King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Sunday, June 22, 2025
Chapters: Proverbs 30-31
Message: Proverbs: Contentment And Virtue
Hello My Friend,
I just read about a man, born and raised in Communist China, who risked his life to tell his story of how he came to know Christ as his Saviour and found out that everything written in the Bible is true. He drew the conclusion that there is nothing in the Bible that needs to be changed, [2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.]
While we none of us will be perfect until we see Jesus, our faith in Christ does make us perfect through His sacrifice. We do not need anyone to tell us that the Bible is true, but testimonies like these are what confirm and encourage our faith. As we return to and come to the end of the reading of Proverbs, we learn that just like in Ecclesiastes, fearing God is the whole conclusion to the life we are to live in which the Word of God gives a better understanding of what that means. Jesus, said it this way, [John 14:15-17 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.]
The last two Proverbs were not written from the words of Solomon, but two different men, although there are some indications that they were very close to Solomon. The first one, we learn from a man named Agur, that every word of God is pure.
[Proverbs 30:1-6 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal, 2 Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. 3 I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. 4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell? 5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.]
I do not care what era that you came from, everyone knew that God has a Son, they may not have known that His name is Jesus, but they did know that they needed Him, [Psalms 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.]
This is coming from someone who is not a preacher, Hebrew priest, or even a servant of God. We cannot doubt one word written in His Word, nor attempt to put in it what we believe ought to be there. God, has a strict warning about what happens to those who mess with His Word, [Revelation 22:18-19 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.]
My aim in this life has never been fame or fortune, it has always been to be content. I do not want to have to wait until my next paycheck comes in to decide which bills are more important to pay or when some unexpected event comes (which there always is) it can be taken care of right away. The older I get the more I understand our aim ought not to be how much we can get from the world rather what God gets out of us.
[Proverbs 30:7-9,11-14 Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: 8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. 11 There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. 12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. 13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. 14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.]
By now, I do understand that God wants me to ask Him for my daily bread at all times, which is why He sees fit to never let me get too content. Getting too content with life tends to take our focus off God, and gives the false sense that we can get by without Him. However, there is another danger that comes when we start getting more than what we need.
[Proverbs 30:15-19 The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: 16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough. 17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. 18 There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: 19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.]
God knows what we have need of, whether it be a feast or famine we are given it for a reason and only a season. The grave will never be satisfied because life for the flesh ends at death. The barren womb will never be satisfied because life begins in the womb. The earth will never be satisfied without water because it would die without water. And fire will never satisfied because its only desire is to devour everything in its path. There is one thing that can stop fire in its tracks and that is water, in fact, since Jesus is the living water for the soul we can safely say that anyone who receives Him as their Saviour is saved from the fire of hell, [Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.]
I know it seems like these things have likely explanations, but think about it. Eagles are one of the few of God’s creatures that mate for life, their eyesight is incredible, they can soar up to the highest point in the atmosphere, then dive straight down to the lowest point of the ground without a flinch and catch its prey. Snakes, while cursed to slither all their days on earth, slide up rocks, hang on trees, and even swim in water, yet in a moment capture their prey by wrapping itself around it. A ship is perhaps one of the most incredible inventions made by man, it can withstand the most tempestuous of storms and yet can sink to the bottom if water gets in. The wonders of God are truly amazing and something to be remembered, [Psalms 111:4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.]
I will admit that some of these things are way too wonderful for me to understand, and I probably never will, but there is one thing that I do understand is that because of my faith in what Jesus did for me hell is not an option. The Proverb goes on to show us things that are just too wonderful for us to understand in our own human comprehension.
[Proverbs 30:21-23,29-32 For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear: 22 For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat; 23 For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress. 29 There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going: 30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any; 31 A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up. 32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.]
Proverbs 31, is famous for being written as a guide for women, even though it starts out by King Lemuel, who is getting his wisdom from his mother concerning women, she encourages him not to give his strength to women. King Lemuel, is actually King Solomon, his name means; one from God or belonging to God. Such a one was Solomon being given by God to David and Bathsheba as a pledge of his reconciliation to them after their repenting of their sin. Perhaps his mother gave him this name to remind him of his great obligations to God, and of the justice and necessity of his devoting himself to God’s service, but he found it necessary to write down the words his mother told him about women.
[Proverbs 31:1-7 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. 2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? 3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. 6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. 7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.]
Having been there herself and seeing that perhaps she was just as much to blame for the adultery between her and David, she lets it be known how destructive it is for a man to give all his strength to a woman. Do not underestimate the power of a woman, she can lift a guy up high, but she can also destroy him. Women have a great influence on men, they have since Eve influenced Adam to take a bite of that forbidden fruit, [1 Timothy 2:13-15 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.]
We are in the world for a reason, and it is not to become one of them, it is to bring people to Christ. It may only be one person that God sends to us to get saved, but it is just as important as a thousand. Living as the world does will not bring people to Christ, which is why we are to live virtuously, and that includes not giving ourselves to every lust of our flesh.
[Proverbs 31:10-17 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. 13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. 14 She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar. 15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. 16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. 17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.]
[Virtuous; Morally good; acting in conformity to the moral law.] Often throughout the Bible you read about men being blessed by conforming themselves to the Word of God, but once in a while something pops up to remind women that they to need to live by every word too, perhaps even more than men. Do not underestimate the power of a woman, she can lift a guy up high, but she can also destroy him. Women have always had a great influence on men, they have since Eve influenced Adam to take a bite of that forbidden fruit. Nevertheless, the power of a Godly woman is a great asset.
[Proverbs 31:21-25,28-31 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. 22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. 24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. 25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. 29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.]
We all mess up sometimes, after all, we are not perfect, but those who fear God and live by His Word are greatly blessed and their hard work will get noticed, even if it is only God who notices. God, has given us the life He has given us because He knows we can handle it, as we find our strength through Him. While living by every word of God is not what saves us, it is what helps us out of struggles and keeps us guarded against all evil, [1 Timothy 6:6-8,12 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.]
Today’s Prayer: God, I believe that everything in Your Word is true and that I will receive all the promises You made as I learn and grow in it. You have us here for a purpose, and that is to shine the light of Christ in this dark world. I want to live my life as as example of Your Son in me. Lord, Lead me and guide me, keep me in the ways of virtue, and let me be a Godly influence to both women and men. Give me Your power, wisdom, and guidance, and the will to be both a hearer and a doer of Your Word. Let me not be tempted by others who are not living by Your Word and use me to be an example on how to influence others to live by every word. Also, give me Your mercy, grace, and strength to keep going and show me how to be content, yet not get too comfortable with my surroundings. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/ready-to-follow-jesus/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Read Previous Devotions: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Read The Bible: http://kingjamesbible.imfollowingjesus.com/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/welcome/
Like I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2025 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.