High Standard – Great Reward — Proverbs 31: 10-31
We live in a day when lifting up the ideal is offensive.
Yet we are lost.
We can not define what a man is and what a woman is.
Yet, we want the respect, the reward, and the benefits of being one.
Certainly, no one dares touch
Proverbs 31:10–30 (NIV84):
10 A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
This, of course, is an ideal, a high standard. But notice what comes from this wife of noble character.
“She is worth far more than rubies.”
“Her husband has full confidence in her”
“she is clothed in fine linen and purple.”
“Her husband is respected at the city gate”
“She is clothed with strength and dignity”
“she can laugh at the days to come”
“She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue”
“Her children arise and call her blessed”
“her husband also, and he praises her”
Tell me what wife or mother would not want these outcomes?
Both are ideals – the actions and the benefits.
But God put this in His word and closes out the book of wisdom with this.
Proverbs 31:30–31 (NIV84):
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
Truly, there are points of wisdom here for us to aspire to and to learn from.
I know this, my wife’s character was first what attracted me to her, and two her character has consistently sustained our ministry and our home. Elizabeth Trayer Bryant, you are to be praised.
