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438 | Conversations - Proverb 31 · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  God is in control.
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  She's a happy girl. Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman
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  at the Well Ministries, where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus
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  like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org, we invite you to sit down with us as we look
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  to the scriptures to learn more about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Living her life for Christ She's a happy girl.
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  Music.
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  She's a happy girl.
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  In this episode of the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast,
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  join Kim Miller and Erica Close in a conversation as we walk with Jesus.
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  In today's conversation, we continue a series on the book of Proverbs.
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  In today's podcast, we discuss the lessons learned in Proverbs 31.
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  Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us. This is Erica Close,
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  and I'm here with Kim Miller.
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  Hello, and thank you for joining us in this podcast as we talk about the praise
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  and properties of a virtuous woman as seen in Proverbs chapter 31.
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  That's right. We are in Proverbs chapter 31, which means we're in the last chapter of Proverbs.
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  For so many of our Wednesday podcasts, we have been discussing Proverbs.
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  And there were a few Wednesdays where we didn't talk about Proverbs.
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  So we've been talking about Proverbs for way more than 31 weeks.
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  It's been a really long time. And there's something to be said for spending
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  a really long time in one book.
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  Even if you're not studying it every single day or looking at it every single
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  day or digging into that book every
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  single day, but you are over time am looking at it, you learn so much.
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  And this really has been a learning experience for me, and I hope that it's
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  been a blessing for all of you that listen.
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  So today, like Kim said, we're in Proverbs chapter 31, and there are kind of
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  two sections in this proverb, two parts of this chapter.
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  And Kim, would you like to read the first half, and then I'll read the second half? Yes.
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  The words of King Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.
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  What, my son, and what the son of my womb, and what the son of my vows?
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  Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
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  It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine,
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  nor for princes strong drink.
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  Lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
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  Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that
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  be of heavy hearts. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
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  Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
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  Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead cause of the poor and needy.
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  Who can find a virtuous woman for a price as far above rubies?
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  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
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  She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool
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  and flax and worketh willingly with her hands.
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  She is like the merchant's ships. She bringeth her food from afar.
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  She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household and
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  a portion to her maidens.
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  She considereth a field and buyeth it, and with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
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  She girdeth her loins with her strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
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  She perceiveth that her merchandise is good, her candle goeth not out by night.
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  She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
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  She stretcheth out her hands to the poor, yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
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  She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
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  She maketh herself coverings of tapestry, her clothing is silk and purple.
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  Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
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  She maketh fine linen, and selleth it, and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
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  Strength and honor are her clothing, and she shall rejoice in time to come.
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  She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
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  She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
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  Her children arise up, and call her blessed. Her husband also, and he praiseth her.
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  Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
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  Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain.
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  But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit
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  of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates.
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  So I think that when we look at this proverb, we see sort of two sections.
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  The first section is introduced as the words of King Lemuel,
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  and it's the prophecy that his mother taught him, which I love seeing that this.
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  Is the wisdom that comes to King Lemuel from his mother.
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  And so the first nine verses really are talking about the king.
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  They're talking about what is appropriate for the king and what the king needs to do.
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  And I think that in many ways, what we read for the king is lessons that would
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  be appropriate for all of us.
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  And so that first part is about the king. And then the second part is about
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  what does it mean to find a virtuous woman?
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  What are the qualities of a virtuous woman? And as we look at that,
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  we see that there are so many qualities of a woman that are described in Proverbs chapter 31.
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  So I think that Proverbs chapter 31, though we often hear about it in relation
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  to the Proverbs 31 woman or something like that, there are also lessons in here
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  for all of us, regardless of who we are.
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  So when we look at that very first section in verses one through nine.
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  The words of King Lemuel, he's kind of just wondering, you know,
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  what are the things that make a son, you know, valuable?
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  And the very first thing is a son should not give their strength away.
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  And in verse three, and nor do things move in ways that are going to destroy kings.
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  And I think that that is very clear that they're trying, that King Lemuel's
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  mom was giving him wisdom, right?
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  About how to make sure that he did not lose his position as a king,
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  which undoubtedly the Lord had given to him.
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  And she spends time explaining to him not to lend his mind to,
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  to things that would negatively influence him, to stay sharp, to be in control.
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  And in doing so, she says, you know, don't drink.
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  Don't drink these substances that could lead you to a place where you would
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  do things that aren't right or you normally wouldn't do.
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  And, you know, that's an age-old argument between saved and unsaved alike as
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  to whether or not one should drink alcohol.
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  And you certainly can search it out for the scriptures yourself and determine what you think.
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  But there isn't any argument that you are not to drink it to excess.
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  And there can't be a successful argument that when you play with fire, you get burnt.
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  So if you don't drink at all, you can't risk drinking too much.
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  And if you don't drink at all, you don't run the risk of crossing a fine line
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  that you don't even know what it is.
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  What and how much is going to alter your ability to think?
