1月31日；
箴言书 7；
唱诗：诗篇 128:1,2,3

“看哪，一千男子中，我找到一个正直人，但众女子中，没有找到一个。”  (传道书7:27 )

我们都知道“千里挑一”这个表达，这个 “一” 是一个特例。在今天的经文中，传道书的作者正在写男人和女人，他得出一个结论，一千个男人中他只找到一个正直人，但在女人中一个也找不到。

难道男人比女人有更好的见证吗？这是否公平，是否正确？难道不是所有人，不论什么性别，都是有罪的吗？有些人可能会说，这节经文歧视女性，是公然地性别歧视。这些人大概觉得整本圣经都有性别歧视。

有人想知道这个“千里挑一”的人的身份，这个如此正直、又具有尊贵品格的人是谁？我们应该注意到，圣经没有给出这个人的名字，想要弄清楚这件事会引发猜测。经文没有揭开这个人的身份，但揭示了一个本质。

传道书的作者简单地陈明，在女人中找一个正直人是极其困难的。这是他的结论，是基于他自己的观察和推测。他写道“这是我所找到的”。他没有说他的方法是绝对可靠的，没有要求我们有同样的确信。这节经文的意图是为了强调一个综合性结论：“神造人原是正直，但他们寻出许多巧计。”（传 7:29）

因此我们在选择人生伴侣的时候要十分地小心，我们的配偶必须是真正专注于基督的人。

思考问题：在箴言书31章中圣经为什么“提高”了妻子的地位？这是一个真实的画面吗？它是规范性的还是描述性的？

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January 31
Proverbs7
Song:Psalm128:1,2,3

ONE IN A THOUSAND

"...while I was still searching but not finding -I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all.”（Ecclesiastes 7:28)

We all know the expression "one in a thousand". The “one" is then the exception. In today's passage, the author of Ecclesiastes is writing about men and women. His conclusion is that he could find(only)one upright man among a thousand, but not a single upright woman.

Are men given a better testimony than women? Is this fair? ls it correct? Are not all people equally sinful, regardless of gender? Some might say that this passage discriminates against women and is blatantly sexist.

These may be the same people who feel the entire Bible is sexist. There are those who wonder about the identity of the "one in a thousand man”. Who is this man of such upright and noble character? We should note that the Bible does not give us a name, and trying to figure it out will lead to speculation.The text does not uncover an identity but reveals a principle.

The writer of Ecclesiastes simply states that it is extremely difficult to find an upright woman. This is his conclusion, based on his own observations and deductions.He writes," This is what I have discovered.." He does not state that his method is foolproof. He does not command us to have the same conviction. The passage is meant to underscore his general conclusion: "God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes"(Eccl 7:29).

We must therefore be extremely careful when choosing a life partner. Our spouse must be truly dedicated to Christ.

Questions: Why does the Bible “raise the bar"on a wife in Proverbs 31? ls this a realistic picture? Is it normative or descriptive?