Spirit Filled - A Wife's Character - Part 3
Notes
Transcript
Welcome- His little feet. Quick Business Meeting. (Ministry moneys)
Call to Worship Proverbs 1:1-7
Prayer
Worship through Song
Sermon
Scripture reading
Prayer
Communion - See Communion outline
Worship through Song
Benediction
Introduction
Introduction
Thank you for joining us this morning. I am Pastor Kyle for anyone who maybe joining us for the first time either in person or online. We have been slowly working our way through the section in Ephesians on husbands and wives. As Paul teaches to imitate God and to walk filled with the Holy Spirit we have come to see that everything that Paul is telling the church that they should be comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We looked at what marriage was before the fall. The perfect oneness of man, woman who have fellowship with God. When sin entered through the transgression of man we saw the impact of sin o each and every marriage from that point forward.
Last week we looked that that tricky word submit and how it is different than the way that we use it in our culture today. The word means to willingly submit to someones authority. We looked at he nature of this action and what submission is and what it isn’t. It is the willing behavior of a Spirit filled wife. But what we did not do was to define what the bible says that a wife should be. Today we are going to sit under his word and what God says about what a wife is.
This is where I think things get all mixed up. I can imagine that there is a tension here about what is going to come next. This can be tricky because many times we don’t hear everything that is taught. Some will only hear parts of what is said and they will make conclusions and run with them saying “Well the Pastor said this or that” and others will come with preconceived notions and assumptions and they will actually hear something that is different than what is taught. As we pray this morning I ask that you lift up prayers together that each of us hears only the words and teachings of God this morning.
Let us Pray.
Go ahead and turn to proverbs 31. We will be starting in verse 10 and going through the end of the chapter. This is the last section of the Proverbs. I am curious how many women here have heard of the Proverbs 31 Woman? I would assume any woman that has been around the church for any substantial amount of time will have come to hear about this intimidating woman. In the entire bible this is the most specific set of teachings on being a wife and a woman, They are controversial in our world today but this is what we are going to look into today.
It is my hope that after today we will come to sees and understand what God sees and teaches in his word. There is quite a bit of confusion about these verses for many different reasons and we will dig through many of those this morning.
Let us stand as we read God’s holy word.
10 Who can find a wife of noble character? She is far more precious than jewels. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will not lack anything good. 12 She rewards him with good, not evil, all the days of her life. 13 She selects wool and flax and works with willing hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from far away. 15 She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and portions for her female servants. 16 She evaluates a field and buys it; she plants a vineyard with her earnings. 17 She draws on her strength and reveals that her arms are strong. 18 She sees that her profits are good, and her lamp never goes out at night. 19 She extends her hands to the spinning staff, and her hands hold the spindle. 20 Her hands reach out to the poor, and she extends her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all in her household are doubly clothed. 22 She makes her own bed coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is known at the city gates, where he sits among the elders of the land. 24 She makes and sells linen garments; she delivers belts to the merchants. 25 Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the time to come. 26 Her mouth speaks wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the activities of her household and is never idle. 28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also praises her: 29 “Many women have done noble deeds, but you surpass them all!” 30 Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised. 31 Give her the reward of her labor, and let her works praise her at the city gates.
So let us start with the first question that we must ask. Who wrote this? Some believe that the entire chapter is written by one author and others believe that the first nine verses are by one author and verses 10-31 are by a separate author. If it is a single author then it is defined in verse 1. The chapter starts with
1 The words of King Lemuel, a pronouncement that his mother taught him:
This king Lemuel is not mentioned in any other text in the bible. There are not any historical documents that seem to say who he is. There are a couple of theories. One is that this is a name that Solomon’s mother gave him and that since he writing down her teachings then Solomon would be writing Bathsheba’s teaching to him. The first part of the chapter on wisdom to a king and the second part is wisdom to her son. This is a pretty common interpretation but it is not concrete. If this is true then, the Proverbs 31 woman is based on the teachings of a mother to her son and this would be a guide of the type of woman he is to look for and what type of wife is righteous in God’s sight.
Another view is that these are teachings to daughters. Since the primary scope of Proverbs is teaching and defining wisdom to young men and they were taught in the home that this last section would be a specific section of wisdom to daughters in who they are to grow up into. Either way these demonstrate biblical guidance to wives.
The other thing to not here is that this section is poetry. It is a 22 line acrostic that each verse starts with a new letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This means that there is no distinct order of precedence in the teachings. These are a poem to inform the reader of heart of a woman of honor. This is why the author seems to bounce around in their thought and it not intended to be an exact representation of a wife. However we get to see the important characteristics of this woman.
