Poetry is beautiful, but have you tried writing it? I tried when I was a kid, but it never seemed as good as poems published by trained poets. I’d pick a topic, then focus on making my lines the correct number of syllables and make sure they rhymed. That’s all a poem is, right? Poems flow beautifully, sound effortless, and evoke emotion in their simplicity.
That’s what I thought as a kid. I also assumed that the Bible was a simple recording of events, advice, and commands. The original writers just sat down and wrote stuff, right? Then history simply preserved everything because that was God’s plan. I’ve tried writing a lot of stuff since then and realized that’s not how writing works. God used human writers to craft his message perfectly.
Things never come out perfect the first time. That’s why there is the term “rough drafts”. Nothing is the best it could be by simply brain-dumping everything on paper. What we have in the Bible is God’s carefully crafted Word, written through people. They were written so people would know the facts, that’s true. But they were also written to be remembered. They were crafted in a way to present the facts and message in the most beautiful and memorable way possible. That way everyone would remember it and apply it to their lives.
A Queen’s Highlights
Proverbs 31 is actually not a list of commands straight from God. The chapter is actually written as a guide from a queen mother to her son, a king. The first nine verses tell the young king to avoid alcohol dependence and bad women. She uses the term “those that ruin kings” after “do not spend your strength on women.” (Verse 3)
King Solomon is probably the most famous example of a man who was ruined by women. He took multiple wives and lovers and they led him away from his connection with God. The queen groups troublesome women with alcohol as a way to being a bad king.
She then goes on to spend twenty-one verses talking about having a self-sufficient wife. I find it interesting that the husband is mentioned very little in the section. The ideal wife brings her husband good, but her husband doesn’t have to supervise her. She plans and acts by herself while her husband is off taking care of his responsibilities. He is respected because of her actions (and his own), but they don’t get in each others way.
When I first read this chapter, it was a lot. Who wants to stay busy from pre-dawn to after dark while her husband does politics outside the home? Even though he and their kids praise her, it doesn’t sound like fun. Then I dug into the words and literal meanings a bit more. Do you know how long it takes to weave cloth from flax plant into clothing? I looked on YouTube and it takes months, at least.
Yet Proverbs 31 talks about every step of the process. Therefore, this can’t be a list of things she does everyday. This is a list of highlights that is supposed to show her son that a wife should be busy improving the family and showing love instead of being idle and causing trouble for her husband.
A Complete Woman
An acrostic poem is written with each line starting with the next line in the alphabet. Basically, this poem is saying that this is a perfect wife from A to Z. An acrostic poem in Hebrew could only have twenty-one phrases, so not every single thing a wife did was described. The queen hit the highlights, the things her son should be able to notice in a woman before the marriage. The section doesn’t talk about all the little things wives and mothers do that no one notices but that make a house a home. She highlights industriousness and strategic planning.
A Worker And A Planner
11, Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value… 13, She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands… 15, She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls… 17, She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks… 19, In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers… 21, When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. 24, She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the the merchants with sashes. 27, She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness… 31, Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gates.
Selected verses from Proverbs 31 of the NIV Bible
The verses about how industrious the wife is starts out saying that her husband trusts her, then gets into the work. She gets the flax and wool and eagerly does the vigorous work that removes the plant parts from the pure linen, giving her physical strength.(verse 13 and 17) By verse 19, she’s spinning the linen into thread. In verse 21, she’s done making the expensive clothing her family wears and in verse 24, she has extra to sell. Not only does she get enough done to get by, but she also has enough extra to sell to people who will sell it on.
Verse 15 and 27 talk about her supervising her household and planning the overall budget. It also talks about her doing the household work. She gets up early to start breakfast and prepare what the servants need for their day. (Modern Christian women can prepare things the night before, thanks to technology like a refrigerator and not needing to light a campfire to cook.)
Verse 31 says the ideal Christian wife should get the reward she’s earned. Note that the reward verse comes after the work. But this level of success doesn’t come from simply being busy all the time. Verse 27 says she supervises and isn’t idle, but doesn’t say she’s burned out. “Idleness is the devil’s plaything” as the saying goes. Having time with nothing to do leads to boredom induced ideas. Having intentional time for self-care and quiet time for planning allows us to make the most of our work time.
Taking time to plan ahead leads to a less stressful life.
10, A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies… 12, She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life… 14, She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar… 16, She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard…18, She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night… 20, She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy… 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. 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. 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.
Selected verses of Proverbs 31 in the NIV Bible
Verse 14 and 16 show that she plans ahead. She had to figure out how to order things she couldn’t just buy at the local market and she “considers” the field before buying it. Both things had to be strategically analyzed and planned. She had to save a long time to afford land, and buying things from afar meant knowing what she wanted, then finding a trader who had it or who was going near it. Then she’d have to wait months or plan to be there to get it when it arrived. Yet her trading was successful and her family doesn’t lack anything. (Verses 18, 21, and 25) She even has enough to give to the needy, confident that her family has enough to spare. (Verse 20)
All the verses work together so she can “laugh at the days to come.” (Verse 25) Because her labor went as planned, she can be confident that her family is ready to help God’s plan in any way he needs.
