A COMPETENT WIFE/Woman-part 1—Proverbs 31:10-31
Attention:
Reading—‘A Godly Mother—A Mother’s Call’
"A godly mother is worthy of the highest praise. But to a world caught up in career & gender equality issues it takes on minimal importance, should be handled by others, is thankless, & is a job to be shunned.
A godly mother charges herself with the domestic flow & workings of an entire household. She is on call 24/7, as if it could be measured in units like we punch a time clock, which it cannot! It is not something that we can't wait to get home from, watching the clock & biding time till we're free. Mothers love their families & because of that love, they love what they do. They have a wildly diverse skill-set, which can & is called upon at any given moment in unanticipated ways. Such a constant shifting of gears will, at some point, eventually wear Momma down. Mother's definitely need break-time!
A mother's work never ends. She may experience moments of respite, particularly if she has a godly husband who gives himself to the care of their family. She may get to escape for a while disappearing into the bathroom for a soak in the tub to ‘recharge her batteries’ as it were. But tub baths don't last that long. Even while in the tub she continues to plan the remainder of her evening or the next day's duties or both.
Regardless of the fact of her plans, they are all centered around her family. She considers how to best involve her children in every waking & sleeping activity to their betterment.
If she is so blessed as to be a stay-at-home mom then that 'job' consumes her. In fact, that all-consuming focus is upon her family even if she must work outside their home. Particularly if momma has young children at home, she finds it difficult to focus her attention upon anything but her children's welfare. Day-care, for her, is only a dire reminder of the seemingly unfair pressures placed upon her by a society given to wanton ignorance of God's perfect design for her family.
Her children never cease to be her children.
Her husband is her partner in family ministry & she must tend to his needs, as he does to hers.
For mothers there is....
Meal prep—learning new recipes—experimenting
Diapers, Laundry, Sweeping, vacuuming, scouring, sanitizing, washing, bathing, scrubbing, mopping, delivering(sports events/dance/cheerleading, etc.), sleep overs, conferences, tutoring, watching, baby-sitting, refereeing, herding, explaining, teaching, showing, kissing, hugging, complimenting, praising, encouraging, loving, etc...
Concern(for her child’s spouse, welfare, choices, etc.), prayer, direction, heartache, joy, thanksgiving, pride, etc..."
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!
1—A competent wife/woman is...
Competently RARE & PRECIOUS(:10)
Explanation:(:10)
:10-31 is an acrostic chiastic poem. Each line begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet beginning with Aleph & ending with Tav. The chiasmus is centered at :23—where the husband’s public respect in the city gate is exemplified.—NAC
This poem, as with the whole of Proverbs, is aimed at an audience of young men, whose individual success hinges upon his obtaining a competent wife.
:10—“Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.”
“Virtuous” “wives/Women” are by no means ‘a-dime-a-dozen.’ She “is not easily found.”—EBC Thus he is a very blessed husband who is able to “find” one among all in the land. A husband/man cannot hope to be complete apart from such a “wife/woman.”
She is NOT easily found.
The meaning of “rubies” is dubious but it obviously refers to something obtainable that is very precious & costly.
Though men may seek “rubies” or other precious stones/jewels, these pale into insignificance in relation to his “finding” a “wife” of excellence, being of strong & virtuous character & ability.
She is worth more than you can possibly have or hold onto.
She is the ‘exception to the rule.’
“Find”—aum maw-tsaw’—Qal Imperfect—1) To find, attain to. Strong—a primitive root; properly--To come forth to, i.e. Appear or exist; transitively--To attain, i.e. Find or acquire; figuratively--To occur, meet or be present.
“Virtuous/Excellent/Of noble character/Capable”—lyx khah’-yil—Noun Masc.—1) Strength, might, efficiency, wealth, army. Here, that is, Moral courage. Strong—probably A force, whether of men, means or other resources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength.
“Wife/Woman”(See :30—“Woman”)—hva ish-shaw'—1) Woman, wife, female—1a) Woman(opposite of man), 1b) Wife(woman married to a man), 1c) Female(of animals), 1d) Each, every(pronoun). Strong—irregular plural, Myvn naw-sheeym'; A woman(used in the same wide sense as vwna en-owsh').
“Worth/Price”—rkm meh'-ker—1) Merchandise, value, price. Used 3X.
“Far Above/Far More/Far more precious”—qwxr raw-khowq’—Adj.—1) Remote, far, distant, distant lands, distant ones—1a) Of distance, time. Noun Masc.—2) Distance—2a) From a distance(with prep). Strong—Remote, literally or figuratively, of place or time; specifically--Precious; often used adverbially(with preposition).
“Rubies/Jewels”—ynp paw-neey'—1) A precious stone—1a) Perhaps corals, rubies, jewels. Strong—from the same as Np pen; from an unused root meaning to turn; An angle(of a street or wall); probably--A pearl(as round). Used 6X.
Argumentation:
*Prov. 12:4—“An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.”
*Prov. 19:14—“Houses & riches are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent[care & thought for the future] wife is from the LORD.”
Wisdom is personified as a woman:
Prov. 3:13-18—“Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. Length of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches & honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who retain her.”
Prov. 8:8-11—“All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; Nothing crooked or perverse is in them. They are all plain to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge. Receive my instruction, & not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold; For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.”
Prov. 20:15—“There is gold & a multitude of rubies, But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.”
She is found embodied in a competent wife/woman.
Eph. 5:22-33—“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; & He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church & gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify & cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy & without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes & cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh & of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father & mother & be joined to his wife, & the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ & the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, & let the wife see that she respects her husband.”
Husbands, If you are not respectable, don’t expect to be respected!
Illustration:
Our wrought iron table & chairs/We have a set of four wrought iron rockers which use cold-rolled 1/4’ round coils/One of my favorite things to do is to get alone with God & His word on the carport while I’m rocking/Recently I was rocking away & reading my Bible when all of a sudden, the chair sent me careening backward almost to the ground—One of the coils had completely broken in two & the other coil couldn’t support my weight by itself/Meadowcraft in Wadley, AL that made the chairs is still in business/We were literally going to take a road trip up there to have it fixed... but on the phone they told me that they no longer make the same style chair, plus they have none of that style in their warehouse, plus they don’t do repair work/We absolutely love that patio furniture—It is Precious(to us) but also Rare(in the world)/RARE & PRECIOUS
Application:
?Are You or are you seeking a Competently RARE & PRECIOUS commodity?
?You a Competent Wife/Woman?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
‘A Godly Mother—A Mother’s Call’
Action:
A competent wife/woman...
1. Competently RARE & PRECIOUS(:10)
Presented 05/10/2015am (Mother’s Day) to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave(A Ave. SE)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
