Find and Care for Good Things

Introduction

When we finish Psalms of Proverbs we will move on to Lamentations / teach with Greg.

Left one verse off last week. Didn’t want to skip it again this week. So we start with it.

Proverbs 18:22 (KJV 1900)

22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, And obtaineth favour of the Lord.

Proverbs 19:14 (KJV 1900)

14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: And a prudent wife is from the Lord.

If the study of God’s Word is not first sanctifying in my own life then I am not a pastor I am simply a presenter.

Neighbor. Come hear me at church tomorrow I am speaking in the morning service. “You a speaker or a preacher?” “Good point..

God’s Word demands a response.

Proverbs 19 (KJV 1900)

1 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, Than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. 2 Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; And he that hasteth with his feet sinneth. 3 The foolishness of man perverteth his way: And his heart fretteth against the Lord. 4 Wealth maketh many friends; But the poor is separated from his neighbour. 5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, And he that speaketh lies shall not escape. 6 Many will intreat the favour of the prince: And every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. 7 All the brethren of the poor do hate him: How much more do his friends go far from him? He pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him. 8 He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: He that keepeth understanding shall find good. 9 A false witness shall not be unpunished, And he that speaketh lies shall perish. 10 Delight is not seemly for a fool; Much less for a servant to have rule over princes. 11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; And it is his glory to pass over a transgression. 12 The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; But his favour is as dew upon the grass. 13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father: And the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping. 14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: And a prudent wife is from the Lord. 15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; And an idle soul shall suffer hunger. 16 He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; But he that despiseth his ways shall die. 17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; And that which he hath given will he pay him again. 18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, And let not thy soul spare for his crying. 19 A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: For if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again. 20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. 21 There are many devices in a man’s heart; Nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. 22 The desire of a man is his kindness: And a poor man is better than a liar. 23 The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: And he that hath it shall abide satisfied; He shall not be visited with evil. 24 A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. 25 Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: And reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge. 26 He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, Is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach. 27 Cease, my son, to hear the instruction That causeth to err from the words of knowledge. 28 An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: And the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity. 29 Judgments are prepared for scorners, And stripes for the back of fools.

A prudent wife is from the Lord

Proverbs 19:14 (KJV 1900)

14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: And a prudent wife is from the Lord.

If you have found a worthy/virtuous woman you have found a great thing

Ruth 3:11 (KJV 1900)

11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.

Boaz only knew this because he was a virtuous man

Ruth 2:1 (KJV 1900)

1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.

This will be seen in the way he

protects

provides

kind

redeeming

It takes mighty men to find virtuous women. Men of low character do not not what to look for. They only see people for what they gave to gain.

Ruth 4:6 (KJV 1900)

6 And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.

She is a gift because she can be trusted.

Proverbs 31:11 (KJV 1900)

11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, So that he shall have no need of spoil.

She is a gift because she works hard

Proverbs 31:27 (KJV 1900)

27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, And eateth not the bread of idleness.

Knowing that a prudent wife is from the Lord how should we live in marriage with her?

1. Being poor may have to be an option, not having integrity is not.

Proverbs 19:1 (KJV 1900)

1 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, Than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

Poverty is not always seen as bad

worse than poverty of money is poverty of character

Integrity is seen most often in our lips / words

Proverbs 19:5 “A false witness shall not be unpunished, And he that speaketh lies shall not escape.”

Never let poverty be the result of idleness.

Proverbs 19:15 (KJV 1900)

15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; And an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

Proverbs 19:24 (KJV 1900)

24 A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

Know your heart. Know enough to not trust it.

Proverbs 19:21 (KJV 1900)

21 There are many devices in a man’s heart; Nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.

2. It takes discretion to defer anger and pass over a transgression.

Proverbs 19:11 (KJV 1900)

11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; And it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

Sometimes this will be very hard

Proverbs 19:13 (KJV 1900)

13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father: And the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

Proverbs 21:9 (KJV 1900)

9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, Than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

Proverbs 21:19 (KJV 1900)

19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, Than with a contentious and an angry woman.

