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Sunday, January 31, 2010

A Woman Who Fears the Lord

Proverbs 31 . . . "The wife of noble character."

One thing that has always struck me about this women, this women of wisdom, is that her wisdom is reflected in everything she does, especially in the affect her it has on those closest to her.


Notice: Proverbs 31:23-31 . . .

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.

31 Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Indeed, all those we know benefit from our exercise of Godly wisdom.

Wisdom Project - 31

BH

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Proverbs 31:30
"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
- This whole chapter deals with the woman wisdom and how she is portrayed. I personally like how it ends with this verse in that we are not to focus on outward appearance of how beautiful a woman is and to truly search within their character and heart whether or not she truly is wise in the way that she fears the Lord. This also applies to us as men in that we are to stay focused in finding a woman that help us grow closer to God daily.

Bill H said...

TheErbentrauts (John) said...

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. I have noticed over the years that many husbands fail to express their verbal appreciation for their Godly wife. This is wrong. It can cause a spirit of familiarity to grow. This can in turn cause long term damage in that marriage. The remedy is simple. Give the Godly wife the compliments that she deserves for the many things that she does for the husband and children without ever asking for the praise. Take here out to dinner and tell her how special she is. She will love it and she will feel like a million bucks.

John Erbentraut

Danielle Cummings said...

Verse 13 really stuck out to me. "...and works with willing hands." The verse is talking about a woman who fears the Lord but i think this verse can go either way. When we do things throughout the day, what is our attitude like? Are we willing to help, or are we just doing it because we have to? Its hard to be conscience of that sometimes. Thats something im definatly going to work on this week.

Rachel said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rachel said...

I tried to read this chapter as though it were new to me and I found it interesting that confidence is one trait which may encompass all of the verses which describe a woman of noble character and wisdom. A woman who fears the Lord, who possess wisdom and acts in wisdom, who possesses strength, dignity, and intelligence (16, 17, 25), and who is clearly a very diligent and caring person may be confident. Her confidence is not found in her own merit or abilities-it is not pride. Rather, her God-given strength and dignity allows her to contentedly laugh at the time to come and the wisdom which comes from her fear of the Lord gives her confidence as she works to care for those He has given to her charge. Everything honorable within her stems from her fear of the Lord and her confidence in Him.

Mandi said...

Proverbs 31 scares me in some ways. It really makes me evaluate my life and my actions. Just reading though what a wife should be and the qualities she should have helps me to evaluate my own life. I need to be pursuing these qualities even now in my life.

Danyelle Steckiel said...

I love this chapter. There is so much packed into it. Especially as a woman, there are many things that I have learned from it. This woman puts everyone before herself. She wakes up early to provide for her family. Her husband is respected because she respects and praises him. I want to be a Proverbs 31 woman. I want to learn to put others before myself like this woman has. Verse 26 sticks out to me the most; "She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue."

Cody F said...

Jan 31 – Prov 31
I thought there is an interesting connection between verse 26, between what we studied have been studying and the last two verses of the chapter. Verse 26 and the virtuous woman’s wisdom and the fact that she fears the Lord and her works are praised. It seems that a wise person should prosper in respect and reputation. In this case, a virtuous woman.

Unknown said...

I cannot help but think about how the world tries to define beauty and success for women and young girls. I love how verse 30 says, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." I'm confident that our culture would not look at "fear of the LORD" as a defining choice that is praise worthy. Our culture has managed to strip women of their character. I have a 16 year old sister that won't even run across the street to the convenient store without makeup and a cute outfit. She is so worried who she might run into, rather than fearing the Lord. I just hope that my encouragement and testimony can show her that her beauty is not found in the world's standards.

Gabe V said...

I have had a few very wise men tell me that the woman I choose to marry is the most important choice I will ever make in this life. This chapter emphasizes the importance of finding a woman who is beautiful in God's eyes, not just the world's. It also gives women an honorable example to model after. The woman who fears the Lord is to be praised

Erin said...

Back in the seventh grade, I had to memorize Proverbs 31:10-31 for Bible class. At that age, I didn’t have a clue of how these verses could really pertain to my life. Now, I would have to say that the one verse that I has really stuck with me is Proverbs 31:30: “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” It’s not about the outside appearance we have towards the world, but the inside character we have towards God.

Nate said...

