Proverbs 31:10-31 A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised

5/17/10

Time Spent 15 min

Main Idea: The characteristics of a godly woman is described

What I Learned about God: This model of a woman personifies that there is no perfect woman, but points towards Christ as the ultimate type.

Summary: In this acrostic poem, the godly woman is described in these verses. The woman is praised for her industry, the way she takes care of her home, and keeps her home. This not supposed to be characteristic of any woman out there, this is the ultimate woman. This is the prima-woman that one could "set his/her watch to". It's funny to note on the side that the book of Ruth followed right after Proverbs in the Hebrew bible. Now, this woman is not only supposed to be an application for girls, but this woman embodies all the ideas that were talked about in Proverbs 1-30 beforehand. This woman is wisdom personified and displayed in her household.

Application: What would wisdom look like for a pastor? Well, for one thing it would be a man that prayed. I have not been praying as much as I want to in my life. My prayer life would not be seen as one of bountiful joy but of self-discipline and begrudging. I want to change that, but I know the legalistic answer to just grit my teeth and pray more is not the answer. Talking to my mentor today I realized that I have not been living out the implications of the Gospels in my life. Sure, I can preach a fine gospel to others, but that becomes meaningless when I cannot display the realities of grace and truth in my own life. I know that when I live outside the boundaries of the Gospel because my prayers become so self-seeking. Lord give me this for this and this for that and it may seem like holy supplication, but on the inside it is just using prayer as a means for getting what I really want. What I really want needs to be Christ. What I want must be a relationship with Him.