HOME BUILDER OR HOME WRECKER (PROVERBS 14:1)

 

HOME BUILDER OR HOME WRECKER

BIBLE PASSAGE: PROVERBS 14:1

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: https://www.calvarychapeljonesboro.org/proverb-a-day

NOVEMBER 14, 2021

MEMORY VERSE

Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

PROVERBS 14:1

 

INTRODUCTION:

Like we always read in books that family is the basic unit in the society and we can see that in Filipino culture family is more important that’s why we have extended family who shared also the same house. We always want to be with family and this is one of the reasons why some families stick together in the same house but as times goes by Filipino families have started learning to separate from their parents to build their own house. Every family member has roles to fulfill to make the house or family stronger. In Bible’s point of view that whatever we strive to make the family strong, we can’t do it except the Lord build the house. Psalms 127:1 says,

“Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”

 

In our memory verse today we can see that the wife has the great role to fulfill in terms of building a house. We know that the woman or the wife always see the general life of the family. She has that instinct to determine what’s going on with the family. She has the innate feeling of determining the problems in the family which others cannot see. Like the character of the woman named Abigail, she saw the possible outcome of her husband’s attitude toward David and she stepped in and reconciled to David. Abigail quickly put together an impressive gift of food, loaded it on donkeys and headed out toward the oncoming troops. At the sight of David, Abigail “dismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground” (1 Samuel 25: 23). In this humble, respectful manner, she appealed to David’s honor not to let a villain like Nabal cause David to take vengeance on the entire household. She’s a peacemaker.

 

Proverbs 14:1 says, “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. It is interesting to follow the two ongoing descriptions of two women in this verse. These two women are the wise and godly woman and the immoral and foolish woman. Before we proceed with these women, the first we need to do secure with our family is to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Like the first verse I mentioned, we cannot build a house without the Lord in the family. To do that, every family should believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by the Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Admit that you are sinner (Romans 3:10) and repent from your sins, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31) and confess that Jesus as Lord of your life – Romans 10: 8-9 and John 1:12.

 

If we were asked what kind of woman we wanted to be, a home builder or a home wrecker? We talk about women today, but this doesn’t mean that fathers and children are out of this topic because we talk about family and woman belongs to a family. We are all belong to a family. Let’s go back to the question, maybe we are all thinking is there such a home wrecker? We all know that the world is getting more immoral nowadays and when women act differently apart from the Bible standards, they’re now accepted in the society. Now godly women are the ones who struggles more in this world. May this lesson open our eyes to be observant in the ways of God and choose the right way. We will see how some women built their house. May this lesson challenge us to be part of a “HOME BUILDER” rather than “Home Wrecker.”

 

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  A WISE WOMAN BUILDS HER HOUSE (PROVERBS 14:1)

Proverbs 14: 1 says, “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.”

Here they are contrasted on how they deal with their own house.  House is used here not of a literal building but rather of how a woman builds up her own family.  Thus the wise woman builds up her family.  She is selfless and gives herself away to strengthen and encourage and bless her family members.  Her husband knows her love and support - and her children are partakers of her love, discipline, and care.  Truly, the woman who does this gives untold blessings to her family.  Her spirit pervades the home and makes it so much more than just a place to live - but a place to grow and thrive.  

 

Moms are such a blessing to the home if they are godly ones.  They will build up their homes with their own hands and with their own works.  That house is truly blessed to have one - to have a mother who is a wise woman - and who builds up her home by her constant efforts to make it a place of peace and an environment where the work and presence of the Holy Spirit is welcome. This means she is not a hindrance in the ministry of the family. She allows her family to get involved in the church. She makes a way to make her family grows spiritually with the help of the husband of course. Therefore, it’s important that the husband and wife have the same faith. What if the woman is the only Christian in the family? She can’t do it by herself; she needs God. She will not stop making a way to let them accept the Savior. She keeps on kneeling to God for the family to have a good connection to the Lord (by versa with the husband).

 

The following notes below were taken from https://letgodbetrue.com/proverbs

A woman is either a crown to her husband or rottenness in his bones (Pr 12:4). This difference cannot be hid from the eyes of others, for his shame comes from them witnessing his curse (Pr 27:15-16). A husband’s flattery is of little value when others can easily witness a wife’s neglect of him, the children, the house, or the estate (Pr 24:30-34).

 

The virtuous woman had great influence over her family and husband’s estate. She directed the care of the children and household and engaged in commercial real estate development and manufacturing and sales. Her husband’s importance in the city was greatly due to her superb management of these matters. Read it carefully (Pr 31:10-31).

 

 

How can you identify a wise woman? Look first at her husband. He will be successful in his vocation, for she will have relieved him of most or all the household duties (Pr 31:13-27). He will be confident, happy, and content, for she will have been a great lover and companion (Pr 5:19; 19:13; 31:11-12). He will apply himself well to the larger matters of family and estate, for his wise wife will have taken care of the lesser ones herself.

How can you identify a wise woman? Look at her children. They reflect their mother very much, which is why the Bible says that a neglected child will shame his mother (Pr 29:15). Mothers spend much more time with their children than fathers, and from early ages they are greatly influenced by their mothers. Children of the wise woman will be exceptional in character, conduct, and reputation. Samuel, Solomon, and Timothy say much about their wise and noble mothers (I Sam 1:27-28; Pr 4:3; Phil 2:20; II Tim 3:15).