Her Character
Her Character
She is Noble
She is Noble
10 Who can find a wife of noble character? She is far more precious than jewels.
A wife of noble character, your translation may was a virtuous woman, a woman of excellence. This is a woman of high value, of excellence she has a noble character. this is who she is. Before she does anything else in this poem she first is a woman of high value. More precious that the fines jewels. In our culture today we do not value character. We do not value what is on the inside of a person. We value what is on the outside. Their power or influence in the world around us. Unfortunately that is always fleeting. But it isn’t what God values. He states someone who is noble is of high value.
1 This saying is trustworthy: “If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work.” 2 An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not an excessive drinker, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy. 4 He must manage his own household competently and have his children under control with all dignity. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and incur the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the devil’s trap.
One of the attributes of a person with high value is a person that cares for other people while in the service and under the authority of God. Character is a huge part of the requirements for the churches leaders and is highly valued in the home as well. The life this woman lives comes from her obedience to God and her care of others. Because of this character she gains something special. The trust of her husband.
She is Trustworthy
She is Trustworthy
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will not lack anything good. 12 She rewards him with good, not evil, all the days of her life.
Because of who she is, she is found to be trustworthy. She gains a special place in her husbands heart, the place of trust. In other word he has faith in her. Faith that she will do him good and not harm. He doesn’t have to sleep with one eye open. He doesn’t need to hover and control because she is faithful do him and the family. He releases parts of his family ad life and puts them in her care. He knows she will do what is right.
Trust. That seems to be a perverted thing today. We have to sides of the coin. We cannot trust anyone anymore. We don’t trust the government, we don’t trust our pastors and elders, we don’t trust our spouses, we don’t even trust our children anymore and to be honest due to false and incomplete teaching and doctrine many Christians do not even trust God anymore.
The other side of that is that many are blindly trusting people and agencies that do not have noble character and take advantage of the naive and gullible.
Trust is so important to the body of Christ. But here is the truth. Of the hundreds of scriptures that speak of trust many are warning and command of what not to trust in.
Warnings to not trust in the riches, ourselves, foreign nations, idols, friends, weapons, humanity, nobles, false gods, empty words, walls and cities, brothers, mankind, your works, your beauty, your own way.
God’s Word tells us to only trust in the Lord, in God, in His Word, to believe in his Son and the name of his Son.
And
The wife of noble character!!!
Let that sink in. This woman is the one exception to trust in something created.
Scripture condemns trust in anyone or anything apart from…the Lord…. This present exception elevates the valiant wife, who herself fears the Lord, to the highest level of spiritual and physical competence.” (Waltke)
She is Strong
She is Strong
17 She draws on her strength and reveals that her arms are strong.
To draw on, uses the image of a woman butting on a belt of strength. It reveals her strength as she goes about her duties.
25 Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the time to come.
She is confident in the future and has prepared for what is to come. She isn’t a mouse in the corner but a strong prepared woman.
This leads her to not be afraid of what is to come.
21 She is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all in her household are doubly clothed.
Your translation may say her household is clothed in crimson or scarlet. This illustration does not translate well and most believe that it refers to thicker clothes or double layers. But the point is that she has prepared for what is to come. She is also a teacher of her home.
She is a Teacher
She is a Teacher
26 Her mouth speaks wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue.
8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching,
20 My son, keep your father’s command, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching.
Wives are to be teachers in the home and to be teachers of younger women in the family of believers. This is not and should not be minimized. Women are not inferior in intellect and carry a very vital role in teaching in the family and to the next generations that follow.
3 In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to excessive drinking. They are to teach what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered.
This who this women is. She is noble, trustworthy, strong, and wise. This is who she is. and she is all of this because...
30 Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.
21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ. 22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord,
This woman is who she is because she fears, respects, honors the Lord her God. You see HER WORTH IS WHO SHE IS NOT WHAT SHE DOES it is who she has become in willful submission to God.
And because of this her work also has great value.
Her Work
Her Work
Her work can be split up into two areas, in the home and out of the home. Let’s start with in the home.
In the Home
In the Home
13 She selects wool and flax and works with willing hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from far away.
This woman is a good steward of the resources that God has provided the family and the portion of the resources that have been entrusted to her. I can remember pulling and cutting coupons from the news papers when I was a kid. Getting hand me downs from cousins and many other ways that we saved money in our home. This woman is conscientious of how the household can carefully manage the money of the home. We don’t really know what it is like to live in a home like hers. She doesn’t have a credit card. If she miss plans she cannot just charge it and pay the bill later. If she gets to far in debt there isn’t bankruptcy. If she does not manage well, most likely there will be times that they don’t eat. In order to do this she does things like.