Proverbs 25:24 (KJV 1900)

24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, Than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.

Proverbs 27:15 (KJV 1900)

15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day And a contentious woman are alike.

Some ideas of how to handle this situation

Proverbs 21:9 (KJV 1900)

9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, Than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

Proverbs 21:19 (KJV 1900)

19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, Than with a contentious and an angry woman.

Is it the rooftop of the wilderness?

“The man with a quarrelsome wife is not free to abandon her. He has made a covenant with her.”

Mark 10:5–7 (KJV 1900)

5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. 7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

God calls us to treat a quarrelsome wife better than she deserves, not worse than she deserves.

Proverbs 24:17 (KJV 1900)

17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:

It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife,” it means that this greater ease, greater comfort, greater peace of the housetop over going downstairs and loving this woman is true. It’s true.

Many arguments in marriage will center around timing.

Unmet expectations kill marriages.

Many of our plans will not happen, because as good as they may have been, they were not in God’s plans.

Proverbs 19:21 (KJV 1900)

21 There are many devices in a man’s heart; Nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.

Our wives need to be confident that are steps are being ordered of the Lord and we aren’t just making this up as we go.

Proverbs 20:24 (KJV 1900)

24 Man’s goings are of the Lord; How can a man then understand his own way?

How do we pass over a transgression?

Think upon the things of God.

1 Peter 2:19 (KJV 1900)

19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.

Peter was encouraging them through something much more intense then we experience.

violence 1 Peter 2:20

ridicule 1 Peter 4:4

fiery trials 1 Peter 4:12

“The daggers others throw your way will become in God’s hand chisels to fashion you into the image of Christ.”

We have been called to a life of struggle.

1 Peter 2:21 (KJV 1900)

21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

3. Fear the Lord above all else

Proverbs 19:23 KJV 1900

23 The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: And he that hath it shall abide satisfied; He shall not be visited with evil.

Fear of the Lord is contrasted with having a hard hear.

Proverbs 28:14 KJV 1900

14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: But he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

Fear of God corresponds with humility and lowliness and sensitivity of heart

Isaiah 66:2 KJV 1900

2 For all those things hath mine hand made, And all those things have been, saith the Lord: But to this man will I look, Even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, And trembleth at my word.

Awesome presence of God in our lives working for us, not against us, should produce trembling.

Philippians 2:12–13 KJV 1900

12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

We should delight to fear in HIs name

Nehemiah 1:11 KJV 1900

11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.

Would hate to be known as a man who fear nothing if that fear included the Lord

4. Seek godly advice and run to do it.

Proverbs 19:2 (KJV 1900)

2 Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; And he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.

Rehoboam teaches us how not to seek counsel.

Started off well

1 Kings 12:6 (KJV 1900)

6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?

But age and experience have a place in the pursuit of wisdom. Job

Job 12:12 (KJV 1900)

12 With the ancient is wisdom; And in length of days understanding.

Once preferred new books to old books. Not the case anymore.

If you only receive counsel when it agrees with you, you’re not really receiving counsel.

1 Kings 12:7–8 (KJV 1900)

7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. 8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:

Beware of counsel from people just like you.

Proverbs 11:14 (KJV 1900)

14 Where no counsel is, the people fall: But in the multitude of counsellers there is safety.

Pride is the enemy of wise counsel.

1 Kings 12:10 (KJV 1900)

10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.

Older people arent’ always right. We aren’t looking for old truth but God’s truth. But they are a great starting point.

Job 32:4 (KJV 1900)

4 Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he.

God’s Word has wisdom for us

So stop listening to lies

Proverbs 19:27 KJV 1900

27 Cease, my son, to hear the instruction That causeth to err from the words of knowledge.

Remember

1. Being poor may have to be an option, not having integrity is not.

2. It takes discretion to defer anger and pass over a transgression.

3. Fear the Lord above all else

4. Seek godly advice and run to do it.