The Words of King Lemuel
31:1 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
2 What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb?
What are you doing, son of my vows?
3 Do not give your strength to women,
your ways to those who destroy kings.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine,
or for rulers to take strong drink,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing,
and wine to those in bitter distress;
7 let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
The Woman Who Fears the Lord
10 An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
15 She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She dresses herself with strength
and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates. (ESV)
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
In this day, looks are mostly what draws people to each other… But in reality, those things aren’t what is most important. The fear of the Lord is really what people need to be looking for!
And as well as the rest of the chapter, how it describes a wife that is worth far more than rubies! I thought that was interesting
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
The description of the woman in Proverbs 31 is a standard for all godly women. This verse stood out to me, especially the part that says, “She can laugh at the days to come.” This woman has great fear of the Lord and is so connected with Him that she is not worried about the future. She trusts God to provide and can laugh at what is to come because she knows that she is in the hands of her God. I pray that I too can not give in to the temptation to worry about my future or stressful situations that are on the horizon. The way I can do this is to be sure to fill my mind daily with the truth of Scripture and to spend time communing with the Lord in prayer. If I am focussed on God and trust in Him to provide for me, then I have nothing to fear.
I think this chapter is more than just a “checklist” to find a Godly wife for us guys. If we are looking for these attributes in a woman, wouldn’t we want to have some of them ourselves? Things like noble character, disciplined work habits, generosity, respect, strength, dignity, wisdom, faithfulness… In the future, if we are going to be looking for a wife with these characters, she will want the same type of attributes from us guys! Lets be striving to be guys that bring God glory in everything we do!
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
I agree with DB. If you asked your fellow high schoolers what they are looking for in a girl they would most likely say beauty and charm. However, these things can be very misleading. Our society is all about praising beautiful women. However, the women who should be getting our praise are those that have a strong relationship with God. These are the women that God is praising!
Good comments so far!
This chapter is what our future wife or who we should date, what attributes that they should have. We should be looking for a girl who fears the Lord. Our focus should not be on beauty because beauty is fleeting and it does not last that long. We should look for a wife that is a hard worker that has a lot of vigor. This woman helps her family out with their needs and she is a noble character.
What kind of person should you be attracted to?
This is really a very serious questions. I have seen many high school students get into relationships with non-Christians and this will inevitably lead them away from the Lord.
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
This is the kind of person we should be attracted to: Someone who fears the Lord. Our study in Proverbs has made it clear that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is something that humbles us and turns us away from sin.
If you want to hear a whole sermon about what kind of person to be attracted to click this link: http://www.compasschurch.org/hs/sermons/god-calls-it-love-3/audio
Hope to see you at the New Years Eve Party tonight at Compass! Starts at 5:30 for some crazy fun games. Ice skating/broomball is at 9:30 at Aliso Viejo Ice Palace.
If I don’t see you tonight I will see you next year!
I agree with DB and Dan on this one.. verse 30 is clear that beauty is not what a man should be looking for and it is sad to see becaause that is what 99% of the guys today look for…
i look forward to the day i marry a women like this if God decides to bless me this much..
i hope he does
10 A wife of noble character who can find? …
The problem is NOT that there aren’t women that fit this description out there; the problem is that too many people completely reject verse 30 and pursue what ‘feels right’ instead of who God has planned for them. And i definitely agree with jacob, we cannot expect God to allow us to be with someone like this if we are the exact opposite of every description in this chapter! We need to be committed to living a life that is pleasing to God and not getting caught up in the world, and trusting Him to have the right person for us – someone who is Godly – instead of chasing after beauty.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
This verse for some reason stuck out to me. FULL CONFIDENCE? That is pretty great!
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Amen Pastor Bobby! We should be attracted to those who fear the Lord and make him their number one priority in life. It is so important to be equally yolked and to both put God number one, and have nothing interfere with your relationship with Christ! And I agree with what Derek said, that in these days, most people are attracted to eachother by looks. Anyways, this verse is encouraging to know what kind of person that is attractive- A man/woman who fears God and has his/her full faith and trust in him!
