbs came to my mind. I felt so "sharpened" after our discussion. It truly is a great feeling to encounter. It seemed that all seven of us girls was going through similar things in life; probably because our ages range from 14-18. :) I believe our friendship with one another was strengthened and I am so excited to spend the rest of my life with these girls! :) I also felt, during the discussion time that the Lord was there with us, because everything we spoke about was about Him and completely pure and holy. 

"Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things."

Philippians 4:8

 The verse in Proverbs is very important to a person's relationship with the Lord. It is also an encouragement to sharpen your friends in the knowledge of the Word. It is hard to find good friends in this fallen world, I understand, but you can be that friend whom someone will never forget. The Lord may just use you to speak into a friend's life for the better.  I just wanted to share my experience with you readers. It was truly a God-given time of fellowship, discussion, and laughing and I am so thankful to the Lord for wonderful friends! :)

Praise: A Life Long Commitment

 "PRAISE the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! While I live I will praise the LORD; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish. Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God..."

Psalm 146:1-5

 I love the beginning of these verses, "while I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being." This verse says a lot of how a Christian should worship and how often. Our worship to the Lord should be continuous! Never-ending, lasting, and until we die. In everything and through everything, worship is necessary. It does not matter whether or not your life is going smoothly or you are suffering through a difficult trial; God commands our worship. I like how the psalmist put that, "I will sing praises to my God while I have my being." In other words, until our life on earth is done. Now, you may be asking, but how do we worship? Worship can take many forms. Singing, kneeling, praying, godly actions/words, giving, and speech are all forms of worship to the Lord. God values our attention towards Him. He desires to be the primary purpose of our lives. If then, He is your primary purpose of living, your desire should also be to worship Him at all times. Make it your life's goal to please Him in everything! "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!" God bless you dear readers!