Study of Proverbs 31 - Week #14 - Humble

"She makes herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.". v.22

A godly woman is humble. 

Some translations phrase the first half of this verse as "She makes her own bed linens", because according to Strong's, the "coverings of tapestry" means a coverlette or bedspread. One commentary I read stated that this would be more of a coarse, sturdy linen, but whether these are plain and simple or fancy tapestry, she makes her own bed linens. Also, earlier in verse 15, it states that she rises early to prepare food for both her family AND her servants. You'd expect a woman with maids to make them do the cooking and tedious work of weaving, but no, this woman in Proverbs is humble enough to do that work herself.

Webster's Dictionary - Humble: not proud, haughty, arrogant, or assertive

Webster's Dictionary - Humility: free from pride or arrogance

Strong's Concordance - Humility: gentleness or meekness

1. Psalm 25:9 - God will guide and teach the meek

2. Psalm 37:11 - the meek will inherit the earth and delight in the peace

3. Psalm 138:6 - although the Lord is high above us, He respects the humble, but is distant from the proud

4. Psalm 147:6 - the Lord lifts up the meek

5. Psalm 149:4 - the Lord will beautify the meek with salvation

6. Proverbs 6:16-17 - a proud look is an abomination to the Lord

7. Proverbs 11:2 - shame comes with pride

8. Proverbs 15:33 - humility comes before honor

9. Proverbs 16:5 - a proud heart is an abomination to the Lord

10. Proverbs 16:9 - it is better to be humble and poor than rich and proud

11. Proverbs 16:18 - pride goes before the fall

12. Proverbs 18:12 - pride is before destruction and humility is before honor

13. Proverbs 21:4 - a proud heart is a sin

14. Proverbs 22:4 - riches, honor, and life come by humility and the fear of the Lord

15. Proverbs 29:23 - honor will uphold the humble

16. Ecclesiasties 7:8 - patience is better than pride

17. Isaiah - 29:19 - the meek will increase their joy in the Lord

18. Micah 6:8 - the Lord requires us to walk humbly with God

19. Matthew 5:5 - the meek will inherit the earth

20. Matthew 18:4 - those who are as humble as children will be great in the kingdom of heaven

21. Matthew 23:12 - those who humble themselves will be exalted

22. Mark 7:20-23 - pride comes out of the heart and defiles you

23. Romans 12:3 - don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to

24. Romans 12:16 - don't be haughty, but associate with the humble

25. Galations 5:22-23 - a fruit of the Spirit is gentleness and meekness

26. Ephesians 4:1-3 - walk with meekness, endeavoring to keep peace

27. Philippians 2:3-8 - do everything with humility, putting others before you, even as Christ took the form of a servant and humbled Himself unto death

28. Colassians 3:12 - as God's elect, show humility and meekness

29. 1 Timothy 6:11 - flee sin and temptation, and follow after meekness

30. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 - if you are called to teach others, do so with meekness and gentleness

31. Titus 3:1-2 - be gentle and show meekness to all

32. James 4:6 - God gives grace to the humble

33. James 4:10 - the Lord will lift up the humble

34. 1 Peter 3:1-4 - wives, be in submission to your husband, and let your adornment be that of a meek spirit

35. 1 Peter 5:5-7 - everyone, be humble to each other, for God gives grace to the humble; humble yourself before God, because He cares for you

36. 1 John 2:16 - the pride of life is of the world, not of the Father

The Bible speaks very strongly about pride and humility. A proud heart is not just a sin, but an abomination to the Lord. That's pretty hard; that means it's worthy of hatred and disgust. Pride will defile and destroy you, make you very distant from God, and bring you shame. The pride of life is not from the Father, but from this World. 

On the flip side, humility will bring you close to God, and He will guide, teach, and lift you up. Humility will bring honor, life, and riches far greater than any you could get through pride. More than sacrifice or fasting, God requires that we walk humbly with Him and show meekness as His elect people. 

