Noble Women | Episode 5

Perhaps this passage is where the insane standard for a woman having it all comes from.  Seriously, this woman in these verses is phenomenal…but really daunting to try to live up to.  It even starts out by saying, “A wife of noble character who can find?”  Now, don’t get me wrong.  Scripture exists to teach us and draw us into a closer relationship with God.  There are things we should strive to do.  I wish I was all the things this woman is.  But I am not. 

I have to admit that I was frustrated with Proverbs 31:10-31.  It was not really what I had always thought it was before I really dug into it.  I was feeling disappointed that the writer had put this on paper and that God thought it pertinent to humanity to include it in His Word.  I had texted my pastor, Dr Shane Green, and I was about to dive into a google search.  I had read several commentaries and had gotten two schools of thought.  Luckily, Shane’s response dinged before I plunged into the internet. 

• Me: Good evening.  Sorry to bother you.  Proverbs 31 isn’t really about a woman is it?
• Shane: Not about a specific one – but case could be made for general one – that is how most interpret.  Harder to explain it if someone thinks this is allegory.

If read with lens of Proverbs, which is best seen as advice from Father to son – it makes sense as to what type of wife/woman is best.

Man, this helped SO MUCH.  As I looked back at the last few lines it was like a neon sign was flashing at me. 

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Fear of the LORD is the ticket.  Charm and beauty won’t last.  Fear of the Lord will.  It sets all of the other things in line.  It gives a basis for the rest of a woman’s character.  That advice to a son to look for a woman who fears the Lord is solid. 

I can’t live up to the standards set by this Proverbs 31 woman.  But I do fear the Lord. 

Enjoy this 1992 song by DC Talk.