Day 47 Bible Food - the Word of God

Good morning as we read on more wise words from King Solomon or as we call him respectfully in short, king Solly.

We are going to begin this in chapter 21.

Proverbs chapter 21

¹The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
²Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

Verse does not just speak on kings we've had on the earth, it also includes Jesus. And verse two; we will see a man do something as I mention before and he will justify himself or herself in his or her mind; but God will weigh what you really had on your mind to see if the action was justified.

⁹It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house. ¹⁹It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.

Never read this to your wife when she is angry men and brothers. This is a profound truth in my discussion with different men. An angry and argue-some woman is pretty rough to be around; still men must deal with their wives out of knowledge. In other words, you must know how to handle your wife, for the main fact that she is yours.

Also, Solomon had many wives and concubines, he would certainly know and he was the real "international-player" if you want to call it that because he married strange women, that is women for different countries (that later got him in trouble). I guess women are women no matter what country you go to.

¹²The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.
¹³Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

Righteous men wisely consider the ways of the wicked and how their out come is. He watches what happens to violent men, to thieves, to adulterers, and he can see that the majority of them have made life more difficult for themselves. They have kids outside the marriage and now child support comes in, sexually transmitted disease, jail time and a record, getting shot and not able to walk anymore, and so many irreversible things happen and the wise consider it and steer clear.

Another thing the wise also consider are the poor. They do not close their ears to the cry of the poor knowing that with the swing of the pendulum, they can become poor and have to cry for help also.

¹⁴A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath. When a man commits adultery against his wife, or he does something else foolishly or forgetful; a gift will pacify the anger, however, the issue still much be addressed. No use in putting a band aid on without stopping the bleeding.

¹⁶The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead. If a one has no understanding of this world and the Word of God, they are considered spiritually dead. We are reading through this book together with understanding. Once the Lord blesses you with the ability to understand knowledge, if you wander from that, you will remain in the congregation of the spiritually dead, and eventually if you are spiritually dead God has no use for you and you'll become physically dead.

¹⁷He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich. This is something I think everyone should know. What do drug addicts initially start using drugs for in general? To escape pain and increase pleasure. They usually end up very poor, so poor they steal to pay for their pleasure, which the world calls addiction. Solomon is giving solid proof in the pudding, we have to recognize this and understand. If the drug user does not clean themselves up they become a poor man or woman.

²³Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. This is important, because some people cannot shut their mouth. They have to get the last word in a debate or argument, they have to tell their boss a thing or two on their mind, and cannot hold back when someone says something to anger or annoy them. It is wise to work hard on controlling your mouth.

I remember being in the car with a young lady some time back; and she made a 'u-turn' in front of her house to get a parking space. An officer pulled her over right in from of her house and confronted her. He was not going to give her a ticket; but he wanted respect and to warn her. Instead of just saying officer I'm sorry, she went into, I'm right in front of my house, you are being anal, and so on. The officer wasn't even a traffic officer, I believe he was a detective, and he called for back up to have her written up.

I pleaded with her to close her mouth and be humble and apologetic; but she could not and kept rambling until a nice $75 dollar ticket was in her hands. I learned my lesson, even though I already knew not to wise talk police. I learned not to let a woman drive! I know send all letters of complaint to me women.

Proverbs 22

¹A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
²The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

I read this in high-school, and I worked hard to have a good name. What I noticed is that your reputation will kill you or deliver you. Some teachers just knew I would never get in trouble because my parents were good, my older brother had set a good reputation and I followed that. I saw doors open that would not have if it were not for the good name.

³A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
⁴By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.

I see an argument cooking up, in my house or down the street, I attempt to avoid it at all cost. However, the simple see two gang bangers arguing and the walk right between them to get some liquor from the corner store and when the two bangers pull guns and begin shoot at one another, the simple man is shot as a bystander because he did not use discretion.

I've learned one thing in this world; to be humble. Have humility because man does not control one vital thing in this world. He does not control the elements, cannot stop his aging, cannot stop death, and 97% live paycheck to paycheck or in poverty. They cannot even get riches easily. This is humbling and until you become God you have to stay humble to receive the ability from Him.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
⁷The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. The child may veer off the road as they test life for themselves, however, when it is said and done, if you've instilled sound doctrine of qualities, they will not depart from it.

In any society, the rich will rule over the poor and the borrower will be the servant of the lender. That is why in America and slowly over the world, the citizens are becoming servants to the Federal Reserve because they are doing all the lending.

¹⁴The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein. If you get yourself caught up in this strange woman, physically or spiritually (strange woman in the bible is one that pretends to be the wife of the bridegroom Jesus), you are hated by the Lord. Do not get caught up in her or her ways.

