CHRIST, THE WISE KING, AND THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN WITHOUT SPOT

RETURN TO SYLLABUS

PROVERBS 31
Lesson #50
CHRIST, THE WISE KING, AND THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN WITHOUT SPOT

• Memory Verse: Pro 31:25
• The final chapter in the book of Proverbs easily divides itself into two categories:
  • =1= The wise king (2-9)
  • =2= The excellent wife (10-31)
• “The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.” (1)
  • Who is this king Lemuel? We have no concrete evidence of the identity of this king.
    • In fact Jewish tradition says that this is a symbolic name for King Solomon.
    • However, God gave Solomon the name Jedediah which means = beloved of the Lord. (2Sam 12:25)
    • The name Lemuel means = devoted to God. Perhaps this is a nickname for Solomon given to him by his mother, Bathsheba.
• The Wise King: Jesus Christ, the example:
• “What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?” (2)
• ^“Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.” (3)
  • The questions in verse 2 are the concerns of Solomon’s mother that worries over how her son is going to turn out when he becomes an adult. Will he fall into the same sin as his father David that lusted after Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah killed?
  • Remember that the book of Proverbs started with a father giving advice to his son in making wise decisions for his life. (Pro 1:8) Now we see that the book ends with the thoughts of a mother.
  • What are the things that destroy kings?
    • “Give not thy strength unto women” (3) refers to foreign wives that destroy the sovereignty of a nation.
    • Of course Solomon did not listen to his mother’s advice for all of Solomon’s foreign wives undermined the nation’s relationship to God and opened the door to national idolatry.
  • This section of Proverbs 31 tells us that a wise king’s reign will be characterized by:
    • Holiness (3)
    • Sobriety (4-7)
    • Compassion (8-9)
• ^“ It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:” (4)
• ^“Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.” (5)
• ^“Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.” (6)
• “Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.” (7)
  • Clear thinking is important for a king because he makes decisions and laws that affect a whole nation.
  • Strong drink, in other words alcoholic beverages can destroy a nation.
    • Alcohol causes confusion in the mind of the king.
    • He forgets the laws he made previously.
    • He cannot see how one law can contradict another.
    • He is unaware of a law’s far-reaching consequence.
• Strong drink is medicine for those who are dying of some painful disease, for those that are bound by depression, (6), and those that are helplessly poor with no remedy. (7)
• “Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.” (8)
• “Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.” (9)
  • The wise king will stand strong for those who have no voice to speak for their own cause which means that the king should use his position of power and authority to speak for justice for all.
  • The wise king will also speak for the poor and needy.
  • In other words, the wise king mediates the compassion and love of God to the people.
• The Excellent Wife: The Bride of Christ by example:
• Note:
  • There is something important to keep in mind as we consider the excellent wife.
  • This is the description of a woman’s life over her lifetime. It is not a description of her life in one day’s time.
• “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.” (10)
  • Bathsheba tells Solomon how to find a good wife. What is a virtuous woman?
  • The rest of the chapter gives us the characteristics of the virtuous woman which includes a person with high moral standards and upright actions.
    • She is to be a help to her husband not his servant.
    • She equally makes decisions and expresses her strong character.
• ^“The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.” (11)
• “She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.” (12)
  • Honesty is the character quality we see here.
  • Her husband trusts her. Trust is a two-way street.
    • =1= Because trust is earned, she has earned a reputation for honesty over time.
    • =2= He gives his wife a certain amount of freedom to make decisions and to put in order her own schedule.
  • Because she has a reputation for honesty, her husband also values honesty in all aspects of life. She is not a spendthrift that undermines his honest labor.
• ^“She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.” (13)
  • She uses her domestic talents to make sure that her family is adequately clothed whether she actually makes the clothing herself or buys it already made.
  • She will obtain good value for her money which means that she watches the sales and knows good quality fabrics.
• “She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.” (14)
  • She will shop for food in places where she will get the best value.
  • That means she is knowledgeable about quality and value.
• “She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.” (15)
  • This verse reminds me of a well-known saying, “A man’s work is from sun to sun, but a woman’s work is never done.”
