Most women who receive gold and jewelry consider them treasured gifts. In fact, gold and some jewels increase in value with some being of inestimable value. These treasures have many uses whereby their owners can benefit. Yet, imagine the reaction when a jewel of gold is mounted in a swine’s snout rather than in an appropriate decorative setting. No matter the perceived value of the item, its appeal significantly decreases. The Bible likens this scenario to a fair (beautiful) woman who is void of discretion. The world values outward beauty more than inward beauty though the Bible cautions against this. Today’s passage equates a beautiful woman without discretion to a jewel of gold in a pig’s snout. Discretion is of such importance that God instructed the aged women to teach the younger women to be discreet in Titus 2:5. The problem began where the Bible began – with a story about a woman in the garden in Eden who partook of the fruit based on what she saw and felt. All of God’s people, including ladies, should make their decisions with discretion.
The Bible proclaims that creation was not some type of random accident. Though proponents of the evolutionary theory vehemently disagree, the Bible indicates that creation involved wisdom and great carefulness by a benevolent Creator. Even scientific evidence reveals the truth of order in our world and the universe. For instance, the sun and the moon work perfectly together. The solar system runs its course without catastrophic misadventures. The heavens provide water for the earth and the earth cycles it back to the heavens. This system, far from haphazard, works together in harmony. What did the Lord do in order to ensure this type of perfection? According to today’s passage, the Lord “stretched out the heavens by his discretion.” To claim otherwise is to depict the Bible as false and God as a liar. God wants His people to use discretion in making decisions and clearly reveals that decisions made with discretion yield great benefits for those involved..
