Proverbs 23: I love how this book of wisdom starts off with, "When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you; put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food." One thing that is for sure is that it's always interesting to be invited to a dinner, to meet someone out, or, even more personal, dinner where they live. You first glance at how the table is prepared, then at the food. As the world's best husband and cook, I’ve never have been trained, but I have a good sense on food prep. A good meal is made better by the conversation.
Years ago, my wife and I were being courted so that she would take a very high position at a big church. We broke bread over a chicken piccata meal. I gathered the husband not only made the meal, but he was also a stay-at-home dad. My wife had just had our third child and it was good to get out. I believe every family dynamic is different and it would have been so beneficial to take the job and have our roles reversed, but I knew deep down inside I was supposed to work and pay the bills. The timing wasn't right, and I asked myself, “What is really on the menu?”
This scripture passage mentions the heart in 23:15: "My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself; Yes, my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak right things." We were flattered, but knew God had a job for me, which came six months later, and which I still have today.
Proverbs 24 & 25: You can pull a teaching on just about every line in Proverbs. There is so much to unpack. I will only say that the passage that stuck out to me was 24:14: “So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul." I used to say to myself, "I can't imagine anyone going through this," year after year, a new trauma, a different trauma eating away at me.
Proverbs 25:19: "Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls." I was vulnerable. I was desolate. When I found the will of God, to prosper and have what I thought was a better life, I had to ask my Father questions, reading His word and letting the Holy Spirit lead me. I had to make my heart fertile and be ready for what he had for me. Experiencing His presence and growing in knowledge, I started to have peace.
Proverbs 26 to 28: The passages that stuck out to me were 28:7: “Whoever keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons [in my case drunks] shames his father.” When I went through a rough time in my life, I couldn't or wouldn't receive any advice from people. I didn't want to go to church, but I did understand the law and being obedient. This, in time, was a seed planted with a trust that my Father would come and rescue me. The heart is the ultimate garden of life.
