05-10-26 Proverbs 31 Women

➡ This Sunday Bible study focuses on the role of women, particularly mothers, as seen in society and as described in the Bible, specifically Proverbs 31. The speaker notes that societal views of women have changed over time, with modern depictions often showing women as independent, career-focused, and less family-oriented. However, the Bible describes an ideal woman as a supportive wife and nurturing mother, who influences her family positively. The speaker emphasizes the importance of this biblical view, contrasting it with negative female figures also mentioned in Proverbs.
➡ The text is a detailed explanation of advice given by a Jewish mother to her son. She advises him to avoid alcohol and immorality, to stand up for the oppressed and needy, and to find a good wife. The mother describes the ideal woman as one who is physically, mentally, morally, and spiritually excellent. The text also discusses the importance of trust in a relationship, emphasizing that a good wife is trustworthy and supportive, and her husband can rely on her completely.
➡ This text emphasizes the importance of a wife’s role in a successful marriage. It highlights her responsibility in managing the household and resources, and her commitment to her husband’s well-being and success. The wife’s devotion to her husband’s spiritual and professional growth contributes to his reputation in society. The text also warns against gossip and tearing down a spouse’s reputation, as it ultimately reflects poorly on the one spreading the gossip.
➡ This text describes a woman who is deeply devoted to her family and home. She is diligent, hardworking, and takes pleasure in her tasks, whether it’s making clothes or managing the household. She is also entrepreneurial, using her earnings to buy a field and start a vineyard, and even runs a small business from home. Despite her many responsibilities, she remains strong and finds satisfaction in the benefits her work brings to her family.
➡ This text describes a woman who is selfless, hardworking, and dedicated to her family’s well-being. She works tirelessly, even in the dark, to provide for her family, making clothes and ensuring they are warm during winter. Despite her busy schedule, she still takes time to care for herself and maintain her appearance. She is also generous, helping the poor and needy, and is a role model for young girls. She is not afraid of the future because she lives a righteous life.
➡ The text discusses the importance of a woman’s spiritual strength, wisdom, and kindness in her roles as a wife, mother, teacher, and homemaker. It emphasizes that her influence and teachings, based on God’s law, shape her family and future generations. The text also highlights the importance of recognizing and appreciating her sacrifices and efforts. Lastly, it encourages men to lead their households with grace and respect for their wives, and wishes everyone a happy Mother’s Day.
➡ This text is a prayer asking for divine help and healing for Jennifer and CD, who are facing health problems. It expresses gratitude for God’s sacrifices and seeks guidance to live a life closer to Him. The prayer also asks for strength and patience to deal with future challenges, all in the name of God’s son.

Okay, welcome. This is our Sunday morning Bible study. We’re in the book of Acts and, but I’m going to break out from Acts today and I’m going to talk about moms. And the backdrop of this is going to come from Proverbs 31. And we’re, we’re going to talk briefly about the subject of mothers, women, responsibilities, stuff like that, that will allow us to sort of put a framework together in our mind as what God envisions women to be in, in their role of marriage and home and raising children and teaching and so forth. So foreign. We’re going to look at God’s pattern and, and openly discuss that.

And, but if you looked at our society today and you look at the perception of a woman, I think what you would find is her role from a historical basis. For those of us old enough to understand what went on in the 50s and 60s and 70s, you’re going to find that her role has actually changed. And I didn’t, I, I, I didn’t get into my, my, my storage to prove this, but I, I think that if you were to go rummaging around looking at any old magazines or newspapers of the time we talked about 40s, 50s, 60s, you kind of see the old bookstores and in your garage or in your attic somewhere, you might want to not.

You see that women that are portrayed in some of the ads in the past, you see them like rocking their children in the kitchen, cooking, sitting on the bed, reading stories to the children. Pictures like that, images like that almost sound like fiction today in a lot of ways. When you look at the, the woman in advertising today, you’re going to see her dressed up in a slick business suit, most likely swinging a briefcase as she sails down a, a crowded street, maybe in New York or Chicago or Dallas or wherever. Or you see her in tights, doing aerobics or in a skippy bathing suit half exposed.

That’s typically what you would see today. So what our society really views as a woman to be exalted, the woman to be honored, doesn’t really exist. What kind of woman is she? What is the modern superwoman? Well, I suppose if we did a composite, it might go something like this. She works, she builds her career, she demands equal pay, refuses to submit to her husband, demanding equality with him and everything has an affair to on side a divorce or two. It’s very difficult for her to stay married. She wants to exercise her independence. She wants to rely on her own resources and doesn’t want her husband or children to threaten her personal votes.

Very often you would find that she would own her own bank account completely separate. What she learned she keeps and doesn’t participate in wholeness with family. She probably hires a maid or cleaning service. She probably. Coffee for herself or quick frozen foods for a family because she doesn’t want to take the time to cook. She expects probably her husband to do at least an equal share of housework. She’s probably tanned, aroma sized. She probably shops quite a bit to keep up with the trends. She maintains attention getting contests. Inner peers are from a social socialistic point of view.

She puts the kids in daycare, make sure each one has a TV in their room to occupy themselves so she didn’t have to deal with it. Or radio or a CD player or some some form of entertainment. The children are always all the time entertained and don’t bother her. She leaves them to the brainwashing of immoral materialistic society that pumps whatever it pumps through those media points. She’s very opinionated, usually likes to be heard from and is eager to fulfill her personal goals. That’s the kind of woman that this world applies. She can’t really stay married for any length of time.

