Church: Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia | Text: Proverbs 31 | Date: September 20, 2020 | Speaker: Fred Zaspel

But today we finish up our series on the book of Proverbs. If I count correctly, I think this is our 16th message from the book of Proverbs. I had intended to finish with the last study, but someone in the congregation pressed me, said, “You can’t finish Proverbs without preaching on the Proverbs 31 woman.” Proverbs 31, verses 10 and following. Taking the admonition seriously, that is our subject today. It is a marvelous passage. We’ll begin reading with verse 10.

An excellent wife, who can find? She’s far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not harm all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax and works with willing hands. She’s like the ships of the merchants. She brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it. With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the staff and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor, reaches out her hands to the needy. She’s not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them. She delivers sashes to the merchants. Strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also, and he praises her. Many women have done excellently, but you surpassed them all. Charm is deceitful, 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.

Let’s bow for prayer. Our Father, we pray that again now as we look into this marvelous book of wisdom that you will open our eyes and our minds and our hearts to see what is here. And we ask particularly with regard to the subject this morning of this wonderful woman and wife. We thank you, Lord, for the ladies of RBC and their diligence in serving you, and in serving you, serving their families. We pray that you would encourage them and all of us in this this morning. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

This portion of Proverbs chapter 31 is actually an extended poem. In the Hebrew, it’s actually an acrostic poem, which means that each next verse—it’s carefully crafted—each next verse begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It works its way through in a fascinating way. It takes a lot of thought to work that out. So it’s a carefully crafted poem in praise of a model wife.

Now what’s interesting, I think, next, just by way of bringing us into the focus of the passage itself, is what kind of poetry is this? Many Old Testament scholars have argued and demonstrated that this seems to resemble Israel’s hero poetry. In Israel’s hero poetry, they would have an itemization of the mighty accomplishments of the heroes, what they have done, what they’ve accomplished. And then even this key word that appears in the hero poetry is here. It’s translated in the ESV that I’m reading, “an excellent wife.” That word in the Hebrew simply means a wife or a woman of strength. It’s used in various contexts in the Old Testament, having various connotations, and so the translations vary according to context. Sometimes a person of strength is a person of wealth. But very often this person of strength or a man of strength is a hero, a military hero—a man of valor, a valiant man, a man who’s able to do what he was called on to do and to do his mighty accomplishments. That’s the connotation of this word very often in the Old Testament. So it’s this guy who is this man of strength, who would be this man of great accomplishments in a military context. He’s a man of valor.

So what we have here with this woman then is a spiritual heir of Israel’s heroes. She’s a valiant woman, a woman of valor, we could translate it even. And in fact, the translations that we have available to us in English are all translated in different ways. Here we have “excellent wife” in the ESV, the same in the New American Standard. I think the New International translates it “the virtuous woman,” or “the wife of noble character.” The King James, I think, is “the virtuous woman.” “Wife of noble character.” We have the “worthy wife,” the “capable wife,” the “woman of worth.” Those kinds of translations are given to us in the various Bible translations that we have. But the idea then is that this is, following the use of this word in the Old Testament, a woman who is a heroine in her domain.

And I thought about that—how to render that into contemporary English. Thinking of the connotations of the word elsewhere in the Old Testament and so on, how do you render this in contemporary English, this woman of valor? I thought maybe “Wonder Woman,” but that might have the wrong connotations. So what I settled on was “Supermom.” Supermom—that’s what we used to call Kim all through the years when my kids were growing up. I called her Supermom all the time. She was just so great at it, such a natural in everything that she did, handling the children, managing the home. That’s the idea here: Supermom. A woman of valor, a wife of valor, a valiant woman. She’s a heroine in her domain.

The Apostle Paul uses a word in First Timothy about the wives. He says, “I will that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house,” or manage the house. Now the word—I don’t like to bore you usually with the Greek or Hebrew words, but I’ll give you this one because I think you’ll enjoy it. It’s oikodespoteo. Let me pick that apart for you. The noun form of the word is used in the Gospels, oikodespates. It’s translated “housemaster.” Oikos, the first part of the word, is the word for home. Despoteo—what’s that sound like? Despot. House despot, house manager. Now, I made the mistake, a dreadful mistake, years ago of pointing this out to my wife. She has just loved it; she’s latched onto that like nobody’s business. She’ll give me something to do in the home and I’ll teasingly call her a tyrant. “I’m not a tyrant, I’m a despot. And the Apostle Paul says that I’m supposed to be.” But that’s kind of what’s going on here in Proverbs chapter 31. She’s the house manager. And she’s valiant at it. And she’s something of a hero in it.

