Proverbs - Marriage, Finances, Children, Religion

	"That which has been is that which will be," we saw last week from Ecclesiastes 1:9-11, "and that which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one might say, 'See this, it is new"? Already it has existed for ages which were before us.  There is no remembrance of earlier things; and also of the later things which will occur, there will be for them no remembrance among those who will come later {still.}"
	As we noticed in our last discussion, the book of Proverbs has some valuable advice for our society.  Our government would do well to heed Solomon's words of wisdom concerning crime and welfare.  Our culture should listen to his instructions regarding discipline and morality.  Solomon also has much to say about the more personal aspects of our lives.  He talks about our families, our finances and our religion.
	Our society takes marriage much too lightly.  We fail to recognize the importance of the husband-wife relationship.
	"An excellent wife is the crown of her husband," Solomon notes in Proverbs 12:4, "but she who shames { him} is as rottenness in his bones."
	Proverbs 31:10-31 is the classic discussion of the importance of a wife.  The picture here is certainly not one of a lowly woman tied to the kitchen.  But neither is she ashamed of her domestic activities.
	"An excellent wife, who can find?" Solomon asks. "For her worth is far above jewels.  The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.  She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.  She looks for wool and flax, and works with her hands in delight.  She is like merchant ships; she brings her food from afar.  She rises also while it is still night, and gives food to her household, and portions to her maidens.  She considers a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard.  She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong.  She senses that her gain is good; her lamp does not go out at night.  She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hands grasp the spindle. She extends her hand to the poor; and she stretches out her hands to the needy.  She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet.  She makes coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.  Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells {them,} and supplies belts to the tradesmen.  Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.  She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.  She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and bless her; her husband {also,} and he praises her, {saying:} 'Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all.'  Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, {but} a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates."
	Proverbs has some words of wisdom about marriage.
	Our society has decided that it is not good to discipline children.  In fact, discipline is considered to be synonymous with child abuse.  We don't seem to have the wisdom to see that the real abused children are those who are undisciplined.  We don't understand that discipline and abuse are on opposite ends of the spectrum.  But Solomon does. 
	"He who spares his rod hates his son," Proverbs 13:24 instructs, "but he who loves him disciplines him diligently."
	"A foolish son is destruction to his father," Solomon notes in Proverbs 19:13.
	"Discipline your son while there is hope," he continues in verse 18, "and do not desire his death."
	The death mentioned here results from pursuing an undisciplined life.
	"He who assaults {his} father {and} drives {his} mother away is a shameful and disgraceful son," Solomon adds in verse 26.
	"He who curses his father or his mother," we find in Proverbs 20:20, "his lamp will go out in time of darkness."
	"Train up a child in the way he should go," Proverbs 22:6 advises, "even when he is old he will not depart from it."
	"Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;" Solomon observes in Proverbs 22:15, "the rod of discipline will remove it far from him."
	"Correct your son," we learn  from Proverbs 29:17, "and he will give you comfort; he will also delight your soul."
	Solomon has good advise about our families.
	One of the greatest curses of our society is the result of our warped attitude about children.  Some consider them to be some kind of commodity.  They have even convinced themselves that it is their right to kill a baby if the child might be inconvenient for some reason.  They call this abortion, and it conflicts with the value of children presented in the book of Proverbs.
	"Grandchildren are the crown of old men," we read in Proverbs 17:6, "and the glory of sons is their fathers."

	Proverbs has much to say about our families.  It also contains good advise about our finances.  Many of our problems stem from our addiction to riches.
	"Better is a little with the fear of the Lord," Solomon states in Proverbs 15:16-17, "than great treasure and turmoil with it.  Better is a dish of vegetables where love is, than a fattened ox and hatred with it."
	"Better is a little with righteousness than great income with injustice," we learn from Proverbs 16:8.
	"Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it than a house full of feasting with strife," Proverbs 17:1 points out.
