Friday, September 15, 2017

Counseled By The King: The Proverbs Of Solomon. Day 99, The Woman Of Valor, Part Two

The author concluded yesterday by telling young men that a woman of valor is far more valuable than rubies. This is because, "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life." (Proverbs 31:11-12) This woman can be trusted with anything. Her husband has no worries she will be unfaithful to him or that she will be wasteful with money or resources. He can go about his duties in the confidence that she is going about hers. Both participants in this marriage feel secure in their relationship and are true helpmates to each other.

The woman of Chapter 31 is not a lady of leisure. She has servants, but she works as hard as anyone else in her household. "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands." (Proverbs 31:13) She doesn't get up in the morning and sigh heavily and say, "Oh no! Look at all this work I have to do!" The author says she works "with eager hands". She enjoys performing the work the Lord has given her to do.

"She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar." (Proverbs 31:14) The health of her family is of concern to her, so she seeks out the best marketplaces. She isn't afraid of trying something new and she regularly purchases exotic foods from other countries. A varied diet is a healthy diet. This woman enjoys serving delicious and nutritious meals to her household.

"She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants." (Proverbs 31:15) How many of you ladies get up before daylight to start taking care of your household? There's no virtue in laziness, as Solomon has told us again and again in the book of Proverbs. The woman in this chapter gets up and gets on with it. This is what many of us ladies do and what many of our mothers did. I remember my mother getting up every morning well before daylight to cook breakfast and to pack my dad's lunch for work and to get me ready for school. I don't ever recall her complaining about any of it. She simply did what needed to be done. I think this is a quality I most admire in other women: the determination to do what needs to be done. We won't always feel like doing everything that needs to be done. It won't always be convenient. It certainly won't always be easy. But a woman of valor will press on anyway. My mother has gone on to be with the Lord, but she used to say that willpower is one of the most important virtues a person can possess, and the older I get the more I  agree with her. Nothing much would ever get done if we all waited til we felt like doing it. We might as well get up and get on with it.

The woman of Proverbs 31 also works outside the home. "She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard." (Proverbs 31:16) She's a businesswoman. She is smart and recognizes a good deal when she sees it. She knows how to make her ventures profitable. The author tells us she does these things "out of her own earnings", which means she does her part to add to the finances of the household. We will learn tomorrow that she runs a profitable trading business and that this business earns enough to help keep the household running, plus there is enough left over for her to give to the poor.

We often make the mistake of picturing wives of ancient times doing nothing but cooking and having babies, but in reality they did so much more. We see the woman of valor in Proverbs 31 enjoying the freedom to work in the home, to work outside the home, and to volunteer in her community. Her husband is not restricting her activities. She's not the type to make rash decisions or to invest money unwisely, therefore her husband trusts her implicitly. If she thinks something is a good deal, it is a good deal. If she wants to run a trading business from home, he's all for it. He supports her goals in life just as she supports his. We see an equality in their relationship. The author will not come out and expressly say that this husband and wife are very happy together, but we know they are. As we will learn in tomorrow's study, she does everything she can to encourage him and uphold his reputation in the community. She's the woman behind the man and he knows he wouldn't be as successful as he is without her. At the same time, she knows she wouldn't be as successful as she is without him, because he encourages her to be all she can be and he takes great pride in her accomplishments. This is the portrait of a beautiful relationship, a true partnership, just as the Lord intended marriage to be.

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