Proverbs 21

Diligence leads to plenty. What I found interesting about the ill gotten gain, was remembering that people can gain things through evil means. But that things you gain by evil means destroys the soul.
We have that warning again, twice actually, against being a contentious wife. This time proverbs says its better to live in the wilderness or on the corner of a roof than with a contentious wife. An argumentative angry wife is bad! Not that I condone divorce under any circumstances, but when you think of a naggy wife in this context, you can see why a man wouldn’t want to live with her.
Paying attention to the needy and poor is not an option for the Christian. We see here that God will not hear us in our hypocrisy. If we cry out to God and we are not acknowledging the cries of the poor, then God will not hear our cry.
Verse 16 really intrigued me because there is a picture of a man who already has understanding and then walked away from it. How scary to think you could already have the understanding that proverbs has been begging us to have and then abandon it for other things. One commentary I read said that this man was seduced by the pleasures of the world.
I know people that live for pleasure…I find myself caught up there sometimes too, living for great food and other self gratifying pleasures. We need to remember to harness our feasting and other luxuries. Living for such things will make us poor. It is not being good stewards of our resources.
A wise man will have oil in his house. We don’t really use oil for lamps anymore, but the message is still there. A wise man will have his home stocked with the necessities he needs. A wise man will be prepared. I’m reminded of the story of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25. 5 of them took enough oil for the trip and 5 didn’t. The wise ones wouldn’t share because they had enough for themselves. By the time the foolish ones got to the door of the bridegroom and the door was shut. Preparation was needed. When they said, “Lord, Lord,” he responded with “I don’t know you.” Oil is also symbolic of the Holy Spirit. This is a reminder to us to keep our own lamps full of His Spirit so that our light may shine brightly to those around us.
Wisdom is better than strength. Guarding our tongues keeps our souls out of trouble. It is important that we give freely instead of desiring what other people have.
There is no wisdom, counsel or understanding to be found outside of the Lord.
“The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord” Proverbs 21:30
Every day we need to get up and be prepared for battle. We need to get up every day and do our part. God will take care of the rest. We do our part, and He will do His. I find great comfort in this.