  • The character quality described here is industrious, which is the opposite of laziness.
  • She takes care of everyone under her authority and responsibility.
• “She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.” (16)
• ^“She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.” (17)
• ^“She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.” (18)
  • Some time in her life she may work at a job outside of the home.
  • It used to be in Christian churches in the United States, Christian pastors and teachers taught that women should not work outside of the home.
    • This passage indicates that it is not wrong for a woman to work outside of the home.
    • However, there is a guideline that we see here in Proverbs 31. (12)
      • Her priority is what is good for the well-being of her family.
      • If the well-being of her family is that she be at home with the children, she should not work outside of the home. If her motive for working outside the home is or her own self-fulfillment, it is a wrong, selfish motive.
    • Because she is a virtuous woman, she has moral integrity.
      • She gets her moral and physical strength from her relationship with God.
      • Only the woman that believes in Jesus Christ has this beautiful, spiritual relationship that provides the strength that we need to do what God wants us to do. (17)
• ^“She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.” (19)
• ^“She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.” (20)
  • This virtuous woman not only takes care of her own family but cares about those who are needy and have less than she has.
  • In other words, her perspective is not in-grown and selfish. Her heart is touched by what touches the heart of God.
• ^“ She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.” (21)
• ^“She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.” (22)
  • As a Christian, she trusts God in everything.
    • She is not afraid that her family will go hungry in winter.
    • Fear is the opposite of faith. She trusts in the Lord to provide what she and her family will need.
  • The colors mentioned here are scarlet and purple. In the Bible these colors refer to Jesus Christ.
    • Scarlet refers to the blood of Christ that is the basis of our covenant of forgiveness with God.
    • Purple is a royal color that refers to our King, Jesus Christ, for which the first half of Proverb 31 describes the wise king.
• “Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.” (23)
  • Everything the virtuous wife does is to promote her husband in the business world and in the local community.
  • Because we see that the woman in Proverbs 31 represents the church, the bride of Christ and that the wise King represents Jesus Christ, we can understand that as New Testament believers in Christ we must continually lift up Jesus Christ.
• ^“She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.” (24)
• ^“Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.” (25)
  • The Proverbs 31 woman lives a righteous life in Jesus Christ because she is clothed with the pure righteousness of Christ.
  • The girdle is the sash around the waist that ties her robes. Spiritually speaking her life is tied to Christ and restricted by the guidance of the Holy Spirit to produce the likeness of Christ without spot or wrinkle.
• ^“She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.” (26)
  • Key words: wisdom (skillful living).
  • Her verbal testimony flavored with love is how to live the Christian life pleasing to God by means of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
• ^“She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.” (27)
  • The Christian woman considers the care of her home and family as her worship to God. (Rom 12:1-2)
  • She realizes that her time on this earth is short and she needs to stay working for God all the days of her life.
• ^“Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.” (28)
• ^“Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.” (29)
• ^“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.”

(30)

• ^“Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.” (31)
  • These final verses describe the results of a life lived to perfection for Christ. People around her will praise her.
  • The most important characteristic of this woman is to have the Fear of the Lord. This is how we began the book of Proverbs and here we see this characteristic of having the fear of the Lord produces fruit in life so that God praises her in eternity.
• Summary and application:
  • In this final passage of Proverbs 31 we see that her husband, her children, her community, the poor and needy all benefit from the life of virtuous woman.
  • She expresses many fine character qualities including industriousness, love, compassion, faithfulness creativity, responsibility, and faith based on a fear of the Lord.
  • Read Eph 5:22-33 Christ and the Church
  • This New Testament passage gives us the parallel for Pro 31 where the wise king represents Jesus Christ and the excellent wife represents the New Testament bride of Christ.
  • It gives us the preview for the study of Song of Solomon also written by King Solomon that presents us with a beautiful symbolic illustration of the relationship between Christ and the church.

God bless you and your walk living skillfully for Christ en the fear of the Lord.

The End.