Solomon is kind of all over the place with these wise words but he wants us to know these so we can pass it on to someone in need one day. It is not good to get knowledge and understanding and sit on it. Eventually the Lord will send someone your way and you have to be bold enough, yet ready to guide that person.

The chapter ends with powerful words of wisdom that would have kept the United States out of the bad debt they are in currently. If you do not have the money, do not take on the debt. Allowing people to buy cars or homes, even appliances they cannot afford is a mistake. But the greed of the buyer is also at fault. I only buy things when I have the physical cash to purchase, and I do not go into debt to buy anything.

Proverbs 23

¹When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: ²And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.

Know who you are before when you are dealing with important people. President Obama invites you to dinner and you come in there and lick the plate, and everyone is looking at you like "not only is this your last invite, but get out now!"

Some people don't get that you have to be all things to all people and some people are loose, while others you have to sit up and fix your neck-tie when you are before them. When Joseph went to meet Pharaoh(and Pharaoh need him), he shaved his beard a tradition for Egyptians, but not Hebrews just to show respect for the Pharaoh. You must curb your behavior to fit well with those you must go before, especially dignitaries.

^{6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: 7}For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

This was made a book and is a teaching today that as a man thinks in his heart or mind, so is he. I agree. However, in this context it was not for that purpose. Here it is saying be careful in eating and communing with people that are inwardly against you but outwardly acting as your friend.

As a man thinks, so is he. If you think you're poor, you are poor. If you think you're not good enough for the next level of life, financially or spiritually, you are not. Whatever you think, that is the sum total of you. So in essence, thinking better thoughts can change your life and who you are. Wallace D. Waddles, Napoleon Hill, and all the positive thinking men got this from a king in Israel.

¹³Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

¹⁴Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. 

 Do not hold off from correcting your child. If you beat him, he will not die (unless you get down right abusive). Correcting your child verbally or physically will deliver them from hellish situations like county jail or county cemetery.

¹⁷Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.

Fear God all day long because there is an end to things in this world. And it would be just horrible if you got enticed by the sinners lifestyle and began to run with them and give up your crown of eternal life.

²³Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. You cannot literally buy the truth with cash, but this example is to stress how vital it is to get it. When you learn this, don't pond it off like a cheap gold watch. Keep it, also see if you can get a buy one, get three free deal, in buying the truth, and getting wisdom, instruction, and understanding all in one purchase.

Reading verse 27 on down gives insight on how giving in to much alcohol can impair your decision making abilities. In the bible there are comparisons of being sober so you can distinguish good and bad. Alcohol will impair the decision to go into the strange woman, physically and spiritually. As we learned in Jacob's case decisions you make when you are drunk is not good enough reason to be exonerated.

The fool get's scum drunk, make mistakes he never even knows about, and I'm sure we've all heard it before, he can't wait to do it again the next day. I laugh when I hear college guys or gals say, "it's Friday, I am getting wasted or hammered tonight." Too much pleasure.

Proverbs 24

¹Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.

²For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief. It can be enticing to run the street. I use to want to do that, run with the village boys or be the head kingpin of a drug cartel. Much goes with these lifestyles, I suggest you learn what one has to do day in and day out before you chase that lifestyle.

Like people see a new born baby and they are drowned with love, joy and compassion and literally want to take the infant home and maybe envious of the parents. However, keep in mind the mother doesn't sleep at night, and the cute baby cries, poops, shouts, and demands care taking all day long. Get the whole picture and not just beauty and glory of a lifestyle.

Proverbs chapter 24

¹²If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?

I cannot stress this any more that God created your mind, eyes, and hears. He knows what you think, see, and hear. You cannot hide from God nor hide anything from Him. Whatever you see and do, just know that God sees it too.

¹⁶For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. They made this into a Dwayne Wade commercial; however, it clearly shows that even the just will make mistakes, we are to ask for forgiveness and get back into the game. If you don't, eventually you'll be swept off the court or field.

¹⁷Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:

¹⁸Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

I'll never forget when a man died that I was fond of. He was not the typical take him home to meet the family. He was wild, eccentric, but he had a good heart, but his environment kind of messed him up in his youth. He passed away and I was sadden by it along with another friend; and my friends girlfriend said, "praise God". She never met the guy, only heard about him. I couldn't believe it; she couldn't even celebrate in private among sadden people she celebrated.

But it is not good to be happy at any evil; so when you see a clear enemy fall, do not have any feelings towards it because the Lord may ease the hammer on the person or nation.

²¹My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:

Fear the Lord and the King. That is the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ, the king. They are God and God does not change. There is confusion that God changed the law by saying we no longer have to keep the commandments. Here we see that we shouldn't meddle or deal with beings that are given to change. In other words, don't get involved with people who change their mind all the time.