For children to be successful in relating to others, they must be taught. To be diligent and successful workers, they must be taught. To be truly spiritually minded, they must be taught. To be organized, neat, and orderly, they must be taught. To be gracious, noble, virtuous, and zealous, they must be taught. A wise woman knows that her example is at least as important to this training as the frequent and careful verbal instruction she gives.

How can you identify a wise woman? Look at her soul. Her sins are confessed; she keeps her heart with all diligence; she avoids approaching the lines in life between holiness and sin. She is contented and happy with the Lord, no matter what circumstances she faces. The LORD is her everlasting portion, and she enthusiastically does anything she can for the kingdom of God. She is humbly contrite for her sins and sinfulness, but fully confident in God’s forgiveness to press ahead with bold joy in fulfilling her calling.

Wise women are not satisfied with cooking, laundry, and dusting. A wise woman is a holy example of great godliness and loving femininity at all times. Her children can easily observe her submission, service, and affection to her husband. They see a consistent standard of purity, temperance, diligence, and graciousness every day. The law of kindness is in her tongue, and she rules her spirit without fail. She is the sunshine of the home and a constant example of faithfulness in spirit and conduct.

Women are imperfect like everyone, but they play a great role in the family. Remember the first ministry is the family. Keep on shining and doing the will of the Lord. Don’t give up!

2.  A FOOLISH WOMAN PLUCKS HER HOUSE DOWN WITH HER HANDS (PROVERBS 11:29; 14:1)

Proverbs 11:29 “He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.”

Tagalog: Ang nagpupunla ng gulo sa sariling sambahayan, mag-aani ng problem, gugulo ang pamumuhay. Ang taong mangmang at walang nalalaman, ay alipin ng matalino habang siya’y nabubuhay.

 

On the other hand - the foolish woman tears down her home with her own hands.  Her foolishness is what is keyed upon here.  Foolishness throughout the book of Proverbs is seen in those who do not take God's perspective on things.  To the extent that a woman does not focus upon the Lord - to that extent she will tear her own house to the ground.  Women who focus on wealth and the world's view of beauty will do great damage to their sons and daughters.  The woman who thinks that wealth or anything on this world is more important than the job of being a mom will do great damage, not just to her own family, but to the society around them.  Multiply this attitude a million-fold in a society and you have the makings of that societies' downfall.  She can teach her daughters that they should focus on chasing men rather than seeking God.  She can have them think that a man is gotten by her female wiles rather than by her chaste and godly character.  Such foolish women have destroyed their homes down through the ages.  The Bible is full of examples of both these women.

 

Ahab, that wicked king of Israel had two of them in his life.  First his mother did not rear him to fear the Lord.  It is amazing to see that every king had his mother mentioned - and then afterward it is told whether he did right or evil in God's sight.  Possibly her greatest failure with Ahab was allowing him to marry Jezebel, the second foolish woman in his life.  In 1 Kings 21: 1- 29 we can see how Jezebel uses her power to get what she wanted for her husband’s sake. She counselled and encouraged Ahab to do evil and even to kill to get a piece of land he wanted.  Ahab turned into a pouty, spoiled, godless man due to the influence of these women.  He was responsible for his own actions, but how often the actions of a child reflect the mother who reared him.  Ahab wound up destroying not just himself, but every single child born to him.  In the end, both his mother and Jezebel destroyed and tore down their houses with their own hands.  These are not the only women who exhibit this behavior.  There is Athaliah, who not only counselled her son to walk in the ways of Ahab, but who when her son had died, killed all the rest of the royal offspring so she could be queen (2 Kings 11).  There was Micah's mother who blessed her son's thieving ways and dedicated her stolen precious metal to make an idol for him and her household (Judges 17).  There was Herodias, who had her daughter debauch herself so that she could carry out her deadly grudge against John the Baptist by having his head cut off and put on a silver platter (Mark 6:22-27).  These ungodly women torn down house after house and paved the way for greater destruction in future generations. 

 

We see how these women used their influence to get what they wanted. May we see that whatever influence we have, the better influence is the godly influence. Therefore, don’t give up reading the Bible, that’s the way we get wisdom, don’t give up praying for the family, don’t give up giving your service for the Lord and don’t give up being a godly influencer. Proverbs 11: 29 reminds us of when we mismanage our house, we will inherit nothing.

 

CONCLUSION:

Thank God that we also have godly examples placed before us.  We have examples of women who built their houses instead of tearing them down.  Godly Sarah who called Abraham lord, even though he was not the greatest of protectors.  She was responsible for building up the house of Israel.  There was Jochabed, mother of Moses who risked her life to protect and care for Moses - and then when God had allowed him to be placed back into her hands as his nurse - she taught him the ways of the Lord.  There was the godly mother and grandmother of Timothy, Lois and Eunice, who took the time to teach him the Scriptures which made him wise unto salvation.  What blessing was passed from generation to generation through these godly women.  May God add to their number more and more so that our nation can be blessed in its future as well.

Keep our mind the verse from Proverbs, ““Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”