She’s really not happy. Her kids are on a focus of getting in continual trouble, sometimes with drugs and often become criminals in that environment. And she’s far from the woman that God has called the excellent woman to be. Well, what did God say about what a mother is to be? Well, if you go to Proverbs 31, we’re going to find it. It’s this. This passage is a time honored age old proportion of scripture and we’re going to see what it says because God’s revelation of this excellent woman is portrayed here. And we start getting it in verse 10.

All right. The first verse, verses one through nine, deals with a mother teaching her son how to how to be the type of guy that he needs to be in order to attract this woman that is going to be portrayed in verse 10. It says that she’s an excellent wife. And here’s the description. When it comes down to what a woman ought to be, this is it. This is an ideal model. This doesn’t describe some particular woman, it just describes the ideal woman. There’s. This does not pertain to any particular woman in history. It doesn’t cite a woman’s name.

It is just a picture of what an ideal woman ought to be. So there’s a lot to be said about women in the book of Proverbs. This book is a list of proverbs or statements of wisdom. Throughout the Book of Proverbs, there is a continual interest in women. There is a woman who appears frequently in the Book of Proverbs, and she is the opposite of the excellent woman. She’s the adulteress. She flatter, flatters with her lips. In other words, she talks constantly. She forsakes the covenant with her own husband to seduce someone else. The adulteress has tips that drip honey.

Lips. I’m sorry, lips that drip honey. She has a smooth tongue. She’s a. A great seductus. Remember Estar. And she hunts for the pre. Precious life of some victim. She’s a conqueror like Estar. She always wants to be on top. This is not only the adulteress, but this is a noisy woman, a very loud, boisterous woman with whom no one wants to live. And the normal man would prefer, as the Proverbs said, to live in the corner of the roof in a tiny little place than a big house with a boisterous woman. This is a foolish woman, this is a rebellious woman.

This is a querulous woman. And they are all really set in contrast to this excellent wife here in chapter 31. Now there is, in chapter 12, verse 4, Proverbs statement. An excellent wife is the crown of a. Of her husband, but she who shames him is as rottenness his bones. Nothing better than to have an excellent wife, nothing worse than to have the opposite. In fact, a wife has a tremendous ability to influence a husband and a family. If you capture scripture appropriately, in First Kings, chapter 21, there’s a statement made by Ahab, the wicked king, perhaps as wicked as any king in history of Israel.

And it says, Ahab, that he was wicked because he was incited to do it by his wife Jezebel, we talk about the fact that God has designed men to be the head of the family. And that means provisioning, that means protection, that means leadership. Men have that responsibility. But men do not have more than, and perhaps not as much as women when it comes to influence. There is a reason God created Eve as a. Help me. All right, Because a man doesn’t have the brain to understand both sides of the coin. Ahab was the man of his house.

He was even the king. He was a leader. He was a very, very strong leader. But his life was shaped by the influence of his wife, Jezebel. A wife plays that role in the life of her husband, in the life of her children. So, turning from the adulterous and noisy woman and the foolish woman, the rebellious woman, or Carousel woman, the woman who incites her husband to do evil. We come now into chapter 31 to this picture of an excellent wife. And here it’s laid out the pattern for that woman. Now I’m going to give you just a little background of verses one through nine so you can get your arms around this.

This is the words of King Lemuel the oracle. And in his speech or in his burden which his mother taught him. So he is, he is reciting in verses one through nine what he learned as a young squire boy being taught by his mother and along with the sort of chicken soup version, whatever else she provided for him, she gave him some really good advice. He was royal, it was, it was came from royalty. He was going to take a position of rulership as a king. And she told him some things he really needed to know.

She said to him in verse three, do not give your strength to women. Don’t engage yourself in sexual liaison with other women. In other words, don’t commit fornication as a single man. Keep your life pure. That’s what Ephesians 4 Purity. Number one application in God’s plan for our individual life is purity. Do not give away your strength to women. Those are the way that destroy kings. She gave him some further good advice in verse 4. Don’t drink, don’t drink wine, don’t drink strong drink because it will cloud your judgment. She continued with this advice and she says to him in verse 8, open your mouth for the dumb.

In other words, speak for those people who can’t speak for themselves, those people who are oppressed, those people who can’t afford themselves, defend themselves. Those people who are too small and insignificant to have a platform of self defense. You got to take up their cause, you got to take up the rights of those unfortunate. In verse nine she told him, open your mouth and judge righteously and defend the rights of the afflicted and the needy. This is great advice from this Jewish mother to her son. Stay away from alcohol, stay away from sexual immorality. Take care of hurting people, defend those who can’t defend themselves.

Stand for the oppressed, support the needy and deal justly with everybody. Now I think those are excellent words for a king in rulership. That’s how to be a great man. And most of all, this is what occupied the length of her speech is from verse 10 to 31. Find a good wife. Understanding the implications of a bad one, you get boisterous, quarrelsome, self centered, wicked such as Jezebel. And realizing the influence she has bound to have upon his life. His mother encouraged Lemono to find an excellent wife. The kind of woman she describes is the model, ideal woman.

She’s priceless. Verse 10, you who. Who can find her, Her worth is far more than jewels. And she goes on to describe this woman, both physically, mentally, morally, and spiritually. In every dimension of this character, of this excellent wife and mother is unfolded here for us to see. She describes this ideal woman, this model woman, by looking at six different feature sets of her character as a wife, her devotion as a homemaker, her generosity as a neighbor, her influence as a teacher, her effectiveness as a mother, and her excellence as a saint. Now, understanding Jewish history, this becomes a very important document for the Jews.

