A Portrait Of A Mother

Read with me Proverbs 31:30 and 31. Ready? "Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain. But a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates".

Father, thank you for the beautiful Word of God and the portrait of the mother so masterfully given by the pen of Solomon in Proverbs 31. In Jesus' name, let us receive this truth today. And all of God's children said, amen.

The portrait of the mother and all successful women is found in Proverbs 31. When the artist of Proverbs 31 lifts his brush to paint the portrait of the woman, who would be the ideal woman, God made her face the face of a mother. When a mother holds the next generation to her breast, and she rocks that baby to sleep at night, she's putting her fingerprints on the next generation that will last for time and eternity, because that son will teach his son, and that son will teach another son. And her laws of righteousness will be maintained for generations. She leaves her footprints in the sands of time.

What Abraham Lincoln said is absolutely true, "The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world". Think about that. When mothers instill into their children honesty, morality, responsibility, integrity, truth, the work ethic, industry, and a sense of honor, when a mother does that, America's future is secure. Abandon those principles and the United States of America as we know it has no future. Can I get a witness?

The portrait of the ideal woman in Proverbs 31 is not because she's a mother: it's because she's a successful mother. Giving birth to a child does not make you a successful mother. What you do with that child after you take that child home is what makes you a successful mother. Not every mother is successful. They do not enrich the lives of their children: they impoverish them. They become a toxic parent. They do not bless: they curse. They do not encourage: they abuse. Their lovelessness, their neglect, they provoke their children to wrath. Their children then go into the streets. They join the gangs. They learn to sell dope and make more money in a day than their dad can make in a month. And then they go to prison, and life is over, because there was no anchor in the house where they lived.

God's plan for mothers or wives is to be a suitable helper. Genesis 2:18, the Bible says, it is God speaking, "It is not good for a man to be alone. And I will make for him a suitable helper". In all of the words of Genesis, the one thing that God said was not good was that a man should be alone. He created this and it was good. And he created that, and it was good. And it was good. And it was good. One thing that was not good, for a man to be alone.

What is the truth about Adam's rib? "Rib" in the Hebrew language nearly always refers to a literal rib. But in 1 Kings 7:3, the Bible refers to a rib that really means the beam, the major supporting beam, in the pillars that held up Solomon's Temple. Husbands may seem outstanding to everyone. But God is saying here in 1 Kings 7:3 that their wife is the beam that holds them up. She is the hidden inward strength and support without which her husband would fall apart. And all the ladies said... Amen.

God's plan for wives and mothers is that the mother and the wife is a person of honor. If she's not honored by her husband, his prayer life will be ineffective. Let me make this very clear to you. God answers prayer. And without his answer, prayer is a waste of time. And so here is the reason why he said to the men of Israel, "Why I'm not answering your prayer". In 1 Peter 3:7, he said, "You husbands, likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way".

Get that phrase in your mind. "Live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel", that means physically, "since she is a woman. And grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life so that your prayers are not hindered". "Hindered" is an old English word. It means "Let," when you hit a tennis ball, and it hits the net, and it goes straight down. God is saying to the men of Israel, when you do not treat your wife with an understanding spirit, and you pray to me, your prayer ricochets off the roof of your bedroom and hits you in the bald head.