Proverbs 31:10 ¶ Who
can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in
her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. 13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh
willingly with her hands. 14 She is like
the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar. 15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and
giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. 16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with
the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. 17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and
strengtheneth her arms. 18 She
perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by
night. 19 She layeth her hands to the
spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 20
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her
hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid
of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with
scarlet. 22 She maketh herself coverings
of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he
sitteth among the elders of the land. 24
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles
unto the merchant. 25 Strength and
honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her
tongue is the law of kindness. 27
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread
of idleness. 28 Her children arise up,
and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. 29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou
excellest them all. 30 Favour is
deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth
the LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give
her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
10 ¶ Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far
above rubies.
This is literally true for the young man whom
God would send a good wife. A virtuous woman, a woman of grace, moral courage,
and vision, who has an active and living relationship with Christ is worth more
than precious stones, worth far more.
A virtuous woman does not make her husband
ashamed or embarrass him.
Proverbs 12:4 A virtuous woman is a crown to
her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.
It is said that wisdom and understanding, which
are synonyms have a value higher than rubies. This links the virtuous woman to
wisdom and understanding.
Job 28:12 But where shall wisdom be found ?
and where is the place of understanding? 13 Man knoweth not the price thereof;
neither is it found in the land of the living. 14 The depth saith , It is not
in me: and the sea saith , It is not with me. 15 It cannot be gotten for gold,
neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. 16 It cannot be valued
with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. 17 The gold
and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels
of fine gold. 18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price
of wisdom is above rubies.
Proverbs 8:11:For wisdom is better than
rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
Wisdom itself is given a feminine gender.
Proverbs 3:13 Happy is the man that findeth
wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 14 For the merchandise of it is
better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 15
She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not
to be compared unto her.
It is by the church that the spiritual powers in
the universe are shown the wisdom of God.
Ephesians 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities
and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom
of God,
The church is the bride of Christ.
2Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you
with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present
you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might
present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to
love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it,
even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh,
and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother,
and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is
a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Now notice these references in the Old
Testament;
Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the
LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the
garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a
bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with
her jewels.
Isaiah 62:5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee:
and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over
thee.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that
he shall have no need of spoil.
Now, here’s an interesting turn of phrase in the
use of the word; spoil. Spoil is a word that refers to that which is taken from
someone you’ve conquered or robbed. So, why is it used here?
This is one of those verses that you have to
allegorize to make it fitting for the Christian young man seeking out a
virtuous wife who would have no need of envying those who have taken much in
life from others by virtue of her hard work. But, for the church there are some
interesting parallels that are worth thinking about.
Can Christ trust in His church to be the
virtuous woman she is called to be? As Christ is the husband of the church
notice what He is said to do. Understand that the “strong man” in the following
is Satan.
Matthew 12:28 But if I cast out devils by the
Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 29 Or else how can one
enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the
strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
The Pharisees, the religious right wing, the
fundamentalists of His day, accused Jesus of having cast out devils by the
power of Satan. Jesus said that Satan is the strong man and questions how his
goods can be spoiled in showing that Satan is not going to cast out his own
devils. Jesus was capable of binding the strong man and making spoil of his
goods, which are all humans who are by nature taken captive of him at his will.
See the entire interplay between Jesus and the Pharisees in Matthew 12:22-37 and
make note of the word; spoil. In this passage as well the sin of blaspheming
the Holy Spirit, which was to say that Jesus was working in conjunction with
Satan while here on the earth in human form, is laid out.
Remember, Satan is the god of this world. This
is his house, so to speak. See 2 Corinthians 4:4 and his offer to Christ in
Luke 4:5-7.
The church, the bride of Christ, when doing His
will, draws men to Him. They come of their own free will and at the urging of
the Holy Spirit through the ministrations of the church. This process of
drawing men to Christ continues until His violent and forceful return to assume
control over the kingdoms of the earth as per Revelation 11:15.
How does the church draw men to Christ? Is it by
political shenanigans, paranoia, a lust for worldly power and control, cultish
behavior? No, it is by doing what is clearly laid out in the New Testament as
to how the church should function in the world displaying the fruit of the
Spirit, being true to Christ’s word and name, helping the helpless, feeding the
poor, and ministering to the sorrowful and grieving; particularly in the church
but also to all men as any surface reading of the New Testament letters written
to Gentile churches by Paul will reveal.
I don’t know but perhaps, after reading much of what is said
in the New Testament, as long as the church is doing the part of the virtuous
woman, the end will be delayed. But, as the church grows cold and has lost its
devotion to Christ and becomes purely a social organization, a cultural entity,
and the religious wing of whichever government party is in power, a sort of self-righteous
bunch of do nothings, preening and prating like a colorful peacock, strutting
about as if it was “all that and a bag of chips” then it will be time to take
the spoil. Perhaps some want the end of the world to come so badly that they’ll
pump up their Cadillac Christianity until;
Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them
speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the
earth?
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