Often those who are humble and meek get trampled on or badly used or even just forgotten about by the World; however, patience is still better than pride. The humble are made beautiful by the Lord's salvation, find great joy in the Lord, and will be great in the kingdom of heaven. Remember, honor comes after humility.

Humility will change your relationships with others; it is the best way to keep peace and create unity. If you are called to teach others, you should do so with meekness and gentleness, instead of with an air of superiority or condescension. And, although Peter speaks specifically of wives winning their husband to Christ though their humility and meekness, I believe we ALL could get much farther with others if we were to show humility. Humility is a much better adornment and charm than a pretty outward appearance. 

Being humble is one of the most difficult things to do, but as we are filled with the Holy Spirit, it will flow out of us. God gives grace TO the humble, and gives grace to BE humble. We can be humble before God and others because we know that He cares for us and is working on our behalf. Our humility is an example of Jesus, because He left His high station and came to earth in the form of a servant, and humbled Himself even to death on the cross for us.

Study of Proverbs 31 - Week #13 - Compassionate

"She stretches out her hand to the poor; yea, she reaches forth her hands to the needy." - v. 20

A godly woman is compassionate. 

This goes hand-in-hand with what we were talking about last week; our compassion will move us to be generous. 

Webster's Dictionary - Compassionate: having or showing compassion; sympathetic

Compassion: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.

Strong's Concordance - Compassion: to have the bowels yearn, i.e. (figuratively) feel sympathy, to pity:—have (be moved with) compassion. 

1. Psalm 78:38-39 - God remembers that we are only flesh, and compassionately forgives us

2. Psalm 86:15 - God is full of compassion

3. Mathew 9:36-38, Mark 6:34 - Jesus had compassion on the lost multitudes, and prayed that God would send workers to guide them

4. Matthew 14:14 - Jesus had compassion, and healed them

5. Matthew 15:32, Mark 8:2 - Jesus had compassion, and fed them

6. Matthew 18:23-35 - a parable of having compassion and showing forgiveness, as Christ did for us

7. Matthew 20:34 - Jesus had compassion, and restored their vision

8. Mark 1:41 - Jesus healed a leper

9. Luke 7:12-15 - Jesus brought a widow's son back to life out of compassion

10. Luke 10:30-37 - the Samaritan had compassion

11. Luke 15:20 - the father had compassion on his prodigal son

12. Romans 12:15 - sympathize with each other, both in joy and sorrow

13. Ephesians 4:32 - be kind and tender hearted

14. Philipians 2:1-2 - be of one mind, show love with compassion

15. Colossians 3:12-13 - as God's elect, we should show compassion

16. Hebrews 2:17-18 - Jesus suffered as we do so that he can be a compassionate and merciful high priest

17. Hebrews 14:15-16 - Jesus is compassionate for he was tempted as we are

18. Hebrews 15:1-2 - every earthly high priest is an example of Christ, in that he can have compassion for the weak, because he has weakness, too

19. 1 Peter 3:8-9 - be of one mind, and compassionate to each other

Jesus is our ultimate example of compassion. Everywhere he went, he had compassion on people, both for their spiritual needs and for their physical needs; this led him to heal, feed, and pray for them. God showed compassion on the Israelites and on us, remembering that we are just weak, frail flesh, and forgiving us. Cannot we then, remember that everyone else is also just frail flesh, and have compassion?

I have seen these quotes going around on Facebook and Pinterest, which all credit different authors but all have the same idea of "You never know what someone is going through, so be kind" or "Be kind, because everyone is fighting a hard battle." That is compassion; and although we may not know exactly what another person is going through, we too are humans and ought to be able to sympathize. 

I love the picture that is used in Hebrews of Jesus being our high priest; he intentionally and willingly suffered and was tempted as we are so that he could be a compassionate and faithful intercessor for us before God. It then continues to say that earthly high priests can also be compassionate to the weak and lost around them, because they, too, have weakness. An earthly high priest could be a pastor, or maybe a missionary, but it can also be you and me, as in 1 Peter 2:9, we are referred to as a "royal priesthood". 

