Proverbs 14

By thissmallgroup, October 14, 2019

Wow. Chapter 14 means that you’ve been joining us in this study for two weeks! And if you’re just now finding This Small Group and our study, we welcome you. There’s still a little more than two weeks to go in the month, which means a little over two weeks to discover even more about the wisdom of God.

Throughout most of Proverbs, King Solomon refers to his readers as men, a common tactic at the time considering most of the firsthand audience were men. This makes the beginning of Proverbs 14 so surprising to me, as Solomon opens the chapter by stating, “The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.” While this can certainly be read in a literal sense, I prefer to think of it in a figurative way. My birthday approaches in a few days, and I have found myself questioning — how have I built my house lately? What steps have I taken to prepare for my future? What kind of foundation do I hope to lay for this home, which will reflect my faith to the world?

One step that has grown over the past couple months has been this very site, which began as just an idea and discussion over coffee in the spring of 2019. But Abby, Allie, and I prayed, we searched ourselves, we believed in God, and now we cling to Solomon’s promise in verse 23, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” We pray that this community brings a profit to you and your faith, in the same way This Small Group provided for us.

Verse 12: “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”

Verse 13: “Even in laughter the heart may ache, and rejoicing may end in grief.”

Verse 30: “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”