A. INTRODUCTION: WHAT I TELL YOUNG PREACHER BOYS TO LOOK FOR IN A WIFE
1. Godly: you need someone to pray you out of trouble and to pray for your ministry.
2. Work talent: you may need someone to help pay the bills.
3. Good looking: this means he really loves her, for if he loves her, she’s beautiful; no matter what.
4. “Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life” (Prov. 31:10-12).
What Do These Words Mean?
Find: you must search for her, she won’t come looking for you.
Virtuous: one controlled by virtue or God’s principles.
Worth: measure her by inner character, not money, beauty or talent.
Rubies: only outward sparkle.
Heart: the way to measure a woman.
Lack of gain: what he needs to live right, not to get rich.
Good: qualitative not the measurement of numbers.
B. THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN: ACTIONS, CHARACTER, AND REWARDS
1. She is a godly woman. The most identifiable thing about her is the concluding statement, “But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Prov. 31:30).
a. She shall be praised not for her outward beauty or charm, but her inner walk with God.
b. She has moral character. A person of character is described as habitually doing the right thing in the right way.
c. She is described as “an excellent wife” (Prov. 31:10, NAS) rather than being clothed just in expensive garments, she is clothed with strength and dignity (Prov. 31:25).
d. Because this woman is so virtuous and hard to find, one must search for her (Prov. 31:10).
2. She is worthy of her family’s trust.
a. While the husband is out working, he does not have to worry about the wife. “The heart of her husband safely trusts her” (Prov. 31:11). He knows he can trust her character to work hard to take care of the children and the house.
b. She instills moral character in other people.
3. She works conscientiously.
a. Proverbs describes the virtuous woman as one who works with her hands (Prov. 31:13).
b. She gets up early (Prov. 31:15), and goes to sleep late (Prov. 31:18).
c. She makes long-range plans (Prov. 31:21, 25).
d. She doesn’t sit around with idle time watching soap operas or taking long naps. “She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness” (Prov. 31:27).
e. She buys a field. “She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard” (Prov. 31:16). A good business woman.
f. She works in the vineyard (Prov. 31:16).
g. She makes sure her husband and children are well clothed (Prov. 31: 22).
4. She has a humanitarian spirit. She is concerned about the needy, the poor and she gives to their needs. “She extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy” (Prov. 31:20).
5. She is the family shopper. She buys cloth, and gets food from afar (Prov. 31:14).
6. She is a good household manager.
a. This means the virtuous woman is able to feed the entire family and administer the household on the money she has.
b. She gets up early in the morning to prepare breakfast, and gives tasks to everyone in the household. “She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants” (Prov. 31:15).
7. She supervises long-range investments.
a. She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard” (Prov. 31:16).
b. She makes linen garments and sells (them) and supplies sashes for the merchants” (Prov. 31:24).
c. Rather than being a wife who sits around waiting for her husband to give her money, she uses well what she has and adds to the family checkbook.
8. She is not a gossiper but speaks words of encouragement. Whether speaking to her husband, children or others, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue (is) the law of kindness” (Prov. 31:26).
9. She supports her husband.
a. She is not a woman who takes glory to herself. Rather she promotes her husband. “Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land” (Prov. 31:23).
b. By lifting up her husband, she in turn lifts herself up.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord,
I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
For more information on the TRBC Pastor’s Bible Class, log on to the Internet for TRBC Home page at www.trbc.org/pbc.