And to make that point, the poet then itemizes for us what she is like and what she does. And that’s the thrust of this poem of the virtuous woman. I will look at this in three sections. Verses 10 to 12, we have her value. Verses 13 to 27, we have listed and itemized for us her activities. And then verses 28 to 31, we have her praise.

Her Value

So first of all, her value, verses 10 to 12. “An excellent wife, who can find? She’s far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not harm all the days of her life.”

Verse 10: “An excellent wife, who can find? She’s far more precious than jewels.” Now he’s not saying here, when he says, “An excellent wife who can find,” he’s not saying there is none. But he is implying that not everybody gets one. And if you get one, you’ve got a rare find. She’s more valuable than jewels. So this man is saying that if you have one of these valiant wives, you’ve really got a fortune. He’s praising her already. Now this is in contrast to that husband we find a few times through the book of Proverbs who’s on the other end of the spectrum. He’s the guy who would rather live alone in the corner of the attic because he’d rather do that than live with a brawling woman. This is the other end of the spectrum now. This guy has found a wife that’s just a jewel. And so I think verse 10a, “An excellent wife who can find?”—it’s a question, but it might be better to get the sense of it to read it with an exclamation point at the end of it. An excellent wife, who can find! I’ve got a find here.

And then verse 11 begins to explain: “The heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain.” That’s a remarkable expression. “The heart of her husband trusts in her” because nowhere else in scripture are we commended to trust anyone but God. But here we have the heart of her husband trusts in her. That’s a wonderful thought as well as a wonderful expression. He’s, as he explains it here, at ease when he’s away from her, when he’s away from home. He trusts her. He knows that she’ll always have his best interest in mind. He has implicit trust in her judgment. She’ll maintain the home in good order while he is away. He has no reservations about his wife. She’s wise. She’s dependable. She’ll do what’s right. He’s confident that she’ll handle the home finances well. He’s not afraid that she’s going to go online and run up the credit card. And in managing the home generally, she’s dependable. And he knows that when he leaves home, it’s in good hands.

Verse 12 explains why he can trust her: “She does him good and not harm all the days of her life.” That is to say, she’s always looking out for him. She’s utterly committed to her husband, and he knows it. And so she pursues his good all the time. And in what she does, she’s always pursuing his best interests, and so he can trust her. Her love does not rest on simple, shallow sentiment. Her love for her husband is grounded in deep moral grounds. She’s utterly committed to him. She’s not going to be finding faults. She’s not going to run him down to others. She’s always looking out for his best interests and she serves him in that way. Her motive is always to please and to pursue his good. And that’s why then, verse 11, her husband’s heart trusts in her, because she is always pursuing his good. So there’s more than an implication here that their relationship runs deep.

Her Activities

All right, that’s her value then, briefly stated, verses 10 to 12. And now he begins to itemize all of that, her activities, in verses 13 to 27, and we’re going to have to run through this quickly. Either that or I hope you’ve brought your lunch. Verses 13 to 27 tell us in a summary kind of fashion what she does to occupy her time and her attention, her energies.

Verses 13 and 14: “She seeks wool and flax and works with willing hands. She’s like the ship of the merchants. She brings her food from afar.” So she has more than just routine chores. She shops the local merchants. She does it carefully, brings in goods from afar. The implication seems to be that she’s careful in the shopping to bring in the best and what’s the most valuable for her family. The wool and the flax here are some indication of the kind of work that she’s willing to do.

