A virtuous Woman

Proverbs 31: 1-31



The Words of King Lemuel

1The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.



2What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?



3Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.



4It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:



5Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.



6Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.



7Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.



8Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.



9Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.



The Virtues of Noble Woman



10Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.





11The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.



12She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.





13She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.





14She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.





15She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.







16She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.





17She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.







18She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.







19She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.



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20She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.







21She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.







22She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.







23Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.







24She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.







25Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.



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26She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.





27She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.







28Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.







29Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.





30Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.





31Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.





You know I have often read Proverbs 31 and thought that this woman was superwoman, was more than the regular woman. In a sense she is more than the regular woman but not a superwoman.

Today (December 12, 2013) I read the passage again and I discovered that:



• Verse 11 – her husband does not fear retaliation, revenge, being sabotaged or her being spiteful. The scripture says his heart trusts in her. This means that the man totally rely on her at all times to be the support that he needs. This reminds of being an administrative support staff what is called a Secretary. We are asked beyond all sense of reasoning to manage the officer no matter the state of mood they are in, and ensure that the office runs smoothly and all activities are done to promote efficiency and effectiveness in reaching the Unit’s goal and in a broader sense, the organization’s goal.



We are pressured, disrespected and handled unfairly by most if not all supervisors but we are still expected to be cheerful, having a smile and answering yes mam or no mam, yes sir or no sir irrespective of the supervisor’s demeanour. I thought this was asking the impossible but you know what? It actually is not. Let us look at verse 11 closely.



We are called to be the supporters whether it is our husbands or pastor they are looking to us to give the backative and strong support needed. When you know you have the support of someone who has your best interest at heart, I can tell you that you become so strong you will move mountains (not literally).



When you give your support as you should and have the proper mannerism no matter how badly the husband or others around you behave then I guess it will cause the husband to have to look at himself eventually to see the type of person he is and change. It will not work all the time but just be the woman called you to be – one that can be trusted to have your partner’s back at all times.



So even when the going is rough we are expected by God to be kind, forgiving, loving, patient, longsuffering, gentle, and meek. Sounds familiar? These are the fruit of the Holy Spirit. That is the only way ladies that our husbands (for those who have) and our husbands to be will know that they can rest assured that they have a strong support at their back. They can stand tall and talk without fear knowing their trust is in the right place and their hearts are secured (by the support). We have to take care of their hearts. Never forget this. The heart is the main organ of the body and if it is damaged eventually all the other organs will be damaged and lead to death.



This is what I believe happens to a relationship that ends in divorce. The heart got damaged and there was no place for forgiveness and a do over. God help us woman.



Verse 12 says she will do him good and not evil – some days of her life? No all (every day no matter what) the days of her life. Now this is how the man will trust us. We have to do good to him every day. And to me if you love him as you should, it would come naturally because you want to make sure that he is alright throughout the day.



• We have to work with our hands – willingly. A willing worker makes life less stressful because a worker like this will go beyond the call of duty to ensure that the tasks are done. Remember the Secretary; some of us have to make tea/coffee for supervisors. And many other duties which are not in the job description. But we still have to ensure that the work is done. So if you are a house wife or a career wife do your work willingly and well so that well will be spoken of you and make your partner proud.



• When I read further I noted that the virtuous woman ensures that food is in her home no matter how far she has to travel to buy. She treats those around her well. From the money she makes she ensures that assets are there that can help provide for the family. It is not that the man does not work but remember we are focussing on the virtuous woman.



• She is a strong woman and strength is in her arms. She ensures that there is no lack in the home and she gives – she gives to the poor and the needy. Sometimes we as woman think it so hard to give to others. We want to be rich and to always have and even if you could help someone out of the state they are in – we think it hard to part with what we have, Remember it is more blessed to give than to receive.



• She ensures that her family is well clothed, well fed and she herself is well dressed. She carries herself well. Therefore because of all this, her husband is well known wherever he goes. Although it maybe as the husband of so and so. He is well-known and well respected. In other words her actions- how she treats others, her family and takes care of her home give her husband a place of prestige in the community or wherever he goes.



• Verse 26 she speaks wisdom and her tongue is a law of kindness. The first thing that came to my mind was that she was not bitchy, nagging, contentious or wicked. Then the man must entrust his heart and trust in someone as remarkable as this woman!



• Her children call her blessed, her husband calls her blessed and he praises her. He keeps praising her each day because he is happy!



• My favourite verse – verse 30 – favour is deceitful and beauty is vain but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Now this is the best reward ever. It is not that you are doing things to be praised but you are praised because of the things you do. There is a difference. I will do something because I love it and do it to the best of my ability because I enjoy doing it. I accomplish the task well, probably before the deadline and even the way it is presented will cause the supervisor to involuntarily say’ this is very good”. I remember when I did my first opinion on a matter that was given to me by one of the Legal Officer who supervises me (a male). He said it was very good and encouraged me to pursue a career in Law. He said I have it! I felt so good that when I draft his letters or documents I know that I have nothing to fear because he is so kind and encouraging. See, it made me want to do more and to even study more so that I can perform even better.



• On the other hand a person who just works for the money or for work sake will not get the pleasure from his work as I do. To him it’s just a means to an end and will work because it ensured pay at the end of the month. There is no pleasure in the work just in receiving pay.



• So we are called as women of God to fear the Lord, reverence him in our lives, put Him first that everything we do give Him glory and in the end we too will receive our reward. Just let our behaviour be what is required of the Lord and our ways shall be bright. Through patience, love, understanding, wisdom and strength of character let us be the wives God has called us to be and to be the support He wants us to be. It is not about being beautiful and well dressed. It is about walking in obedience to God’s Word and applying it to hearts and lives. It’s about standing up for righteousness even when it seems as if you are the only one. It is about knowing that God is your husband and has instructions for us all so that we can have Godly and God-centred loving relationship with our husbands. It’s about being clothed with righteousness so that the inner man becomes stronger in Christ and begins to shine through bringing beauty and grace to our hearts and soul. It’s about being who you are in God and not through our might or strength. It’s all about resting in God and following Him as He leads the way.