THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN - Part 1: Her Virtue

Proverb 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

In a time where women are taking their queue from the world and that in stark opposition to God’s word, Christians need to proclaim His truths clearer, louder, and more frequently. A true woman is what God’s says she is and nothing more or less. She is the helper to her husband, a compliment to his life, and his most valuable possession. This has less to do with who her husband is, than it has to do with what God made her to be. This kind of woman is no accident; somebody has prepared her for a husband.

This passage has been aptly deemed by classical Christianity, “The Virtuous Woman” or “A Good Woman.” It is a proverb written by a mother to her son, describing a woman like herself as the kind of woman he should marry. Today, many women are told the opposite of what the bible affirms as true, good, and right before God. They are told that they should not have to live up to their husband’s mother’s standards; they are told that they are not their husband’s possession; they are told that they have a right to their own life, vision, and goals; they are told they have as much say-so in the direction of the family unit as does their husband. Yet how wrong and anti-biblical is such talk.

This passage, though speaking much about a type of woman is centered on a man. It is warning to a man. It is instruction to a man. It adorns a woman in beautiful character for a man. It describes a woman at optimal function that is valuable to a man. It describes a woman as having endured vigorous preparation for a man. Paul affirms this in the New Testament, "For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man (1 Corinthian 11:8-9). The goodness of this woman is a product of understanding, accepting, and remaining in her God-ordained purpose. In verses 10-15 she is found having 5 traits in the eyes of her husband: 1) supremely valuable – she is his most treasured possession, 2) absolutely trustworthy – she acts in the context of his intention and pleasure, 3) extremely helpful – she makes him a better man directly and indirectly, 4) capable and skillful – she is able to produce things of value good for her family and others, 5) Resourceful and thrifty – she is frugal, not at all wasteful or destructive, and 6) Nurturing – she works to optimize the family in all areas.

In short, the virtuous woman has been prepared to be a wife to her husband, a mother to her children, and a model woman for other women.

Instruct Me In The Night Seasons

Psa 16:7 I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.

What a wholesome resolve. Not only passionate but intellectual – “I will,” yet not only intellectual but passionate – “my reins.” And there is no other way to please God then to remain passionately tied to the word of God in the dark times. Yet this is often when Christians make excuses by appealing to the frailty of our humanity, and are emotionally turned to self-preservation rather than divine dependency.

The wise counsel of God is not as much for day as it is for the night seasons. What need is there to turn to other alternatives in the blissful season? What new source of light is sought in the brightness of day? Temptation dwells in the night, in the uncertainty of the wilderness experience, and in the presence of pain without apparent remedy.

Night seasons are unpredictable and they call for unpredictable behavior. And there is for the believer light in darkness, joy in sorrow, and assurance in uncertainty. Is not counsel given by God, a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path? The word of God instructs us when the day becomes dusk and dusk becomes dark. When what to do is no longer evident and obvious, when everything one thought would help is exhausted, and when all other advisors are at an impasse, what one knows of God remains reliable, stable and sure.

One may have at points blessed his own wisdom. One may have at points blessed his own ingenuity. One may have at points blessed his good friends. All of these bear some level of appropriateness. However, in the night seasons it is time to bless the Lord and Him alone.

The night seasons are not times to turn to the right or left. The night seasons are not times to doubt what God has said. The night seasons are not times to conclude that it’s more than you can bear. The night seasons are not times to conclude that God has forsaken you. The night seasons are not times to fall into fleshly consolations.

In the night seasons, one may have to know like Abraham that the Lord will provide a sacrifice in the place of your son. In the night seasons, one may have to say like the three Hebrew children, “If the Lord will not deliver me from the fire, I still won’t bow.” In the night seasons one may have to do like David after the death of a child, “arise from the earth, and wash, and anoint himself, and change his apparel, and come into the house of the LORD, and worship.” In the night seasons one must be informed by God’s counsel and driven by an unwavering attachment to the same.