And it’s a little more than going to Joanne Fabrics. Yesterday, my wife had a number of errands to run and she got out early and went to the store. She got there and she texted me and said, “The store’s not open yet.” You could just hear the sigh. “I guess I’m going to have to go to Joanne Fabrics.” That’s like, for a lot of you gals, it’s like going to heaven. I just couldn’t let her get by with that and so I pointed out that—well, what she said was, she knew I was going to preach on this, and what she said was, “I’m going to have to go to Joanne Fabric and seek out some wool and flax.” And I then pointed out to her, in great love, of course, that the wool here indicates more than buying a bulk of it, but what we have here is it has to be weighed, it has to be combed, it has to be washed, the flax has to be pulled up, the bark has to be removed, soaked in water, brought up on the roof of the house to dry out, and then made into linen thread, and then from the raw materials she makes clothing for her family. Okay. Well, that mentions that in verse 19, the tools that she has, the staff and spindle. Verses 21 to 24, she’s sewing clothing for her family. So she’s making clothing for her family from the raw materials, putting it all together, making even the threads. She’s quite an industrious woman, that’s the point.

Verse 15, her duties and habits are marked by energy and zeal. “She rises while it is night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.” That is simply she’s not a couch potato. She’s characterized even by self-denial and she puts the well-being of her family ahead of her own comfort.

Verses 16 to 19: “She considers a field and buys it. With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the staff and her hands hold the spindle.” So she’s quite the enterprising woman. Verse 16, she does her due diligence in considering a field and then purchasing it. The idea is that she’s both frugal and shrewd in her business dealings. She’s got some business savvy. She’s hardworking. Verse 17, she clears a field. She digs it up. She plants the vineyard. So she’s not opposed to manual labor or menial tasks. She’s not that frail, helpless housewife. “Honey, would you bring in the groceries for me, please?”

I shouldn’t have said that. There’s nothing wrong with guys bringing in the groceries. Let me clear that. I say that—let me explain why. I say that because many years ago, I was up on the third-story roof of a house with a man from church. This is years and years ago. I was a much younger man. There were a bunch of us up there working, putting on a roof, a new roof on his house, third floor up. His wife comes up. “Honey, will you come take out the groceries?” I think, “We’re working up here. It’s hot. It’s sweaty. We want to get done. You bring in the groceries.” Maybe I didn’t respond well, but she was not being this valiant wife of Proverbs 31 either. Well, I don’t know if I explained it or just dug myself deeper.

Verse 18: “She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.” She works late. Now you compare that to verse 15. “She rises while it is yet night.” Seems like this gal never sleeps. But the idea is that she’s industrious. She’s productive. He can trust her to do her work well.

Verse 20: “She opens her hand to the poor, reaches out her hands to the needy.” And now we’re speaking more deeply of character, not just activities. She’s charitable. All this work that she does, it’s not just for herself or just for her family. She’s charitable, she’s generous, she’s sympathetic with the underprivileged. She’s one of those that’s quick to say, “Here, let me help.”

Verse 21, she’s industrious, she’s prepared. Plans for the future. “She is not afraid of snow for her household. For all her household are clothed in scarlet.” The scarlet there is probably wool. The fact that it’s scarlet is probably something nice, not just that any old rags will do, but she does the best she can to dress her family well. Appropriate clothing for winter, but it’s both warm and nice.

Verse 22: “She makes bed coverings for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and purple.” Now it’s possible, of course, to give too much attention to clothing and nice things, but she doesn’t go to the other extreme either. She’s not an embarrassing slob. She doesn’t dress like he does. She does better than that. And yet, verse 20, this is not at the expense of others. She dresses well, does the best that she can, but not in such a way that it would prohibit her from helping others who are in need.

Verse 23: “Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.” So far from being an embarrassment to him, she enhances his standing in the community. He’s well known because he’s the guy that got that wife. That’s very similar, by the way, to Proverbs chapter 12 and verse 4 where we read that an excellent wife is the crown of her husband. His true greatness is found in this jewel, his wife.

Verse 24: “She makes linen garments and sells them. She delivers sashes to the merchant.” So again, she’s industrious. She’s got some business savvy. She’s productive. She’s even got some kind of home business going on here to enrich the household and to enable her to do the charitable giving that she gives.

