Memory Text: Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

Sunday, February 5 Love the Right Woman
Proverbs 5:3-14 Holman “3 Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her words are smoother than oil, 4 in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood and as sharp as a double–edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps head straight for Sheol. 6 She doesn’t consider the path of life; she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable. 7 So now, /my/ sons, listen to me, and don’t turn away from the words of my mouth. 8 Keep your way far from her. Don’t go near the door of her house. 9 Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others and your years to someone cruel; 10 strangers will drain your resources, and your earnings will end up in a foreigner’s house. 11 At the end of your life, you will lament when your physical body has been consumed, 12 and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and how my heart despised correction. 13 I didn’t obey my teachers or listen closely to my mentors. 14 I was on the verge of complete ruin before the entire community.””
Proverbs 5:14 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY In the midst of the community of God’s people this young man has permitted himself to sin against God and man. There is a peculiar hardening of the conscience in those who flaunt their sinfulness in the face of the church. Unlike youth brought up in Christless homes, these have sinned in the light of truth, and have deliberately turned from the outstretched hands of the Saviour and the appeal of the Spirit. God has no other means to reach them. They have cut themselves off from salvation.

Monday, February 6 Character Traits of Good Fathers
Proverbs 13:22 Holman “A good man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.”
Proverbs 13:22 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE whatever property he left was honestly acquired, and well-gotten goods are permanent. The general experience of men shows this to be a common case; and that property ill-gotten seldom reaches to the third generation.
Proverbs 27:23-24 Holman “23 ¶ Know well the condition of your flock, and pay attention to your herds, 24 for wealth is not forever; not even a crown lasts for all time.”
Proverbs 14:26 MKJV “In the fear of the LORD [is] strong hope, and His sons shall have a place of refuge.”
Proverbs 15:1,18 NRSV “1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 18 “Those who are hot-tempered stir up strife, but those who are slow to anger calm contention.”
Proverbs 15:1 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY This statement is so true that even when the procedure is used by skillful deceivers, the soft answer enables them to control their victims and lead them on into greater loss. The natural man or woman tends to answer anger with anger, so that the difficulty is made greater and the wounds long lasting. Only when a genuine love for others fills the soul can the right sort of soft answer be made. Even then, love will often guide one to keep silent until the fury of wrath is spent. But the silence should be a loving, sympathetic silence, not one of tight-closed lips and hard eyes.
Proverbs 16:32 NRSV “One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and one whose temper is controlled than one who captures a city.”
Proverbs 15:27 NLT “Greed brings grief to the whole family, but those who hate bribes will live.”
Proverbs 15:27 COMMENTARY BY MATTHEW HENRY He that is greedy of gain, and therefore makes himself a slave to the world, rises up early, sits up late, and eats the bread of carefulness, in pursuit of it--he that hurries, and puts himself and all about him upon the stretch, in business, frets and vexes at every loss and disappointment, and quarrels with every body that stands in the way of his profit--he troubles his own house, is a burden and vexation to his children and servants. He that, in his greediness of gain, takes bribes, and uses unlawful ways of getting money, leaves a curse with what he gets to those that come after him, which sooner or later will bring trouble into the house.
Proverbs 29:17 NKJV “Correct your son, and he will give you rest; Yes, he will give delight to your soul.”

Tuesday, February 7 Correction With Love
Proverbs 10:17 Holman “The one who follows instruction is on the path to life, but the one who rejects correction goes astray.”
Proverbs 23:13-14 Holman “13 Don’t withhold correction from a youth; if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. 14 Strike him with a rod, and you will rescue his life from Sheol.”
Proverbs 23:13 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY One of the weaknesses of men is the tendency to postpone correction of a child’s wrong habits until these habits have become troublesome to the parent. In their early stages these forms of behavior are often laughed at and commented on in the hearing of the child. Thus the time when they might be easily corrected goes by and the main outline of a warped character is formed.
Proverbs 29:1 Holman “One who becomes stiff–necked, after many reprimands will be broken suddenly–– and without a remedy.”
Proverbs 29:1 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY The long-suffering of God gives sinners a probation in which to repent of their evil deeds. If they continue to harden their necks and reject the “easy” yoke of Christ (Matt. 11:30), while the mercy of God is protecting them against the consequences of their sins, their calamity and destruction will seem to come suddenly.
Proverbs 29:15 Holman “A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a youth left to himself is a disgrace to his mother.”
Proverbs 13:24 KJ21 “He that spareth his rod hateth his son, but he that loveth him chasteneth him in good season.”
Proverbs 23:13-14 KJ21 “13 Withhold not correction from the child, for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.”

