A Virtuous Wife / Wisdom by the Numbers

New Guest: Like these, most posts are devotional; those related to CAR BIZ can be found by searching for that title. You might start with 'Welcome,' the first post in the archives, dated November 12, 2008, where I introduce myself and the blog.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 Devotions: Proverbs 31

Wisdom from Lemuel, king of Massa in northwest Arabia: As a king, you must abstain from wasting your strength with women or alcohol—a distracted man cannot administer justice or protect his people. Rather, give strong drink to those who are perishing or in bitter distress, that they may have respite from their suffering. Speak for the speechless; stand up for the desolate. Judge righteously and protect the rights of the poor and needy. A good wife is more precious than jewels. Her husband trusts her and is prospered by her. All her days, she does him good and not harm. She finds work for her capable hands; she gathers food; she works early and late, providing for her household and guiding her servants. She invests in good land; she plants vineyards for the future; she wills herself to be strong. She is wise in business and works late into the night. She spins and weaves. She is generous to the poor and needy. She has no fears for her household, since she has clothed them well. She dresses herself in good taste. Her husband is honored in the community, in part because of her virtues. She is strong and dignified, and laughs when others are afraid. When she speaks, she voices wisdom and teaches kindness. She tends to her household and her business, and shuns idleness. Her children bless her and her husband praises her: ‘Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.’ Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a God-fearing woman is worthy of praise. Let her have the fruit of her labors, and let her works bring her public acclaim.

Monday, September 28, 2009
Devotions: Proverbs 30

Words from Agur—dialog of a sceptic and a believer.

Sceptic: I am of sub-human intelligence, too stupid to be a man, unlearned in wisdom or the knowledge of the Holy One. No mortal has ascended to heaven; none has gathered the wind in his fists, or wrapped the waters in a garment, or measured the ends of the earth. If there were one, surely you’d know his name!

Believer: God’s every word proves true. He is a Shield to those who take refuge in Him. Make no attempt to add to His words, lest He rebuke you and you be found a liar.

I ask only two things before I die. Remove falsehood and lying far from me, and provide the basics I need to survive—for if I prosper, I may deny God, and if I languish, I may despair and steal, profaning God’s name.

Do not slander a servant to his master, lest the Master curse you and you be held guilty. There are those who curse their fathers and slander their mothers; some are pure in their own eyes, yet in reality they are filthy. Some are proud, haughty with raised eyelids. There are those whose teeth are swords and knives—they devour the poor and the needy.

The life-sucker has two daughters, who constantly cry, ‘Give! Give!’ There are four things never satisfied: Sheol, a barren womb, the dry earth, and fire. An eye that mocks one’s parents will be picked out by the ravens, devoured by the vultures. There are four ways too wonderful for me to understand: an eagle in the sky, a serpent on a rock, a ship on the high seas, and a man with a maiden.

An adulteress takes what she wants, fixes her makeup, and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’

Four things that shake the very earth: a slave become king, a well-fed fool, an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a maid who takes the place of her mistress.

Four things are small but very wise: ants—a weak people, yet they store a year’s provisions in the summer; badgers—a weak people, yet they make their home among the mighty rocks; locusts—a species with no king, yet they march in rank and devastate the earth; and a lizard—you can take it in your hands, yet it lives in kings’ palaces.

Four things are stately: the lion—mightiest of beasts, turning back from nothing; the strutting rooster; the male goat; and a king striding before his people.

Some good advice: if you have been foolish, exalting yourself, or devising evil, then cover your mouth and desist. For as pressing milk produces curds, and pressing the nose brings blood, so pressing anger produces strife.