Verse 25: “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at time to come.” Now, verse 25. One, we see that she’s a well-dressed lady, but the point here is that she’s dressed with dignity. Dignity and strength are her clothing. The idea is that she’s known more for her character than for the way she dresses. She may dress nice, but that’s not what people first think of when they think of this woman. They think of her character. She’s a virtuous woman. She’s a—to return to the genre here—a heroine in her domain. And so, verse 25b, “she laughs at time to come.” Because of her strength of character, she’s industrious. She’s always prepared and she doesn’t fall all apart when calamity comes. She’s never caught up short. When the seasons change, she’s prepared. She’s worked ahead and she’s ready. She laughs at time to come. She’s planned ahead. And in fact, verse 25b, the end of the verse, “she laughs at time to come”—not only is she not afraid of things to come, but the language there is like deriding an enemy, triumphing over it. “Bring it on, I’m ready.” That’s the imagery here.

Verse 26: “She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” Now again, here we look more deeply into her character. She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. That is, her speech is marked by two things: wisdom and kindness. That implies that she herself has already been shaped by wisdom. And when she opens her mouth to speak, she speaks accordingly. That wisdom is on display. It’s not like those women who open their mouths only to beller and holler and complain and criticize and run down. She opens her mouth and the family loves to hear it. It’s wise and it’s kind.

Verse 27: “She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” First part of the verse, “she looks well to the ways of her household.” It’s a broad statement of her efficiency in administrating the home. She keeps watch on the daily affairs. She’s always aware of what’s going on. She keeps up. She’s on top of it all. Then the last half of the verse, “does not eat the bread of idleness.” She doesn’t make excuses like Proverbs talks about with the sluggard. She doesn’t sit idle while there are chores to be done. She’s a diligent woman.

Well, these are the traits then of this valiant wife. And I’ve got to bring up one question, and that is: Is this doable? I don’t think I’ve ever touched this passage in a public setting without someone, some woman coming to me—and my heart always goes out—”This is just impossible. Who can measure up to this? This is just so idealistic, it’s unreachable.” And I think many have been intimidated by it. A couple of remarks in that regard.

Number one, keep in mind the specifics vary. You don’t have to go up and pull up the flax, pull off the bark, wash it, put it up on the roof and dry it, make the bare ingredients and all of that. Specifics vary. This might in one context mean that she’s diligent with her garden and doing other things to help the household. And it might even be that we should see that it’s not necessarily the case that this woman is doing all of these things all of the time. Some have argued that this description of this woman in fact describes seasons of life. I don’t think we can quite justify that, and it’s never really caught on, that idea, but I think some of that may be involved. So it’s not necessary. The specifics can vary, and it may be the case that not all of this is happening at the same time.

But let me give you a sample of what this might look like in the contemporary home. And I’ll do this just from the standpoint of the valiant wife that I’ve had the privilege of living with for the last 40-some years. She cared for the kids, kept the house entirely. Besides all the regular meals, she maintained a large garden for a few years, made homemade soups and breads. She homeschooled both children, taught children’s Sunday school, kept family schedules. She was the chauffeur service for the kids. During all the years of Gina’s illness, she was always researching, often well ahead of the doctors. To help the family income, she had a cleaning job. We all shared in that. She bred dogs. She was church secretary for many years, many years without pay. And she did it all; she did it all very well. She did it with joy, she did it with grace, made the home a happy place. That’s what this is talking about. For many years I used to tell Kim she was the hub of the Zaspel wheel. That’s what this is describing for us here. Supermom.

Her traits: verse 10, and this I think might help in terms of summarizing it. Her traits: verse 10, she’s valiant and she’s precious. Verse 11, she’s trustworthy. Verse 13, she’s energetic and not slothful. Again in verse 27, the same. Verse 16, she’s resourceful. Verse 17, she’s strong. Verse 18, she’s prosperous. Verse 19, she’s generous and kind to the poor. Verse 21, she’s fortified, well-prepared. Verse 26, she’s wise and loving in her speech. Those are the traits of a woman who, according to verse 30, fears the Lord. She’s one who’s imbibed wisdom, it has shaped her, and that’s how it shows itself in her home.

Now let me point out something here quickly. I don’t generally get into these kind of technicalities, but let me point out something here that scholars have found, and it’s just, I think, interesting. There is a literary device called a chiasmus. Anybody familiar with that? It’s way overblown, and I’m always suspicious when scholars think they have found a chiasm here in this passage. But sometimes it’s the real deal, and I think it’s the case here. A chiasm is a literary device—picture an X—where we have concepts stated in order, and then stated back in reverse order. And then in the middle, the central statement may or may not be repeated—usually is not—but that’s where the focus goes. So you have concepts stated, restated in reverse order, and the focus then is on the center.

