Proverbs 31: 10-31
Many outstanding godly women appear throughout the Bible, but the virtuous wife described here merits special praise (Proverbs 31:29). This woman was a wife and mother. For centuries women have been amazed and challenged by her life (verse 31).
The passage describes what kind of wife a woman should be and what kind of woman a man should choose to marry. An acrostic poem, each of the twenty-two verses begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, encouraging the memorization of this literary masterpiece. We are not told who she was but what she was.
This rare woman was a paragon of virtue: trustworthy, industrious, organized and loving. Yet amazingly she was able to order the priorities of her world. Her husband totally trusted her; her grown children voluntarily praised her, and her home was a model of efficiency. Still she finds time to reach out to her community, to help the poor and even to increase her family’s resources through wise investments and productive management of all placed in her care. Moreover, she was as outwardly beautiful as she was inwardly wise.
The portrait of the virtuous wife closes with the key to her success (v. 30). Illustrating the theme of wisdom found throughout proverbs, this woman first feared and reverenced God. Therefore, relationships and responsibilities were wisely balanced. She exemplifies the truth spoken by Jesus Christ “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:3). A close look at this woman can prove invaluable in helping every woman set her own priorities in managing the time, resources and giftedness God has given.
Many outstanding godly women appear throughout the Bible, but the virtuous wife described here merits special praise (Proverbs 31:29). This woman was a wife and mother. For centuries women have been amazed and challenged by her life (verse 31).
The passage describes what kind of wife a woman should be and what kind of woman a man should choose to marry. An acrostic poem, each of the twenty-two verses begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, encouraging the memorization of this literary masterpiece. We are not told who she was but what she was.
This rare woman was a paragon of virtue: trustworthy, industrious, organized and loving. Yet amazingly she was able to order the priorities of her world. Her husband totally trusted her; her grown children voluntarily praised her, and her home was a model of efficiency. Still she finds time to reach out to her community, to help the poor and even to increase her family’s resources through wise investments and productive management of all placed in her care. Moreover, she was as outwardly beautiful as she was inwardly wise.
The portrait of the virtuous wife closes with the key to her success (v. 30). Illustrating the theme of wisdom found throughout proverbs, this woman first feared and reverenced God. Therefore, relationships and responsibilities were wisely balanced. She exemplifies the truth spoken by Jesus Christ “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:3). A close look at this woman can prove invaluable in helping every woman set her own priorities in managing the time, resources and giftedness God has given.
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