# 487 The Proverbs – ‘A manual for living’ (MSG). Proverbs 31:10-31. The Wife of Noble Character (2)

As we check out the activities of this noble woman it is important to recognize that all she does is in relationship with others. She is not some independent self-made individual, but rather she is a wife (note the times her husband is mentioned here), she is a mother (she has a family), she is a member of her community, and she lives acknowledging God in all of her activities.

Consider Nielson’s comment: “This description of wisdom lived out with valiant strength fits the glimpses we’ve seen throughout the book. Proverbs never presents wisdom as some abstract, ethereal quality or as some academic subject, unrelated to the hard knocks of life. No, from the start wisdom shows up on the streets and the marketplace, unafraid to call out fools in public, crying out for people to listen. Wisdom is pictured not as sitting quietly but as building a house, hewing pillars, slaughtering beasts, and mixing wine (9:1-20). Wisdom was the ‘master workman’ at creation (8:30)! Wisdom is strong in the most concrete way.” (# 55)

And so we read:

¹³ She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family
    and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
    and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
    and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;k
    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
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.

Wow! What a woman! Fortunately, we have here a description of the sorts of activities she is involved in over time and not her daily chores! For example, they involve provide[ing] food for her family and portions for her female servants. She is not afraid of hard work and enhancing her prospects – ¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. ¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable. But in all this she is not forgetful of others –  ²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. She is a woman that ²⁵ … 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.

No wonder the final verses say of her that:

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 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

And so, we come to a fitting end to our all-too-brief study of the Book of Proverbs. In my first Post I quoted the following words:

Eugene H Peterson, in his introduction to Proverbs in The Message says that the Bible is not only about “getting people into heaven – getting right with God, saving their eternal souls… [but also about] living on this earth – living well, living in robust sanity… ‘Wisdom’ is the biblical term for this… Wisdom is the art of living skillfully in whatever actual conditions we find ourselves.” (# 50)  

He adds though that “Threaded through [the book of Proverbs] is the insistence that the way we think of and respond to God is the most practical [and wise] thing we do. In matters of everyday practicality, nothing, absolutely nothing, takes precedence over God.” (# 50)

Therefore, the emphasis in Proverbs on living in the fear of the Lord, just as we see this noble woman doing in her everyday life and resulting in praise from all who know her.

Let me finish with a quote from Nielson:

“Every time we New Testament believers say ‘the fear of the Lord,’ we speak those words with their meaning more fully understood than in Old Testament times, for we have seen the fulfillment of Yahweh’s promises to his people in the Lord Jesus Christ… The life of wisdom shown to us in Proverbs is finally a life lived in Christ – with his word and his Spirit lighting up all the concrete experiences of our everyday lives. The pastor Ray Ortlund writes that ‘wisdom is the grace of Christ beautifying our daily lives.’ (Proverbs: Wisdom that Works, page 17).” (# 55)

 We give you thanks and praise Father for “the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God (Romans 11:33) all made known and available to us in Christ. Amen.

[Watch this space as we move on to yet another piece of Wisdom literature known as the Book of Ecclesiastes].