	"A {good} name is to be more desired than great riches," Solomon reminds us in Proverbs 22:1, "favor is better than silver and gold."
	Along with our addiction to riches, we seem to have a great fascination with luxury.
	"It is not good to eat much honey," Solomon warns in Proverbs 25:27, "nor is it glory to search out one's own glory."
	"Keep deception and lies far from me," Solomon requests in Proverbs 30:8-9, "give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, lest I be full and deny {Thee} and say, "Who is the Lord?' Or lest I be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God."
	Our society is fascinated with luxury.  Proverbs suggests a much more modest lifestyle.
	We have somehow been brainwashed into believing that we should get rich quickly.  Gone are the days when we stressed a day's work for a day's wage.  We believe in the lie of gambling.  Even our lawmakers have been hoodwinked into believing that a government can depend upon gambling.  How many of us would counsel a teenager to become a professional gambler?  Why, then, do we think that it is a good idea for our governments to become professional gamblers?
	"He who tills his land will have plenty of bread," Proverbs 12:11 instructs, "but he who pursues vain {things} lacks sense."
	"Wealth {obtained} by fraud dwindles," Solomon says in Proverbs 13:11, "but the one who gathers by labor increases {it.}"
	When will we ever learn?  When will we heed these words of wisdom?  When will we listen to God's instruction about our families and our finances?  And when will we open our ears and hearts to what He has to say about religion?
	"How long, O naive ones, will you love simplicity?" Solomon wonders in Proverbs 1:22-33. "And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge?  Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.  Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention; and you neglected all my counsel, and did not want my reproof; I will even laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm, and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress {and} anguish come on you.  Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me, because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.  They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof.  So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be satiated with their own devices.  For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them, and the complacency of fools shall destroy them.  But he who listens to me shall live securely, and shall be at ease from the dread of evil."
	"The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord," Proverbs 15:8 notes, "but the prayer of the upright is His delight."
	"Every word of God is tested;" we read in Proverbs 30:5-6, "He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.  Do not add to His words lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar."
	Through Solomon and the book of Proverbs, God tries to instruct us about our government, our culture, our families, our finances and our religion.  Will we listen?  Solomon hopes that we will.
	"To know wisdom and instruction," he writes in Proverbs 1:2-7, "to discern the sayings of understanding, "to receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity; to give prudence to the naive, to the youth knowledge and discretion, a wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
	"My son," Solomon hopes in Proverbs 2:1-5, "if you will receive my sayings, and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord, and discover the knowledge of God."
	"My son, do not forget my teaching," Proverbs 3:1-12 requests, "but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life, and peace they will add to you.  Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.  Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.  It will be healing to your body, and refreshment to your bones.  Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.  My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord, or loathe His reproof, for whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father, the son in whom he delights."
	"Hear, {O} sons, the instruction of a father," Solomon recommends in Proverbs 4:1-9, "and give attention that you may gain understanding, for I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my instruction.  When I was a son to my father, tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, then he taught me and said to me, 'Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments and live; acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.  Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom {is:} acquire wisdom; and with all your acquiring, get understanding.  Prize her, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.  She will place on your head a garland of grace; she will present you with a crown of beauty.'" 
	God wants us to make the right decisions.  But the choice is ours.  Will we be wise or foolish?
	"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes," Proverbs 12:15 points out, "but a wise man is he who listens to counsel."
	"There is a way {which seems} right to a man," Solomon notes in Proverbs 14:12, "but its end is the way of death."
	We must have the humility to recognize that God's wisdom is greater than ours.
	"Pride {goes} before destruction," Proverbs 16:18 warns, "and a haughty spirit before stumbling."
	Let's turn our society around.  Let's listen to God before it is too late.
	"Apply your heart to discipline," Solomon suggests in Proverbs 23:12, "and your ears to words of knowledge."
	"Buy truth, and do not sell {it,}" he concludes in verse 23, "{Get} wisdom and instruction and understanding."
	Let's hold on to the truth so that it can set us free.
Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."