The Excellent Wife & Mother Series

Different people remember Mother’s Day in different ways. Let’s me tell you of a story of a family my wife came into contact with again this week. It all started about two years ago. A 27 year old woman who already had a 2 year old child found out that she was pregnant again. At the same time she also found out that she had brain cancer. What a mix of joy and pain. My wife would see the kids from time to time with different people. When she inquired about it she found out that the members of the church that this woman belonged to would take turns looking after the Children. The reason for this is that as the brain cancer progressed, this women would not be able to think clearly and would start to do more and more erratic things, therefore it would not be safe to just leave the children with her. Although her cancer was in remission for a short time, she became sick again and in great pain. She died this week; The week leading up to Mother’s day. This 29 year old woman leaves behind a 2 and 4 year old, a husband as well as family and friends. My wife was involved with her funeral this week. Mother’s day will always have a bitter sweet memory for those associated with this mother.

While Mother’s Day can be a very happy, joyous day … it can also be a very sad day … a day of pain & grief.

• Maybe you have recently lost your mother … and you are experiencing the pain of your loss.

• Maybe you have lost a child … and your heart grieves on Mother’s Day.

• Maybe you are having difficulties with your Mother … your Mother wasn’t the IDEAL Mother we like to preach about … and you have bad memories of your Mother.

• Maybe you have some guilty feelings about your motherhood … and you have children problems … or marriage problems.

• Maybe you were never able to have children … and Mother’s Day isn’t a joyous occasion for you.

• Maybe you never had a real mother … and were raised in a foster home, or by relatives.

• Maybe you are a single Mom … and are struggling with being a good Mother to your children.

Life is not Pollyanna sentimentality. It is hard and strength of character excels. Not only for a Godly mother, but what everyone, fathers, sons daughter and all those who connect with mothers. We should not merely praise those who physically give birth, but those who exemplify the true character of a mother. Proverbs 31, talks of the excellent wife and mother for whom we can learn from, honor, and encourage this mother’s day.

This section contains an ode in praise of the virtuous woman. It is an acrostic; that is, each verse begins with one of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. First, they were an artistic labor to demonstrate the importance and beauty or pathos of the topic; the very task of selecting words that fit the alphabetic structure was a desire to offer a pleasing sacrifice to the wonder and excellency of womanhood.

Second, the acrostic could serve as an aid to the memory of the pupil whose recall of each successive verse would be triggered by which letter it had to begin with. Third, and perhaps uppermost in the mind of the artist, the acrostic was an expression of comprehensiveness. The topic was fully covered from A to Z (or aleph to tau), and the very act of canvassing the alphabet demonstrated the completeness of the virtues, skills, and accomplishments of the ideal wife (Hubbard, D. A., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1989). Vol. 15: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 15 : Proverbs. Formerly The Communicator’s Commentary. The Preacher’s Commentary series (489). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.).

As to authorship, some have thought that it continues the teaching of King Lemuel’s mother (vv. 1–9), but it may also be an independent, concluding unit.(Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson study Bible : New King James Version. Includes index. (Pr 31:10). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.) The sequence of the statements in the portrait is then formal rather than logical. One object of this actrostic construction was to render the matter easier to commit to memory.

The role here is alongside man’s (e.g. 1:8; 6:20) which fulfils part of the vision in Gn. 1–2 of man and woman together representing the image of God and called to exercise authority in the world on God’s behalf, and invites men and women to seek to realize this vision in the world.( Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition. Rev. ed. of: The new Bible commentary. 3rd ed. / edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970. (4th ed.) (Pr 31:10). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.) .