Proverbs 31
”Open thy mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.“
Proverbs 31:9
King Lemuel means the king for God. We could discuss for volumes on who or what Lemuel is. For now, we will assume it is a pet name for Solomon from his Mother.
If this is the case, we see Solomon opening the book of Proverbs with his Father and closing it out with his Mother. That would be a beautiful picture.
The first nine verses of chapter 31 are a collection of advice from the Mother to a king.
She asks him to temper his taste and interaction with intoxicating substances; Wine, Women and power and to help the weak.
She ends with this admonition:
Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
It would be hard to construct a better collection of instructions from a Mother who wants the best for her Son.
If a woman wants her children to live long and prosperous lives, this is how she should steer them into adulthood.
”Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.
To find is to locate and secure. This is more than locating the virtuous woman, it is to secure her. As this passage is a Mother instructing her Son she is most likely expressing to her Son, If you are fortunate enough to see this Woman, win her heart.
“Virtuous,” describes a woman who is strong, mighty, efficient and valuable. When I hear this explanation it brings the Queen on a chess board to mind.
This passage says this woman is far more valuable than rubies. Interestingly, wisdom is said to be more valuable than rubies Proverbs 3:15.
It appears the Mother is drawing a correlation to the virtuous woman and wisdom. Both are extremely valuable and both are worth securing because both will do you good and not evil all the days of her life.
Women, if someone has lied to you in an attempt to convince you that the Bible is here to keep women subjugated then hear this. You can be the most valuable resource on earth. Virtue is the path you must follow to transform yourself into greatness.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, So that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
We see here a masterclass in relationships boiled down to the elemental. This portion states her husband, literally owner, lord or husband trusts her implicitly therefore he has no lack of plunder. She will deal or recompense him agreeably and not disagreeable as long as she is alive.
There is a ton of ideas to unpack and there is no way we will cover the entirety, it is just too much to discuss. Let us begin with the basics.
For Men:
You are responsible to be wise and protective, among other things, to your Wife. She should feel safe and secure with you as a leader. You are to give her a space to grow her abilities and influence so she can become the Lady she was meant to be. She is not your toy or your servant or your slave. She is THE MOST valuable thing you own and you are to treat her accordingly.
Life will be hard and things will not always go your way. There will be hard lessons to learn along the way but they are not excuses to use and abuse her. The reason you “own,” her is because she is built to need you to own her. Not like you own a toy, like you own a valuable asset. You love her, you make certain she has what she needs, you allow her to build value by protecting and performing maintenance and working hard to keep her valuable.
To Women:
Do NOT marry someone you do not trust to own you in the manner listed above.
When you find each other and you promise to go through life together, HE should reap the lion’s share of the benefits of owning you properly. HE should not be in need of spoil because he has you and you recompense him agreeably. If you give your energy and your time and your effort and your value to other people, your kids, your work, your friends, your group, and he does not reap the rewards- you are going to lose your owner.
She seeketh wool, and flax, And worketh willingly with her hands.
The Virtuous Woman shops for wool and flax then she works them with delight.
Wool and flax were a mainstay in the making of clothing. The Virtuous woman went shopping to find materials and then made clothing that delighted her. This does not necessarily mean a woman has to go to a farm to source materials to make clothing.
The concept being presented is one of securing things with possibilities and building them into something useful.
She is like the merchants’ ships; She bringeth her food from afar.
This is another passage extolling the greatness of the Virtuous Woman for shopping. No joke!
This passage says she goes around shopping like a merchant’s ship, this would be something akin to visiting different ports in the Mediterranean to find health and delicious food.
This passage hits on a special chord. As, in the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon is cited numerous times saying enjoying food and drink as part of the good of our labor is the good we have in life.
The Virtuous Woman shops for and brings food from all over so that her people can enjoy life.
She riseth also while it is yet night, And giveth meat to her household, And a portion to her maidens.
This passage goes along with verse 14. It is separated because in this passage she is not only securing the food, she is either preparing or overseeing the preparation.
She wants to ensure the food is prepared and is served to her household. But, she also gives a portion to her maidens. This could mean, as it appears, she is teaching others how to do what she does. She is training young women how to be a Virtuous Woman.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
The Virtuous Woman has progressed from shopping and shipping to Real Estate and agriculture. It sounds like she is a Business Tycoon.
She devises a plan to acquire a field then she acquires it. Taking what she has learned and her experience, she plants a vineyard.
This step rounds out the security and wellbeing of her household. They have clothing and shelter, they have food and now they have drink.
There is a key point made in the passage which must be kept in mind. She considered the field and found a way to afford it so she could make it pay for itself. This is a key to an investment venture. She knew what she was doing. She is educated and intelligent.
She girdeth her loins with strength, And strengtheneth her arms.
The Virtuous Woman is portrayed as a strong woman. In this passage she is seen increasing her strength physically and metaphorically.
To gird her loins with strength. In a physical sense this would paint a word picture of her preparing her clothing to work. As in she would pick up the hem of the skirt and tie or tuck it facilitating movement.
In this sense she is preparing herself.
In a metaphorical sense, the word translated, “loins,” denotes, “the slender part.”
If she were wrapping a belt of strength around the slender part it would suggest she is foreseeing a problem and adjusting accordingly. She wants to ensure she and her household are secure.
In the same line of thinking, strengthening her arms, denotes she is increasing her force or power.
