Proverbs 31

I have been thinking about this chapter for the last couple of days. It is a chapter I know well. As I was thinking I realized I had no idea what the first 9 verses of the chapter said. So I decide when I read today I would focus on the 9 verses I didn’t know instead of 21 verses I know so well. What I found most interesting was that these were the sayings of a king, things his mother had taught him. As a mother of two boys, I can now easily understand why a mother would instruct her son in this way. Basically she tells him not to chase after women or booze. She explains to him the how these things can deter his leadership. And then I was given an entirely new perspective on the “Wife of Noble Character”. This was what a mother was telling her son to seek out in a wife. That makes so much sense. Often times the mothers of boys are notorious for being tough on daughter in laws. Could it be because this is the expectation mothers have for the women who marry their boys? I also like that these desired qualities in a wife came from a wife and a mom.
My two favorite verses about the noble wife are 12 and 18. They are the most practical verses to me. Bringing your husband good and, not harm all the days of our lives, well that pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it?! I often ask myself if what I am doing is bringing good or harm to my husband. It is not all about me, though I often forget this. I have this journal from a long time ago that has a picture of a woman on it. The quote on the front is “She had not yet decided whether to use her power for good or evil.” I’m sure it is meant to be funny; I once thought it was, but it’s true that women can have much influence over men and we need to be careful to use it for good and not evil. Can’t say I have always done that, but I strive to do “good” by my husband now. Then we have verse 18 which I translate in this day and age to managing a home in a financially efficient manner with a light that doesn’t go out at night. This woman gets up while it is still dark and stays up late to get all the things done she needs to get done for her family. She is a true servant.
“She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.” Proverbs 31:17 (NIV)
I am convinced that this woman’s arms are strong because of all the work she does around her home and raising her children. Many working wives and moms today have to go to the gym to strengthen their arms and I’m convinced this is because they are not cleaning their own homes or raising their own children. Maids and child care providers are stealing our strong arms. She works vigorously too. I confess I do not always do this. Sometimes I am just barely getting things done and there is no vigorous about it. There are so many gleanings from this chapter in Proverbs. I would have to write pages and pages to document all I have learned from just verses 10-31 over the years. I pray that God would make me the kind of woman that my mommy in law is proud to have her son married to. I will pray that my boys will have wives who strive to be such good wives