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  I don't know about you, but I need all of my faculties to be on guard and to
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  be sober and to be vigilant because the roaring lion seeketh about to destroy me.
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  The thief came to seek and destroy and to kill and to steal.
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  I need to be at my very best. I can't be dulled.
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  And for me and my interpretation, that means complete abstinence. Don't touch it.
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  I also believe there's something to be said about abstaining from all appearance
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  of evil, and that goes in more than just alcohol.
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  And I get that this isn't a popular stance, but I do know two things.
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  I do know that when people watch you drink, they form an opinion,
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  and you better be ready to live with that opinion.
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  I also do know that if no one bought any alcohol, then alcohol companies would go out of business.
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  And if they went out of business, it'd be much more difficult,
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  if not impossible, for people to get drunk.
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  So I don't want to be part, in some direct or indirect way.
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  Of enabling someone to dull their senses to the point that they can't hear God
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  and they become who they never would have been.
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  I really appreciate that you said that they can't hear God because I think in
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  that whole first section,
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  if there's any verse that really speaks to that, it's verse five that says,
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  lest they drink and forget the law and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
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  I never want to forget God's law.
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  That's not who I want to be or how I want to live.
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  Amen. So as we move into this next section in Proverbs chapter 31.
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  Which is mostly what it is known for. Which is mostly what it is known for.
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  But you can't ignore, right? The first nine verses.
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  You can't ignore what's in there. because it's a pretty strong direction towards
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  King Lemuel from his mom.
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  Like, you know, I think that that's noted, that this is instruction and prophecy
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  that his mother taught him.
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  So my belief is that his mother knew what was important for him,
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  and she knew what was important for women,
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  either whether that was for herself or the Lord gave her this prophecy for her
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  daughters or just for King Lemuel to write down and to share with the women that were in his world.
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  But many of us are very familiar with this section of Proverbs 31.
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  And we know that everything in Proverbs 31 is there because God wanted it to
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  be there for His glory and our good.
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  And so we have to take the Scripture as a whole.
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  We can't pick and choose the ones we like and lose the pages we don't.
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  Right. We can't look at what it means to be a Proverbs 31 woman and forget that
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  right before there's a whole section on drinking alcohol.
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  They really, the Lord put them together in the same place.
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  So clearly they both are things that we need to understand.
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  Right. And we need to be temperament and chaste.
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  Absolutely. So as we start looking at this section of Proverbs,
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  the first quality that always pops out at me as I am looking at this Proverbs
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  31 woman is that she's diligent.
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  Whenever I read this, I always key on the fact that she works. She's a hard worker.
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  Verse 13 says she works willingly.
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  She brings food. She gets up while it's still night.
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  She makes sure that her people are fed.
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  And I love that it talks about when she's going to buy. I felt she considereth it.
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  She considereth it. She plans and she researches and she determines what is best.
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  And we as Christians need to realize that we need to take the time to be still
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  and know that God is in what it is we're doing.
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  We need to ask him what we need to purchase. We need to ask him where we need
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  to go. We need to ask him what to do with our money, where we need to work.
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  We need to invite him to be Lord of our lives and King of our hearts,
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  and we need to stop and listen to what he has to say.
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  I love verse 18 that says, She perceiveth that her merchandise is good,
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  her candle goeth not out by night.
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  And that's what you said about considereth, she perceiveth. That makes me think...
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  I don't think I perceive things without the Lord giving them to me.
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  So I think that, you know, in her business, you know, her merchandise,
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  right, she followed the Lord to make sure that her merchandise was good.
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  She made sure and she listened to him. Because Jeremiah 3, 3,
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  3 says, if we call unto him, he'll answer us.
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  And then it says, and show us great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
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  She was able to consider and perceive and no doubt pray for God's direct instruction
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  on what to do with the things that she saw was good.
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  She did not live on her own logic.
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  She turned her success over to the Lord for him to do what he needed to with
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  it, because I believe that King Lemuel's mother knew where her success came from.
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  Absolutely. In verse 20, we get to what the Lord asks her to do with all of
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  what she has gained in her diligence and her industriousness, because it says,
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  she layeth her, excuse me, she stretches out her hand to the poor,
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  yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy, right?
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  You read that whole first section about her being a super hard worker and gaining
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  much and taking good care of her household.
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  And then immediately the passage flips and it's about she takes care of the needy.
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  She follows the Lord in that. Because, no, Erica, I don't think God gives us
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  things just for ourselves.
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  I think we find favor and blessing because He wants us to open our hands so
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  that we can receive what else He has for us.
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  And to receive more, we have to give out because we'd run out of room if we
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  didn't distribute what we had.
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  We wouldn't be able to receive more. And the world today is very self-centered,
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  very narcissistic, very my for and no more, very I'm going to take care of me.
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  But the Lord said to love your neighbor as yourself. We are to love our neighbors.