It’s inspired by God, but inspired by God in a unique way that to you is not visible. But when, as we get into it, I’m going to tell you it’s very visible. See, there’s 22 verses. From verse 10 to verse 31. There are 22 characters in the Hebrew Alphabet. Each of these verses begins with the next character in the sequence in the Hebrew Alphabet. First character, verse 10, second character, verse 11, and so forth through 22 characters in sequence of the Hebrew Alphabet tied to scripture. So it starts with alif, bet, gimmel, and so forth and so on right down through the Hebrew Alphabet.

The first letter of each proverbs, each verse is the next letter in sequence. Well, you might ask, why? What’s the significance of that? Because in. In memory, this would be an easy way to memorize these 22 verses. Because you know what the Hebrew Alphabet’s at. You can cite that. So if you knew the Hebrew Alphabet, you’ve sort of got like a mnemonic set up already to help you memorize these 22 verses. It became a acrostic, which created a formula for easy memorization. And recall these feature sets so that every young Jewish son could be taught by his mother to memorize Proverbs 31, 10 to 31.

Not the women, but the men, Dick of that. And thereby having his mind the criteria in all times by which he was to measure the excellence of a woman. Unfortunately, we don’t have that benefit in our English demonic language. It was just a great benefit to them. In Hebrew, the kind of woman, according to chapter 19, verse 4, is a gift from God. And so it presupposes prayer in this selection of an excellent wife that one should find such a woman. In fact, it says in verse 10, an excellent wife. Who can find? Who can find.

Now, I want to be fair about this Because I don’t want anyone to think this is just a problem for men to find such a woman. It’s also a problem for women to find a good man. This is just a moment of equal time. That’s really what this does. You can read it to find out what the model of an excellent wife woman should be. But it is the model for the sun. In order of selection to ensure his life is going to be as meaningful to Christ as possible, they could find a trustworthy man. So, man, let’s not be too proud before we understand that we have a similar problem.

Now, this is Mother’s Day, so mothers are going to get it today. When it’s Father’s Day, fathers will get it. But too often when a selection is made of a woman or a wife, it is made for the wrong reasons. Man. The first thing that it attracts you is her looks. Oh, maybe then her education, her ability to speak intelligently. It might be her personality. What she likes and what she dislikes conforms to what you like and you dislike. Maybe it’s her accomplishments, her style rather than virtue. Character. And the other things that really matter you more go to the outward appearance than the inward condition of her character.

But this woman has a value that is far above jewels. The word actually describes precious stones of any kind. That’s what jewels mean when if you go look at the definition of jewels, it far outweighs any and all precious stones. Okay, now I want to just think about this. On the breastplate of all priests were 12 stones. Those 12 stones are the stones that we’re talking about here that can’t even conform to the value set of an excellent woman. She’s far above that. Some versions translated as ruby, some translated as pearls. Jewels is the best. It’s just the generic word for precious stones.

The point being is this is a very, very valuable woman, not easy to find. Then in verse 11, she begins to describe this woman. First of all, her character has a wife. Her verse 11, the heart of her husband trusts her and he will have no lack of gains for doing so. Now, in the ancient world, as when this was written, you need to understand that things were a bit different then. Even in Judaism, women were not looked upon as God had designed them to be looked upon, but grew to be seen as sort of a second class.

Now, I don’t want you women to think this is a doormat scenario. It’s just it’s basically the role of a helper instead of the one that is the head. And very often men, strong friendships with other men and maintain their wives only as servants. And in some cases not even maintaining a particular devotion to intimacy to them. They had concubines for their intimate, intimate acts. And so wives could be kept at a distance and treated very often as servants. Consequently, there was always the devotion between the two that created trust. Go back to Ruth, Go back to Esther.

Okay. And so we read in some ancient documents that it was somewhat common for husbands to lock up their valuables that when they went away, so their wives didn’t take them. Now it’s only my hope that guys, you don’t do that in current day home environment. But one of the first things that we read in this whole passage is that the husband doesn’t have to look into anything up because he trusts his wife. That is the character that is first exhibited. The trust is well founded. She’s not going to do anything to harm his personal gain.

I suppose the equivalent today would be are you willing, when you go out of town for a two week business trip to leave your checkbook with your wife? Do you have that much trust? Or frankly, do you even have a choice? Or to leave all the credit cards and know that perfectly. That would be calm. She would never violate anything, she would never do anything that brings harm to you. I completely trust her. She will never threaten what I have gained for the support of this family. That’s what this scripture is talking about. It’s the element of underlying trust that a woman provides not only to her husband, but to her family.

Now it’s talking about the fact that there is a intimate relationship built upon complete trust. The husband can go to work, he can go away. He can do whatever he needs to do with absolute confidence of her integrity, her wisdom, her discretion, and the use of his assets, their assets, and in the care of his interests. Need to put yourself in that time period and understand the two roles that were being played here. See, his comfort is her concern. His burdens are hers to relieve. He is at ease in absence because he knows that all he has is safe with her because she cares for him and he knows that.

And love means he would never do anything that would cause him sorrow or suffering or pain or distress. He’s not suspicious of anything. He’s not worried, he’s not jealous because she is absolutely trustworthy. Now that is the foundation for a great marriage right there. Utterly complete trust. He will have no lack of gain. He never’s going to have to become some soldier of fortune to make back what she loses. He’s never going to have to cheat to gain a little more to cover the losses that she’s causing. He doesn’t have to be tempered to steal or to falsify some account somewhere so he can get back what she wasted carelessly away.

