Proverbs chapter 14; I die daily devotional.

¹ The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.
² He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD,
But he who is devious in his ways despises Him.
³ In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his back,
But the lips of the wise will protect them.
⁴ Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,
But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.
⁵ A trustworthy witness will not lie,
But a false witness utters lies.

Remember the 9th of this month? “Wisdom has built her house”. This chapter starts out similar: The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands. Upon hearing the gospel we find it very… ‘well, male. The biblical narrative is predominantly male for reasons that inspire me to understand the significance of the cross. Remember? The Lamb of God is where the house of Wisdom resides—on the throne. …(I’m going to stay on this train of thought as we read through our sections of this chapter of proverbs—that way I’m not all over the place—to exercise our faith).

⁶ A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none,
But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.
⁷ Leave the presence of a fool,
Or you will not discern words of knowledge.
⁸ The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,
But the foolishness of fools is deceit.
⁹ Fools mock at sin,
But among the upright there is good will.
¹⁰ The heart knows its own bitterness,
And a stranger does not share its joy.

Marriage according to God is when a man leaves his father and mother, to be joined to his wife; a male and female soul united as one being _{(Gen 2:24)}. And because Jesus is the male property of His female counterpart, Wisdom; there is a complete house—if you will—built in that relationship. Love describes the distinct qualities between male and female in the mystery and context of marriage. Jesus, the Son of Man, the Son of God, died willingly and obediently for us; His bride _{(Eph 5, Rev 19:7)}. It’s no coincidence that the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary (the mother of Jesus) because; The wise woman builds her house. And no one can go into her house, but through Jesus _{(John 14:6)}; the Lamb of God.

¹¹ The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
But the tent of the upright will flourish.
¹² There is a way which seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.
¹³ Even in laughter the heart may be in pain,
And the end of joy may be grief.
¹⁴ The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied with his.
¹⁵ The naive believes everything,
But the sensible man considers his steps.

The resources to build our house are described in the book of Revelation. To believe in Jesus Christ is to receive the spiritual material necessary to function as an eternal being in a life that experiences the condemnation of death. I love how the female narrative describes our faith; faith that grants access and consists of an abundance to heavenly material. And since we believe, we have the “tools” available to “construct” our soul; not with human hands, but with hands of faith. That is the responsibility we have to our gift of salvation; it’s a work of faith, not of human will or understanding—but the will of God _{(Rom 12:2, 2Pet 1:21)}.

¹⁶ A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil,
But a fool is arrogant and careless.
¹⁷ A quick-tempered man acts foolishly,
And a man of evil devices is hated.
¹⁸ The naive inherit foolishness,
But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.
¹⁹ The evil will bow down before the good,
And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
²⁰ The poor is hated even by his neighbor,
But those who love the rich are many.

When we hold the testimony about Jesus in faith, we’re equipped with the spirit of prophecy _{(Rev 19:10)}. The spirit of prophecy is the book of Revelation. It’s important to pay attention to the book in its entirety, do NOT take away from it and do NOT add to it _{(Rev 22:18-19)}. That looks to me like a warning of a different kind of severity than when God warned the man not to eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

²¹ He who despises his neighbor sins,
But happy is he who is gracious to the poor.
²² Will they not go astray who devise evil?
But kindness and truth will be to those who
devise good.
²³ In all labor there is profit,
But mere talk leads only to poverty.
²⁴ The crown of the wise is their riches,
But the folly of fools is foolishness.
²⁵ A truthful witness saves lives,
But he who utters lies is treacherous.

Now look at this!

^{Rev 21:9} Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” When you read through the last chapters of Revelation you’ll see how a wise woman builds her house, the house of Wisdom! Those of us who believe have the seal of the Holy Spirit and promise of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In faith our conscience is washed clean, we are free! Look at the new heaven and new earth! Look at the bride, the wife of the Lamb—New Jerusalem! Now just try and tell me you don’t get excited when exercising your faith in the Kingdom of God, but I don’t care who you are… THIS IS EXCITING!

²⁶ In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence,
And his children will have refuge.
²⁷ The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,
That one may avoid the snares of death.
²⁸ In a multitude of people is a king’s glory,
But in the dearth of people is a prince’s ruin.
²⁹ He who is slow to anger has great understanding,
But he who is quick-tempered exalts folly.
³⁰ A tranquil heart is life to the body,
But passion is rottenness to the bones.

When we look at eternity through the lens of the gospel, we don’t fear death. We have strong confidence with the fear of the Lord because we experience His fountain of life; His Words are True! Now with our faith, let’s built our house. Yes?! ^{Rev 21:27} and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. ^{Rev 22:10} And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. ¹¹ Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.”

We have work to do!

³¹ He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker,
But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.
³² The wicked is thrust down by his wrongdoing,
But the righteous has a refuge when he dies.
³³ Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, But in the hearts of fools it is made known.
³⁴ Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.
³⁵ The king’s favor is toward a servant who acts wisely,
But his anger is toward him who acts shamefully.

^{Rev 22:14} Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.—I don’t know about you, but my soul still needs washing. Thank God He’s provided us His Lamb, and the wife of the Lamb for a house to wash our robes. We can not wash our robes without going to God in the name of Jesus Christ. So come on… come with me…

Let’s go!

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