And so, as God's people, we should be of one mind with each other, being compassionate, and sympathizing with each other in both joy and sorrow; that sympathy should then move us to show love, kindness, tenderness, patience, etc. We do those things, not just because it is our duty, but because of the compassion we feel as a result and example of the compassion Christ gives to us.

Study of Proverbs 31 - Week #12 - Generous

"She stretches out her hand to the poor; yea, she reaches forth her hands to the needy." - v. 20

A godly woman is generous. 

Webster's Dictionary - Generous: characterized by a noble or kindly spirit; liberal in giving. 

I think it important to set the stage here by saying that generosity does not only speak of giving away money or possessions. Just as we talked about with being economical, our resources can be so many different things, and we should be generous with all our resources; generous with our time, our money, our patience and kindness and love and spiritual gifts and anything that we can give to others.

1. Deuteronomy 5:7, 11 - open your hand and heart to the poor and needy

2. Psalm 112:9 - a good man disperses his wealth

3. Proverbs 3:27-28 - if you have the ability to help someone, do not put it off

4. Proverbs 11:25 - the liberal soul will be made fat

5. Proverbs 13:7 - even if you are made poor because of your generosity, you will still have great riches

6. Proverbs 14:21, 31 - if you honor God, you will have mercy on the poor, and be happy

7. Proverbs 21:26 - the righteous give without sparing

8. Proverbs 22:9 - those who are bountiful will be blessed

9. Proverbs 25:21-22 - we should be generous even to our enemies, as a witness to them

10. Proverbs 28:7 - those who give to the poor will not lack

11. Isaiah 58:1-12 - our "righteous" and religious acts avail us nothing if we are not actively showing the love of God through generosity

12. Matthew 5:42 - give to those who ask you

13. Matthew 19:21; Mark 10:21; Luke 18:22 - Jesus tells us to sell what we have and give to the poor, because we ought not love our possessions more than Christ

14. Luke 3:11 - if you have excess, give to those who don't

15. Luke 6:38 - the generosity that we show to others is the generosity that will be shown to us

16. Luke 12:33-34 - give generously, and you make your treasure in heaven

17. Acts 20:35 - it is better to give than to receive

18. Romans 12:8 - give liberally, not asking glory for yourself

19. Romans 12:13 - distribute to the needs of fellow believers; be hospitable

20. 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 - we should help others in their time of need because of the grace God has shown us

21. 2 Corinthians 9:6-10 - those who sow bountifully will reap bountifully; give cheerfully and trust that God will supply your needs

22. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 - those who are rich should be ready to distribute, and gain eternal riches

23. James 2:15-16 - good words don't profit if you don't act out your generosity

24. 1 John 3:17-18 - do not just say you love God and others, act your love through generosity

I honestly got so much more out of this study than I expected. I expected most of the verses in Proverbs, and the ones in the Gospels, that talk about being liberal and bountiful and giving to the poor. Not that I intend to minimize the importance of those verses, but simply that they're very straight forward. It is better to give than to receive; there are more valuable riches in Heaven, so we should be willing to give away our earthly riches in order to gain the prize that Christ gives to us. If we have the ability to help someone, we shouldn't put it off, and we should be generous to our enemies, as a display of Christ's love to them. We should give humbly and simply, not looking to glorify ourselves or get something in return. 

There were a few sections that really stood out to me, though. The first was Isaiah 58:1-12, corroborated by James 2:15-16 and 1 John 3:17-18. The passage in Isaiah is God speaking to the Israelites. They were praying, and seeking God, and fasting, and doing all the "right, Christian" things, and yet they were angry because God would not hear their prayer. God says "Is this all I asked of you, to fast and pray and cover yourself in sackcloth and ashes? The fast that I want from you is to break away from sin, to free the enslaved, to give your food to the hungry, bring the homeless into your home, and care for your fellow men. If you do those things, then the Lord will guide you, satisfy you, make you strong, and you will be the foundation for many future generations." I believe the point in these three passages is that God wants more from us than to simply say we love Him, or know the truth, or go through the religious motions. He calls us to actively display His love and the truth of His words through our generosity to others. 