College recruits stay away from universities where their is a coaching change every year. Senator John Kerry didn't get into the white house because of having a flip floppy behavior when it came to making up his mind.

³²Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.

³³Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

³⁴So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.

Solomon went by the field of the lazy man and saw the grass was not cut, the fence was broken down, and it was just a mess, and he considered it like any wise man would do and got instruction. Sleep and idleness will promote poverty, and the poverty will come on the lazy person like an armed man.

Proverbs 25

¹These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out. We can see Solomon was credited with these proverbs by Hezekiah. We can see why Hezekiah was a wise and good king in Judah.

⁵Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness. This is why Jesus will have no problems when He reigns, all the wicked will be taken away.

Jesus spoke on six and seven about being humble at great events. Some people like to take the great seats of the great men and are escorted out when a greater man comes in. Be humble and be promoted rather than being a big shot and demoted.

¹⁶Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it. I learned that life is like a sport, it's a game of runs. Things will eventually get old to you and you'll have to learn to renew it. When you have a favorite food, I do not think there is a man in the world who can eat that favorite food every day of his life. By the 30th day he'd be ready to never see that food again.

So eat until you are satisfied. One of the biggest weight-loss secret is to only eat when you are hungry, and eat until you are satisfied. We tend to think we are hungry but we only have an appetite. Then we eat past satisfaction and eat until we are filled. The body was not designed to be a gas guzzler.

I had lemon and strawberry sorbet and I was hooked. In my mind I thought, I'd never be without this, nevertheless, two weeks later I would not even look at it in the aisle at the store and it was not because of the price. It was because I was physically disgusted at it because I had over stayed its welcome.

This leads to the next verse: ¹⁷Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee. Do not over stay your welcome at a friends home, because they will get tired of you and begin not to like some of your ways.

²¹If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: ²²For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee. Don't just be nice to enemies because you want to see them perish, but do it because God said be good to your enemies and let God handle whatever else comes with it.

²⁴It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house. I just wanted to point out that it is written in here again.

Proverbs chapter 26

This chapter points out so many qualities of a fool and the lazy. Upon reading this chapter if you harvest any qualities here, work real hard to remove them.
¹⁶The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason. There is no reasoning with a fool or lazy man. No matter what documentation or statistics you show them, they just won't get it.

²⁷Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him. This was one of my favorite verses in high school, and we know it is true from the book of Esther, when Haman attempted to get the gallows to hang Mordecai with and it ended up being used to take his own life. It's a shame, so avoid digging a pit for others to fall in; you may fall in yourself.

Proverbs 27

¹Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
²Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

I use to joke about this until I saw I was not in control of anything. I remember a television program coming on and I told a friend that I will be "glued" to the screen to watch it the next day. "There is nothing that can stop me from watch this show tomorrow," I boasted. Then the day came and I was leaving to come home and there is normally smooth sailing at that hour.

But because of my special boasting, there was a road jam so congested; I missed the entire show. I remembered this verse and never boasted of what I was going to do ever again. If I did boast, be certain it was followed by a very humble, "if God allows me."

Verse two is a humble verse as well. Imagine Tiger Woods coming out and saying I'm the best golfer to ever play the game? I remember a girl telling me how humble she is. I am thinking a humble person never tells you such a thing. Let other people praise you and not you yourself.

I love the wise sayings here; open correction is better than a secret love. Tell someone their dress is ugly than to smile and say you look cute, but in your mind you are horrified at the dress. Tell your buddy his breath smell difficult or that she has spinach in her teeth.

When you're full, the best steak won't entice you nor will it taste good. But when you are legitimately hungry, sink water taste like manna from Heaven.
¹⁵A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. 

 In other words, a contentious or argumentative woman is annoying! Women, and men in some cases, if you are like this your spouse is certainly annoyed if they told you or not. I am telling you now because I'm not married to you. This is behavior you just want to take steps to improve for the health of your marriage and relationship.

In this chapter we are told to be diligent in our business or careers. Keep track of what you have so you can increase where there is need.

Proverbs 28

¹The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. One of the curses Israel had was that they would flee when no man chases them. Because that is what wicked guilty people do. They are scared of everything because they do wrong so much they have to live on the paranoid basis.

⁷Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father.
⁹He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. 

You are a wise son if you keep the law of God, but if turn from the laws of God and think to make a prayer to Him, your prayer is an abomination. As we read in Leviticus 11 of the foods you can and cannot eat. You can't thank God for the camel you're about to consume. That is an abomination.

²¹To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress. God has no respect of persons and we should not either. A bribe or a gift, even simple flattery will make us break God's laws if we favor people. You'll find also that when you correct people and not flatter them, they have more respect for you.

Proverbs 29

¹He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
²When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. 

