–John Hansen  (The Outfit)

       “He lops off every branch that doesn’t produce. And he prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops.”
                    –John 15:2 (TLB)
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     We must not throw all the words of Job’s companions away for there is some truth in what they say.  Bildad chides Job but he does say one thing that we should ponder, “Their roots will dry up, and their branches will wither.” (Job 18:16, NLT)  The HCSB translates it this way, “His roots below dry up, and his branches above wither away.”  Here’s my question for you this morning:  How lively and fruitful are your spiritual branches?
     In our approach to Bildad and his critical assumptions regarding Job he does bring forth an important truth.  One of the terrible effects of sin is a dry, dehydrated spiritual root system.  Are we thirsty enough for that living water?  Do we drink from the fountains that will never go dry?  Far too many Christians live in an arid condition spiritually.  “Their spiritual roots are dry.  They are suffering from internal drought.  There is little or no growth or fruitfulness in their lives.” (Dale A. O’Shields)  We have the Fruit of the Spirit but so often it is not nourished enough to grow.  
     A person gets born-again, but that’s it.  They often are not nourished properly and more often than not, for one reason or another, they are not discipled properly.  The root system is weak, therefore, the fruit yield is less and what is there will wither.  These people are normally easy to spot.  First, the fruit of the Spirit is not evident in their lives.  These individuals have lost their peace and joy; they’re the ones with cynical or critical attitudes.  Those in this condition are dangerously on the edge; “this spiritual dryness becomes a serious threat to their spiritual well being.”
     A second question:  how healthy is our root system?  To maintain a healthy spiritual root system we must continue to grow in a healthy fellowship with the Lord.  “If we fail to hydrate these roots regularly and properly, we eventually suffer the consequences–we begin to wither and die.  Fruitlessness externally is the result of spiritual root problems–dryness and death internally.” (O’Shields)
     Since the root system is out of sight, it often is out of mind.  We have to take time to deal properly with the roots.  “Dry roots result in a weak structure–a tree that is vulnerable to destructive, adverse forces and ravaging insects and diseases.” (O’Shields)  The pests, the imps of the devil become a hazard.  Have you ever been through a forest of tall pines, once seemingly indestructible, but now dead due to the hidden pine beetle?  Once strong, sturdy, but the pest came in and destroyed the tree.  Or those tall trees that look firm have dried out roots and when the storm blows the tree falls due to the dried up root system.
     We are to be firmly planted.  We are to make sure our “root system” is properly watered.  We are to be “like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalm 1:3, NKJV)  We are to be productive for the kingdom, therefore we must have the proper nutrients flowing up through the roots.  We must have a time with God every day, in fact, the more we meet with Him the stronger our root system will be.  “As we recognize our need for spiritual hydration, we must make the commitment to cultivate a regular pattern of exposing ourselves to the life-giving, refreshing and renewing presence of God.” (O’Shields)
               “Drinking at the springs of living water,
               Happy now am I,
               My soul they satisfy;
               Drinking at the springs of living water,
               O wonderful and bountiful supply.”
                      –John W. Peterson

       “Life is short, and you love your wife, so enjoy being with her. This is what you are supposed to do as you struggle through life on this earth.”
                    –Ecclesiastes 9:9 (CEV)
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Satan cannot destroy the Church.  He can only attack it, but Christ will not let His Bride be sullied or dirtied.  With that in mind Satan turns his attack to the family; destroy the family and the Church is greatly affected.  The father, Solomon, continues to warn and give advice in this next portion of Proverbs, chapter 5.

          15 — Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.
          16 — Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets?
          17 — Let them be only your own, and not for strangers with you.
          18 — Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth.
          19 — As a loving deer and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and always be enraptured with her love.  (NKJV)

     In an arid country a well was a prized possession and a privilege to be cared for.  So is a spouse.  “Drink water is an oblique reference to sexual union, and from your own cistern is a clear call to marital fidelity–one man, one woman, together in marriage.” (NKJV Study Bible)  Marriage is like drinking pure water, but immoral sexual sin is like drinking sewer water.  This water is not to be wasted by pouring it in the streets.  When fifty percent of marriages end in divorce this is a major problem in our country.  As J. Vernon McGee states, “marriage is the highest and holiest relationship” there is on this earth.  The Christian marriage is to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and His Bride–the Church.  This is one sure way to tear down society.  “The brooks and rivers of the land cannot be pure if the springs are defiled.” (J.L. Flores)
     Wiersbe says that “The commitment of marriage is like the banks of the river that keeps the river from becoming a swamp.  And if the water backs up, it becomes a bog, no life is flowing.  Where water has no depth, shallow water then is easy to stir.  Ponder…no commitment, bad things happen.  The writer of Hebrews gives a severe warning, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” (13:4, NKJV)  
     Commitment, satisfaction, loyalty, are things that should be considered and upheld says the father in Proverbs.  Charles Bridges says regarding the man who seeks to find another “strange woman” is that this person is dissatisfied with blessings already in his possessions.  “The true husband has a feeling towards his wife to which the licentious man is an entire stranger.” (Flores)
     Rejoice with the wife of your youth…learn to grow old with her with satisfaction.  Always be enraptured with her love.  Ahhh, what more can be said than that.  The ESV, puts it this way, “be intoxicated always in her love.”  I found in my files a song put out by Charlie Pride, written by Ollie Kennedy and have included the second verse below.
               “Time for me passes on,
               And I’m growing old a lifetime nearly gone,
               I cannot unfold night’s dark and cold.
               Warm is your hand in mine,
               Weathered with age and time,
               Light of love still shines
               After all these years.”
I’m not sure Solomon could utter these words at the end of his life…perhaps.  However, in writing the Proverbs he certainly has the wisdom of love and life.