The Strand Study Bible

PROVERBS PROVERBS the earth of all its resources or dominating God’s creatures or building a house and/or a business or planning for a vacation or working to get an education . No, the very first work God wanted man to do was to “work to eat” (to learn to live for the day –Gen 2:9). The virtuous person puts “working to eat” (living for the day) above “working to gain things” (living for tomorrow). He understands that no matter how successful he becomes in the eyes of men (Psa 49:16-18), he will have failed in the eyes of God (Lk 12:16-21) if he places “living for tomorrow” above “living for the day.” NOTE – According to the wisest man to ever live, there is a stark contrast between “laboring to live” and “living to labor” (Eccl 1:1-3). Whereas God created us all to “live to labor” (II Thess 3:6-12), He warned us all not to “labor to live” (that is, not to get too caught up in toiling over the temporal – I Tim 6:6-10). We are to work to live, not live better. In fact, according to Solomon, the very first step to better living is learning to enjoy the day, not the dollar ( Eccl 2:24 & 3:13,22 & 5:12,18-19 & 8:15). If you “live for the day,” you’ll “live to labor,” but if you “live for the dollar” you’ll “labor to live” and miss-prioritize God’s will for your life. THE ADAGE IS TRUE: If you learn to enjoy the day instead of the dollar, you’ll prepare for tomorrow without planning on being there (Prov 27:1 and James 4:13-16) Question: Do you want to work or do you have to work? Fix your view of might (why you work) and you will become “priceless” (virtuous; something that will not be sold because it cannot be sold). 4. Being frugal enough to be charitable, not cheap (vs 14) The virtuous woman is like a trading ship ( She is like the merchants’ ships ). She makes sure that those around her are provided for, no matter what it costs her or where she has to go ( she bringeth her food from afar ) to get it. The virtuous person is honest and thrifty and goes to great lengths to make sure others around him get what they need (Lk 10:30-37). NOTE – Have you ever wondered why the Jews have become the butt of every joke when it comes to money? Are they not frugal? Is not frugality a good thing? So why, then, are the Jews the target of so many money jokes? According to Genesis 12:1-3, the descendants of Abraham (the Jews), have been given some great promises due to Abraham’s obedience: 1. I will make of thee a great nation (Were they not a great nation under Solomon?) 2. and I will bless thee (Are they not the smartest, wealthiest people on earth? 129 Jews to date have won the Nobel Prize) 3. and make thy name great (Have they not become household names?) 4. and thou shalt be a blessing (Sadly, they have failed to become the blessing they were meant to be to the rest of the world) According to Romans 9:4-8, the Jews were the most privileged people on earth, and yet they blew it ( Mt 21: 33- 43 ). The reason the Jews failed so miserably is because they failed to become the blessing they were meant to be to the rest of the world. They were meant as a people to take their God-given nation, their God-given intelligence, and their God-given ability to make money and use it to further God’s agenda, not their own. Sadly, however, the Jewish people became so temporal minded they were no eternally good. By the time of Christ, half the Jews (Sadducees) didn’t even believe in the eternal anymore. Focusing on the temporal more than the eternal, leads those who are frugal to become more stingy than charitable. Question: Are you frugal with money so you can give more or are you frugal so you can have more? Fix your view of money (why you’re frugal) and you will become “priceless” (virtuous; something that will not be sold because it cannot be sold). 5. Serving others, instead of being served (vs 15) The virtuous woman sacrifices ( She riseth also while it is yet night ) in order to help the help ( and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens ). She arises early in order to assist the assistants. Question: Do you serve the servant or does the servant serve you (Mt 20:20-28)? The virtuous person serves the server before he serves himself ( Lk 12: 35- 37 -40). Question: What comes first to you – your interests or the interests of others? NOTE – The person who values what God values (virtue) will keep from selling-out to the world, the Devil, and the flesh. Question: Do you work to serve or be served ? Fix your view of might (why you work) and you will become “priceless” (virtuous; something that will not be sold because it cannot be sold). 6. Having enough business sense to make real cents (vs 16) The virtuous woman is not “hasty” to spend money ( She considereth a field, and buyeth it ). She is so efficient in matters of money that she can buy a plot of ground and plant a vineyard in order to feed her family and turn a profit. She has enough business sense to make real cents. Thus, she can “plant” for the future. NOTE – If you’ll notice, two of the three subjects that are used to characterize what it means to be virtuous (priceless) are found in this one verse. Can you name them? Which comes first – money or might ? Fact: You can’t plant a vineyard ( might ) if you don’t own the land ( money ). The idea behind verse 16 is that you can do more with money than you can with might . Thus, the virtuous person will work smarter (using money ), not harder (using might ) ( Mk 12: 41- 44 , Lk 16: 1- 8 -13 and Mt 6:19-21,24). Question: Do you invest in the present or do you invest in the future ? Fix your view of money (what you invest in) and you will become “priceless” (virtuous; something that will not be sold because it cannot be sold). 7. Living to work, instead of working to live (vs 17) Instead of having to work, the virtuous woman lives to work. And because she lives to work, she cares about how she feels. She 997