Proverbs 31:12 She will do him good and not evil all the days
of her life.
The virtuous woman can be trusted to do her
husband good. We are told;
1 Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and
see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they
speak no guile: 11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and
ensue it.
One of the ways to understand the Bible is by
word markers. For instance, some people will run to a dictionary when they see
the word ‘eschew’ which is not an archaic word as I recently saw it in a sports
article online. However, it is not a word we regularly use. But here one way
how you uncover the meaning of a word, as it is intended in the Bible. First,
you look for similar phrasing, with the same words around another word or
phrase in either that verse or one nearby.
In this case we see “let him eschew evil” in
verse 11 preceded by “let him refrain his tongue from evil”. So, we can deduce
that the specific meaning of eschew, as intended in verses 11 is to refrain
from it, particularly to refrain from speaking it. See how simple that was?!
There are several places where you can discern meanings by the use of word
markers in the Bible.
Now, back to the virtuous woman. A good wife
will not only seek to do her husband good but will likewise not seek to do him
evil. Evil is defined in the Bible as, among other things, malice and malicious
as in “an evil beast” in Genesis 37:33. It also carries with it the meaning of
negative as in “an evil report” in Numbers 13:32. An “evil woman” in Proverbs
6:24 is manipulative and being one of the foreign women to Israel in the land
would entice a man to do wrong against God. An “evil man” is violent as in
Psalm 140:1 and wicked in Psalm 10:15. He is rebellious in Proverbs 17:11 and
in 2:12 seeks froward things.
A husband and wife ought to be able to trust
each other completely. They should be able to know in their heart that the
other party would never willingly do anything to hurt them or their
relationship. The church should never do anything to bring shame on the cause
of Christ. Churches that willingly hide evil in the pulpit or the flock, who
allow wicked men and women in places of importance to stay in position simply
because they are who they are regardless of what sins they’ve committed against
some innocent or helpless person are just the kind of wife that is not
trustworthy.
A church that is a rebel against government not because of
something the government has done to prevent them from doing what Christ has
called them to do but simply for political reasons of preference is not doing
the work of the good wife, the virtuous woman. The church that is more
concerned with political party politics than Christ is an unfaithful wife. The
church that is more concerned with getting in the newspaper or on the TV news
than with service and worship and obedience is not a faithful wife.
Proverbs 31:14 She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth
her food from afar.
A simile is a figure of speech where two
relatively unlike things are compared, often using like or as. It is commonly
used in the Bible to create an analogy for understanding. The virtuous woman,
the exemplary wife, is compared here to merchant ships that bring food from
distant places. While we would have a difficult time drawing a spiritual
conclusion from this verse for the Christian wife we can see very clearly how
this would apply to the church.
The food the church brings from afar is the
bread of heaven, Christ, of which the Manna dropped from heaven in the
wilderness is a type.
Exodus 16:4 Then said the LORD unto Moses,
Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and
gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk
in my law, or no.
Nehemiah 9:15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and
broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and
promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst
sworn to give them.
Psalm 105:40 The people asked, and he brought
quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
John 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the
desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32 Then Jesus
said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread
from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.33 For the
bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the
world.
Joh 6:41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which
came down from heaven.
John 6:50 This is the bread which cometh down
from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51 I am the living bread
which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for
ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the
life of the world.
John 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers
did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
The church brings the word of God, the Bible, which is food for souls hungering
to learn of God and to be changed by Him. There are several verses which liken
God’s words to food.
Job 34:3 For the ear trieth words, as the
mouth tasteth meat.
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine
in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the
words of the LORD:
Job 23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have
esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
Psalm 119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to
my mouth!
Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to
the soul, and health to the bones.
The church brings these precious words of God
from afar, even from heaven itself.
Psalm 119:89 LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy
word is settled in heaven.
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