Proverbs 31 describes an ideal woman, but also the ideal bride: The church. “God created marriage to be a metaphor of Christ’s relationship to the church,” wrote John Piper. As such, the selfless, hard-working, considerate, pleasing woman of this Old Testament passage represents everyone who makes up the body of the Christian church.
Full Answer
What are the 22 verses in Proverbs 31?
The 22 verses ( Proverbs 31:10-31) each begin with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This acrostic construction was used in several psalms (such as Psalms 9-10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, and 145 and Lamentations 4 ). The purpose was to make the passage memorable (easier to memorize), and to express poetic skill.
Why does the Proverbs 31 woman’s husband affirm her efforts?
Clearly, the Proverbs 31 woman’s husband affirms her efforts, because it says his heart trusts in her ( Proverbs 31:11 ). He trusts her not just generally, but in the deepest places of himself.
Why is Proverbs 31 an acrostic?
Because it was easy that way to memorize this. It became an acrostic which created a formula for easy memorization and recall of these features, so that every young Jewish son could be taught by his mother to memorize Proverbs 31:10 to 31, and thereby have in his mind the criteria at all times by which he was to measure the excellence of a woman.
What does Proverbs 31 say about praise?
He has set himself the task, as he says in Proverbs 31:30, to praise the woman who fears the Lord. To do this he tries to think of 22 praiseworthy things to say about her. Therefore, I think a sermon based on this passage of Scripture should aim to accomplish three things.
What is the true meaning of Proverbs 31?
The only way to speak faithful instruction is to KNOW God's faithful instructions. The Proverbs 31 is wise because she spends time with God. She speaks wisdom because she has taken the time to learn things and taught herself how to do things.
What is the meaning of She is clothed with strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future?
From there comes strength and dignity. From there comes peace and joy, and also fearlessness about the future. Because of her integrity and her principles as laid out by the rest of Proverbs 31, she is ready to face anything with God, “laughing at the days to come.”
How do you become a Modern Proverbs 31 woman?
As a modern virtuous woman, keep the Lord at the center of your life. Seek Him in all you do and build your life on the cornerstone of your personal relationship with Christ. As you start your day, spend time with Him in prayer and in the Word.
What does being a Proverbs 31 woman mean?
The most important characteristic of a Proverbs 31 Woman While the Proverbs 31 Woman can be commended for all the wonderful things she does, what is most important about her is that she fears the Lord. She lives her entire life out of a desire to honor and serve the Lord. This is what makes her a virtuous woman.
Is clothed with strength and dignity?
Proverbs 31:25 - She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. - Floating Scripture Bible Verse Decor. Something went wrong.
What does it mean to laugh without fear of the future?
If you tend to be anxious about the future (as I do sometimes), take comfort that God can give a kind of peace that surpasses all understanding. According to this verse, He has given you the ability to “laugh at the days to come.”
How does a virtuous woman behave?
Who can find a Virtuous woman? A virtuous woman is so expensive and has invested time, morals, principles, prayer, money and hard work in herself. Her Lover trust her because she is all there is to be in a woman, a complete package, a woman with balance, she nurtures, loves, care and is pleasant to him all her life…
How do I become a virtuous woman?
A virtuous woman accepts her emotions but uses reason to temper her reactions. Govern yourself by wisdom rather than by folly. This is a biblical principle taken from the Book of Proverbs, X Research source but it can be applied to your life even if you are not a Christian.
What is a Proverbs 31 woman in the 21st century?
“favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.” I also need to keep my motivation for my resolutions in perspective.
What does it mean to be a woman who fears the Lord?
This honorable and virtuous wife, she didn't do it all in one day and she didn't do it on her own. She feared the Lord, clothed herself with strength and dignity from her foundation in him, and set her feet, her heart, her mind, deep into faithfulness, trusting Him with the tasks in front of her day and night.
How do I become a godly woman?
4:3633:23How to be a Godly Woman - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipBelow number one for a woman to be godly. The godly woman controls her thoughts. Taking them captiveMoreBelow number one for a woman to be godly. The godly woman controls her thoughts. Taking them captive. And making them obedient to christ. If you look in second corinthians.
What is the male version of Proverbs 31?
The Proverbs 31 man “has full confidence” in his wife. There's plenty of maturity — and balance — in their relationship. He doesn't treat his wife like a child, nor does he treat her like she's his mother. He encourages her specific gifts, and, like a plant living in a greenhouse, she blossoms in that environment.
What does Proverbs 31:11-31 say about a virtuous wife?
As a whole, the proverbs have much to say about wisdom, a diligent work ethic, wise business practices, honorable speech, compassion for the poor, and integrity.
Who was the king of Israel in Proverbs 30?
a. The words of King Lemuel: As with Agur in Proverbs 30, we don’t know anything about King Lemuel. He is not in any recorded list of the kings of Judah or Israel, so he was probably a pagan king who put his trust in Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel, and through the fear of the Lord learned wisdom. i.
How many verses are there in Proverbs?
The 22 verses ( Proverbs 31:10-31) each begin with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This acrostic construction was used in several psalms (such as Psalms 9-10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, and 145 and Lamentations 4 ). The purpose was to make the passage memorable (easier to memorize), and to express poetic skill.
What is the virtuous wife in Proverbs?
This is one reason why some think this description of the virtuous wife in Proverbs is more a poetic description of wisdom as woman (as in Proverbs 1:20-33 and 7:4-5 ). “Since it is essentially about wisdom, its lessons are for both men and women to develop.
What is faithfulness in Proverbs 31?
