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THE PROVERBS 31 WOMAN A study prepared by Denise Lower The word “Proverb” means: a description by way of comparison. This tells me that the Proverbs 31 woman is a metaphor, actually, the embodiment of certain “descriptions” in one woman to which we are to compare ourselves. Plainly speaking, this woman has all the attributes which we should strive to have, but to have them all at the same time, would be nearly impossible. I believe we should constantly be working on all of these traits found in Proverbs 31, however, we should not berate ourselves if we fall short of any goal on any given day. We are “works in progress” ,Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” ***Author's note: After my closer look at this passage with "The Message" version of the Bible, I can almost see where many of these 'job descriptions' could BE accomplished at the same time in life.....still 'out to lunch' on that one!!!!**** The words in Proverbs 31 were most likely written to Solomon. These words are addressed to Lemuel, an unknown king, however most Bible scholars believe this to be Solomon. I find it fascinating that these words were written to Solomon by his mother, Bathsheba. Perhaps reflecting on all she had seen over her lifetime, including the death of her first child with David, she instructs her son, the wealthiest man in the world, on the attributes of a “good woman”, one you cannot put a price on. In essence what Solomon’s mother was saying, was that even if you had all the money in the world, and it appears he did, you could not buy this type of woman. In my study, I found there were various verses dealing with several different areas of life. I have listed these by area, and recorded the scriptures I think deal with that area, however, I’m sure if you thought about it, you could come up with more. Verses About: Food: 14, 15, 16 Clothing or Dress: 13, 21,22,24,25 Character: 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 Homemaking: 13, 14, 15, 21, 22, 27, 29 Business or Commerce: 13, 14, 20, 24, 29, 31 Relationship with Husband: 10, 11, 12, 23, 28 It seems to me, that if you look at just the way these verses are recorded, that being a woman of character would be most important to God, then husband and family, not to mention the community. Next would be the homemaking skills, business, husband, clothing , and food preparation. This should not be taken as an order of how to have our priorities. The order of a Christian Woman’s priorities are as follows: ***(and I DO have scripture for these priorities) 1. God 2. Husband 3. Children 4. Family 5. Church 6. Others WOW!!! Sort of a pre-cursor to the Titus 2 Woman. Maybe the Titus 2 Woman of the Old Testament?? In this next section, I've taken verses from Proverbs 7 and done a word study on them, as a contrast to the Proverbs 31 woman. The Proverbs 7 Woman What we do NOT want to act like In sharp contrast to the paragon of virtue in Proverbs 31, we look quickly at the woman of Proverbs 7. Sometimes it is helpful, if not instructional, to examine how we should NOT be, in order to avoid doing just those things. I would like to take a brief moment to look at the characteristics that define the Proverbs 7 woman. These verses are found in Proverbs 7:5-21. In verse 5, the strange woman is defined as a harlot or a prostitute. I do not want to have any of the qualities or attributes of a harlot. Let us look at what some of those qualities are. In verse 9, we see that she is out in the twilight, in the evening and in the black night. These are defined as early morning, the period following sunset and the middle of the night, respectively. There is certainly a reason they call them “ladies of the evening”, although I think lady is a generous and inappropriate term. Sin and evil are constantly referred to as black and it is even stated in Pro. 2:13 and in Pro. 4:19, that the “way of wickedness is as darkness”. When we leave the paths of righteousness, we always follow the paths of darkness. There is so much available to us in this day and age on a 24 hour basis. Grocery stores, ATM machines, theaters, drugstores, gas stations. It seems Satan has advanced this world to a point where you can do anything you want all night long. I do not like to drive at night, and I do everything possible to avoid being out after sunset……I know in the winter in this part of the country, it is nearly impossible to get things completed by nightfall. I know this sounds narrow-minded, but I try to be home at night, unless I am out with my husband or family. We were in downtown Chicago one evening, on a “date” for my birthday, and I was literally appalled at what I saw on the streets late at night, and it wasn’t even really that late, around 9:00pm, I think. That experience certainly made it clear to me, that not much good happens in the darkness. In verse 10, we see that there is definitely an “attire of an harlot”. There is much controversy over dress in the Christian world, but in Isaiah 47: 2b and 3, the Bible says: “…..uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. 3. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, thy shame shall be seen.” These verses are discussing the daughter of Babylon, and in Rev. 17:5, we see, “And upon her forehead was a name written, mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” I, as a Christian lady, endeavoring to be a Proverbs 31 woman, do not want in ANY way to appear a daughter or mother of harlots, so I choose not to dress in the “attire of an harlot”. The word “subtil” in this verse means keeper or watchman and the “heart” is the seat of the emotions…….this wicked woman watched over her own heart….probably had a hard heart, while destroying others hearts. I need to be so careful about guarding my own heart, yet being watchful over others hearts too. Verse 11 states that she is loud – clamorous, boisterous, turbulent, raging, disquieted. I need to be discreet, calm and of a “meek and quiet” spirit (I Peter 3:4)….there are reasons the Bible gives us word pictures. I catch myself wanting to be like women of the world, with their loud and boisterous ways…many say they are just “spirited”. I need to conduct myself in the way the Bible says. Verse 11 also states she is stubborn – rebellious, backslidden, away. When I am stubborn and wanting my own way, I am conducting myself in the ways of an harlot…..Strong words, but ladies, this is Bible. Verse 11 states further, “her feet abide not in her house”. This woman was not content to stay home. Abide means – remain, inhabit, rest. She was a “gad-about”, as my mother used to say. This verse alone has convicted me to not do so much “running around”. There is so much to say here, but if I am concentrating on being a “keeper at home”, I guess I need to be there a majority of the time. Verse 12 says..”now is she without – meaning outside, in the fields, highways, streets, the outside. My mother used to tell me I wasn’t going to “run the streets”. As a Godly woman, I see TWO verses here that tell me I need to stay at home. Taking care of a family is a gift from God. I will respect it as such, and stay off the roads all the time and stay home, where I belong, and where God wants me to be. In verse 12, we see, “lieth in wait – ambush, in verse 13, that she has an impudent – strong or hard face and in verse 21, we see she uses “much fair speech”- persuasiveness. When I first read these verses, I thought, “I’m not like that”, but upon further examination, I see that sometimes I do wait to ambush my husband with a request when he is too tired to think, I make my face “hard” when I don’t get my own way, and I can be very persuasive when I want something. How is that any different than the harlot, portrayed in these verses? One of the things my husband first notices about someone is their face. We had met with the realtor who had this house listed, a woman, and one of the first things he said about her was,”My, she has such a hard face.” I believe the sin we have done in our pasts can make our faces hard, and it does show on our faces. I will say it now, and I will say it again in reference to a passage in Proverbs 31, the best beauty treatment in the whole world is living right. PHEW!!!! That was what I wrote as an introduction to the Proverbs 31 study over 6 years ago!! Comforting to me is the fact that I STILL think the same things about those verses. So much more could be said and I could expand on every one of those verses, but I feel it best to leave that alone for now. Depending on what you all think, I might take a few days and expand on those verses. Let me know what you think. Denise aka The Domestic Angel |
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