Proverbs 31:10-31
The Excellent Woman
10 Who can find an excellent woman? She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband trusts her completely. She gives him all the important things he needs.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She chooses wool and flax. She loves to work with her hands.
14 She is like the ships of traders. She brings her food from far away.
15 She gets up while it is still night. She provides food for her family. She also gives some to her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it. She uses some of the money she earns to plant a vineyard.
17 She gets ready to work hard. Her arms are strong.
18 She sees that her trading earns a lot of money. Her lamp doesn’t go out at night.
19 With one hand she holds the wool. With the other she spins the thread.
20 She opens her arms to those who are poor. She reaches out her hands to those who are needy.
21 When it snows, she’s not afraid for her family. All of them are dressed in the finest clothes.
22 She makes her own bed coverings. She is dressed in fine linen and purple clothes.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate. There he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen clothes and sells them. She supplies belts to the traders.
25 She puts on strength and honor as if they were her clothes. She can laugh at the days that are coming.
26 She speaks wisely. She teaches faithfully.
27 She watches over family matters. She is busy all the time.
28 Her children stand up and call her blessed. Her husband also rises up, and he praises her.
29 He says, “Many women do excellent things. But you are better than all the others.”
30 Charm can fool you. Beauty fades. But a woman who has respect for the Lord should be praised.
31 Give her honor for all that her hands have done. Let everything she has done bring praise to her at the city gate.
(Proverbs 31:10) Who can find an excellent woman? She is worth far more than rubies.
A man who marries a woman of noble character is a happy person who has married a wife more precious than rubies. Why is marriage to a virtuous wife so joyful?
Firstly, the husband's heart can trust her, and his endeavors do not suffer.
(Proverbs 31:11) Her husband trusts her completely. She gives him all the important things he needs.
How is it that the husband's endeavors do not suffer? It is because she is a devoted and virtuous woman who does good to her husband (verse 12), works diligently with her hands (verse 13), brings food from afar (verse 14), shares food with her household (verse 15), manages a vineyard (verse 16), and does not extinguish her lamp at night (verse 18).
Secondly, she causes her husband to sit at the city gates and receive recognition from people.
(Proverbs 31:23) Her husband is respected at the city gate. There he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
What does it mean for him to sit at the city gates? Consider Boaz, who married Ruth. Boaz sitting at the city gates signifies his role as a leader in the neighborhood, the community. It means that, through the virtuous woman, he became a leader in the community, maintaining it and gaining recognition from people. It is truly a case of success and recognition achieved through his wife.
What kind of woman is a wise and capable woman that her husband may have wealth, honor, and power?
First, she is a woman clothed in strength and dignity.
(Proverbs 31:25) She puts on strength and honor as if they were her clothes. She can laugh at the days that are coming.
Second, she is a woman who opens her mouth with wisdom.
(Proverbs 31:26) She speaks wisely. She teaches faithfully.
Third, she is a woman who practices virtue.
(Proverbs 31:29) He says, “Many women do excellent things. But you are better than all the others.”
"She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life."
(Proverbs 31:20) She opens her arms to those who are poor. She reaches out her hands to those who are needy.
Fourth, she is a praised woman.
a) She is praised by her husband.
(Proverbs 31:28) Her children stand up and call her blessed. Her husband also rises up, and he praises her.
b) She is praised for fearing the Lord.
(Proverbs 31:30) Charm can fool you. Beauty fades. But a woman who has respect for the Lord should be praised.
c) She is praised at the city gates.
(Proverbs 31:31) Give her honor for all that her hands have done. Let everything she has done bring praise to her at the city gate.
Certainly, she is an extraordinary woman.
A woman clothed in strength and dignity, a woman who speaks wisdom, a woman of virtue, a praised woman— the story of a man marrying such a wise woman is truly satisfying.
However, is Proverbs recording these teachings to conclude with messages like, 'Marrying a wise woman and a wise man leads to happiness,' 'Be careful when getting married!' 'One decision can influence ten years'?
No, it is not. Not at all. The wise woman is a 'spiritual symbol.'
