Proverbs 31:10 (KJV)
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
Proverbs 31:10-31 (KJV)
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
Virtue derives from a word that means “strength.”
Proverbs 31:25 (KJV)
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
Webster’s 1828 lists among other definitions, “efficacious.”
In other words, virtue is effect.
· It accomplishes
· It works
Aristotle said that anything could be virtuous if it fulfilled the purpose for which it was intended. So Webster’s 1828 gives the examples of “virtuous herbs” of “virtuous drugs.”
Back in the 1980’s, William Bennett, who served as Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan and then as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
It was a compilation of wise sayings and ancient advice on
· Duty,
· Honor, and
· Morality
The book contains writings on the following ten subjects:
· Self discipline
· Compassion
· Responsibility
· Friendship
· Work
· Courage
· Perseverance
· Honesty
· Loyalty and
· Faith
Virtue, it might be said, is effectively practicing these ten characteristics.
And so, our passage tonight speaks of the virtuous woman and tells us that she is both rare and valuable.
I would go so far as to say she is essential
· To a happy home
· To an productive family and
· To a honorable nation
Notice with me three things from the text
I. THE POWER OF THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN
Proverbs 31:25 (KJV)
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
Have you ever considered how important clothes are in the Bible?
When Adam and Eve sinned against God, one of the things they realized is that they were naked.
· They tried to hide their nakedness with fig leaves[1]but
· God clothed them in coats of skins[2]
There is a difference in both materials and extent.
· They used leaves
· God used animal skin
· They made for themselves an apron. It means a belt around the waste
· God made for them coats. That means a wrap, to cover them
With sin everything changed.
When man clothes himself, he or she wears the least amount possible – we want to be as much like our unfallen state as we can be.
When we wear the clothes God prescribes in the Bible we cover every part of our bodies, not just the embarrassing parts. It is a reminder first of all that we are fallen.
Clothes in the Bible take on this symbolic fulfillment.
They distinguish male and female –
We each wear different styles of clothes
They distinguish kinds of service –
The priests had cloths they only wore when they were serving God and the High Priest had one set of clothes he only wore when he went into the Holy of Holies once a year.
They can also describe character –
The virtuous woman is clothed in strengthand honorand the saved person is clothed in the righteousnessof Christ.[3]
The clothes that we wear are far more important than we usually think they are and they say much more about us than we want them too.
· They tell something about us to the people around us
· They also tell something about our relationship with God.
Of the virtuous woman the Bible says,
Strength and honor are her clothing….
I know the Bible says, 1 Peter 3:7 (KJV)
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
This in no way implies that the woman is weak.
She just has a different kind of strength than does the man.
The woman is both the conscience and the influencer of the home.
Eve was tempted into eating the fruit God told them not to eat.Eve had to be tricked, deceived, led into eating the fruit.
But once she had eaten it, Adam gave no argument.
So strong is the influence of the woman over her husband and her family that without God’s intervention, a man is likely to do anything his wife wants to do.
Ladies, do not abuse that power!
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Notice secondly
II. THE PURPOSE OF THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN
Proverbs 31:12 (KJV)
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
Among the definitions Webster’s 1828 supplies is this one, “Chaste, applied to women.”
Verses 13-27 gives us this very famous list of at least seven activities of the virtuous woman.
· She shops
· She cooks
· She buys land
· She plants a garden
· She sews
· She makes crafts and
· She sells them
I want to draw out from them three underlying qualities that enable each of them.
Notice first,
A. Her Care
Proverbs 31:11 (KJV)
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
Spoil is gain gotten through conflict or war.
When a man’s wife is virtuous, he not only trusts her, but he may do so without harm.
She is worthy of his trust
And will therefore never have to battle another for her:
· Attention
· Affection or
· Adoration
Nor does he ever need to go elsewhere for those things.
Proverbs 5:15-20 (KJV)
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
Ladies,
· Let your husbands be satisfied at home.
· Let him be ravished with your love.
You do this, and he will never have reason to find those spoils anywhere else.
Notice
B. He Consideration
Proverbs 31:16 (KJV)
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
Proverbs 31:18 (KJV)
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
Notice the two words, considerand perceiveth.
It seems to me that the Bible says God has given women two skills that their husbands might have some serious need of:
The ability to understand the value of a purchase.
Back in 1981, I think it was, Anita and I moved to Colorado on our way to Bible College.
We went there with just:
· My Chevy pickup
· A 33 ft trailer and
· The things that would fit in it
After getting there and getting set up, I got a job and so did Anita, so we needed another vehicle, but we didn’t want to spend much money on one.
