Christian Devotional – October 1, 2019
The perfect woman. How would you describe the perfect woman? It’s interesting that God uses this opportunity here in the last chapter of Proverbs to describe the ideal wife. Read Proverbs 31.
The words of King Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him: What, O my son? And what, O son of my womb? And what, O son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women, Or your ways to that which destroys kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink, For they will drink and forget what is decreed, And pervert the rights of all the afflicted. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to him whose life is bitter. Let him drink and forget his poverty And remember his trouble no more. Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy. An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. She looks for wool and flax And works with her hands in delight. She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar. She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household And portions to her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength And makes her arms strong. She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle. She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet. She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen. Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: “Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.” Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the Lord , she shall be praised. Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.
Proverbs 31:1-31 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/pro.31.1-31.NASB
If you ask someone today to describe the perfect wife, there are many different thoughts or ideas that you will get. So many characteristics are mentioned here including hard work and strong ethics and a sense of caring for their family. A true love of God and desire to serve her family are key characteristics that makes up the perfect wife. We don’t know whether this was an actual real person who lived, or simply a description of what a man should be seeking in a wife, but either way men are to read this and be seeking these characteristics and traits in the woman they want to spend their life with. Women should read this and see how they can learn to demonstrate these characteristics in their daily life. How do we measure up? Are we trying to measure up?