 These are easy scriptures to understand, in verse one, a man who is always corrected and he always ignores the correction, sooner or later he will be destroyed and there will be no fixing on what he is being destroyed with.
Also in America, George W. Bush was in authority and the country mourned for 8 years, now America has Barack H. Obama; and the people are rejoicing. No one is sure that he is righteous; but it shows Bush was not that favored because the cheers for Obama is more than any other incoming President ever.

¹¹A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards. Have you ever said or told someone you're going to give them a piece of your mind? Or said I gave him or her a piece of my mind! You really gave them all of it, if you spake in anger, and verse 11 called that foolish. Be wise and not foolish. ²⁰Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
¹⁸Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. 

 This is quoted in motivational books, and in business opportunities a great deal, but never the entire verse. People do perish where there is no vision, but those that keep GOD's laws are always happy. God's laws will always provide vision and thus you cannot perish. The chapter ends with the saying we should not fear man as that is bad and will be a snare to us. Instead, we should trust in our God.

Proverbs 30

¹The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
⁴Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
⁵Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
⁶Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

This leaves Solomon's credit and goes into Agur, probably a wise man in Solomon's counsel. He humbled himself saying he did not have wisdom, knowledge, or understanding. However, he asked some pretty good questions for a man who lacked the three.

Who has gone to heaven, and who has come down from heaven? Who gathers the wind in his fists? Who puts waters in his cloths and his cloths can hold it? Who made the ends of the earth? What is His name (that's one), and what is His son's name (that's two). Here is Father and Son, Jesus Christ, in Proverbs the Old Testament. This Agur guy was pretty sharp.

He follows this up with every word of God is pure that man should not try to change them, unless he runs into people like me and you (reading) who read the bible with understanding and we find them to be confused and liars.
This is good advice in any subject. Don't pretend to know something because you may just meet your challenge.

Agur requested from God to be given just enough, so that He doesn't become vain. If he gets too rich he may forget God. If he is too poor he may disobey God's commandments in order to eat. Satisfied is what we all should look for.
This chapter finishes with things that amazes Agur, like the flight of an eagle. God is truly amazing in all His works.

Proverbs 31

¹The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.

This is the famous chapter that is written to help women learn more about being virtuous. We will see that it is more than house wife type stuff. Lemuel was a king but not of Israel, probably of a city in Judah, so more like a mayor.
His mother taught him these, that it is not good to be drinking, you may forget the law in your drunkenness. 

¹⁰Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
¹¹The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
¹²She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
¹⁶She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

Real estate. So women were conducting business back then because a virtuous woman considers a field or land and buys it with the money she's made working with her hands, not her body.

¹⁸She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. She works hard day and night and has her business going on.

²³Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
²⁴She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. 

 She is elite, and thus she can marry a successful man and help him. If she was left to take care of her, she can do it because she goes to the merchants to sell. She is diligent about her business.

She just don't wear Prada or Rocawear, she wears strength and honor, she speaks with wisdom and kindness, and probably has the pretty smile going and isn't concerned about guys hitting on her just because she smiled at them because her smile doesn't portray flirting but it wears the I'm a happy nice person having a great day, on her face, which is not to be confused.

She works hard in her home too, making sure things are taken cared of and she does not have idle hands. Her children call her blessed and not just on Mother's Day, also her husband gives her praise.

²⁹Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

Getting favor she knows is deceitful and that outward beauty is vain because we all will get old, and the beauty begins to fade a bit. When young brothers start to say, "I bet in her day she was gorgeous!"

The real beauty in women and men is that they have the fear of God, this is when I praise a woman's beauty when she fears God. Her works and behavior will praise her. That is your virtuous woman and that is the book of Proverbs. We are going to go into Ecclesiastes to finish up today's reading.

Ecclesiastes 1

¹The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

²Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

³What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

⁴One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

To sum up the book of Ecclesiastes, it is a book written by the wisest man to live, shares that all things are vanity, life is vain because there is no profit in life because generation pass on to generation, but the earth remains always.
I read this when I was younger and nearly dropped out of school because it made me think everything was and is pointless. As I came to understand it better, I learned that everything in life is indeed vain if you can't enjoy it forever.

In other words, you will live, do a lot of great amount of works, sum up a good amount of riches, find a beautiful wife, then die suddenly. I just can't imagine how vain that is. We're essentially living to die; thus there really is no profit beside have as much fun until it comes.

Also, ⁹The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. There is nothing new under the sun. The new catch phrase you just came up with, is not new at all.

¹²I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. This identifies the author, it was the son of David, who was also the king of Jerusalem.

¹⁶I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. Solomon talked with himself, you see that is not all that crazy, and he talk about all his success in life, in wisdom and knowledge, but found that much knowledge brings much grief. The more you know the more you know is completely backwards and that eventually you'll be put in the graveyard. All that greatness will be buried in the dust of ground and everyone knows this that comes into knowledge.

