Episode 24 – The Proverbs 31 Woman Part 2
Welcome to the Proverbs 9:10 Ministries podcast, No Trash, Just Truth! We’re your hosts and co-founders of Proverbs 9:10 Ministries, Rose Spiller and Chris Paxson. Continuing on in our Women in Scripture series, today we’re going to finish talking about a “woman” from the Bible that (like we said last week) many women may not want to hear any more about, at all, …. Ever, ……. and that’s the Proverbs 31 woman, otherwise known as “A Wife of Noble Character, The Virtuous Woman., etc..”
And, like we also said last week, if that makes you want to turn the podcast off right now, don’t! We think you may be surprised at some of the things we learn about this passage.
You might! And if you don’t like this passage, you might come away thinking differently about it!
Hopefully! And to review a bit from last week, we took a look at Proverbs 31, and we gave a lot of good arguments why the Proverbs 31 woman is to be read as being the perfected Church, the Bride of Christ, doing what she’s supposed to be doing – ultimately glorifying God!
Yes, there’s a lot to point us to that! But like we also said, that’s not the only alternate explanation to the normal one we’re used to hearing.
No, it’s not! So, let’s dive in!
Why don’t we start by reading it again this week?
Ok, I’ll read it this week!
Proverbs 31 The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.
2 Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!
3 Do not spend your strength[a] on women,
your vigor on those who ruin kings.
4 It is not for kings, Lemuel—
it is not for kings to drink wine,
not for rulers to crave beer,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,
and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
6 Let beer be for those who are perishing,
wine for those who are in anguish!
7 Let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Good idea! Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character
10 [b]A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
(What Rose Got from thinking about it this week – how churches are like verse 30 today)
I never thought of that before, but it’s an excellent point! So, let’s delve into the other possibilities of what Proverbs 31:10-31 could be, other than the typical idea of a stay-at-home wife and mother who also has a side business.
Yes, let’s dive in!
Ok, first of all, the proverbs are not law, they are wisdom. And, they are not a moral checklist for us.
Exactly. And we don’t pull out a proverb and say “do this, so that you will be a wise man.” That is not how to read the Proverbs! If we read the Proverbs wrong what we see in the proverbs (and in this case Proverbs 31) is “do these things, so that you will be a proverbs 31 woman. “
Exactly. We need to know the difference between indicatives and imperatives. Let me explain what I mean. Indicatives “indicate” what something is. They’re descriptive. An imperative, is a “go do” statement telling us something to do.
Right! For instance, in Ephesians, Paul gives us indicatives. He lays out who we are in Christ, describing us – we’re God’s chosen people, raised from our dead, sinful state and being made alive with Christ. Then, in chapter 5, we get the imperatives telling us what to do in light of who we are. He says, “therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children. And walk in love…” We see indicatives and imperatives over and over.
Right.
And, Chris, looking at this proverb, the one thing that we want to point out about chapter 31 is that ALL of it is addressed to a man.
Absolutely! It is complete addressed to a man!
And, the first 9 verses, (King Lemuel’s mother’s advice to him) are full of indicatives and imperatives, like we were just describing. These are the words of King Lemuel’s mother, the Queen, saying “You’re my son. You’re a king, this is who you are. Therefore, don’t spend your strength on women, don’t get drunk on wine, etc.”.
Exactly. And this “virtuous woman” section of Proverbs 31 is indicative, telling us what the virtuous woman is like – it’s a description; not a “to do” list! This is not a list of virtues given to women for them to try to “do”, or in other words, to try to live up to in order to be the perfect wife and mother.
In fact, verses 10-31 are almost like a completely different part that doesn’t even go with the first nine verses.
And some commentators say it doesn’t. Regardless, that’s where it’s at in the Bible, so we have to deal with it.
We do! So, Chris if this isn’t a “to do” list for women, let’s take a look at another possibility – that the proverbs 31 woman is a picture of Lady Wisdom.
Yes. But let’s explain who “Lady Wisdom” is.
