notes

Main point summary

A woman who fears the Lord is the one to be praised. (1) She is a strong woman and is confident of the future depending not on herself. (2) She has wisdom and speaks with kindness. (3) She cares for her own family and rejects idleness. As a result, her husband and children praises her.

Arc**

editing

OT

Proverbs 31:25-31

esv

i Strength and dignity are her clothing,

and she laughs at the time to come.

inference

She opens her mouth with wisdom,

and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

ideaexplanation

She looks well to the ways of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

negativepositive

series

Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband also,

and he praises her:

“Many j women have done k excellently,

but you surpass them all.”

concessive

actionresult

l Charm is deceitful,

and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the Lord

is to be praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands,

and let her works praise her in the gates.

discourse

Notes**

What Kind Of Woman Are You? Proverbs 31:25-31 Are you insecure when you see other women who are beautiful, with slender bodies, straight and shiny hair, nice teeth, and smooth skin complexion? If yes, I bet you strive hard to be like that. And you aim to have a high paying job so that you can afford skin treatment, hair rebond or color, braces (teeth) and other beauty treatment. I can relate, I was so obsessed to achieve that kind of beauty, but I have discovered from the Bible that beauty is useless and charm (form) is deceitful (Proverbs 31:30). It has no eternal value. I'm not saying that we have to look shabby, but being simple and presentable are enough. Even if you achieve that standard of beauty, you realize that still you are not satisfied. You end up discontented, wanting for more. It is because it is not what God has created you and me for (Isaiah 43:7). It is the woman who fears the Lord that is to be praised (Proverbs 31:30). Do you know what the "fear of the Lord" means? It is reverencial awe, submissive fear towards God. In Proverbs 28:14, we see that the opposite of the fear of the Lord is hard heart or rebellious heart. Therefore, if you don't harden your heart towards God, you humble your heart before Him. In other words, the fear of the Lord is the submission to God's authority and sovereignty, with a humble heart. In addition, it also implies fear of wandering away from God in sinning knowing that a life outside of Christ is miserable, dark and chaotic. It doesn't matter if you are beautiful and charming, the question is "do you have the fear of the Lord in you?" If not, then ask God that He will put the fear of Him in your heart so that you will not turn from Him (Jeremiah 32:40). What does a woman who fears the Lord look like? (1) She is strong and is confident of the future depending not on herself. (2) She has wisdom and speaks with kindness. (3) She cares for her own family and rejects idleness. (4) As a result, her husband and children praises her. If you are going to look at that woman, you are going to see strength and dignity in her; thus she laughs at the future (Proverbs 31:25). She is not worried to face the future because she believes that God is always with her, as the Shepherd never leaves His sheep even in the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4). Let us say along with the father in Mark 9:24, "Lord, we believe, help our unbelief". She is a woman of wisdom, thus speaks wisdom and kindness. The good person out of the good treasure of her heart produces good (Luke 6:45). She is a woman of wisdom, but what does wisdom mean? Wisdom means the practical knowledge of how to attain happiness in God. So she is a woman who applies her knowledge about the Bible and God in order to experience delight in the Lord. May we also strive to study the Bible deeper with the purpose of enjoying God more. She is also a woman who doesn't want that her family will suffer consequences due to her laziness (Ecclessiastes 10:18) so she learns ways not to be idler, going about from house to house, becoming gossipers and busybodies (1 Timothy 5:13). Instead, she cares for her husband, children including servants (if they have). One of the struggles in my christian life is that I don't balance spiritual things (Bible meditation, prayer, and Bible study with others) with fulfilling responsibilities in the house like doing house chores. I don't want to use spiritual things as an excuse not to do my tasks in doing the chores. I really thank the Lord that He reveals this verses to me, it strikes me like a hammer that is stricken to my face. As a result her children and her husband praise her (Proverbs 31:28-29). To us, it is very important that our own family praises us, because they know us better compared to others. They know our good deeds, but even our bad attitude and mistakes. Moreover, this virtuous woman must be given the rewards and praises of her labor (Proverbs 31:31), for these labors are produced out of her fear in the Lord, not out of her effort to display beauty and charm. However, it breaks my heart because I'm far from being like this Proverbs 31 woman. At times, I become weak and undignified as a woman and a wife because instead of loving my husband as the most person in my life, I cause him pain by treating others as more important than him. How can he trust me then (Proverbs 31:11) ? What a wretched woman that I am! Who will deliver me from this wretchedness (Romans 7:24) ? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, He will deliver me (Romans 7:25) !