This indicates that it’s an important thing to mention that she is in charge of the domestic matters. She’s in charge of the house. She’s in charge of using and accounting for all the resources in the home. He is free to give himself to his work, knowing that she will be a steward of all of that. This is what first Timothy 5:14 says about it, that the ruler is to be the ruler of the house. Or in Titus chapter two, that she’s to be the ruler of the house. Part of that is the management of those resources that her husband goes out to earn and to provide.

Now she does help him. Profit, not loss. He has enough because she’s devoted to the care of his earnings, because she loves him, because she cares about him, because she seeks his good nature. And that’s what comes in verse 12 when we look at it, she does him good and not evil. All the days of her life. The Jewish mother here tells her son, you want a woman who’s always has your best interest in her heart, who always seeks to build you up, whose desire it is to make you every bit of the man that you can be in every area.

All of the days of her life she’s devoted to his well being. Good times and bad, times of plenty, times of little, times of sadness, times of happiness, sickness, well times. Her love is ever and always devoted to the successes of her husband. She is concerned about the highest spiritual principles, and she never fluctuates. She’s the rock. Choose the rock. She seeks the very best and the noblest for the man who is her husband. She serves him as Sarah served Abraham according to 1st Peter 3:6 and called him Lord. She was committed to him. She reveals her virtue by her consistent service on his behalf.

Her love is so deep and it’s so pure, and a power and devotion that never changes. All her life she focuses on his successes, his comfort, his reputation, his joy or her delight to live for him is her consistent happiness. Oh, is that what women do today? We’re talking about the difference between apples and oranges here and as a footnote. That means when there, when necessary. Because his highest good is her greatest desire. She will confront his sin and his weakness. Thank God for that. And lovingly. She will be a conscience. She will be necessarily the voice of God, never unkind always submissive, but eager to be sure that he walks with God.

She’s concerned to confront his sin and his failure. See, that’s the part of desiring him to be everything he should be. Women, you can’t change anyone. But it’s in your actions and it’s in your role where God uses you to do the change. By the way, in the essence of what it says in Titus 2:4, when it tells young women to love their husbands, that’s what it means. It doesn’t mean walk around gaga over the guy. It doesn’t mean some kind of emotionalism event. It means when you love somebody, you seek his best interests. When we talk about love in this family, what we’re talking about is your best interest at heart.

First, spiritually, second, individually, whatever that might be. And third, as it relates to the overall family, You seek that he would be every bit the man that God would want him to be. And then it would be as much as he could spiritually, as much as he could be professionally, in every way. You seek that he would be the best father, that he would be the best friend, the best worker, the best husband. And that’s the way the woman advances her husband’s respect. When you go down to verse 23, her husband is known in the gates.

When he sits among the elders of the land. The point is, he is known as her husband. And his reputation is known far wide. And he is known by everybody. See, what happened in ancient times was inside the gates of ancient cities. There would be a sort of a platform area, a patio type, where the elders of the city would gather every day. And they would adjudicate the matters that came up in the city like civil disputes. And it was like sort of an open court where hearings were made with regard to the issues of the time.

And where business was carried out. And the elders of the city, the mature men of the city, sat in that place and rendered judgment. And they also talked. The point being that this man was as a great reputation among the leaders of the city. It is a reputation basically built by his wife. So she is so faithful to the duties of her love to him. He is free to be every bit the man he can be. And so he develops a tremendous reputation. That reputation is undergirded by her because she’s doing everything to make him, everything he ought to be.

She’s contributed to his spiritual development. She’s contributing to the ch. To the clarity that which he sees, the issues of life. She’s granting him the wisdom that she gains from the knowledge of God and the knowledge of God’s word. Just men, sometimes we don’t listen. She serves him. She cares for the things beyond behind the scenes. And so he’s free to be everything that God would want him to be and everything that the common community would benefit from. And so he is known as a man of great nobility, a great respect. Because of the contributions that she has made selfishly to him.

You can also be sure that she has done everything she can as well verbally to build his reputation and never do anything to take. Tear it down. She gains nothing by tearing it down. Absolutely nothing. Women, the worst thing you can do is gossip to somebody else about your husband. If people have diminished respect for him, then they have diminished respect for her. So you think you’re doing it to get back or to get something off your chest or whatever, but really what you’re doing is degrading yourself. Because she speaks the evil of her husband. And secondly, because he choose.

He chose someone inadequate to help him to become all he could be. The mirror is on you. But see, this woman has. Has character as a wife. So much character that her husband totally trusts her in the careful management of everything that is precious and important to the family. So much so that she does him good and not evil all her life long, making him all that he can be. So that his reputation is impeccable in the community. And her character as a wife, her role. Secondly, she’s devoted as a homemaker. And this takes up a really book of the passage in this, in this chapter of Proverbs, her devotion as a homemaker.

Now it’s quite remarkable and immediately in verse 13, it’s kind of an interesting transition. She looks for wool and flex and works with her hands in delight. In other. In other words, she is going to do what she needs to do in order to provide for her family. Vivian, Vivian Garner, which you probably don’t even know who she is, but she teaches feminism at the University of Illinois. And she, she says this, I quote, being a housewife is an illegitimate profession. I always thought being a prostitute was an illegitimate profession. But in our day, being a housewife is an illegitimate profession.