We saw an advertisement in the paper for a 1969 Volkswagon Bug. Anita had had one for her first car and it sounded fun, so we went to take a look. I don’t remember what they were asking for this thing but:
· It had no upholstery on the seats – I am not kidding, all the seats were just a frame with springs
· It had no key – you started it by flipping a toggle switch and pushing a button they had installed in the dash
· It had no battery – the seller put one in to prove to us it started, but if we wanted to buy it we would have to get our own battery and
· I don’t remember if he told us this or we found out later – it used a quart of oil a week whether it was started or not
I WANTED IT!
Badly, I wanted it.
Anita hauled me off to the side and said I could not pay more than $250. I had to buy a battery so that would be $300, for the car. And she insisted. No exceptions. That’s all she would let me spend.
So I stepped back up to begin the negotiations.
I told the guy my wife would not let me pay more than $250
He said he would sell it for $350
“My wife won’t let me pay more than $250.”
He said $325.
“My wife won’t let me pay more than $250.”
He said $300.
“My wife won’t let me pay more than $250.”
He said $275.
I imagine right now I tried to negotiate with Anita and let me get it for the $275 but no! She would have none of it.
“My wife won’t let me pay more than $250.”
We bought the Bug for $250, went to Checker Auto and got a battery and a five quart jug of oil and the Bug was mine!
We stretched a quilt of the springs on the bucket seats and drove that thing for the next year and a half I think.
Took it on our second anniversary vacation to Colorado Springs.
On the way home it rained buckets but the windshield wipers didn’t work so I drove with one hand out the window manually working the wipers back and forth.
A year and a half later I was driving home from college when the dashboard started on fire.
I got the fire out and drove it home and sold it to my brother for $300.
Ever since then I have never bought a car unless both Anita and I agree that it is the Lord’s will for us to have that car and she agrees with the price I pay.
There have been a hand full of times I haven’t been too happy about it, but I haven’t bought a car she hasn’t approved and for a price she approves.
It’s always the same, “My wife says I can’t pay more than ______.”
I know that it might seem like a generalization.
It could be that in some cases, the husband is the much more savvy buyer, but generally speaking, it is the woman who has a better eye, maybe even a God given discernment whether a certain purchase is a wise one or not.
Proverbs 31:26 (KJV) calls it wisdom…
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
I am certain that this is not true in EVERY case, but I bet it is more often true than not, we men would be better off if we did not make major purchases without our wife’s consideration and consent.
C. Her Kindness
Proverbs 31:20 (KJV)
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
Proverbs 31:26 (KJV) calls it wisdom…
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
During the days of European expansion, when
· England,
· France,
· Portugal and
· Spain
· Crossed the oceans
· Discovered new lands and
· Claimed them for their own
These new lands required settlers if they were to be of any value to their mother countries and men with adventuresome spirits took up that challenge to move to these new lands and make a name for themselves.
One of the problems their mother countries ran into was that these men, once having made some money, had no reason to stay. So there was a huge and expensive turnover of men and lasting settlements were not happening.
They determined that what they needed to establish permanent towns on the new continents was – WOMEN.
· Women would help to tame the wild nature of the new territories
· Women would attract men of better character to the new territories and
· Women, marrying those men and having families would give them incentive to stay and make a home in the new territories
That did not work every time back then but it does demonstrate one of the qualities and purposes of women; they serve to create stable men and families.
It’s not true every time but it is true much of the time, a woman doesn’t care about running all over the world trying to become filthy rich.
She just wants a clean home, with her kids at her feet and her husband by her side.
Thirdly note.
III. THE PRAISE OF THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN
Proverbs 31:28-31 (KJV)
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
I am done tonight after we look at all those who will praise the woman who accepts the purpose for which God created her and willingly embraces that purpose:
Her children praise her
Her children arise up, and call her blessed
Her husband praises her
…her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Her king praises her[4]
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Her own works[5]praise her
and let her own works praise her in the gates.
Conclusion
I heard a message by Phil Stringer this week in which he said that the Bible nowhere tells us to find the will of God. It tells us to be right with God then He will make sure we are in His will.
Your purpose, man woman boy or girl is to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Do that and you will be a virtuous Christian.
[1]Genesis 3:7 (KJV)
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
[2]Genesis 3:21 (KJV)
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
[3]Revelation 7:13-14 (KJV)
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 19:8 (KJV)
And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
[4]The author is the King Lemuel. He steps into the narrative and gives personal praise to the virtuous woman right here.
Of the name Lemuel Joseph Benson writes, “…the general sense of Jewish and Christian writers is, that Solomon himself is meant; whose name Lemuel is either a corruption of his name Solomon, a fond pretty name his mother Bathsheba gave him when young, and he thought fit to write it just as his mother spoke it; as mothers often do give such broken names to their children in fond affection to them: or it was another name of his, as it appears he had more than one; it signifies "to God", one that was devoted to him…”
[5]That is, her testimony is one of praise and honor.
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