Verse 13 stuck out to me involving working with willing hands. It must be so important when it comes to marriage to have a woman who cares for her home with a lot of diligence and is even willing to work outside if needed. Although in some parts of the chapter the woman is working outside the home it is still for the benefit of the home. Is that all that different for men? Shouldn't men work to benefit the home. I see a common cause that two people can strive for. How often do I look and see how hard my mom as worked? Rarely! I should really strive to thank a woman who loves and cares so much for her home!

Renee said...

I was personally challenged to examine myself for these characteristics of a noble woman. The one thing that stood out to me more than the others was that "a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised". I have been struggling with this whole concept since the beginning of this class. I want to grow in my awe and reverence for God and become humbled before him.

Unknown said...

verse 30-31 "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates." I want to be a woman known by her godly character and actions not fleeting things like personality/talents.

Unknown said...

v30b - "...but a woman who fears the LORD" - awesome how "fearing the LORD" again shows up here. Proverbs starts with the fear of the LORD, and now concludes with the fear of the LORD. This "Lady Wisdom" was my mother-in-law, and she did an awesome job of training her 4 daughters - 1 of whom the LORD allowed me to marry. My wife now exemplifies Lady Wisdom, and our daughter and her daughters (a 2 year old and another due the end of Feb) have a role model and a godly example by which to pattern their lives after. Thank you Violet - I Love You; and thank you Jesus. Mike T.

Carrie L. said...

Verse 15 says that this virtuous woman gets up while it is still dark and works hard to prepare for her family. I know I have trouble getting up even when it is light and hard work isn't always appealing. I need to learn to prepare for all the days of my life that I might do my best work for the Lord. " A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised".

Unknown said...

not that every woman absolutely MUST follow this kind of example, but this chapter was a nice reminder of what kind of women i need to be looking for as a friend, guide, and or companion.

Jim Morrison said...

Verse 28 is a good reminder to me to be thankful for the Godly woman that God has given me for a wife. For all that she does to teach and encourage our children, and the partner that she is to me in ministry. I am reminded that I need to praise her for her Godly character.

julee said...

"The woman who fears the Lord". This is the foundation to this woman's wisdom. She knows the Lord, respects and obeys Him. She has total trust in Him. Knowing the Lord; that's where I need to start. Trust and obedience follow.

Jilli Bair said...

Reading this chapter in Proverbs always challenges me, no matter what stage of life I am in. As I read the words over again, I am inspired to be this kind of woman - but at the same time I am intimidated by the process which it will take to become like her. Nonetheless, the chapter is extremely valuable and a great example for me to follow as I attempt to become a true woman of God.

Unknown said...

Todays Proverb was very interesting to me. First it reminded me by Lemuel's mother speaking to her son to not give his strength to women or other things that would destroy him. It helped me to really think of what I do with my time, money, and abilities that God has blessed me with. How much I have wasted in trying to do things my way which always ended up in some sort of trouble. Not only did I take from this Proverb what kind of woman I should be with someday but I also found application in being discerning of what kind of people in general I surround myself with. Are they people that are going to help me grow spiritual and challenge me in my walk with Christ or are they people that will only lead me down the wrong paths. For the final part of this Proverb I really felt convicted. From reading this I know that God wants me to be with a woman of these qualities but the reason for my conviction was because I also want to be worthy of such a woman. Very challenging to think about.

Jessica said...

This chapter in proverbs is kind of intimidating. This pictures what a woman of wisdom and one that follows God should be like, her character qualities. It should be my goal to use this to evaluate my life to see where it matches and where i fall short. I also like how it is not focused on outward appearance but the heart and character

Sarah said...

I like this chapter because it is about a mother telling her son what not to look for in a women at the beginning of the chapter. Through the middle and the rest of the chapter she is telling him what to look for in a woman. When she is telling her son these characteristics of what he should look for, it is all inward characteristics and not outward.

Bill H said...

vs 8+9 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend thr rights of the poor and needy." these verses give us a truth that should be at the forefront of our command to love one another this is a great wy to do that. If I can get my son to live his life with this principle I will feel that I did right by him.

--
In Christ,
Shawna

Bill H said...

Ashlie Thompson -Chapter 31

I really like how the writer describes a godly woman and how she should makes her household her first priority. When growing up I really loved this passage but never fully understood what it ment. I never really had an model of this kind of woman that made the household the first priority. Just learning from Proverbs and other classes I have learned so much about wisdom and areas where there is needed growth in my life.

Thanks,
Ashley