Wednesday, February 8 Humor in Proverbs
Proverbs 21:9,19 ESV “9 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. 19 It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.”
Proverbs 21:9 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE In ancient Palestine for most of the year a man might live in comparative comfort on the flat roof of his house (see 1 Sam. 9:25, 26). Solomon contends that it is better to be exposed to the wind and rain than to the quarrelsome and vexing tongue of a contentious woman.
Proverbs 27:15-16 Holman “15 ¶ An endless dripping on a rainy day and a nagging wife are alike. 16 The one who controls her controls the wind and grasps oil with his right hand.”
Proverbs 27:16 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE You may as well attempt to repress the blowing of the wind, as the tongue of a scold; and to conceal this unfortunate propensity of a wife is as impossible as to hush the storm, and prevent its sound from being heard.

Thursday, February 9 Wife of Noble Character
Proverbs 31:10-31 Holman “10 ¶ Who can find a capable wife? She is far more precious than jewels. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will not lack anything good. 12 She rewards him with good, not evil, all the days of her life. 13 She selects wool and flax and works with willing hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from far away. 15 She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and portions for her servants. 16 She evaluates a field and buys it; she plants a vineyard with her earnings. 17 She draws on her strength and reveals that her arms are strong. 18 She sees that her profits are good, and her lamp never goes out at night. 19 She extends her hands to the spinning staff, and her hands hold the spindle. 20 Her hands reach out to the poor, and she extends her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all in her household are doubly clothed. 22 She makes her own bed coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is known at the city gates, where he sits among the elders of the land. 24 She makes and sells linen garments; she delivers belts to the merchants. 25 Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the time to come. 26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the activities of her household and is never idle. 28 Her sons rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her: 29 “Many women are capable, but you surpass them all!” 30 Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD will be praised. 31 Give her the reward of her labor, and let her works praise her at the city gates.”
Proverbs 31:10 COMMENTARY FAMILY BIBLE NOTES In the closing passage of the book of Proverbs, the pen of inspiration has given, for the instruction of all ages, the character of a "virtuous woman," such as every wise man will choose for his companion in life. It consists not in the fascination of outward accomplishments, which are too often united with idleness, prodigality, and a selfish, contentious spirit; but rather in industry, good management, authority over her household, and the spirit of love and kindness. Such a woman will confer honor upon her husband, and make him prosperous and happy, however she may be undervalued by those who are too ignorant to understand in what female worth consists.
Proverbs 31:13 COMMENTARY JOHN WESLEY NOTES She encourages them to work by her example; which was a common practice among princesses in those first ages.
Proverbs 31:16 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE She provides for the growing wants of her family. More land will shortly be needed, for the family is growing up; and having seen a field contiguous to her own, which was on sale, she estimates its worth, and purchases it a good bargain; and she pays for it by the fruit of her own industry.
Proverbs 31:19 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE She gives an example of skill and industry to her household. She takes the distaff, that on which the wool or flax was rolled; and the spindle, that by twisting of which she twisted the thread with the right hand, while she held the distaff in the guard of the left arm, and drew down the thread with the fingers of the left hand.
Proverbs 31:23 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY To be known in the gates, recognized and greeted by the elders of the city, was a desirable honor. The good repute of his wife and the wealth she helped to create would do much to elevate a man in the eyes of his fellows.
Proverbs 31:28 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Her husband is so satisfied with her conduct towards himself, his household, his business, and their children, that he praiseth her. He shows himself sensible of her excellence, and encourages her, in her work, by the commendations he bestows.