Slackers and Nagging Wives – Proverbs 19-21

Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast.  This is Episode #200 and today we’ll read Proverbs 19-21 together.   Let’s work hard to avoid being known as slackers and nagging wives.  

Welcome

Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Season 2!  I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me – from the beginning – simply reading God’s word together.  We built some spiritual muscles in 2020 with just the New Testament.  But this year we’re going all out, cover-to-cover, Old Testament and New.  So, whether with your first cup in the morning, your commute to work, or as the last thing on your mind before sleep, God’s Word will equip you for every good work.  I’m really glad you’re here!

Proverbs 19

Better a poor person who lives with integrity

than someone who has deceitful lips and is a fool.

Even zeal is not good without knowledge,

and the one who acts hastily sins.

A person’s own foolishness leads him astray,

yet his heart rages against the Lord.

Wealth attracts many friends,

but a poor person is separated from his friend.

A false witness will not go unpunished,

and one who utters lies will not escape.

Many seek a ruler’s favor,

and everyone is a friend of one who gives gifts.

All the brothers of a poor person hate him;

how much more do his friends

keep their distance from him!

He may pursue them with words,

but they are not there.

The one who acquires good sense loves himself;

one who safeguards understanding finds success.

A false witness will not go unpunished,

and one who utters lies perishes.

Luxury is not appropriate for a fool —

how much less for a slave to rule over princes!

A person’s insight gives him patience,

and his virtue is to overlook an offense.

A king’s rage is like the roaring of a lion,

but his favor is like dew on the grass.

A foolish son is his father’s ruin,

and a wife’s nagging is an endless dripping.

A house and wealth are inherited from fathers,

but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

Receive Instruction

Laziness induces deep sleep,

and a lazy person will go hungry.

The one who keeps commands preserves himself;

one who disregards his ways will die.

Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord,

and he will give a reward to the lender.

Discipline your son while there is hope;

don’t set your heart on being the cause of his death.

A person with intense anger bears the penalty;

if you rescue him, you’ll have to do it again.

Listen to counsel and receive instruction

so that you may be wise later in life.

Many plans are in a person’s heart,

but the Lord’s decree will prevail.

What is desirable in a person is his fidelity;

better to be a poor person than a liar.

The fear of the Lord leads to life;

one will sleep at night without danger.

The slacker buries his hand in the bowl;

he doesn’t even bring it back to his mouth!

Strike a mocker, and the inexperienced learn a lesson;

rebuke the discerning, and he gains knowledge.

The one who plunders his father and evicts his mother

is a disgraceful and shameful son.

If you stop listening to correction, my son,

you will stray from the words of knowledge.

A worthless witness mocks justice,

and a wicked mouth swallows iniquity.

Judgments are prepared for mockers,

and beatings for the backs of fools.

Proverbs 20

Wine is a mocker, beer is a brawler;

whoever goes astray because of them is not wise.

A king’s terrible wrath is like the roaring of a lion;

anyone who provokes him endangers himself.

Honor belongs to the person who ends a dispute,

but any fool can get himself into a quarrel.

The slacker does not plow during planting season;

at harvest time he looks, and there is nothing.

Counsel in a person’s heart is deep water;

but a person of understanding draws it out.

Many a person proclaims his own loyalty,

but who can find a trustworthy person?

A righteous person acts with integrity;

his children who come after him will be happy.

A king sitting on a throne to judge

separates out all evil with his eyes.

Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure;

I am cleansed from my sin”?

Differing weights and varying measures —

both are detestable to the Lord.

Even a young man is known by his actions —

by whether his behavior is pure and upright.

The hearing ear and the seeing eye —

the Lord made them both.

Don’t love sleep, or you will become poor;

open your eyes, and you’ll have enough to eat.

“It’s worthless, it’s worthless!” the buyer says,

but after he is on his way, he gloats.

There is gold and a multitude of jewels,

but knowledgeable lips are a rare treasure.

Wait on the Lord

Take his garment,

for he has put up security for a stranger;

get collateral if it is for foreigners.

Food gained by fraud is sweet to a person,

but afterward his mouth is full of gravel.

Finalize plans with counsel,

and wage war with sound guidance.

The one who reveals secrets is a constant gossip;

avoid someone with a big mouth.

Whoever curses his father or mother —

his lamp will go out in deep darkness.

An inheritance gained prematurely

will not be blessed ultimately.

Don’t say, “I will avenge this evil!”