Proverbs 31 describes the form of faithfulness in the life of an ancient woman (that is, a woman from antiquity) in the full bloom of her health and strength. It doesn’t describe the form of faithfulness for a woman who is deaf and blind in her eighties or a woman who’s recently married at age 16, just beginning to discover what wisdom is. And it doesn’t describe the form of the faithfulness of a woman with disabilities that might keep her from planting a vineyard or putting her hand to the spindle or rising while it is still dark or even clothing herself.
How many books does John Piper have?
He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist and most recently Providence . The Strong Murder the Weak Every Day in America. John Piper Jul 21, 2021. To the Praise of the Glory of Grace.
Does God put a premium on productivity?
God does not put as high a premium on productivity as we think he does. He puts a much higher premium on the qualities of character, the fruits of the Spirit, that you can exercise flat on your back in a hospital bed. I don’t say it’s easy. I do say it’s possible.
What does Proverbs 31:26 mean?
Proverb 31:26, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”. We’ve been taught from grade school that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” ( Proverbs 9:10) so it’s no surprise that the woman who fears the Lord “opens her mouth with wisdom.”.
What does David say about delighting yourself in the Lord?
David says in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. ”. By implication, this must mean, “Delight yourself in everything that delights the Lord,” and therefore, delight yourself in the woman who fears the Lord.
What does Psalm 25:14 mean?
Psalm 25:14: “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him; he makes known to them his covenant.”. Psalm 31:19: “How abundant is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for those who fear thee, and wrought for those who take refuge in thee.” (Notice that fearing God and taking refuge in him are parallel.
What are the temptations of God?
There are always temptations to allure us away from the fear of God: temptations to fear financial insecurity more than we fear God (see Proverbs 23:17 ), to fear rejection by our peers more than we fear God, to fear the loss of time spent in good deeds more than we fear God.
What does the Psalmist say about the promises God makes to those who fear him?
And so the psalmist puts them together, for example, in Psalm 33:18: “The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his mercy.”.
When we praise a woman who fears the Lord, do we praise God?
If you praise the table manners of my sons, Noël and I feel honored. So also God is honored through praises that come to his people for graces, which he has imparted and which by their very nature exalt him. Therefore, when we praise a woman who fears the Lord, we praise God.
Who said praise is inner health made audible?
It might be helpful in passing just to mention the ugly alternative to praise so as to increase our desire to avoid it. Lewis said, “Praise is inner health made audible.”. I have seen that verified over and over. It is the cranks, the misfits, the scrooges of the world who seldom praise.
What is the book of Proverbs about women?
There is a lot to be said about women in the book of Proverbs. As you know, the book of Proverbs is a list of proverbs or statements of wisdom ; and throughout the book of Proverbs there is a continual interest in women.
What does Proverbs say about a wife?
There is in chapter 12, verse 4 of Proverbs this statement: “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who shames him is as rottenness in his bones.”. Nothing better than an excellent wife; nothing worse than the opposite. In fact, a wife has a tremendous ability to influence a husband and a family.
What is the first letter of each proverb in the Hebrew alphabet?
The first letter of each of these proverbs, each verse, is the next letter in sequence.
What is the loud woman in the Proverbs?
There is not only the adulteress, but there is the noisy woman, the loud, boisterous woman with whom no one wants to live, and the normal man would prefer, the Proverb says, to live in the corner of the roof, in a tiny little place, than in a big house with a boisterous woman.
What does 1 Timothy chapter 2 say about women?
It’s the instruction in the flow of her life day in, day out. Day in, day out she is the teacher.
What does Proverbs 31 say about women?
The woman extolled in Proverbs 31 does not present an impossible standard; she presents a godly standard — what we would call “Christlike” today. These verses should inspire us to desire her fear of the Lord, her dedication to earning the trust of her husband, her work ethic, and her strength and kindness.
Why is the woman praised in Proverbs 31?
The Proverbs 31 woman fears the Lord — in other words, she sees the wisdom in wanting to obey what God tells her to do and to honor the Lord with her whole life .
Why does the husband of a woman in Proverbs 31 say his heart trusts in her?
Clearly, the Proverbs 31 woman’s husband affirms her efforts, because it says his heart trusts in her ( Proverbs 31:11 ). He trusts her not just generally, but in the deepest places of himself. And his trust is well-placed because verse 12 says, “She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.”.
What does the Bible say about wisdom?
It is her heart for honoring the Lord with her life, and thus living with true wisdom, that God wants women to imitate and follow. When you go back and read through all of what she does in light of verse 30, you begin to feel the spirit of this woman.
What does the present tense mean in the Bible?
Present tense might suggest that one woman does all of these things in one season of life, but the reading Jason DeRouchie offers indicates that these verses are summarizing a fruitful life of a woman over many productive years, highlighting faithful things she did at various times throughout her life.
What does Verse 17 mean?
Verse 17 says, “She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.” Physical strength — taking care of the temple of her body — is a priority. Her “workout” never involved a gym, but she was up and moving, eating right, and tackling physically demanding tasks.
Does She eat bread of idleness?
She “does not eat the bread of idleness” ( Proverbs 31:27 ). She is not a chronic time-waster. Rather, she fills her time with productive, helpful activity. There is no indication she complains or murmurs about her responsibilities.
The Pulpit Commentaries
Part VIII. SECOND APPENDIX TO THE SECOND COLLECTION, containing "the words of Lemuel" on the subjects of impurity and intemperance.
Proverbs 31
Part VIII. SECOND APPENDIX TO THE SECOND COLLECTION, containing "the words of Lemuel" on the subjects of impurity and intemperance.