In Celebration of Proverbs 31 Part II

As already mentioned, Proverbs 31 consists of two poetic sections. Last week we looked at the first part, detailing the godly qualities needed to be a wise ruler – qualities King Lemuel traced back to his mother. In the second section, which we will look at today, we find qualities describing an excellent wife! Although not connected to the first nine verses, one cannot help but think it is a fitting description of the kind of woman Lemuel was to seek.

 As most people know, this famous “wife of noble character” is not a flesh and blood woman but an ideal character type praised in a poem called an acrostic, where each verse begins with the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet. It begins with marriage, expands to the home, and then to the larger community before it returns to the home. In these ever-widening spheres, we find a list of lasting qualities that sets this wife apart from most other women in the Bible.

•  As a loving wife, she is reliable and faithful, actively supporting her husband.
• She is hardworking and able to manage all under her care.
• Outside her home, she generously serves those in need.
• She is wise in her speech and temperate in her habits.
• She is a savvy businesswoman, skilled in helping provide for her family.
• She is wise in all her ways, bringing honor to her family.

 This integration of various roles in this ancient poem: wife, mother, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, has always fascinated me. As a picture of strength and skill, industry and far-sightedness, discipline, and kindness, this ideal wife and mother can be any of us as we try to maneuver through our modern-day mazes. Maneuvers that often leave us exhausted as we strive for a contemporary version of this ideal. For this reason, it is, above all, her wise-heartedness that appeals to me!

 The Proverbs 31 woman, as she became known through the ages, is a woman who fears God. Thus, she effortlessly moves between her roles, circling gracefully between her spheres of influence, reverently mindful of her divine design as she loves, looks after, and leads those God has entrusted to her.

 GRACE CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK: It has been said that you can always tell a nation’s character from the character of its women. If you could list the character traits you would like to see displayed by the people in your country, what would you consider the top ten essential qualities, and how would you link them back to the qualities displayed by the Proverbs 31 woman? Now let us re-commit ourselves to pray for our daughters, granddaughters, friends’ daughters, and church family’s daughters!