See, when you look at today’s society, do you know really where. Where the damaging sexual harassment really is? The most damaging sexual harassment taking place today is the sexual harass. Harassment by feminism, feminists and their governmental allies against the role of motherhood and the role of a dependent wife. What did they’re doing is splitting the nuclear family. We’ve talked about that on and on and on. That’s the real sexual harassment with devastating results. Why? Because now they broke up the family and everything is in chaos. But see, in God’s order, this woman is devoted to the home.

She’s the ruler of the house. She manages the household. And her devotion is remarkable. Verse 13 tells us that she’s involved in making thread out of wool and flax or linen. Now, I think the transition between verse 12 and 13 is really a pretty spiritual verse. See, she’s being her husband’s conscious. She’s doing him good and never evil. All the days of her life, she’s devoted to him, being everything he could be. She seeks his spiritual benefits, his spiritual welfare. She wants to comfort and encourage and strengthen him. And yet her submission and her godly virtues don’t make her into some kind of spiritual recluse, some kind of religious nut job, pretending that irresponsibility and laziness is deeply spiritual while she shirks the duties of the home.

See, she’s not quite ready to become the resident. The Theo. You can learn a theop. That’s a good word, Jim. Thank you, theologian. And do nothing but spend time and study. You guys know that my mind thinks faster than I can talk. And I get my words all screwed up. I had to learn how to do that in high school. I couldn’t talk. I t. I thought too fast. So immediately after the spiritual leadership of verse 12, we find her using her hands in verse 13. See, there’s no place in her life for self indulgence, no place for laziness, no place for inactivity.

She’s full of energy in the duties of the home, whatever the home is required of. That’s what she does, because she is the ruler of the home. So she looks for flax and oil. She’s going to make linen. She’s going to make clothes for the kids or whatever. She does it from needle and spindle. She serves the family well in doing those things, And it’s not hard for her to do them. It’s not something she begrudges. It’s not an unwilling thing. Because she loves the people she serves. She loves her work, because she loves her family, she loves her husband.

Its value is connected to who she does it for. Because of such deep devotion to her husband and her children, she willingly denies herself and takes up the most menial of task with the greatest amount of pleasure. She understands that they are an outgrowth of her deep love for those people in her family. Verse 14 says, she’s like a merchant ship. She brings her food from afar. Some of you are saying, well, that’s my wife. She finds those coupons and drives 30 miles to get a bargain on orange juice or eats up more in gas than we save, really.

But it’s the attitude that she’s trying to save the family some finance. She’s trying to. Now, we all understand that benefit of being frugal and being careful. But see, in those days, the rub was you had to walk, you couldn’t get in a car. She walked long distances to find something that her family would enjoy. It doesn’t even say that price was the issue, although we probably assume that even at that time. She’s like a merchant ship. She didn’t say she’s like somebody who takes a short trip. She’s like a ship. She makes a journey to get some food that’s way off in the business and she has to walk a long way to get it.

But because of the her delight has in providing it for her family, she’s willing to go do it. She finds her complete satisfaction in the joy of serving those great distances to find the very best, certainly for the best price and certainly to bring the best benefit to her family. See, she’s engaged and good planning, careful management. It’s not just simplistic, it’s not just bread and water. There are things that she adds to make it rich and enjoyable, even if she has to go a long way to get it. So verse 15 says more about her devotion as a homemaker.

She rises also while it is still night, and gives food to her household and portions to her maidens. And this is before dawn, and she’s up. Now, back then in Middle Eastern homes, a lamp burned all night, and it was her duty to pour a little oil in after midnight and get up before dawn to make it, make sure it hadn’t burned up. To provide light for any wayward individual or her family. Choose charitable after midnight, trimming a lamp up before dawn to grind corn for the next day’s meals, or prepare whatever had to be prepared for her husband and her children and the rest of the household.

Her household is above her own comfort, above her own rest. She’s up long before her husband and children are, so that she can give food to the household. And it also says in verse 15 in portions to her maidens. Now that’s a quite interesting statement, by the way, the word portions here. Some would take it to mean food, but she started feeding her maidens. Different context. She has young girls who work for her. This is A picture of a kind of a large estate. The mother is talking to her son who will be a king. And so there are servants there.

But this woman, even though she would be a queen, is not indolent or lazy. She works. And the word portions. In the Septuagint they use the Greek word erga, which means work or labor. What it means is she’s up early passing out the task to all of the maidens to do their assignments through the day. She literally gets up in the morning to plan the day’s activities, prepare the day’s food, pass out the task to all the maidens who are going to assist. She really does the managing of the whole household. She’s entrepreneurial. Look at verse 16.

She considers the fields and buy it. She didn’t ask her, she just considers a field and she bought it. Now, notice this. She knows a field is for sale and she thinks it through. She assesses the price and the value of the field and the benefit it could bring to her family and she decides it’s an appropriate thing to do. Notice her independence. She considers it. She thinks it through. She makes the decision and buys the property. Nowhere in here does it say she consulted her husband in doing this task. She sees what’s the benefit for her family and does it.

Well, where does she get the money? Did she take it out of her husband’s account? No. See, this is a very enterprising lady. It tells you that she purchased the field in verse 16 from her earnings and then she has enough to plant a vineyard in it. She decides that this would be a great field to plant grapes and that it would be benefit the household. And so she takes her earnings, buys it, plants it, harvests it and sells it. Say she has a little enterprise going on. Verse 20, 24, it says, this is an entrepreneurial lady.