What we see is a Woman both physically strong and stable and metaphorically strong and stable. She is working on herself to better her body and mind as well as her standing and strength.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: Her candle goeth not out by night.
The Virtuous Woman has tested her wares and she knows the things she makes are good. Then she sets to making them to sell to others.
She sourced wool and flax from verse 13. She began building them into useful things to clothe her household. Now she is seeing an increase in demand from those around her and she is making and selling articles or merchandise.
She is working around the clock to fill the orders.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, And her hands hold the distaff.
Continuing from the previous article in verse 18.
The Virtuous Woman has moved into manufacturing on a larger scale. She is building good wares that people need and want and she is doing the work.
The picture of her hands working moves from her working to manufacture goods to helping the poor and needy:
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
With the same skill she has built and the strength she has acquired from building her own household she is seen in this passage utilizing her skillful and powerful hands to help those in need.
She is outgoing and intentional about helping those who are weak and poor.
Note, she is not advocating for someone else to help them, she is using her hands to help. This is a major factor. Her hands are stretched out to the poor, not the other way around.
She reaches out to the needy. She is no sitting in a high castle looking down and feeling sorry for those less privileged. She is helping them by giving what she makes.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
The Virtuous Woman is not worried about cold weather or snow because her household are clothed with scarlet.
To be honest, I am not sure exactly what it means to be clothed in scarlet. It appears scarlet was an expensive dye which was typically reserved for dying fine thread.
Most likely, it is conveying the Virtuous Woman is not worried about weathering storms because her household is protected physically and metaphorically.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; Her clothing is silk and purple.
At this point, the Virtuous Woman has clothed her household and helped the needy. She is going to make something nice for her to wear.
She is going to deck herself out and make clothing that is silky white and purple.
She can allow herself to be beautiful.
Note, she did not start out making herself beautiful clothes. But once she has given those she is responsible for what they need she can enjoy the fruits of her labor.
Her husband is known in the gates, When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
The Virtuous Woman is so influential that her husband is famous.
This is fitting. He has made a wise choice and married a Virtuous Woman. He has taken care of her and allowed her to flourish into the strong and beautiful woman she is. He must have done something correct to be able to keep her.
However, this is not praising her husband as much as lavishing praise on the Virtuous Woman.
She has earned a great deal of respect and her Husband being known is a testament to her.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
She has moved fully into manufacturing and the merchants who sell are ordering from her. She is a business owner. She handles manufacturing, sales, logistics, quality control and distribution.
Strength and honour are her clothing; And she shall rejoice in time to come.
In this passage there are a pair of double meanings.
First.
Her clothing is strength and honor.
This is stating she wears strength and honor but also what she makes is strong and honorable.
The word translated here to, “Strength,” means material or physical, personal, political or social might.
The word translated, “honor,” means ornament, splendor or majesty.
When we look at the meanings in that light, what she wears and what she makes is splendid and well crafted while bringing her and her merchants personal, political and social standing.
Secondly,
She will rejoice in time to come.
This double meaning insinuates she will have resources to enjoy and play with in the future.
It also insinuates she will be able to make sport in the future- perhaps meaning she can try her hand at another venture.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; And in her tongue is the law of kindness.
The Virtuous Woman opens her mouth with skill and shrewdness.
AND
In her language she follows the law of kindness.
She can be both shrewd and kind at the same time.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, And eateth not the bread of idleness.
The Virtuous Woman keeps a sharp eye out for the goings-on in her household. She does not eat or serve the bread of idleness in her house.
She is not content to be the one doing all of the work. She knows it is partially her responsibility to pass along what she has learned. If she allows her household to eat the bread of idleness, they will be devoured by it.
She is keeping a sharp eye, watch who comes and goes and what they are doing while there. She is not going to permit those in her house to be lazy.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praiseth her.
The Virtuous Woman’s offspring (children, grandchildren and so forth) stand up and bless her. But it is more than a blessing. They arise up to follow her. The phrase could be translated, “lead on.”
Those who come after her want tho follow in her footsteps and want to learn her ways.
She is not some old hag who has to beg to get attention. This lady has earned her spot and is enjoying the benefits of her years of skillfully employed ventures.
Her Husband also, with the offspring follows her and praises her.
As you can see, he may, ”own,” her and be her, “lord,” but he treats her as if she is the most precious thing he owns.
He shines the light on her and is boastful about her. Most likely, he is boasting about her to the Elders of the land as well.
Many daughters have done virtuously, But thou excellest them all.
The Virtuous Woman is most likely being addressed here from her husband.
There are many women who have worked hard, accomplished much, and are strong and efficient. But YOU have climbed above the rest.
You are excellent and have proven your excellence.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: But a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
The Husband continues his praise:
Grace, favor or charm is a lie or a deception.
Beauty is empty. It fades like a vapor.
But a woman that is reverent to the LORD, she shall be praised!
Give her of the fruit of her hands; And let her own works praise her in the gates.
The Husband concludes:
Bestow upon her all that she has earned. Reward her with what she has produced.
Let what she has done be shown for all to see.
This carries a strong warning with it.
You will reap what you have earned and you will have what you produce bestowed upon you. It will be shown for the world to see.
If you are not virtuous, your day is coming.
If you are Virtuous, it will be a glad day. This is the resolution from verse 25 when it says she will rejoice in time to come. Her time has come and she is rejoicing.
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