Now let’s see how this works out here. I think it’s right. This is verses 20 to 27. Verse 20: “She opens her hands to the poor.” That corresponds to verse 26 and 27: “She opens her mouth with wisdom and looks after her household.” Verse 21a: “She has no fear of snow.” That corresponds to verse 25b: “She laughs at the future.” Verse 21b: “Household is clothed in scarlet.” That corresponds to verse 25a: “Clothed with strength and dignity.” Verse 22: “She makes coverlets and clothing for herself.” That corresponds to verse 24: “She makes garments and sashes for merchants.” And right in the middle is verse 23: “Her husband is respected in the gates.” She is what makes him so respected. Isn’t that a great idea? Why is he so respected? Well, because she opens her hands to the poor. There’s no fear of snow. Her household is clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings and clothing for herself. She makes garments and sashes for the merchants to sell. She’s clothed with strength and dignity. She laughs at the future. She opens her mouth with wisdom and looks after the household. That’s why he’s so respected. She is his crowning glory.

Her Praise

All right, finally, verses 28 to 31, her praise. “Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also, and he praises her. Many women have done excellently, but you surpassed them all. 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.”

Verse 28: “Her children rise up and call her blessed.” That corresponds, by the way, to verse 15. She rises up while it’s yet night and now her children rise up and they call her blessed. They praise her for what she has done. Her children are now grown and they look back with appreciation, gratitude, admiration, and they praise mom.

I remember a number of years ago, President George Bush, 41, old man Bush, was asked, “What is your greatest accomplishment in life?” Oh, he would be an interesting man to ask that question. He was very successful in business and the oil industry. He was a congressman, ambassador to the United Nations, head of the Republican Party, Director of the CIA, Vice President, President. It’s not a bad resume. “What is your greatest accomplishment in life?” And without missing a beat, he said, “My children still come home to see me.” I thought, you know, there’s some real insight to that. And that’s what’s going on here in Proverbs 31. It’s looking at it from the end standpoint. And she has devoted herself to her family, and now the children are grown and they rise and call mom blessed.

Verse 28b: “Her husband praises her also.” And verse 29 tells us what her husband says to her: “Of all the women, you’re the very best. Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” And notice here, he’s not comparing his wife to the losers. There’s that too. Whenever we watch a television show or a movie or something and there’s a scoundrel of a husband, I’m always quick to say to Kim, “You see, you didn’t do so bad.” You lower the bar enough and you can look pretty good. That’s not what he’s doing here. “Many women have done excellently. You surpass them all. You’re the best.”

So here’s a woman then who is truly successful. She has served her family, she’s provided for her family, and now they praise her for it. What else could she want? She invested her life in her family, and now they hold her in the highest regard for it. This is a model wife. And surely one of the purposes, one of the great purposes of a passage like this is: Ladies, think ahead. Is there anything more that you’d want than that? Invested herself into her family and now they just love her and praise her for it.

Now again, keep in mind that the specifics are different in different economies. It might be with one person, it’s a large home with special needs and she does valiantly with that. It might be in another that she holds down a job and whatever the specifics—that’s not the point. The point is she’s diligent and devoting herself to her family and providing for them.

And so to conclude, verses 30 and 31, the poet now takes over and he calls us to praise her also. Verse 30: “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she is to be praised.” Charm is deceitful, beauty is vain. Now outward beauty is a wonderful thing too. He’s not denigrating that or depreciating that even in any kind of way. There’s no premium on ugly. But beauty is worthless if it’s not given to a woman of character. You remember that fun proverb that everybody likes to laugh at, Proverbs 11:22? “Like a gold ring in a pig’s nose, so is a beautiful woman without discretion.” Why waste beauty on a woman like that? That’s the idea. But here, this woman is not like that. He’s not saying that she’s ugly, it’s just that charm—it only goes so deep. The beauty, the external things are only so deep. “A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” And I think here, if I understand the Hebrew correctly, it’s more of an imperative at the end. It’s not that she “is to be praised,” but a woman who fears the Lord, “let her be praised.” She deserves the praise; give it to her.

