We have a tendency to teach Proverbs 31 to women only. But it
has been written by a woman to a man, a mother to her son! This beautiful piece
of poetry was penned by the mother of King Lemuel. Scholars say that this could
be Bathsheba, the mother of king Solomon. Therefore, it would be good to see this
beautiful portion of Scripture in the perspective of a family. The mother
basically wrote to her son what to look for in a woman of his choice and how
orderly a family of her son would be if he can find the woman that she describes.
Witnessing Family
Firstly, the mother describes how her son should be as a
king. Lemuel should be a man of chastity and temperance (v.1-5). He should also
comfort the afflicted and should be a voice of the voiceless (v.6-9). The
family her son is going to build would be one that would witness beyond
the boundaries of their house. There is also a mention of such a witness in the
woman her son would look for: she opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out
her hands to the needy (v.20).
Working Family
A strong work culture is seen in the family unit that the
mother prescribes (v.13-27). An independent working woman is the highlight
here! The Proverbs 31 woman was a hard worker to the extent that she would consider
buying a field and out of her earnings she would plant a vineyard (v.16). She
is a successful entrepreneur and her trading is profitable (v.18). Work is a
mandatory blessing that God gave Adam (Genesis 2:15), before he and Eve fell in
sin. Work is a blessing because the fruit of labour makes a person to be independent
at any given situation. That is why the woman mentioned here can laugh at the
days to come (v.25). Also it is the work of her hands that earns her honour and
praise (v.31).
Worshipping Family
The hardworking woman is a woman who fears God (v.30). No
wonder she is a woman of noble character, rarer than rubies (v.10). She is a
wise woman (v.26) because wisdom is a derivative of fearing God (Proverbs 9:10
and Psalm 111:10). Together the couple
make a family of great values (v.11-12, 28-29). The woman earns the praise of
her husband and her children and the husband earns the respect of the society
they live in (v.23, 28-29).
A worshipping family of God would be a working and
witnessing family. Worship, Work and Witness go together, hand in hand. The
fear of the Lord leads us to a tangible blessing of work and witness. God bless
our family to be one like the Proverbs 31-family! God Bless.
