Proverbs 31 woman…as we discussed last week, the Proverbs 31 woman is not the perfect 31 woman, but the prayerful 31 woman. She is an ideal woman who serves as a timeless example. As this passage was written back in the days of Solomon, it was written in ancient times, but the teachings are just as applicable today as they were back then. So the Proverbs 31 woman is a timeless example of virtue, responsibility, and good sense.
She is not any single woman, but she is a composite or aggregate of many capable women. No one excels at everything. And although the Proverbs 31 woman is described as a married woman, marriage and motherhood are not prerequisites for the successful Christian walk for a woman. The essential characteristics of the Proverbs 31 woman can be applied to the single woman, too. I believe that Proverbs 31 woman is a portrait of ideal womanhood…giving us an example for us to strive for. The focus of this portrait is not on her specific abilities, her high performance, or even marital status. The focus of Proverbs 31 woman is on her relationship with God. She realizes that regardless of all of her natural talents or acquired skills or even her charm and her beauty, all that is fleeting or temporary. Proverbs 31:30 “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”
Proverbs 31 is a poem as is much of the passages in Proverbs and Psalms. In fact there are the books of the Bible that scholars refer to as the Books of Wisdom and they include Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Did you know that Proverbs 31 is an acrostic poem? An acrostic is a poem form in which the first letter of each line or verse spells out a word or phrase or in some specific order, such as alphabetical.
Begining with verse 10, Proverbs 31 consists of 22 verses. Each verse begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet (in proper order). In Proverbs 31, each verse is also clearly divided into two parts (for example, in verse 10---Part 1: A wife of noble character who can find? Part 2: She is worth far more than rubies. This same two-part format is found in all of these verses. The only exception might be verse 15 which seems to be divided into three parts.
“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. “ The Hebrew word chayil, translated here “noble” or “virtuous” means a woman of valor – a strong, capable woman with strong convictions. I believe that the Proverbs 31 woman is not a mousy, timid, weak-willed woman driven by fleeting emotions or temporary circumstance…she is a strong, capable woman with strong convictions. This is not to say that she may or may not be soft spoken and gentle because there are passages specifically in 1 Peter 3 that describes a woman of great worth in the sight of God as being one with an unfading beauty of gentle and quiet spirit. By the way, rubies are mentioned here probably because they are more rare and more difficult to mine than even diamonds…rubies of perfect quality.
The Proverb 31 woman is described as being financially savvy, an astute business woman. She is a good steward of what the Lord has blessed her with. It describes her as being involved in real estate…for she considers a field and buys it and out of her earnings from that she plants a vineyard. She is wise in her management of household resources…she even sells her linen garments. But part of being a wise steward is also having the wisdom and discernment in knowing how to give.
In verse 20, Proverbs 31 woman is described as having compassion toward the poor and needy and she shows her compassion with concrete deeds of mercy. She loves the poor, not in word or in tongue only, but also in deed and in truth (1 John 3:16-18).
There are many ways to show compassion in deed and action. Consider the man on the corner…consider carrying meal vouchers in your car, bottled water, healthy food items, or gift certificates. Consider carrying tracts or words of encouragement to hand out. Not only do you consider their physical needs but their spiritual needs as well which is eternal and more impactful.
Share with your children how you and your husband tithe and give.
Consider sponsoring a "Compassion" child through www.compassion.com. You can sponsor a child in almost any country for about $38 a month. When you sponsor a child, you'll receive your child's photo, personal story and a child sponsorship packet by mail in approximately 15 days. As you exchange letters, send photos and offer encouragement in Jesus' name, your love will bring hope to your sponsored child that will last a lifetime.
The point is that the Proverbs 31 woman is a compassionate woman who loves on the poor and needy with concrete acts of mercy by her actions and deeds not just words and tongue.
May God give you each much wisdom and discernment in how to best meet the needs of those with whom God puts you in contact whether it be the man on the side of the road with a sign or a barefoot child in the rural jungle of Zimbabwe that you will never meet in person just through photos. For Jesus said in Mathew 25:40 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
May we do it all for Jesus.
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