19 She extends her hands to the spinning staff, and her hands hold the spindle.
22 She makes her own bed coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple.
She finds ways to make the money go a long ways. She makes clothes but she manages well enough that she is able to make fine linen and purple. These are not the clothes that everyone is afraid of getting from grandma each year. The way she does this is that.
27 She watches over the activities of her household and is never idle.
She is in constantly aware of what is going on in the home. She knows what the kids are doing what they need. She is not apathetic or complacent with the home.
15 She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and portions for her female servants.
She gets up early and provides food for her family and in that time is wasn’t uncommon to have servants. This woman was full of care for anyone in her home. But her work did not stay inside the walls of the home.
Out of the Home
Out of the Home
24 She makes and sells linen garments; she delivers belts to the merchants.
16 She evaluates a field and buys it; she plants a vineyard with her earnings.
18 She sees that her profits are good, and her lamp never goes out at night.
She takes care of the house so well that she is able to produce a product that leads to being able to buy and provide finances to the family. Not independently of the family but with the family. She is a contributor to the value of the household. She also has a heart that isn’t greedy.
20 Her hands reach out to the poor, and she extends her hands to the needy.
Her Reputation
Her Reputation
Because of her work she is praiseworthy. Her support of her husband and the family allow his to be who God wants him to be.
23 Her husband is known at the city gates, where he sits among the elders of the land.
Not for him to pursue worldly dreams but to become a man submitted to God and leading his family well.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also praises her: 29 “Many women have done noble deeds, but you surpass them all!”
Her children and husband praises her. She is worthy of the praise and the reward of her labor.
31 Give her the reward of her labor, and let her works praise her at the city gates.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As I close today, there is a battle in the world and in the church. and that is the battle over the roles of husbands and wives. We have the traditional Lordship idea. That I am the head of the houshold and therefor my wife is to obey me. Not only is this unbiblical but it is also not Christ like or loving. We are commanded to love our wives as our selves.
The second is Egalitarian beliefs. This is- relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities. Those that believe in this concept would believe that the teachings that I just gave are sexist and biased.
Many believe this from verses like:
28 There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.
This is true in the sense that God does not show partiality or play favorites. Men and women are equally saved, equally intelligent, equally spiritual but they are not the same. They work together in a complementary way. This are not independant.
11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, and man is not independent of woman. 12 For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman, and all things come from God.
See if we believe that every is completely equal in all things then we can start to swap out men for women in all part of society and faith. If man is equal to woman then I can marry man or woman because there is not difference. If all things are equal what does it matter if a person chooses to change their gender. This is what is going on in our world today. A child is equal to the parents therefore they can make life altering medical decisions but they cannot sit for a drivers test. It is all ok until a man proves he is not equal when he starts to set women’s records in swimming. When men dominate in women's sports. Or when a mon comes to the realization that he cannot have a baby.
Men are not women and women are not men. Adam was not complete without Eve and Eve would never have been complete without Adam.
You will notice that the scriptures did not define who does dishes or fixes the car. It did say that the wife who fears the Lord will manage he home well. Men and women are different. We care differently and think differently. Things that Tricia do naturally are so foreign to me and things I do naturally are foreign to her. Though single dads and moms take on both roles there are difficulties learning and doing the things that come natural to the other parent.
What is the value of a wife? A godly wife? Priceless.
I don’t believe there is any task more important in God’s eyes than raising our children in the fear of the Lord. There is so much about the value of the family and the importance of it. It is so important that sate of the family can and should disqualify a man from being an elder or Pastor. That’s what the bible says.
What does it mean when we have a child care crisis? Every child has a mother. So what does that tell us about the focus of mothers. Work vs kids
$14,500+ $17690 befor taxes, driving 2100, lunch 1250, coffee 2000, clothes 1800 = $21650 ($26,414)
Men do not go out to find a woman who is doing this, for she is already married. And women do not attempt to be this woman. Men seek a woman who fears the Lord values what God values. Who lives to the best of her ability in her weaknesses and setbacks but wants nothing more to follow the Lord. And women I simply put it this way.
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
Summit to him, love him with everything that you are. Know that you will never be perfect and that the Proverbs 31 woman is a poem. But the truth of the poem id valid. Fear the Lord, and you will be of Noble character. Someone who is trustworthy, strong, and wise, whose work is of great value, and will be praised by her husband, children, and the community.
This is my experience. My wife isn’t perfect and she will be the first to admit to that but she has alway desired to be the mom and wife that she believed God wanted her to be. To me and me alone “she has surpassed them all”.
Pray
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.