Secondly, the verses in 2 Corinthians 8. Paul is encouraging the Corinthians to be generous in their help of other believers who are in need, using the Macedonians as a good example of giving despite having little to give. Paul reminds them that if they want to give, they should not dwell on the fact that they have very little, but instead think about what they do have to give, and that we give to others because of how much God gave for us. I believe that the church was meant to be a community that supports each other through generosity; as Paul says, not that some are burdened and others get it easy, but that when one person has needs, other people can supply them, and when those people have a need, someone else will step up to supply it. As it says in Romans 12:13, we are to distribute to the needs of the saints and be given to hospitality. I also like how Paul refers to the grace of God many times; Webster's Dictionary states that grace is unmerited help and favor. Even the fact that we have means to give to others is a testament to the grace that God has given to us. 

This flows right into the next chapter of 2 Corinthians, in which Paul continues to talk about giving generously, and that we should do it cheerfully, not with a bad attitude or because we have to. Specifically, verses 8 and 10 stand out to me. God is able to bountifully give you His unmerited help and favor so that, your needs being supplied, you may be bountiful to others in good works. Now, may Jesus Christ supply your needs, multiply the good works you plant in others, and increase the blessing, reward, and fruit that comes out of those good works. Every time I read those verses my heart starts pounding, because it is such a strong picture to me, and resonates so loudly. 

This is how generosity works: Christ was more than generous to us, in that He gave His LIFE for us. Every single day, He is willing to give us Himself to fill us up, if we would only receive it. Once we are full of Him, we can pour out generously to others, in order to fill them with the very same grace that Christ filled us with.

Study of Proverbs 31 - Week #11 - Wise

"She opens her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness." - v.26

A godly woman is wise. 

Strong's Concordance - Wisdom: skill in war, wisdom in administration, shrewdness, prudence

Webster's Dictionary - Wisdom: ability to discern inner qualities and relationships, good sense and judgment

Wise: marked by deep understanding, keen discernment, and a capacity for sound judgment

1. Psalm 19:17 - the Lord's testimony (declaration) is established and faithful, and will make the foolish wise

2. Psalm 37:30 - the righteous speak wisdom

3. Proverbs 1:5 - a wise man continues to learn

4. Proverbs 1:7 - a fool despises wisdom

5. Proverbs 2:1-6 - if you apply yourself to seek wisdom, then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and He will give you His wisdom