In verse 31, same thing, same idea. “Give her of the fruit of her hands and let her works praise her in the gates.” That is, what she is and what she has accomplished in her home. That is the basis of the highest of praise and honor for this woman. She’s one kind of woman. She’s known for the kind of woman that she was, and she deserves to be praised for it.

So verses 28 to 31 then, they’re the climax of the poem. She has given herself to her family. He is respected because of her. And now he and her children rise up and praise her because of it. So the poem is designed to inspire praise for those women who are champions in their home.

Now, as you can imagine, looking at the details of all of this, both egalitarians and complementarians have pointed to this passage to argue for their position. And in fact, there’s plenty here to challenge both the egalitarian and the overaggressive complementarian as well. And in fact, in its own historical context, many have argued that this poem is written with a kind of polemical function, to argue “this is what a good woman is like.” The Bible does that in various kinds of ways. It’s a fascinating study in its own. The Bible will give us teachings about God or about angels or about men, and not only to convey the truth itself, but as a polemic, arguing against false notions of God or of angels or of men in the nations around them. That’s a fascinating study in its own. And many have argued that’s what’s going on here as well.

So on the one hand, you’ve got the ancient Near Eastern literature about women that’s usually focused on her physical charms and generally eroticism and things like that. Or, on the other hand, you have the classical Greek ideal where the woman is to stay home and be quiet and “if we want your opinion, we’ll give it to you.” And over against both of those, we have this, extolling the virtues of this valiant woman who fears the Lord. What is she like? She’s like this: she’s utterly devoted to her family and she’s worthy of the highest praise.

And so again, this poem serves as a kind of model, a goal to which women will want to strive. And I have to say this, men, particularly: this passage is not given for a basis for you to criticize when she’s failed. It’s not the point at all. Any more than we should criticize men who try to be godly and do their responsibility in the home, but struggle and fail. The idea here is to encourage her in it and to praise her for it.

And in fact, this goal here, this ideal that we’re given in this poem, is not unreachable. As we have seen, it can look different in different contexts, different specifics, different economies, different time frames. All of that can vary. But it is a reachable goal. And there is something in the Hebrew canon here to hint toward that as well. The Old Testament canon, the Jewish canon—the same books that we have, but they’re arranged in a different order. There’s big evidence that Ezra was involved in the arrangement of the Old Testament canon—the law, the writings, and the prophets, and so on. The next book in order in the Hebrew canon is the book of Ruth. And it’s a fascinating thing that Proverbs ends with this question, “A virtuous woman, who can find?” And then we have the story of Boaz and Ruth, and you remember how that plays out, and she makes herself known and positions herself in just the right way, he notices, and they end up getting married. Ruth chapter three in verse 11, Boaz says to Ruth, “And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.” Same expression in the Hebrew. So Proverbs chapter 31 ends, “A virtuous woman who can find?” Turn the page—Boaz can.

And again, that stresses for us: this Proverbs 31 woman is one to be emulated. She’s a role model for all the daughters of Israel, both then and now and forever. Wise women will want to be like her. Wise men will want to marry her, and everyone ought to praise her as she deserves.

One more observation, and that is, beyond all of that, this is a picture of an ideal marriage. She’s looking out for him. She’s serving his interests, always looking out for his good. He trusts in her implicitly. There’s obviously a deep connection between the two of them. And once you say that, you’re not far at all from the Bible’s big picture of what marriage is all about. And in the Bible’s big picture, the Proverbs 31 woman pictures another bride—the church—a bride who has devoted herself entirely to the service of the Lord Jesus and who wants above all things to make him look good. And you know what we find? The Lord Jesus loves her for it. And one day he will rise and praise her for it and reward her for her devotion. And so in all of this, we have just a living out of the gospel in the home. Amen.

Let’s pray. Our Father, we thank you for your word that is so all-sufficient for what we need. We see in this your wisdom. This is not only a right ideal, but this is one given to serve us and to our happiness and to our joy living before you. Again, Lord, I thank you for the ladies of RBC who so obviously strive for this. We’re grateful for them. Bless them in their efforts. Bless their homes and their relationships. May we, the men, give them the right honor that they deserve for it. In Jesus’ name, amen.