Well this can also be a checklist for the girls too! We should study this chapter and hide it in our hearts so that we can remember what we as girls should act like. How awesome and lucky we girls are to have a chapter in the Bible that talks about the spiritual and practical things we should act like when/if we get married and then maybe have kids. We need to stop worrying about our beauty if we do…cause when you get old its not really the same…and if we want a spiritual guy, a guy we are hopefully praying for, we need to realize they will be looking on the inside. We need to be beautiful on the inside because that is what we can change. Awesome comment by the way Beth!!!
As for me I watch and hope for the Lord!
Great comments everyone!!
I totally agree with Jacob’s comment, EVERYONE who calls themselves a Christian should be practicing these attributes.
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
A beautiful or handsome person, a funny or loveable person is highly regarded amongst humans…but if they do not fear and love God they shouldnt be praised. Fear and obedience of our savior is far more important than looks or items.
This mainly goes to the guys.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
Looking ahead to marrage: We need to choose someone that we can trust obviously, A full 100% trust. We need to be able to find this person. They dont come along that easy. Like it says in verse 10….She is worth far more that rubies. A woman of noble character is hard to find. We need to make sure the person we pair up with has the qualities God tells us to look for in a girl.
30Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
the first part of this verse”charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting” is what the world thinks of a good person(charm and beauty). but for Christians it is fearing the Lord and following His commands is better than charm and beauty. those don’t give you eternal life and the unfailing love God gives us.
8 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
As Chrisitans we have to look past ourselves and start caring about other people. When we’re helping people in our community or giving to the poor, we need to not be doing it just to complete an assignment for school, but because we want to show God’s love to everyone.
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Great comments already on this… when we’re looking for someone to date/marry fearing the Lord has to be at the top of the priority list!
Happy last day of 2008, everyone! :]
8 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
this verse calls us out as Christians to stand up for others when they dont have the oppurtnity or voice to do it. throughout Proverbs we see that we need to take care of teh poor and helpless. in doing so, (with the right motives) we will shine like God intended us too, and we will be witnesses to those who arent Christians
Good way to end the Proverbs with a reminder to search for a wife who serves the Lord. We have to look past beauty, but look for a person who is “clothed in strength and dignity” is generous, and hardworking. Everyone pretty much took the words out of my mouth.
Happy New Years where we could continue to live in the grace of the Lord, serving him more and more.
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Very true. We need to look deeper than just the outside in finding the right person for us – a pretty face can hide an evil mind. It’s worth waiting for someone who has a healthy fear of the Lord.
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
it is so important for us to focus on someone’s character above their appearance. with all that the bible says about nagging wives, we should have a good idea on how much of a problem a quarrelsome wife can be. we need to be able to realize what is better for us in the long run.
8 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character
What an example of being kind and courteous! Jesus didn’t let the outer appearance bother him, he cared for everyone equally. He treated everyone with compassion and love. We need to do the same with people less fortunate than us. By doing this we are setting an example for non-believers, and we are spreading Jesus’s love to everyone. :)
love the comment jacobbb
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Exactly what Derek said……… looks arent everything, we should be looking for someone who truly fears the Lord and do that ourselves
Yeah. This chapter is basically completely and utterly awesome. I love it because it has so much truth but also gives us direction on how to be and what to look for in a person. It is true that a wife described in this passage is harder to find than rubies with the way the world is today. I love it though because, for some reason, it gives me hope. And that is a great way to end the year.
I apologize for my late comment. No excuse once again! but hey, I’m lov’n this chapter! :D
VSunshine, totally agree with you. It’s a great chapter for us girls to study and make sure that we are obeying our Heavenly Father and that we also have a strong fear of the Lord. It’s great for us girls to ponder on. And Jacob’s right, what is a Godly women going to be looking for? A spiritual man that has a strong relationship with God as well! God shows clearly how important it is to be equally yoked and all of us need to be praying for this, that God will provide and that it’s in His plans, I know I am! :D
v.10-29 really show how much God treasures a prudent and hard-working wife.
God admires these traits and rewards those who are like this. I’m glad I have parents that are like this and I’m blessed to be living in a home with such Godly parents. This describes them to a tee. :D
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
As a girl, this chapter was filled with information for me to follow. It doesn’t matter how we look on the outside, but what we do on the inside. We need to fear the Lord our God with all our heart, but love Him just as much along with trusting Him.