Ecclesiastes 2

Solomon amassed a great amount of money, probably like the William Gates III in his day, but where is Solomon today? Solomon list out his great accomplishments and he concluded that it was for nothing.

¹¹Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

We read how his son Rehoboam foolishly divided the kingdom by listening to his peers. Other offspring of Solomon completely left God and we read how Jerusalem was torn to the ground, and all that hard work that Solomon put in building the Temple of the Lord, the palace of the king, and the cities, all went for nothing. It was in vain.

¹⁵Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. Death happens to the fool and the wise, to the evil and to the good. This is good enough reason to hate this life, because you can go to a four year college, then further your education, make great money, then a no life drunk driver can hit you and kill you. Vain.

¹⁷Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

¹⁸Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

¹⁹And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

You will die and not know anything as you rest waiting for the Judgement; and while you sleep you never know what your son or daughter will do with all your financial trappings you amassed during your life time.

²⁴There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

²⁶For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

So with all this vanity in this life, there is nothing better to do than to make the best of it. Man should eat, drink, and enjoy his life because it comes from God. God gives us our wisdom, knowledge, and joy so we're to enjoy life until we die or the Lord comes. So far, it is not wise to put too much stock in this life, if it is vain. We need to be putting our stock in the life to come, which is forever.


We are finished for today, enjoy the day and we'll be back at it tomorrow.


Peace & Grace *Build a recession proof business online. Visit BUILD A BIZ FAST

Bible Food in Proverbs Day 46

Good morning, here we go again, reading the Word of God getting our bible food for the day. We are reading in the Proverbs and we will certainly get some wisdom from God in this book.

Let's begin in Proverbs chapter seven.

¹My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
²Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
Keeping God's commandments and live is what the verse says. Jesus told a man that asked Him how he could obtain eternal life, and Jesus said keep my commandments. We are seeing Solomon write it here as well.

²⁶For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
²⁷Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

This chapter tells the story of a simple man who gets enticed by a beautiful strange woman, he goes in thinking beauty, innocent, good looking affair, but he does not know that her house is the way to hell and death. He does not know he has wounded many other strong men.

Proverbs 8

Wisdom sits in the middle of the streets and cries out for people to check her out. Do you know how this is? When you see foolish nonsense going on in the streets or in the politics you are suppose to gain wisdom from seeing this. A friend of yours decides to join a gang and is killed by rival gangs, wisdom would tell you to steer clear of gangs and not do as he did. She cries in the streets for simple people to listen and get understanding.

¹³The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
¹⁷I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
¹⁸Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.

Wisdom loves them that love her, and you must seek her early and you'll find her. By the way, she comes with riches and honor, the durable riches, like that last forever.

²⁷When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When God was preparing the heavens, wisdom was present, and wisdom was there, were you?

³⁵For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.
³⁶But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

Who ever finds wisdom finds life and gets great favor from the Lord God Almighty, but the one that sins against wisdom by forsaking her, wrongs his own soul and will die for it. Everyone that hates wisdom is someone who loves death.

Proverbs chapter 9

Wisdom prepared a feast and asked anyone to come and eat. She just didn't ask the dignitaries of the state, the rich, the whites, the blacks, or the great athletes. She asks all, which includes, children, poor, homeless, etc. And look what she put on the table to eat:

⁵Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.
Bread and wine is a famous and favorite meal by Melchizedek and by Jesus Christ.

¹⁰The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Fearing God is the beginning of wisdom and knowing about the Most Holy is understanding. Many people at times are confused at why they have to fear such a loving and caring God.

Just look at His credentials. He created everything you see first of all and even the things you don't see; like the air you're breathing. He burned down Sodom and Gomorrah, He drowned the entire world except for 8 people because one man was doing right. He has an earth out in space and a moon swing around it. This type of being is worth fearing.

You'd fear a guy who had two pistols in his hand telling you to be quiet, while he shouts at the top of his lungs to empty the money vault. And this person hasn't created a world and hasn't given you life to live.

¹⁷Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
¹⁸But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

I remember in high school, a few buddy of mine would leave for lunch to a pizza parlor where my buddy's friend worked and for lunch, he'd give us a free pizza almost everyday. And while we were eating, we'd say, "free pizza taste better than the ones you pay for."

Sometimes we feel like things done in thrill, sneaking off and sleeping with another woman is better than staying in the house and sleeping with your wife, but we do not know that it leads to a hellish life and the dead are all in that room with you.

Proverbs 10

¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. Parents can probably understand this. You have good kids, you are happy, you have bad kids, you don't take them nowhere with you.