And what she’s doing, according to verse 24, is making linen garments and selling them and supplying belts and sashes to the tradesmen. See, she’s got a little cottage industry going on. Well, you might say, shouldn’t a woman be creative? And what about their talents? And shouldn’t they work? Absolutely. And she’s found the right place. The word of God pictures her right in the home being enterprising enough to making these garments, certainly probably assisted by the maidens that come alongside of her, selling them to the tradesmen who take them and export them all over the world. So she’s got a little export business going on.

She’s working with tradesmen. And from the money that she’s Garnered out of the enterprise. She started to save it and save it and save it, Never indulging it on herself, but always with a view to securing it so that in the future she could do something that would benefit everybody. She finally comes to the conclusion she’s had. She has enough. The field is for sale. That’s the best investment. She buys the field, she plants the vineyard. Everybody benefits. She makes wise choices. It’s wonderful when a woman is enterprising, and if she has the time and the inclination and talents and abilities to do things in the home that can benefit the family, that’s a really a marvelous thing.

Now, guys, I’m not saying you shouldn’t help out. I’m not patting myself on the back, but we’re having company over a lot of people. And I got up and vacuumed the floor today, okay? My wife said the carpet needed to be vacuumed, our rugs. I said, okay. So I got up and I did it. Now, see, the sad thing is, when a woman decides that she’s going to have a career at the expense of the family, at the expense of the children, at the expense of the husband in the home. Verse 17 tells us a little more about this woman.

It says she girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong. Strong. Oh, guys, this doesn’t mean she’s going to a gym, okay? She guards herself with strength and makes her arm strong. She’s not soft. She’s a strong person. And what has made her strong, it’s just not talking about her muscles, guys. She became strong as a result of her effort, her conscious thought, as a result of her strength. They’re exerted in her daily task. She becomes very, very strong. And that’s why she can do so much. Her physical constitution is strong. Her arms are strong, and she can work that spindle.

And she does it by delight. See, this is a woman who is very. Is a very strong woman. She senses that her gain is good. Her lamp does not go out at night. What does it mean? She senses that her gain is good? Well, that all of this effort is producing goodness for the family. She sees that which she does is beneficial for everybody, and she lives for them. She’s motivated by the goodness of that effort, the goodness to everybody around her. She spurred. And not by self fulfillment, not by self indulgence, but she’s spurred on by the inherent goodness of what she is doing in the lives of everybody she loves.

She’s not selfish. The family is not organized in such a way that everybody has to attend to her, but rather she is committed to give herself away for the goodness of everybody else. Say in order to accomplish all of this. It’s her heart. Her lamp does not go out at night. That’s should be a remarkable lady. She finds work for the hours of darkness. And you have to do a special kind of work. Hard to do sewing work in ancient times without light bulbs. Got you think about it to. To the light of an oil lamp.

I remember watching my grandmother with a lamp next to the sewing machine so she could see. It’s really hard to stay warm at night during the winter. I think you’d agree with that because the only way you could warm the interior of a room would be to have a pan of hot coals sitting in the middle of the room room which is what they did. But see, she is so devoted to the needs of her family that she’s up at night in the dark doing what could be done in the dark, sleeping, and then up again before the light in the morning, preparing for the day.

Motivated by the goodness of what she does. Motivated because it’s so good for all the family to enjoy. She does it. In the words of the New Testament. What she’s doing is heartily as unto the Lord. Verse 19 speaks of the staff and the spindle, which are implements that are part of making thread. I remember my grandmother doing that. And of course lead to the loom where there’s a weaving and finally the fabric is made from which clothes and other things can be produced. Verse 21. She’s not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

She’s not afraid of the snow. Well, you might ask, does it snow in Jerusalem? Does it just snow in Israel? Sure it does. They’re in a mountainous region and if you were king, you were you. You ended up on the throne in Jerusalem. It snows there about every other winter. But even when it doesn’t snow, it’s cold. In fact, if you look at 2nd Samuel 23:20, Banaya, the son of Jehovah, Jehorada, the son of a valiant man, Kebsel, who had done mighty deeds, killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of the pit on a snowy day, just so that you know it does snow.

It’s in scripture, it says it snows. She provided wool garments for the snowy days. She made sure that her family was dressed in accordance to the climate. And it’s really interesting that the color was scarlet. A very, very deep Red color, say whoa. Garments deep red in color retained more heat. She understood how to take the elements and apply it to your comfort. Dark garments retain heat and white garments reflect heat. That’s the reason why you have white cars. Not just dark black garments. But she makes them beautiful. The deep scarlet, burgundy, kind of a red color.

And all of that would be very important in the winter. Verse 22. She makes coverings for herself. Her clothing is a fine linen and purple. What does it mean, she makes coverings for herself? It could refer to a coat, a cloak, a shawl, a wrap. She did something for herself. It could also make the defined as pillows, blankets, bed coverings to keep warm. See, the implication here is this and when you’re looking at her character, she made her bed beautiful. Earlier in Proverbs the prostitute did that to seduce the man. Here’s a godly woman making the bed a place of loveliness and comfort.

She adorns her bed with her house, for herself, her family, for comfort and for beauty. Her clothing’s like fine linen and purple. She’s not haggard. This woman gets no sleep. She doesn’t go to bed till after dark. She gets up before light. She’s tramping all over town buying stuff at bargain prices. And she does get home. She’s working with the spindle. She’s got to have dirty arms, dirty hands, her hair must have been a fright. She does ever pay attention to herself. And the husband is probably going to come home and say, you know all of this great, but dear, could you please do something about the way you look.

