Many Christians’ definition of a “virtuous woman” would center on prayer, Bible study, and spirituality. But God’s Scriptural portrait of the virtuous woman is surprisingly different.
The Bible speaks of the “virtuous woman”. Who is she? How does God in His Word describe her? Does she pray faithfully each day? Is she used in the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Does she consistently do daily Bible study and have regular devotional times? The answer? — None of these traits is listed in God’s most extensive Scriptural description of virtuous women.
There is no doubt that the excellent attributes listed above are valuable aspects of the lives of every Christian woman. However, God devotes almost an entire chapter of the Bible (Proverbs 31) to His description of the “virtuous woman”. And the favorable traits that God lists are, surprisingly to some, of a substantially different nature. The Bible’s grand description of the godly woman in the eyes of God — that is,
Proverbs 31:10, "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." In other words a virtuous woman is "priceless".
Vs. 11 "Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value."
-A virtuous woman inspires absolute confidence in her husband. He can “safely trust in her”. She is not impulsive, scatterbrained, or unpredictable. Rather, she can be trusted. Her husband can be confident in her. She will never deliberately let him down. The husband of a biblical, virtuous woman “lacks nothing of value”. That is illustrated by some of her remarkable traits in the succeeding verses.
Vs. 12 "She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life."
-The Proverbs 31 virtuous woman “brings him good” — that is, her husband. She is not a “liberated” woman as defined by modern feminists. She is God-fearing (vs. 31), a woman of God, and also very much husband and family-oriented. And these are seen throughout this chapter as positive traits.
Proverbs 12:4 "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband. She brings him good."
-There does seem to be biblical wisdom in the modern-day universally recognized truth that “behind every good man stands a good woman”. She is an asset to her husband. She will never intentionally bring harm his way.
Vs. 13 "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands."
-This godly woman is skilled and capable in working with fabric. The modern counterpart would be skill in things like quilting and sewing. And notice that “she works”. There is no hint of laziness in this woman who is praised by God. And she “worketh willingly with her hands”. She is “willing to get her hands dirty”, as the old saying goes. She is no diva, no prima donna, she has no desire for exposure, she is not an attention seeker! On the other hand, she is humble. A woman of God is not “above” manual work.
Vs. 14 "She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar."
-She understands that the duties of a wife and mother include ensuring that her family is well fed. A virtuous, biblical woman, will excel in this area. She will not only go about to learn the necessary cooking skills, but she will study sound nutrition and will ensure that her family is fed nutritiously, not with a high proportion of out-of-the-box junk food.
Vs. 15 "She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family.."
-I must say I do not read this verse and believe it is meant to be taken literal rather than looked at in a deeper perspective. I believe it means a virtuous woman is to rise daily to care for her family and duties no matter the attitude or conviction of the woman's heart, rather than literally what times she awakes. Basically, a Biblically submissive wife should rise with the attitude and mindset of that of our Lord Jesus Christ: "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:5-8
The character of a Proverbs 31 woman so far (verses 10-15), it is understood that a biblically submissive wife is not what the world would like to make her out to be. She is not weak, she is not ignorant, she is not a fool, nor is she uneducated and unfamiliar with hard work and tumultuous trials.
Vs. 16 "She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard."
-I read an analogy on this verse while I was studying to write this blog about the grapes of a vineyard and this woman; 1, She is special. She grows under conditions in which no other woman would be able to thrive. 2, She doesn't need special "soil" (things from this world; expensive jewelry, clothes, or other indulgences), she only requires lots of exposure to the Son. 3, She grows on a hillside - the steeper the better. This enables her to "drain" any excess and unneeded "water" (baggage) so that she is not saturated by the burdens of this world, which would drown her and hinder her growth. 4, Because the soil she is planted in is so porous, she has to dig deep into her Foundation (Christ Jesus) so her roots will be firm and strong. 5, To produce healthy fruit, she must be pruned regularly so her leaves (outward beauty and desires of the flesh) do not "steal" all the nutrients necessary in order for her to bear much fruit in the name of the Jesus. 6, Although her "roots" are strong (because they are founded in Jesus), she still needs a train (her husband) to stand tall and hold up her delicate branches so that her fruit is not trampled on, dirtied or injured. 7, "The worse the "soil" (difficult times), the stronger her faith!" Another way to apply daily living to this verse is by looking at it like this; this woman does not engage in any affairs that would cause her family to go into debt, but instead only makes purchases from the "fruit of her own hands" which is the funds she has already earned from previous work she has performed, or funds that have been allotted to her by her husband.
Vs. 17 "She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks."
-In the natural a virtuous women are not afraid of physical work. But in the spiritual she exercises her faith by carrying the burdens of other brothers and sisters through prayer and good works. She is able to do this by dressing herself with strength through, The Word of God, the full armor of God, the joy of Christ, the peace of Christ, the humility of Christ, the attitude of Christ, the wisdom from the Holy Spirit
Vs. 18 "She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night"
-To perceive something means much more than just being able to see something or to simply take notice of it. "She is one that makes what she does to turn to a good account, by her prudent management of it. She does not toil all night and catch nothing; no, she herself perceives that her merchandise is good she is sensible that in all her labor there is profit, and that encourages her to go on in it. She perceives that she can make things herself better and cheaper than she can buy them; she finds by observation what branch of her employment brings in the best returns, and to that she applies herself most closely." The second part of the verse says “her lamp does not go out at night.” His light (His glory) shines to all people, everyone who sees Christ in us, in the good times and in the bad. When we allow God's light to shine through us we give honor and praise to God because others will recognize that what we do, can not be from ourselves, but must come from a higher power. A virtuous woman's lamp of profession also known as a glorious light of the Gospel is always kept burning because this woman is of good counsel, and it is well lit by the light shone through her.
Vs. 19 "In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers."
- From the origin of the word "distaff", it is concluded that being referred to as a "distaff" or a "spinster" would be a compliment, not an insult. But somehow we find ourselves once again, far removed from the original intent of what God created to be beautiful and encouraging, into becoming something not quite as lovely; once again accomplished by the hands of foolish and ungodly women. Originally, to be a "spinster" or "distaff" was a compliment. As those who could both hold a distaff and spindle in her hand had to be strong (physically and spiritually), intelligent, skilled, patient and demonstrated much strength as she completed tasks that were always a blessing to many others. Tabitha in the old testament is a good example of this type of woman.
Vs. 20 "She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy."
-Her home-based skills have earned her a profitable income. She is ever willing to share this blessing with the poor and needy.