⁴He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. There is simple wisdom in this book, you become poor when you have a lazy hand, but you are rich when you are diligent in work. And this is not just in the monetary realm; it is in everything you do. You study hard, you will gain knowledge, you lazy off and watch cartoons all day, you're as smart as the message the cartoon conveyed to you (if you even caught it).

¹²Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. When you hate, it does nothing but stir up conflict and trouble. However, when you have love, it will even cover you sins because love is the keeping of the commandments.

¹³In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding. When you have wisdom, people lie around and hear what you have to say. They pay you big money to come speak at their institutions, but if you are a fool, there is nothing for you. The most you can get is a back with a rod going against it. I think back to the slavery days and think everyone struggled, but the ones who did not understand and were foolish, they got rods and whips on their backs continually.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.

²²The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

Did not the lips of Joseph the righteous son of Jacob feed many people in his days in Egypt and save lives? Nabal, the husband to Abigail, died wanting wisdom, because he was a fool. Verse 22 is outstanding to me; when God blesses you with riches, He adds no sorrow or sadness with it.

Many people become rich; but can't enjoy it either because they work 20 hours a day, they are away from their family large amounts of time, they became rich in dirty ways, or my personal favorite they got rich because someone else died.

How can you truly enjoy riches under those types of circumstances?

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

At times this verse seems false because I see good men and women or boys and girls die every day at a young age; and I see horrible people live long. But we have to think of this on the large scale. God shortened the life span of man because we became so wicked. If one died early, it is just a sleep and he or she will awake to everlasting life; those are prolonged days.

Proverbs chapter 11

⁴Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death. One thing is for sure; you cannot pay God off in the day of wrath or judgment. You must pay God with righteousness. It is the only thing that will deliver you, even from death.

You also need to be merciful because it is good to the soul. However, in wisdom be wise and merciful because it is foolish to give the same man 20 dollars 8 times in a row when he hasn't paid you back for the first borrow.

²²As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. A gold necklace around the next of a muddy pig does not make the pig a desirable pet or companion does it? Neither is a gorgeous super model woman who has no wisdom or discretion.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

³¹Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and the person who wins souls for Christ, is wise. I'm writing this book to help you understand the Word of God and the Bible better so that you can make a decision to serve Him serve Him better, or not at all.

The last verse here says the righteous will be rewarded or compensated in the earth, much more the wicked and the sinner. Everyone will be rewarded. Some with evil, some with good. However, it will all happen in the earth not in heaven as in beyond the stars as there is often confusion about. The earth itself is a heaven, and the earth is where the Lord wants to be as we read in Psalm 132.

Proverbs 12

¹Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.

²A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.

This chapter begins with two power packed verses; whoever loves instruction loves knowledge. I tell children to love instruction because that will be how you learn and are able to give it wisely when you grow older. Guess who hates correction and instructions? Brutish fools.

⁴A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones. We will find out what a virtuous woman is at the end of this book; but she is a crown to her hubby; while the loud mouth foolish wife is rottenness in his bones.

¹⁵The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. Sometimes when you catch yourself going against all logic, against all facts, and against all people of reason just to accomplish something of your own personal desire and gratification, you will be right in your own eyes. But it is wise to listen to the counsel of the wise.

²²Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight. The Lord reminding you that He hates lying. So do men, when you hang around a person that does nothing but lie all the time; it gets annoying and old being around that person.

²⁵Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad. When you're sad, a good word or the Good Word can make you glad again. When you see a pal who is going through it; give them good encouraging words to lift their spirits.

²⁸In the way of righteousness is life: and in the pathway thereof there is no death. The way of keeping God's commandments is life, and in that path, there is no death. You may sleep for a moment; but you will live forever because there is no death. Praise the Living Lord God of Israel.

Proverbs 13

¹A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke. This is not just your physical father on the earth because some people have or had some pretty bad fathers, so bad they never showed up for duty. But this is to hear your Father's instruction in Heaven, you know, the ones found in Exodus chapter 20, those instructions.

⁴The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. The lazy man has desires, he wants a new car, new cloths, a house, but he's only diligent in desire and is too lazy to work. The diligent man makes goals and works hard at a plan and is made fat with riches.

⁷There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. How do you do this? A man gets rich, gives the majority to the poor and serves Jesus Christ all his days. He made himself poor, but in doing so he has great riches. Then you have another man who cast the Word of God to the side to pursue riches; and became very rich, but doesn't have Christ, so he has nothing.

Verse 13 couldn't have put it any clearer: ¹³Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.

²⁰He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. I wish teenagers, young adults, and even adults understood this verse. My dad use to say to me all the time, he can tell who I was by the 5 friends who I dealt with. I made it a point to hang with good positive kids and only brush shoulders with the vile.

