Journal ~ ProverbsSample

 A GOOD WOMAN (AND MAN) IS HARD TO FIND  

As long as I can remember I always admired the woman of noble character in Proverbs 31 and sort of look up to her and the virtues she possesses. Who is this woman? One possible answer is she is Bathsheba, advising her son Solomon on how an upright king should conduct his kingship and telling him what kind of woman to find as his wife (Lemuel means “belongs to God” or “devoted to God,” and some scholars believe he is actually King Solomon).

The virtues spoken of this woman are from a particular time and place and quite foreign to our present context. However, there are in it general principles that I believe can be recognized as still relevant for today's women.

To put it in my own words, I imagine the woman of noble character to be:

1. Trustworthy (verses 11, 12, 23)

2. A good steward (verses 15 and 21)

3. Diligent (verse 27)

4. Kind to others (verse 21).

5. Wise (verses 25-26)

6. Blessed (verses 28-31).

The good news is I don’t think Proverbs 31 is trying to give us a picture of a perfect woman. I mean, who can be perfect? I would be first to admit that I am still full of flaws and far from perfect. Trying to be perfect would just make me end up feeling frustrated.

I think the proverb is capturing a woman who fears the Lord in her life, and everything else comes from this fear of the Lord. As a God-fearing woman she finds her value not by clothing herself with expensive clothes, make-up, jewelry, or anything  else the world offers her. Instead, she clothes herself with the righteousness that comes from God. This is her dignity, and her strength.

It is my prayer that I would have the same fear of the Lord as this woman of noble character.