The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/proverbs/6.htm

If you make a promise, keep it. If you can’t keep it, don’t make it. Throughout the Bible, we see examples of people who have taken vows, and to God, a vow is solemn. Some have broken their vows, many have kept them. Remember Jephthah, who vowed to God that if he was given victory in war, he would sacrifice the first thing he saw when he returned home, and that thing happened to be his own daughter? And, vows to others are important, but a vow to God? Always keep it…but have wisdom in the promise and your ability to keep it.

Be productive and not lazy. If you are able to work for a living, do so. We are not put on earth to live off another man’s hand, take care of yourself. Scripture uses ants as an example, and if you’ve ever just sat and watched an ant hill, you’ll see they never stop. Each ant is busy scurrying around at work, whether it is moving dirt or sand to build their hive, or whether it is carrying and storing food for the colony.

Again, two chapters in a row, there are warnings about adultery. Must be pretty important to God, huh?

Finally, some of the most quoted (and misquoted) things in the Bible; the things God abhors.
1. Pride
2. Lying
3. Murder
4. Planning wickedness (premeditated sin)
5. Giving in to temptation instead of resisting it
6. Giving flase witness or testimony
7. Someone who stirs the pot.

Again, two chapters in a row, there are warnings about adultery. Must be pretty important to God, huh?

Proverbs 7 talks about harlotry. In the English language, we all consider a harlot to be a prostitute. But the definitions of a harlot could be translated differently from Biblical language.

As an example, one pastor claimed there were a couple of definitions of a harlot, one of which was a prostitute, but the other was an inn keeper. He specifically mentioned this when talking about Rahab, who helped Joshua’s army overtake Jericho, and by the way, who is in the lineage of Jesus Christ. But, I think, the motive behind harlotry also has bearing on the definition.

Not that it is right, but theologians (I knw, I’m not supposed to reference them) kind of indicate there is a difference between a prositute who is a harlot because of sexual promiscuity, and a prostitute who is destitute (surely there’s one word that combines those two), and his a harlot for money because they are starving and have no other source of income. Kind of like Proverbs 4 when it talks about a starving thief who steals food; if they are starving, they should be forgiven yet, when caught they should pay back what they stole sevenfold.

Furthermore, the Greek translation of “harlot” in the New Testament was a “tax collector”, and I wholeheartedly agree that tax collectors are harlots (just joking). So regardless of how you define what a harlot is, Solomon says it is wise to avoid them (unless of course they are taking your house because you’ve avoided the tax collector).

Then again, I continue to say that God has no secrets. The Bible (except for the Books of Daniel and Revelation), are not some kind of code that God is forcing you to decipher in order to claim salvation. God gives the rules, and He makes no bones about it.

By the way, at least the Book of Revelation wasn’t coded to hide secrets from us; they say that if the Revelator John had written in plain language, the Roman’s would have killed him before he even finished, so he had to use the coded language to get the message across. Now, if we just let the Spirit teach us what that code is instead of relying on man, we’ll be better off, because Satan doesn’t want us to decode it!

And don’t forget, it is wise to gain wisdom, so do not read these chapters of the Book of Proverbs lightly; pay heed to them and put them to good use. I’ve not encountered anything yet that doesn’t apply to our modern world.