Proverbs 31:13-27 - The Wise and Industrious Wife

Proverbs 31:13-27

¹³ She looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight.
¹⁴ She is like merchant ships; she brings her food from afar.
¹⁵ She rises also while it is still night and gives food to her household and portions to her maidens.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong.
¹⁸ She senses that her gain is good; her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hands grasp the spindle.
²⁰ She extends her hand to the poor, and she stretches out her hands to the needy.
²¹ She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies belts to the tradesmen.
²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.
²⁶ She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
²⁷ She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Message: The Wise and Industrious Wife

Time: It seems that Proverbs was written and then compiled sometime between the tenth and sixth centuries B.C. Proverbs was probably written during the reign of Solomon, 971-931 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying: I just read these verses and this is an amazing woman. I wonder if this is a woman that packed together from several different wives because this wife seems like she has everything going for her. Granted, this is at a time when each day was about survival and not simply about getting to the end of the day to relax and take it easy.

In this passage, she looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight. My reading of this is she is always thinking of ways to help those in  her family, providing them clothing, and what they need and she is efficient working with her hands. She can be creative. My mom was always up in the morning each day, first to spend time in the Word, as I would come up the stairs to her reading her Bible and then she spent the morning making sure we had what we needed for breakfast. She got us off to a good start. My mom and my wife did a lot of sewing early on in their marriages. Even to this day, my wife is thinking about the family and thinking about what they need, like getting the oil diffuser the other day to maybe help Megan and Derek.

It is a biblical constant to get goods and services at the best price. Here in verse 14 is the woman and She is like merchant ships; she brings her food from afar. She will go to great lengths to acquire food and other items needed for her family in order to get them at the best price. Sometimes it is not always advantageous to do this but there is no problem in taking our time to find a good deal, a deal the marketplace is willing to provide. 

Once again, what I remember about my Mom is rising before anyone else and first having time with God and then preparing food for T and I as we headed out the door for the school day. She rises also while it is still night and gives food to her household and portions to her maidens. 

She considers a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard. She is prudent about buying things and also looks at a field that will provide what she needs for her and her family. She girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong which refers to the strength she goes about in doing her work each day. She senses that her gain is good; which means that she understand profit and fruit from her labor and can feel satisfied as well about a job well done. 

She is not idle as her lamp does not go out at night. She is a hard worker. We are supposed to work 6 days and rest the seventh, not work half days and rest half days. We are not to be idle, but workers. Thus She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hands grasp the spindle. She is a good example to others of hard work. She jumps right in and doesn't leave work to her servants, but she works hard herself. 

She is attentive to the needs of those less fortunate to her. I am reminded of a little excerpt I saw the other day about black mothers and the remark that they never turned anyone away from a meal. She is always ready to feed anyone. She doesn't work simply to horde and keep things for herself but She extends her hand to the poor, and she stretches out her hands to the needy. 

She is ready for any oncoming obstacles. She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She is prepared. She dresses her self appropriately, given the situation and her house is proper as well and may even include items she has made herself. She makes coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Her glory is her husband and him being well known in society, in his profession. She does not get in the way of his authority, nor his success in the community. She upholds it and supports it and allows him to shine.  Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land. And because of the abundance with which she hands and the good worker she is. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies belts to the tradesmen. She sells that which she makes. 

She is not disquieted by any fear of what may happen, knowing in whom she trusts, and having done her duty to the utmost of her ability.  Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future. She has peace about her because she has not been idle, she has worked hard, she has modeled good behavior and she looks optimistically toward the future. She is not dependent on others. She has worked hard. She is not waiting for a handout before she can do something. She has confidence in herself. And because of this she guides her family in wisdom. She is a woman of experience and she passes on this experience to her children and those in her household. She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. Her language to those around her is animated and regulated by love.

As it is mentioned before, it remains a part of her, she is not idle. She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. She is the anchor, so as to say of the house. 

Promise: The Goldy woman exemplified here is equally an example of a Godly person, namely one that is not idle, but is actively working and figuring out how to do things correctly.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for my wife and the servant that she is and the hard worker that she is. She works hard in the home and outside of it. She is careful in the work that she does, always to the best of her ability and only churns out quality. I hurriedly get things done but when my wife's hand is upon it, it is done with great value. Protect her and guide her and keep her strong. Teach us continually as a family to be hard workers during the work and then rest well on our Sabbath, Sunday.