In the previous text, the king’s mother wanted him to understand the most important thing to look for in a wife. She was to be of spiritual and moral excellence. Today we will see how the virtuous woman works for her family. One thing you should pick up on quick when reading this passage is that this woman is not lazy! Nowhere in this narrative do you see her concern for herself. Her attitude is a servant’s attitude. Everything in the passage points to the priority of her family. She works hard, so that home will be a small picture of Heaven on earth. In Ephesians 5:22-25, the Bible uses marriage and home life, as an illustration of Jesus relationship with His church. When our family lives the way God intended for us to, others see our witness, everyone in the family is plugged in, and we are a witness to the world.
Ephesians- 5:22-25 “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;”
As a wife and mother, we are to put the home first. You may work outside the home but our first responsibility is our home. In Titus 2:5 we are instructed to be “keepers at home.” This is not a very popular text, but it’s in the Bible just like John 3:16. The next few verses in Proverbs 31 will deal with how she took care of her home.
Titus 2:5 “To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
From the woman of excellent character and wisdom she turns to a woman who works with her hands. In verse 13 she is seeking out material to make clothing for her family. While we may not do the actual sewing of our families clothing anymore, we are to make sure they are properly clothed. We are to seek to get the best, for the amount of money we have to spend. We are to take care of them and mend them when needed. As tempting as it may be, we are not to discard a garment because it is missing a button. All of us can sew on a button. This biblical woman would not work an extra hour away from home in order to hire someone to hem her pants. You may not have a clue how to properly hem a pair of pants, but you are blessed. There is a DIY video on almost anything you can think of. It is our responsibility to learn.
She is compared to a merchants’ ship when gathering up the food supply for the week. She plans her shopping according to what is on sale. If ground beef is on sale she will stock up, separating the meat, and freezing it in portions just right for her family. Meals will be planned with the budget in mind and executed properly. If there are leftovers, a new
Proverbs 31:13-14 “She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.” She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.”
This woman loves her family so much she is willing to go the extra mile to find the best, for the best price. She understands that all that has been entrusted to her is a blessing from God. She believes that being a good steward of what God has given her will please God, and in turn, God will take care of all their needs. She pushes forward to honor God by her work and devotion to her family.
So much of the time we feel overwhelmed when we read about God’s standard for women, but we shouldn’t. He is patient with us and will bring people along side us to teach us if we will look around.