A good man leaves an inheritance to eve his grandchildren; however the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. A man with wealth who had foolish kids will leave his money with charity which will take care of the just or the wealthy man will leave it to the foolish kids who will spend it foolishly and it will help the just. The point is the sinner is foolish and his wealth will be put to use since he cannot die with any of it.

²⁴He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. If you don't whip or spank your children and thoroughly correct them when they are wrong, you hate them. And children should understand this, that a parent who takes the time to correct you loves you. If they didn't correct you, when you get older, the State of Corrections will if the cemetery didn't grab you first.

Proverbs chapter 14

⁹Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.

¹⁰The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy

Fools mock sin thinking the Lord will not hurt for stealing or lying. But most fools have not read the bible to verify their words. I like verse 10 because it is very true. Everyone knows how bitter and nasty and evil they can get no matter how presentable you are in town, we all know how ugly we can get.

¹²There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Sometimes we do things and in our mind we think we are right, but the ways are of death. You cannot tell an Arab he is wrong for blowing up planes in the name of God; because in his mind he is right, but the end of it is going to be death.

¹⁵The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going. The simple believes a pastor that says you do not have to keep the commandments; but the prudent man is going to look well into it to be sure of what the Lord wants. In other subject matters as well, search it out and read it for yourself.

²⁵A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies. ²⁶In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.

²⁹He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. Being slow to anger is to have great understanding; but if you "blow your top" quickly, that is an exercise of the foolish.

³¹He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor. Take a look at this wealthy man, powerful man, super man.

Oppressing poor people is to discredit your Maker. Wisdom rest in the mind of the man or woman that has understanding: but whatever is in fools they will make it known to you.

Proverbs 15

¹A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. ²The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. ³The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

These three verses kept me from years of struggle and conflict as a teenager growing up. They rest in my mind daily. When you reply humbly to someone in anger, it calms him or her down and defuses even the most hostile and angry individual.

And then to read that the eyes of the Lord are everywhere watching the good and the evil that is done and that we do, I curtailed my behavior and did things as if someone was always watching me. And from verse three, someone is always watching you.

This is a straightforward book; the Lord loves righteousness, and hates evil.

¹⁶Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. It is better to be on welfare and fear God than to have 3 private jets and houses and money, but not know of God.

²⁷He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live. We shouldn't be so greedy and quick to get rich; you will trouble your house.

³²He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.

³³The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.

Again, those that refuse instruction hat themselves, these proverbs come from some of the wisest men to live and from the wisest man to live; king Solomon and if we look around they still apply to us even in our day.

Proverbs 16

¹The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

²All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.

All the things we prepare and plan and everything we speak is from God. Also, all things we do we will think they are clean and good; but God will weight it. Like there was a study I read that every criminal when they were committing the act thought they were right at the moment. They had talked themselves into doing it and doing it without guilt. Thus they felt they were in the right to stick up a bank. We can do that to in things we get into.

⁶By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. ⁷When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

These are self explanatory; but they were so good I needed to add them to the reading.

⁹A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. We can devise and make the way we want to go; but it is God that will direct our steps. Remember He has that above view on life for us.

³²He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

Proverbs chapter 17

⁵Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.

⁶Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.

Again we see the discrediting of your Maker if you mock the poor; and it is not a good thing to clap your hands and celebrate at someone else's demise. You will not go unpunished if you celebrate another's calamity.

Verse six; fathers really have to come to grips with no matter how bad the woman is that you had the child with. Grandchildren are what make an old man happy, and fathers are what make a child happy and glorified.

⁹He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends. If you over look a wrong, you are seeking love and acceptance. A man beats you and covers his transgression by staying with him; you are seeking love instead of what's right. But if someone keeps wronging you, it will separate you from them or separate your other friends from you.

¹⁰A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool. Correcting a wise man once resonates better than whipping a fool one hundred times. In other words, a word is enough to the wise.

¹²Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly. ¹³Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.

It is better to meet an angry bear to run into a fool ready to do some foolishness. Isn't that something? If you reward evil for good; you'll never see the day when evil departs from your house.

¹⁷A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Check your friends out; if they love you all the time; and check for your brother, is he there doing adversity? This is what they are here for.

Knowledgeable men speak sparingly, and a fool can copy this and be thought to be wise just because he limits his conversation. He will be esteemed as a man who has understanding. I remember seeing a middle age man when I was primary school and he rarely spoke. He would smile with kind gestures, greet you with a smile and move on. His respect made him seem like a very wise man.

Then one day I saw him when he was among his peers; he spoke more and did not appear to be that wise or knowledgeable. Appearance. Just because a man wears a suit does not mean he is rich. However, a poor, quiet fool can appear rich and wise by dressing up and speaking less.

Proverbs 18

To attain wisdom, it has to be like anything else a man attains; it has to be through desire. The same desire Donald Trump has to be rich, if he applied that to learning about God; he'd be the riches man in the Word and world. When you desire something you literally have to separate yourself from things and make a straight path to get it.