Who does the virtuous woman represent?
1) Firstly, the virtuous woman symbolizes us.
It is the story of us, the spiritual brides who have become the brides of the bridegroom Jesus, and the spiritual wedding ceremony. In 2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul speaks of mediating to present us as pure virgins to Christ.
(2 Corinthians 11:2) "I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ."
Proverbs 31 testifies that we, as the bride of Jesus who will hold the engagement ceremony now and later return to celebrate the wedding feast of the Lamb, should also be "virtuous women."
2) Secondly, the virtuous woman symbolizes the Church.
Jesus is also the bridegroom of the Church. Ephesians 5 is clear about this, although it seems to be talking about the story of a husband and wife marrying. It is, in fact, a story about Jesus Christ and the Church.
(Ephesians 5:22-24) "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands."
(Ephesians 5:25) "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."
(Ephesians 5:31-32) "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church."
Am I and the church the virtuous woman of Jesus?
How can we become virtuous women?
How can we clothe ourselves with strength and dignity? (Proverbs 31:25)
How can we open our mouths with wisdom? (Proverbs 31:26)
How can we practice virtue? (Proverbs 31:29)
How can we receive praise? (Proverbs 31:28)
Clothe yourselves with the garments of strength and dignity through the (lamb's blood).
(Revelation 4:4) "Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads."
(Revelation 7:13-14) "Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, 'Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?' I said to him, 'Sir, you know.' And he said to me, 'These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'"
The garments washed in the blood of Jesus Christ represent the clothing of strength and dignity.
Who receives the cleansing from sin? It is through the atonement of Jesus Christ. His atonement is powerful.
(Hebrews 9:12-14) "He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."
Open your mouth to speak wisdom through the (fear of the Lord).
(Proverbs 9:10) "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."
In Ephesians 5, Paul mentions 'wisdom' and talks about 'fearing the Lord.'
What does it mean to 'gain wisdom through fearing the Lord'?
It means to redeem the time. / It means understanding the will of the Lord. / It means being filled with the Holy Spirit. / It means singing and praising the Lord. / It means always giving thanks to Father God and 'subordinating oneself to Christ in reverence.'
(Ephesians 5:15-21) "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ."
Do good by pleasing your neighbor.
In Romans, Paul defines 'doing good' as 'pleasing your neighbor.'
(Romans 15:1-2) "We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."
Jesus also exemplified this principle by saying, 'What you did for the least of these, you did for me.'
(Matthew 25:40) "And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'"
Become a person who receives praise.
a) Receiving praise from your husband is akin to receiving praise from (Jesus).
As the bride of Jesus, we should seek the praise of Jesus rather than human praise.
(2 Corinthians 10:18) "For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends."
Jesus' disciples consistently made confessions like this after receiving the Holy Spirit.
'Listening to God's words is more righteous than listening to human words!'
In everything they did, they considered 'Jesus' perspective.'
They valued Jesus' praise more than human praise.
(Acts 4:18-19) "So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, 'Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge.'"
Paul also clearly declares that he seeks to please God rather than people.
(Galatians 1:10) "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."
b) (Fear the Lord) and receive praise.
The centurion is a representative biblical figure who is introduced as follows:
(Acts 10:21-22) "And Cornelius said, 'Truly, I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.'"
Become a person who receives praise by (fearing God) like the centurion.
c) Receiving praise at the city gates means receiving praise from (people).
When appointing deacons in the early church, they were not only filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom but were also 'people who received praise.'
(Acts 6:3-4) "Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."
If we have the fullness of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, we will naturally become women of virtue who receive praise.
Clothe yourself in the power and dignity of Jesus, namely the garment stained with the blood of the Lamb. Fear the Lord to become wise, do good to your neighbors, and build virtue. Be a praised bride by wearing the garment washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Follow the example of Jesus' disciples and seek praise from Jesus rather than people.
Follow the example of Centurion Cornelius and receive praise by fearing the Lord.
Like the first deacons in the early church, receive praise from people while being filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom.
