Daily Devotional
Betty Miller shares her daily devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.
The Wisdom of God
Verses for the Day:
19 It is better to
dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.
20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a
foolish man spendeth it up.Proverbs 21:19-20 (AMP):
19 It is better to dwell in
a desert land than with a contentious woman and with vexation.
20 There are precious treasures and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a
self-confident and foolish man swallows it up and wastes it.
These scriptures
in Proverbs warn us not to get into relationships with the wrong people,
and caution us not to be foolish and waste things. Verse 19 tells a man
that he would be better off living out in a wilderness and a desert, than to
live with a contentious and angry woman. Usually, in a wilderness or
desert, there are not many people dwelling there; so, in essence, this means
there are a lot worse things than living alone, and one of them is living with
the wrong person. Since King Solomon wrote these Proverbs, he
usually wrote from a man's perspective; therefore, he is warning men not to
marry a woman that is angry and does not have any character. Of course, the
opposite would be true also, a woman should not marry an angry man without
character either.
In verse 20
we are told that those who are wise, will store up precious treasure in their
houses and shall have plenty of supplies. Having "precious treasure" in a home
is more than just owning material things; it also means that a home where a wise
man lives will be a home of peace and joy, as well. This is because the man of
the house will do what it takes to create a Christian environment for his
family. He will consider his family a precious treasure and he will take
care of them.
When oil is spoken
of in scripture, it usually is referring to olive oil. Having "oil" in the house,
tells us that they had the necessities needed to make the home comfortable.
In Bible days, olive oil was very valuable. In fact, it was at one time used as
a medium of exchange, and was the evidence of prosperity. In households, it was
used in lamps for light, as an ointment in cosmetics and medicinal compounds,
and oil was also used for cooking purposes. In the temple, it was used for
sacrificial offerings and the priests also used it for anointing purposes.
Throughout the
book of Proverbs, we find that there are many contrasts between wise
behavior and foolish behavior. In this verse, we find that the wise man is
prosperous, while the foolish man lustful and wasteful. A foolish man is
self-indulgent, so he is a consumer, and does not think of saving. So many
in our society today have no savings, as their wants cause them to indulge in
the things they desire right now, with no restraints. The Bible calls this
lasciviousness. It is an evil that comes out of men's hearts. When
we come to the Lord Jesus, He will deliver us from these things, if we ask Him to
do so.
Mark 7:21-23:
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries,
fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye,
blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
The self confident
fool is also a waster. Waste is an evil also, and it especially can be
found in an affluent society. Since they have so much, they think nothing
of throwing perfectly good things away. Another reason for waste is they feel it
is too much trouble to fix something or gather up small pieces for other uses.
They never think of how someone else might use those things. Even old
clothing that cannot be worn any longer, can be torn up and used for cleaning rags, if a
person is resourceful. Jesus, Himself, practiced frugality and thrift.
We see this with the feeding of the multitudes. Once he had fed them by
multiplying the food, He ordered His disciples to gather up the remains.
Matthew
14:15-21:
15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert
place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into
the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
18 He said, Bring them hither to me.
19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five
loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and
gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that
remained twelve baskets full.
21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and
children.
From our study today, we can see that a
wise man will have plenty, while a foolish man who wastes, will have nothing.
Dear Father in
Heaven, I am grateful that You gave me a good husband who is gentle and kind.
I am blessed. Lord, I pray for any of my brothers and sisters in Christ who are
going through marital problems at this time. God, give them Your love and
grace to overcome the relationship problems they may be having. May they
discover the secret to a happy marriage is laying down one's life for the other,
praying for the other, preferring the other, and honoring and loving them. Lord,
we cannot change people, but You can. May each of us ask for the changes
needed in our own lives and in doing that, we shall trust You to give us the
love, patience and grace to deal with any problems in our relationships.
Give us Your wisdom, and help us also to overcome any waste in our lives. I
ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
|