So, like we always say, interpret Scripture with Scripture. So let’s go back to chapter 1 where we meet “lady Wisdom”. If you’ll remember from last week, Proverbs is written as if a father is speaking to a son, instructing him.
Yes, and In Chapter 1 the father is explaining there are two groups of people: those who fear the Lord – and FOOLS! We know this is talking about those who are saved and those who are not by some of the wording: “victor’s chaplet of grace upon your head” is alluded to other places in Scripture as the victor’s crown of righteousness in 2 Timothy 4:8, the victor’s crown of life in James 1:12 and lots of other places. But then Proverbs chapter 1 introduces us to the second group of people – the unrighteous sinners.
And there are two different paths they take.
There are: The righteous follow Lady Wisdom, who we’re introduced to in verse 20 – wisdom personified as a woman – and the sinners reject Lady Wisdom and they follow Lady Folly, isn’t named until Chapter 9, but she is present through the first nine chapters as the adulteress, the evil woman, and the forbidden woman.
Just like Jesus pointed out through the gospels that there were two groups of people – the wise and the foolish, sheep and goats, saved and unsaved, and two paths – through the wide gate and the narrow gate – there are two groups of people and two paths contrasted in Proverbs.
Exactly.
So, getting back to the Proverbs 31 woman possibly being a picture of Lady Wisdom from chapter 1, what’s the rationale for thinking that?
Well, the book begins with Lady Wisdom and ends with the Wife of Noble Character, and they’re very similar to one another, and many commentators say that the reader should identify them with one another. Here’s a list of the ways they’re similar, taken from bibleodyssey.org: “both women are difficult “to find” (Prov 1:28, Prov 8:17, Prov 31:10) and are “more precious than jewels” (Prov 3:15, Prov 8:11, Prov 31:10). Both women have a house (Prov 9:1, Prov 31:15, Prov 31:21) and a staff of servant-girls (Prov 9:3, Prov 31:15). Both women provide food (Prov 9:5, Prov 31:14) and a life of security (Prov 1:33, Prov 31:11). Their “fruit” is valuable (Prov 8:19, Prov 31:16, Prov 31:31); indeed, the noun “merchant profit” occurs in the book of Proverbs only in Prov 31:18 and Prov 3:14. Both women are known at the city gates (Prov 1:21, Prov 8:3, Prov 31:31) and bring honor to their companions (Prov 3:16, Prov 4:8, Prov 31:25). Both are physically strong (Prov 8:14, Prov 31:17, Prov 31:25) and despise wickedness (Prov 8:13, Prov 31:12). Both reach out to the needy (Prov 1:24, Prov 31:20). They laugh (Prov 1:26, Prov 8:30, Prov 31:25). And both women teach (Prov 1:23, Prov 1:25, Prov 8:6-9, Prov 8:14, Prov 8:32-34, Prov 31:26); and their instruction is associated with the “fear of the LORD” (Prov 1:29-30, Prov 8:13, Prov 31:30).
That’s a lot of similarities. I can see why many commentators say that the Wife of Noble Character is really a picture of Wisdom, summed up at the end to as the close to the book of Proverbs.
Not only are there similarities between the Proverbs 31 woman and Lady Wisdom, just like Lady Wisdom, the Proverbs 31 woman is the exact opposite of Lady Folly!
That’s true! Lady Folly is a sluggard, she’s wayward, and Proverbs 9:13 says she “knows nothing.” She’s dumb!
Definitely not like the Proverbs 31 woman!
Ok. Now that we’ve laid that out there, what other possibilities are there for what the last 21 verses of the book of Proverbs really is?
As the Epilogue and nothing more.
You know, Chris, some versions of the Bible have a heading before verses 10-31 of Proverbs 31 calling it the “Epilogue”, which is the closing summary of a literary passage, or the ending of play summing it all up.
One of mine has that heading, and it could be that “she’s” just an Epilogue! And there’s still some more ideas about those last verses of the book, and one of those is that she is what Lady Wisdom looks like when it’s lived out.