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  And that means when they have a need, it really needs to feel like we have a need.
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  And what follows that verse about her giving to the poor is the verses about
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  how the Lord then cares for her people.
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  So it immediately switches again, and it talks about her household,
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  right? She's not afraid of the snow for her household.
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  Her household is clothed in scarlet.
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  She has coverings of tapestry. Her clothing is silk and purple.
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  These are all high-dollar sort of fabrics.
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  High-end. Purple is royalty. Right. High quality. And clearly,
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  she is someone that gives to the poor, and in turn, the Lord has blessed her abundantly.
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  She makes fine linen and sells it. and
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  it says she's married to a man who's known at
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  the gates she is holding the goodness
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  of her family the reputation of her
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  home her husband has a
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  place in society and she's supporting that she's not draining she's not taking
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  away they're not working opposing each other they are working together as a
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  team and he's at the gate being known and she's supporting it with her business.
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  And I have to believe that that
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  considereth and perceiveth is all going on about all facets of her life.
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  And you can see the results in the fact that her husband is known at the gate,
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  in the fact that she has purple and fine clothing.
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  God will reward you for your efforts done for Him. You can't out-give God.
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  And you can't not gain wisdom living in the way that we just read about. Amen.
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  Right? You can't be in such a way where you hear the voice of God and therefore
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  care for the needy And then also understand where your blessings come and that
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  your blessings come from him without gaining in the wisdom department, right?
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  Verse 25 says, strength and honor are her clothing.
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  But 26, she openeth her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
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  It just speaks to the time she's spending with the Lord is transforming her
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  life. and her words are kind and full of wisdom.
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  You know those people who've been with the Lord and just being around them is a different feeling.
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  And the favor of the Lord is upon her. His anointing is no doubt covering her.
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  And when she speaks, she resembles those truths.
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  And he says, her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband is also,
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  and he praises her. However, she's doing her work, I believe,
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  because of her commitment to the Lord.
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  And he's bringing the favor.
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  Even the lamb and the lion will lay together. God will make enemies sit at your footstool.
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  God will lift you up.
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  If you submit yourself or humble yourself under the mighty hand of God,
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  he will lift you up in due time. And that's hard to do.
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  But in that season of testing and trials, it's important that you do what Peter
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  started doing when he got out of the boat. You keep looking at Jesus.
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  But if you do what Peter ended up doing, which is looking left and right at
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  the storm and trying to rationalize things, then he fell and so will you. Yeah.
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  But it's important that in the testing and the trial,
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  in the unfairness, in the oh, woe is me moments, that you don't look at oh,
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  woe is me, but you continually keep your eye on the prize of Jesus Christ.
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  Because if you measure out how God and his son Jesus lived and how Jesus walked among us berated.
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  Harassed, mocked, and lowly.
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  While people who could not light a candle for his path were exalted,
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  he lived in a world where they paid tribute to another king.
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  His family paid taxes to the king, and he was the king. That's misplaced.
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  So if you think someone's getting something you deserve keep your eye on jesus
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  keep your heart in tune with the holy spirit don't look for recompense don't
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  look for reward just stay on the path and i promise you.
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  Your day is coming, because he may have come as a babe, he may have died as
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  a sacrificial lamb, but he's returning king of kings and lord of lords.
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  When King Lemuel is talking here at the very end of Proverbs 29,
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  he talks about many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
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  And then he says one of, I think what is one of the key verses in Proverbs 31,
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  which I think goes to what you just said about following the Lord and listening
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  to him and having him be the king.
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  It says, favor is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the
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  Lord, she shall be praised.
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  All praise that comes to us should come because of the fact that we fear the Lord,
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  because we are walking in wisdom and we are honoring Him in what we do,
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  and honoring Him is the thing that our lives are focused on.
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  It is an amazing thing to walk with the Lord.
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  And the only praise that we truly should be seeking is that of nail-scarred hands.
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  We live in a world that's mean and cruel and deceitful, but eye hath not seen
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  and ear hath not heard, nor is it entered into the mind of man what lies in
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  store for them that love the Lord.
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  It is our prayer that you love him, that you live for him, that holiness is
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  a way of life, that he's the delight of your soul and that you walk with him daily.
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  We pray that this walk through Proverbs, slow and steady,
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  has motivated you and inspired you to come to him in everyday practical ways
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  and allow him to be Lord of every part of your life.
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  Thank you for the great things you've done for us, Lord. And may we continue to feast upon your word.
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  Remember, you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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  Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
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  quotes from today's podcast and scripture references.
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  We pray today has been a blessing and we encourage you to reach out to us through
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  And it is through your loving and generous support that our ministry continues to bless others.
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  To learn how to partner with Woman at the Well Ministries, please visit our
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  website. Thank you to the Gospel Group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
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  We greatly appreciate your prayers. We are praying daily for our listeners.
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  Remember that God loves you. You are loved.
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  Music.