Fools, on the other hand, have no delight in getting understanding. They are satisfied with what ever is in front of them. Have you ever heard someone say they discovered who they were in college, or on a trip to Africa or wherever else? This is someone who went down the path of understanding.

⁸The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. 

 A talebearer is a gossiper. Gossip never does any good, if the tale were true or false. Sure it is interesting to read and hear, if you are simple-minded and have nothing else to do, but that is about all it is. Interesting and intriguing nonsense; next time you find yourself on a gossip website or listening to gossip remember Eve listened to Satan's gossip in the garden and look where it got us.

Before you will be honored you have to have humility. It only makes sense, before Barak Obama was made president of the United States, he was a US Senator, and state senator, before that a community activist, before that an attorney, a student, a son of a single woman, a child, a baby. These humble beginnings shaped the man of honor he is today. Great men of the bible were the same way.

¹³He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. Some people know they fall into this, especially in a heated debate or argument; but it is a shame to that person and foolish to answer a question before you hear it.

Listening is golden, as we have all heard the saying you have two ears and one mouth, therefore listen twice as much as you speak. Some funny folks have taken that to mean they can listen to two people while talking to one. Go ahead and try it.

¹⁹A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. This verse teaches us to watch our offense to our brothers and sisters because once one is offended; it is very hard to win that person over. The arguments between such are like the bars of a castle.

Kings and queens do not live in sand castles; they live in heavily secured mansion castles, which are hard to break down. So if you can avoid it do not offend a brother.

Here are more wise words:

²¹Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

²²Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Fights, battles, and wars all start based on conversations from the tongue. If you control your tongue or speak more reasonably, you can control wars and fights. Also, what one thinks about most they will speak about most, if you're talking about dying a lot, you will eventually...die. I remember in America two popular rappers literally rapped about their death and were shot down months apart from each other.

I mean they literally made songs about their funerals and everything; it is a close call to view it as a suicide. But that is the power of the tongue, it can bring life or it can bring death.

Verse 22, when a man finds a wife, Solomon says that it is a good thing and that the man obtains favor from the Lord. Many men may disagree thinking they have been cursed with their wives because of perhaps the constant arguing and disagreements. But a virtuous wife is definitely from the Lord, and if the man uses wisdom and deals with his wife with knowledge, he will find that she is a joy to be with and will be easily able to mold her into the treasure woman she is suppose to be.

²⁴A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. If you want friends, it is simple, show yourself to be a friendly person, when you do that you'll find you'll make friends that are closer to you than your own physical brother or sister. I've seen this far too often.

Proverbs 19

¹Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. ²Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.

These verses are easier to understand wisdom without my comments; the soul or person without knowledge was quickly jumped into something that will produce sin.

⁸He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.

⁹A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish. This was repeated from verse five, so I guess it was important enough for us to take note on.

There is so much wisdom in this book. A foolish son is a headache to his father: and a wife who is constantly arguing and nagging is something no husband or person period wants. It's like a continual dropping of water from the faucet. If you have a prudent wife, that is from the LORD.

Laziness is like a man being in a deep sleep; and an idle person will suffer hunger because he won't work. The man (or woman) that keeps the commandments of the Lord is literally keeping their own soul from destruction. If you lend and have pity on the poor, you are really lending to the Lord. And it says that those that give the Lord will pay him again.

I wouldn't suggest you give money to the poor and look in the sky and say God you owe me a hundred bucks. Just do it from the Lord and let it go from there. As far as dealing with your kids, correcting them early on in life when they will listen and take correction is best. Some people avoid doing this in the first five years of the child's life, and cannot correct their behavior afterwards and have rough teenagers to deal with. Do it while there is hope.

As far as personal relationships, if you bail out people for their own mistakes, you'll have to continue to do it over and over again.

It's much better to be poor, than to be a liar. The worse thing you can be is a poor liar. Just a bit of humor here.

Proverbs 20

⁸A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes. We know for sure JESUS can and will perform this. No evil will be brazen enough to stand before Him.

Work is important ever since it was sentenced to Adam to work to eat. We are not to love sleep unless we come to poverty. Be awake and work so that we satisfy ourselves and our family with food enough.

²⁰Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness. This is something children are to pay attention; that if you curse your father or mother (good or bad) your lamp (light and instruction), will be put out. That's not good for a child.

²⁴Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way? If God is directing and steering the path He wants you to go in, then how can you understand your own way?

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the grey head. I like this last verse. Glory of young men is their strength, but in old men it's the gray head. I wondered why old men are trying to dye their hair and hide all their glory.

This concludes today's reading. I hope to read with you tomorrow. Have a good day, today.

--
Peace & Grace

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