You mean, it’s showing us the practical application of the wisdom found throughout the rest of the book?
Yes. This is a person of good character. She’s not lazy, she’s strong, she brings good to people, not harm, etc.
That does make a lot of sense. So, to sum it up … this whole section is looked at by many as just a summary of the book, or the section is showing the practical application of the book of Proverbs?
Yes. And that’s not all. Some commentators believe that the writer was using another literary device here called “inclusio”.
Exactly. The literary structure of inclusio means that there are two “bookends” and that everything in the middle of the two bookends has to do with what the bookends are about.
You mean that at the beginning of the whole book is praise for the pursuit of wisdom, and that at the end, the king is being told pursue wisdom!
That’s what I’m saying.
And so that give us another possibility of what the writer of the book of Proverbs was doing here – something other than giving women an impossible task list they’re supposed to try to live up to, and in turn, not giving men a way to measure all the women he might consider marrying trying to find the perfect one! You know, Rose, If he looks for one that fits the bill perfectly, he’ll never find one!
No, he definitely will not! That would be tantamount to a woman trying to find a husband that’s just like Jesus!
Good point!
Well, if the Proverbs 31 woman really is any of what we’ve talked about – a literary device used to sum up the whole book of Proverbs, the personification of Wisdom summed up, the practical application of wisdom, just an epilogue, the writer’s use of inclusio, or like we said yesterday, a picture of the sanctified Church – and not what it’s sometimes portrayed as, maybe women can start to love this passage again.
Hopefully.
Chris, there’s one more thing we should address here. What if this section of the Bible – this Proverbs 31Wife – isn’t any of those things? What if it really is a picture of what a Christian wife should be?
Well, Rose, everything about her a noble and wise and good. And we should desire to be like that in every way. We should pray to be like that in every way! ALL Christians should!
I agree. What would your answer be to some of the things you’ve heard?
If that’s the case, that this is a picture for women to look to in order to see what a Godly wife and mother looks like, it doesn’t take away from the fact that this has been preached horribly by some pastors, and it doesn’t take away the fact that women have been made feel condemned by the way it’s been preached sometimes, or the way it’s been used to manipulate women at times.
It doesn’t at all!
I did hear one pastor say something that was pretty funny and true about the Proverbs 31 woman.
What was that?
He said that she was wise – probably theologically knowledgeable too – and he said that she would hate the Christian bookstore’s shelves for women!
I’d have to say I’d agree with her, and I know you would too!
There’s too much fluff and too much based on emotion!
Totally! They’ve dumbed women down over the last 50 years with women’s Bible studies!
They certainly have!
I’d also agree with Ian Duguid that the women who’ve been made feel they should become the 1950s model housewife have been taught wrong.
Yes! This Proverbs 31 woman was not that. She was too busy to be, for one thing!
She was. And partly because she was handling multiple types of businesses. And not just home businesses.
Exactly. There’s a lot that could be said in opposition to some of the wrong ways this has been preached by some pastors.
There is. And we can’t go into all of it. But I hope that this sheds some more light on this passage, and that it encourages women who haven’t been blessed by it to take a closer look at the passage, or give it another chance, at least!
I hope so too! And one more important thing that you and I say all the time, Rose, is that our standard from any part of the Bible is NOT the person in the story – it’s not David, it’s not Ruth, it’s not Esther, and it’s not the Proverbs 31 woman either! Our only standard from the Bible EVER is JESUS! He is perfect and we are miserable failures who could never be good enough to save ourselves. And the point of the Gospel is that we can’t, so we need Him!
I agree wholeheartedly. And that’s where we have to end today. If you have any comments or questions about today’s episode, please feel free to leave them on the podcasting site you’ve been listening from or go to our webpage proverbs910ministries.com.
We hope you’ve enjoyed listening to us today! Join us next week for as we take a look a Rachel, out next woman in Scripture. We hope you’re enjoying our series on Women in Scripture so far.
We’d love to hear from you! Have a blessed day!