Proverbs chapter 9 says, Wisdom has builded her
house. She has hewn out her seven pillars. She
has killed her beasts. She has mingled her wine.
She has also furnished her table. She has sent
forth her maidens. She crieth upon the highest
places of the city. Whoso is simple, let him
turn and hither. As for him that wanteth understanding,
she sayeth to him, Come, eat of my bread, and
drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake
the foolish and live, and go in the way of understanding.
He that reproveth a scorner geth to himself shame.
He that rebuketh a wicked man geth himself a
blot. Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee.
Rebuk a wise man, and he will love thee. Give
instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet
wiser. Teach a just man, and he will increase
in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding.
For by me, thy days shall be multiplied, and
the years of thy life shall be increased. If
thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself,
but if thou scornest, thou alone shall bear it.
A foolish woman is clamorous, she is simple,
and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door
of her house, On a seat in the high places of
the city, To call passengers who go right on
their ways. Uso is simple, let him turn in hither,
And ask for him that wanteth understanding, She
sayeth to him, Stolen waters are sweet, And bread
eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not
that the dead are there, And that her guests
are in the depths of hell. This chapter talks
about the contrast between the wise and the foolish
women. I'm going to start out today talking about
the wise women. Who is the target audience of
the wise women? Those that are simple. Simple
means somebody who isn't smart. Those who want
understanding. Those who don't have understanding.
People who need wisdom. What attributes does
the wise woman have? Well, the first thing we
read about her is that she is a builder. We also
read that she is industrious, she is prepared,
she is welcoming, and she does things well. The
first two verses talk about her preparation,
that she has built her house, she has hewed out
her pillars. The pillars hold up the house and
they are the supporting structures for her building.
We too are building a house. And the house in
Proverbs chapter 9 is an analogy for our lives.
Right now you are building your house. You may
not think you're doing anything important right
now, but actually you are building your house
right now. You are putting the foundations in
now. To follow this analogy, when you move out
to your first apartment, there are things you
are going to need. You're going to need a bed.
Well, what all goes into a bed? At a minimum,
a mattress, but also a frame, sheets, blankets,
pillows. You're going to need dishes, a chair,
and a table. Where are these things going to
come from? You're going to have to prepare so
that you can Have them in your apartment. You're
going to have to have a job. A job requires good
character. Working hard, not being lazy, not
disappearing with your phone into the bathroom
for hours. You're going to need to know how to
manage the money you are making so you have money
for first and last month's rent. And we haven't
even gotten to the point of where the groceries
are going to come from. What about the skill
of going to bed and getting up in the morning?
When you are on your own, you need to have this
skill. Sometimes that makes us laugh, but people
are fired all the time because they don't have
that skill. If you're fired, you can't make the
rent payment. How will the apartment be maintained?
We all want to live in this sparkly, beautiful
apartment. We might move into that apartment,
but how will we maintain it? We have moved out
so our mom won't be there to do it, and we probably
can't afford a maid, so we need some skills.
We need to know how to make our bed. We need
to know how to hang up clothes, wash them, make
dinner, do dishes. Now you might say, I know
how to do all that. I just don't like to do it
all. Well, that is another skill. The skill of
being industrious. As we read through Proverbs,
the lazy person is referred to as a fool. But
we all love to be lazy. We all love to have things
done for us. But God teaches us to be productive
and industrious. The skill of getting up in the
morning and stewarding our time well is just
that, a skill. Not just being busy, but having
purpose. Serving our family and those around
us. We need to review our days and evaluate if
we spend it selfishly or if we spend it for the
kingdom. So what's required to be wise? What's
required to come into the wise woman's house?
Well first, self -control. Not doing the things
that you want to do. And secondly, self -discipline.
Doing the things you don't want to do Preparing
being industrious building things in our lives
requires self -control and self -discipline if
We're listening to the call of the wise woman.
We will be feeding ourselves things that build
us up spiritually We will be feeding yourself
things that help us to be more industrious and
less focused on enjoyment and entertainment We
will be future -focused and preparing for that
future. We will be consuming things that make
us welcoming and hospitable. The wise woman is
teaching us to be industrious, not to waste our
time. We have all heard that our screen time
should be limited, but why? Why does wisdom teach
us to get control of this? Because we're stewards
of God's resources. One of our resources is time.
Our days are meant to glorify God and do His
will. Not only is it not good to be wasting your
employer's time on a screen, it is not good to
be wasting God's time on a screen. It's really
vain, which means empty. Isaiah 55 2 says, why
do you spend money on that which is not bread?
Why do you work for things that don't satisfy?
Part of listening to the wise woman is deciding
what is fulfilling What is eternal and what is
empty? Temporary wisdom requires purposeful purposeful
decisions Without purposeful decisions and thoughtfulness
years will be lost Proverbs 24 33 says a little
sleep a little slumber a little folding of the
hands to rest Then your poverty will come like
a drifter your need like an armed man result
when we listen to wisdom our days will be multiplied
and our years will be increased you're not going
to magically turn an age like 20 or 30 and be
responsible or wise or a good steward you get
there by preparing you will still struggle in
your 30s and 40s and 50s if you never prepared
your character for the future You will live day
by day and moment to moment. Wisdom will help
you prepare for your future, evaluate your strengths
and weakness, and then work to improve yourself.
This is how we build our house.