6. Proverbs 2:10-11 - wisdom and discretion will preserve you

7. Proverbs 3:13-14 - the gain from wisdom is better than gold

8. Proverbs 4:5-9 - wisdom is the first and best thing, and will ornament you with grace

9. Proverbs 7:4-5 make wisdom like a sister so that you are not tempted or distracted by false strangers

10. Proverbs 8:11 - wisdom is better than rubies

11. Proverbs 8:14 - wisdom has strength

12. Proverbs 8:17 - those that seek wisdom early shall find it

13. Proverbs 8:19 - the fruit of wisdom is better than gold

14. Proverbs 8:20 - wisdom leads in a righteous way

15. Proverbs 8:32,34 - those that seek wisdom are blessed

16. Proverbs 8:33 - the wise will not refuse instruction

17. Proverbs 8:35-36 - those who find wisdom find life

18. Proverbs 10:8 - a wise man will receive commandments

19. Proverbs 10:13,31 - those with discernment will speak wisdom

20. Proverbs 11:2 - the humble have wisdom

21. Proverbs 12:18 -  wise tongue is health

22. Proverbs 13:10 - those who take advice are wise, but pride brings conflict

23. Proverbs 13:20 - to be wise, you should walk with wise people

24. Proverbs 14:1 - a wise woman builds her house

25. Proverbs 14:8 - a prudent ma  will give wise thought to this ways, but folly is deceiving

26. Proverbs 14:33 - wisdom is with the discerning person

27. Proverbs 15:2,7 - a wise mouth uses knowledge well and disperses it

28. Proverbs 16:16 - wisdom is much better than gold or silver

29. Proverbs 16:23 - a wise heart will speak wisdom

30. Proverbs 17:24 - wisdom is with the discerning person

31. Proverbs 18:4 - the fountain of wisdom is like a pouring river

32. Proverbs 19:20 - you will be wise if you receive counsel and instruction

33. Proverbs 24:3 - a home is built by wisdom

34. Proverbs 24:5-6 - wisdom is strong and there is safety in a group of counselors

35. Proverbs 24:13-14 - wisdom to the soul is like honey to the taste

36. Proverbs 26:12 - a man wise in his own conceit is more hopeless than a fool

37. Proverbs 29:15 - correction brings wisdom

38. Ecclesiasties 2:13 - wisdom is better than folly like light is better than dark

39. Ecclesiasties 7:12 - both wisdom and money are useful, but wisdom gives life

40. Ecclesiasties 7:19 - wisdom is stronger than ten mighty men

41. Ecclesiasties 9:18 - wisdom is better than weapons of war

42. Ecclesiasties 10:10 - wisdom gives good direction

43. Jeremiah 9:23 - we ought not glory in our wisdom

44. Romans 11:33 - God's wisdom is deep with riches

45. Romans 12:16 - be not wise in your own conceits

46. 1 Corinthians 1:30 - Jesus is our wisdom

47. 1 Corinthians 2:7-10 - God's hidden wisdom is revealed to us by the Spirit

48. 1 Corinthians 3:19 - the world's wisdom is as foolishness to God

49. Colossians 2:2-3 - all the treasures of wisdom are in Christ

50. James 1:5-6 - if we ask God with faith for wisdom, He will give it liberally

51. James 3:13-17 - anyone who is truly wise will show meekness, instead of pride, selfishness, and jealousy. God's wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere.

Wisdom is a vast and deep subject in the Bible, and this is by no means an exhaustive list. 

What a beautiful metaphor: wisdom is better than folly like light is better than dark. Why is light so good? It allows you to see clearly, and in seeing provides good judgment and discernment. It shows dirt in the corner to clean out; it helps you see the fine details on a delicate project; it helps you discern between friend and enemy; it allow you to take stock of anything coming against you so you know best how to fight it off. 

Darkness, on the other hand, obscures your vision, tricks you into seeing things that aren't really there and keeps you from seeing the truth, fills you with fear and causes you to make poor decisions or at least fail in your good attempts. So, wisdom is better than folly. 

The rewards of wisdom are better than gold, silver, and rubies; both wisdom and money are useful, but wisdom brings life. God's wisdom is deep with riches. Wisdom is stronger than tan the brute force of ten mighty men, and is a better defense than the weapons of war. It will preserve you and keep you from being led away by temptations, and will lead you in a good and righteous way. Wisdom gives good direction and counsel. In all your efforts to grow and learn, make sure you learn wisdom, for it is the first and best thing; those who find it find life, blessing, and an ornament of grace. Wisdom is to your soul like honey is to your taste.

If you would find wisdom, apply yourself to seeking it early, and God will give you His wisdom. The fountain of wisdom is like a pouring river - it gushes and gushes and cannot be stopped. Be willing to receive correction and instruction, and surround yourself with wise people. Diligently seek the Scriptures, for the Lord's words are long established and always faithful, and will make you wise. If we ask God for wisdom, with faith intending to act upon it, then He will give it to us liberally. We will find wisdom in Jesus Christ, and by the Holy Spirit God's hidden wisdom is revealed to us.

We are warned not to seek the world's wisdom, because it is as foolishness to God, and the wisdom of God is often thought of as foolish by the world. We also should not be prideful in our wisdom or think we know it all, because that person is more hopeless than a fool, and a fool despises wisdom. 

Instead, a truly wise person will show meekness, because God's wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere. A wise person will be humble, righteous, and discerning. they will continue to learn and not refuse instruction. They will take advice and give wise thought to their ways. A wise person will speak wisdom and use their knowledge well, giving health to those who hear them. Lastly, it is through seeking, using, and speaking wisdom that we will build our house strong.