A Competent Wife/Woman-3 Series

A COMPETENT WIFE/WOMAN-part 3—Proverbs 31:10-31

Attention:

A guy walks into the human resources department of a large company & hands the interviewer his application. She scans the sheet, & notices that the applicant has been fired from every job he has ever held.

She says, “I must say, your work history is terrible. You've been fired from every job you have listed here.”

“Yes, Ma’am, that’s correct.” says the man.

“Well,” she continues, “I don’t see much benefit for our company in your work history. I don’t think we need or can use someone like yourself on our team.”

“Hold on now!” says the applicant as he points to his application. “I want to remind you that I got fired from every one of those jobs! I am NOT a quitter.”

He thought he was competent but was not!

So-called ‘Competence’ in anything can be ‘in the eye of the beholder’...Or it can be actual competence!

The writer of Proverbs detailed a successful marriage from the standpoint of a competent wife.

A wife’s competence completes a successful marriage.

Who is a competent wife?

What makes/characterizes a competent wife?

Competent—1)“Having the necessary ability, knowledge, or skill to do something successfully; 2)Efficient & capable.”

M-W—“having the necessary ability or skills : able to do something well or well enough to meet a standard”; “having requisite or adequate ability or qualities.”

*There is no higher calling for a wife/woman than to be ‘competent’ in Christ Jesus!

Last Sunday we found that A competent wife/woman is...

1. Competently RARE & PRECIOUS(:10)in a world given to self-service

2. Competently COMMITS(:11-12)to her husband & family

3—A competent wife/woman...

Competently PROVIDES(:13-15)

Explanation:(:13-15)

:13—“She seeks wool & flax, And willingly works with her hands.”

The virtuous woman/wife actively “seeks” out both “wool & flax” in order to employ them in the making of clothing(:19-22).

“Wool”(sheep fur) was employed for making warmer clothing. It was of “considerable commercial value.”—ISBE

Priests were forbidden to wear wool in performing their official duties within the inner court, in order to prevent perspiration(Ezek. 44:17-18).

“Flax”(from a plant) was used to make linen thread & fabric. Linen was a cooler fabric than wool. Priestly garments were to be of ‘fine-twined linen.’

From the plant, Linum usitatissimum. Its tough fibers are separated from the stalks by prolonged soaking in water. When dried, the fibers are then removed by combing.—ISBE

—Demonstration of Native-American ingenuity at the Riverfront Festival—Making thread & rope from plant fibers.

She is not content to buy pre-made fabric &/or clothing but cheerfully provides for her husband & family from the labor of “her” own “hands.” *Thus she is frugal & mindful but never cheap.inferior or miserly.

A virtuous wife delights in such provision. It is implied that her husband & family as well, praise her wise provision(:28).

**“Seeks/Looks for/Selects”—vrd daw-rash’—Qal Perfect—1) To resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require—1a1) To resort to, frequent(a place), (tread a place), 1a2) To consult, enquire of, seek, 1a3) To seek deity in prayer & worship, 1a4) To seek(with a demand), demand, require, 1a5) To investigate, enquire, 1a6) To ask for, require, demand, 1a7) To practice, study, follow, seek with application, 1a8) To seek with care, care for. Strong—a primitive root; properly--To tread or frequent; usually--To follow(for pursuit or search); by implication--To seek or ask; specifically--To worship.

“Wool”—rmu tseh'-mer—1) Wool. Strong—from an unused root probably meaning to be shaggy; Wool. Used 16X.

“Flax”—htvp pish-teh'—1) Flax, linen—1a) Fibre used as material for garments. Strong—from the same as vp as in the sense of comminuting[reduced to minute particles or fragments]; Linen(i.e. the thread, as carded). Used 16X.

**“Willingly/Delight/Eager/’Pleasureably’”—Upx khay'-fets—1) Delight, pleasure. Strong—Pleasure; hence abstractly--Desire; concretely--A valuable thing; hence by extension--A matter(as something in mind).

“Works”(:22, 24—“Makes”)—hse aw-saw’—Qal Imperfect—1) To do, fashion, accomplish, make. Strong—a primitive root; To do or make, in the broadest sense & widest application.

“Hands”(:16—2nd entry, :19, 20; also :19—dy)—Pk kaf—1) Palm, hand, sole, palm of the hand, hollow or flat of the hand. Strong—The hollow hand or palm(so of the paw of an animal, of the sole, & even of the bowl of a dish or sling, the handle of a bolt, the leaves of a palm-tree); figuratively--Power.

:14—“She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar.

A virtuous wife, due to her steady cheerful integrity, becomes for her household a conduit for trade rather than mere local subsistence. Thus she is the very means by which her husband & family may dine beyond what is their own ability to raise. She expands the boundaries of her family(1Chron. 4:10).

1Chron. 4:10—“And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, & enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, & that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.”