She wasn’t concerned about that. See, this woman appreciates the beauty that God has given her. Not something that you can paint on. She appreciates the fact that her husband rejoices in that beauty and enjoys that beauty. Misty always hates it when I tell her that she, she looks pretty before she put her eyes on. No, I don’t, no, I don’t, I don’t. That’s what she says. You can’t see. Okay, it’s, it’s, it’s funny characters in our house because I, I, I, I, I love her. All of that stuff that she was doing, she still has time to grace herself.

That’s very important too. Say there is a day when you just drive past Mervyn’s or whatever to a better store. The lady understood how important that charm and beauty was in the good sense because her heart was what? Always right. Always right. Verse 24 more about this amazing enterprises of her engagement in as a homemaker. And you got to Understand the time that this is happening. She was making garments ships off the coast of Palestine. She was distributing goods all over Mediterranean. So she, she was known internationally. I’m quite sure she put a little, either signed her name or something inside the garment so that you knew where it came from, like you get today.

And in biblical times they had these long beautiful robes with a sash gathered in all the material and made it look really good. This is a marvelous lady, guys. Her character is a wife, singular. Her devotion is a homemaker, exemplary. Thirdly, her generosity as a neighbor was fabulous. Verse 20. She extends her hand to the poor and she stretches out her hands to the needy. It isn’t that they come to her, she goes to them. She demonstrates not only a special devotion to her home, but compassion towards those not fortunate enough to be in her home.

When it says she extends her hand to the poor, it’s not like, okay, here’s 50 bucks, guys, I’ll see you later. It means that you get involved in their life. She provides not only what they need. Maybe it was some food, maybe it was some money, maybe it was a cloak, okay? She stretches out her hands to the needy. She doesn’t get touch, just touch those who come close to her. She goes to those who have needs. She has. She is a generous neighbor. She is utterly a selfish self, selfless woman. And she’s a teacher. Think about her maidens, young girls, to learn how to be an exceedingly great woman from an exceedingly great woman.

This is quite remarkable. She sets a high standard, not only for herself, but everybody around her. She brings them up, not tears them down. See? She has her own platform for teaching. It’s close. And she does it with strength in her spiritual character and dignity. What does that word, dignity mean? It’s a word described as elevated above common things. She’s elevated above trivial things. Her life is not about what doesn’t matter. She has true class, true virtue. She has godly character. She is spiritually strong. And she has elevated herself to a nobler issues. She’s got the power of a true character.

It’s expressed in the fact that she smiles at the future. She has no fear. See why? Because she knows her life is right with God and that secures his blessings in the future. We shouldn’t fear the future. Matter of fact, we shouldn’t worry about the future. I should take my own advice on that. These last three weeks, guys, I’m just human like you are, okay? I had all my ups and downs just like you guys. Some of them are Less and some of them are a lot worse. And you guys are saying issues these last several weeks and just my attitude and I apologize for that.

I had a two by four session this weekend. If your life is right with God, the promise of God is unfolding. Blessings. Isn’t it right? She knows in whom she trusts. She knows her life is right. She’s faithful, she’s pure. There. Therefore she can delight in what is ahead. She has no fear. No fear in the future are those who experience guilt in the presidency. So if you fear the future, you have guilt now because that’s what generates the fear. If you’re overburdened by the weight of your own sin and unfaithfulness, you have every reason to fear the future.

Because the Bible promises chastening this woman because of the virtue of her life. She can smile in the future because she knows the promise of God for blessing. So she has major spiritual strength based on virtue. Having being elevated her thoughts above commentary things, mundane things, trivial things, worldly things. Oh, I want to repeat that. Having elevated her thoughts, that which controls your action or your thoughts, so you elevate your thoughts to the things above, above, not below. Common things. Common things are on this earth, common things are not in the heaven. Verse 26. She opens her mouth in wisdom.

Oh, she just doesn’t flap her lips when she says something. It means something and it’s not trivial. And she has credibility because of that in her life. Misty and I went, well, we’re getting, we’re getting ready to, to get out of here and get on our journey to, to, to meet with some families and so forth. And she wanted to get her nails done. So we went and had lunch at a local restaurant there waiting for her appointment. And there was this lady that was absolutely loud. Her laugh was like, I don’t know what it was she need.

She knew. I didn’t make sure everybody heard her. And she spoke at a very high pitched, loud tone that everybody in the restaurant could not, could not not hear. You understand what I’m saying? She was her everywhere. It was really where as I was thinking about this and I was, I was watching her, I was saying, oh my gosh, this is exactly what it’s talking about. Somebody that is so insecure that they have to be noticed. So she opens her mouth in wisdom and literally the law of kindness is on her tongue. She opens her mouth, she speaks wisdom, but that wisdom comes with kindness.

She guides her day family daily, including her husband, with the words of wisdom from the law of God. She sends her kids off to wherever they go in the morning with a verse, something to remember their day, as Proverbs 1:8 tells a young man to follow the law of his mother. Hers is not a formal class. There is a place for women to teach women and women to teach children. And we understand that women are limited in not being able to teach in the church, according to Scripture, First Timothy, chapter two. But women have a class that is not formal but informal.

It’s the home, and it’s all the time, her classroom. It’s the instructional flow in her life, day in and day out. She’s a teacher not only to her children, but to her maidens and to her husband. Out of her mouth comes what? The teaching of kindness. Literally, the Torah of kindness. The law of God. The law of kindness, you might say. What’s that? Well, that’s the word in the Old Testament called chest. It is translated kindness, loving kindness. Mercy is perhaps truest translation is grace. She teaches law. Here’s law, God’s law, to not only her family with grace.