Wait on the Lord, and he will rescue you.

Differing weights are detestable to the Lord,

and dishonest scales are unfair.

Even a courageous person’s steps are determined by the Lord,

so how can anyone understand his own way?

It is a trap for anyone to dedicate something rashly

and later to reconsider his vows.

A wise king separates out the wicked

and drives the threshing wheel over them.

The Lord’s lamp sheds light on a person’s life,

searching the innermost parts.

Loyalty and faithfulness guard a king;

through loyalty he maintains his throne.

The glory of young men is their strength,

and the splendor of old men is gray hair.

Lashes and wounds purge away evil,

and beatings cleanse the innermost parts.

Proverbs 21

A king’s heart is like channeled water in the Lord’s hand:

He directs it wherever he chooses.

All a person’s ways seem right to him,

but the Lord weighs hearts.

Doing what is righteous and just

is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

The lamp that guides the wicked —

haughty eyes and an arrogant heart — is sin.

The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit,

but anyone who is reckless certainly becomes poor.

Making a fortune through a lying tongue

is a vanishing mist, a pursuit of death.

The violence of the wicked sweeps them away

because they refuse to act justly.

A guilty one’s conduct is crooked,

but the behavior of the innocent is upright.

Better to live on the corner of a roof

than to share a house with a nagging wife.

A wicked person desires evil;

he has no consideration for his neighbor.

When a mocker is punished,

the inexperienced become wiser;

when one teaches a wise man,

he acquires knowledge.

The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked;

he brings the wicked to ruin.

The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor

will himself also call out and not be answered.

A secret gift soothes anger,

and a covert bribe, fierce rage.

Life, Righteousness and Honor

Justice executed is a joy to the righteous

but a terror to evildoers.

The person who strays from the way of prudence

will come to rest in the assembly of the departed spirits.

The one who loves pleasure will become poor;

whoever loves wine and oil will not get rich.

The wicked are a ransom for the righteous,

and the treacherous, for the upright.

Better to live in a wilderness

than with a nagging and hot-tempered wife.

Precious treasure and oil are in the dwelling of a wise person,

but a fool consumes them.

The one who pursues righteousness and faithful love

will find life, righteousness, and honor.

A wise person went up against a city of warriors

and brought down its secure fortress.

The one who guards his mouth and tongue

keeps himself out of trouble.

The arrogant and proud person, named “Mocker,”

acts with excessive arrogance.

A slacker’s craving will kill him

because his hands refuse to work.

He is filled with craving all day long,

but the righteous give and don’t hold back.

The sacrifice of a wicked person is detestable —

how much more so

when he brings it with ulterior motives!

A lying witness will perish,

but the one who listens will speak successfully.

A wicked person puts on a bold face,

but the upright one considers his way.

No wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel

will prevail against the Lord.

A horse is prepared for the day of battle,

but victory comes from the Lord.

Close

Wow!  Two hundred episodes! Six hundred fifty-two chapters.  You have read the Bible for 200 days…well past half the year and over halfway thru the Bible itself.  And now I’m going to ask:  Are you different?  Have you allowed His Word to change you?  I pray these 200 days – 460 if you did the New Testament with me last year – has become life to you.  I hope that a day without His Word now seems incomplete to you.

In this episode, we began to find out that Solomon – and God – has no patience for laziness and dishonest scales.  We are to work hard and to have integrity in our business dealings.  We must remember that even when our bosses aren’t looking, God sees.  Colossians 3:22 drives this home:  Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. Verses 23 & 24 go on to say, Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord.You serve the Lord Christ.

For the Good of My Marriage

But I can’t help but be disturbed by Proverbs 19:13, 21:9, and 21:19.  Do I sound like a dripping faucet to Mitch?  Does he describe me as ill-tempered?  When I nag, does he feel like he wants to run away to the corner of the roof?  Well, between you and me, I know that answers to these questions are yes, because he has told me so.  That confessed, it seems the more important question is, Am I willing to keep my tongue under control for the good of my marriage?  I hope so.  If that question haunts you too, let’s remind each other often at Lifting Her Voice.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Thank you for joining me here today.  I pray that by spending time in His Word every day, you will by changed.  Visit me at Lifting Her Voice.com with your comments and questions.  And don’t forget to visit the Blog page while you’re there.  If you like the podcast, it would be great if you’d give it a five-star review and share it with everyone you know.  Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  See you tomorrow!

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.