But she does it in pleasing, kind, gracious speaks. Her tongue is regulated. Behind the teaching of the law is the tempering of mercy, compassion. This is a very noble, excellent woman. Now, we’ve seen her as a wife. We’ve discussed her as a homemaker, a neighbor and a teacher. Now let’s look at her as a mother. Verse 27. She looks well to the ways of her household and doesn’t eat the bread of idleness. And because of that devotion to her household, and because she’s not lazy, but gives her life for them, verse 28 says this. Her children rise up and bless her.

Her husband also, and he praises her, saying, many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all. He rewards, rewards her for her effort. She exercised, According to verse 27, careful surveillance over everything. She manages the children. She manages the household. She is not lazy. She’s not eating the product of laziness, but the bread of loving, hard work. And then the real satisfaction, satisfaction comes for her. It comes from the people she loves the most. She’s given everything to them. And what does she get back? They rise up and bless her. They praise her. They reverence her, literally.

They honor her. They hold her in high esteem. And even her husband, because she has set aside her own comfort for his, she receives from him the supreme blessing after all the years of life. He loves her more than he ever loved her, because he now understands her character better than he would ever understood it before. Man, if you don’t love your wives more every day, then you’ve got a problem. Say, it should be so obvious that when you marry somebody in the beginning, there are lots of sorts of things, chemical attractions and some social attractions and some other things that bring you two together.

But you don’t have a lifetime of character in which to assess someone. Now, it shouldn’t be that somewhere down the the life of that marriage you start saying, well, I don’t love you anymore. This isn’t going to work. I want out of this deal. I. I just want to get to the next guy. It ought to be that the further you go down that marriage, the more noble, the more wonderful, the more excellent that woman becomes. So that the further along you are in that marriage, the more likely you’re to say, I wouldn’t trade you for anything in the world.

That’s how it ought to be, guys. As she becomes older, as her children grow up, they will appreciate her more and more and sold her husband because of her sacrifice. And they will rise up and call her blessed to praise her. And he and he said to her, many daughters have done nobly. I’ve met a lot of women, and some pretty wonderful ones at that. I wouldn’t trade you for any of them. So. As she becomes older and as her children grow up, they have their children and see, they endeavor to raise their children as they were raised by her.

She is constantly before their eyes. Her tender guidance, her wise counsel, her loving discipline, her holy example, her hard work, her unselfish giving. All of these things never cease to fill the memories of her children. And so they begin to fill the lives of their children with the same character. And that’s how a righteous is. Righteousness is passed from generation to generation. Now, I’m going to tell you something. No woman in the workplace today can have that kind of influence over the children. You have no time for it. She’s an excellent wife. She is a homemaker, a great neighbor, a good teacher and a mother.

And lastly, she’s an excellent saint. Verses 30 and 31. Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain. But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Simple point. You got to look past the superficial. See, charm in the Hebrew means gracefulness of form. It talks about her shape. Beauty has to do with the face that is deceitful. They can all look good and really cover up a wicked heart. But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall bring praise. So Lamiel’s mother says this. Find a woman who fears the Lord. Therein is the Beginning of wisdom.

She will be praised. Give her the product of your hands and let her work praise for her own in the gates. Your reputation. What are the products of her hands? All the good she’s done to others, it’ll come back to her. You will only receive that which you give. Guys. That’s the law of the universe. All the sacrifice will be hers the rest of her life. Everything she did in private will come back in public. As they praise her in the gates in the middle of the town. She’ll be famous for her godly womanhood. See, that’s her reward.

That’s the mirror of measurement. That’s the mirror of measurement. Women for your self. That’s the mirror measurement that you need to measure yourself against men here to sanctify your lives. That doesn’t mean you treat them as doormats. That means you become a leader in your house by the grace of God. You lead your house from the laws of God which allows your wife to be sanctified in the grace of God to produce the household that all of us sorely want on is God centered. God focused and worshiping in him in all ways. I wish you guys a great Mother’s Day.

I hope that you enjoy the time with your friends and family or whomever you might share the day with. Remember the mothers that are already gone. Hopefully your childhood was one. Do you look upon it and bless her in bringing you into this world? Those of you still here, I hope you have a great celebration day. And you do it in love and compassion for that which God has given you. Any points or conversation or questions you guys might have. Let’s pray. Father, thank you again for a lovely day of worship in your word. Oh God, how precious would it be for all the women in this world to understand exactly the role and the character that you called them to be.

Farther be with those that support them, the children and their husbands so that they may honor her. Lifting her up, putting her on the pedestal of where you have told us to place her. She’s above all, all the stones, the precious stones. Father, we have some issues here. We have issues. Jennifer, stroke. We need your godly hand placed on her and moving her. We have CD who’s battling health issues. We need ask Grace over that as well and many, many others. Those are just two that have come to my mind. Real quick. Father, I just ask that you just glorify yourself in the lives of this family.

May we ever seek to become more closer to thee. May we think, have thoughts that are only of you. Above those common things that to cause us issues. Father, we want to thank you for your son. We want to thank you for your death on the cross and his burial and resurrection. Because without that, we would not have a way to go home. And at the ultimate, that is the reason for this life. And so we must glorify you in achieving that result. Claim victory over Satan. Be with us. Give us additional patience. Give us additional ability to cope in the times ahead.

Father, we just ask all these things in your son’s name.
[tr:tra].