Principles of Motherly Nobility
Notes
Transcript
When you hear the word nobility, it often produces images of royalty or upper class people. A Google image search produced just that. I found a lot of paintings of old royal families and people dressed in fine attire. But the word noble is an adjective. It is a descriptive word. While one of the definitions refers to those born to upper class or royal families, the word describes someone who possesses high personal qualities or moral principles. When we understand noble this way, we can conclude that nobility has nothing to do with bloodline. Everyone can possess nobility.
Last week we addressed the essentials of fatherhood. As I studied this week, I came to find that capturing the essence of motherhood is both similar to that of fatherhood, but also very different. The more I read, the more I came back to Proverbs 31. Verse 10 begins with describing an excellent wife. That word excellent is this idea of nobility. What must a woman, particularly a mother, possess to be regarded as a noble woman? What does God establish as principles for motherly nobility?
Christian ladies will live with nobility when they follow these principles:
Respect and support your husband.
Respect and support your husband.
We talked about this a few weeks ago when we discussed the passage in Ephesians calling wives to be subject to their husbands. God has established the man as head of the house, but must carry out that duty responsibly. It is not God’s desire for Christian wives to take primary lead over their homes, but to join in partnership with their husbands to pursue God’s direction for the family. Take a look at how Proverbs 31 describes this principle of a noble woman:
An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
The first statement describes a woman’s worth. This one verse is like the thesis statement for this final section of the book of psalms. Every verse that follows seeks to qualify what makes a wife excellent, what makes her more valuable than jewels. Her worth and her value ultimately come from God, but a woman who walks with God is a woman to be prized, especially by her husband.
The next verses say that her husband trusts in her. She rewards him with good, not evil. In other words, a woman of nobility is an asset to her husband, not a liability. His life is enriched because of who she is. It is often said that most men marry up. This means that they marry a woman who outclasses them. This is merely a way to express the appreciation a man has for the wife he has.
Wives do their best work when they honor their husband’s position and support him in his role of head of the home. Her husband does not make her a Proverbs 31 woman. God makes her this, but she is provided as an asset to her husband. As we have already discussed, a marriage is a joint partnership where husband and wife share in responsibility while ultimate authority and responsibility are laid on the husband. This relationship serves as an illustration for the relationship between Christ and his church.
One of the keys of being a great mother is being a great wife. I know that not every mother is married, so ladies, understand that you can still be a great mom if you are not currently married. But if you are married, you do right by your children by modeling what a great wife looks like. That begins by respecting and supporting your husband. Don’t undermine him in front of your children. Don’t talk bad about him to your children. Do everything you can not to fight in front of your children. Save those things for private conversations.
Exhibit a strong work ethic.
Exhibit a strong work ethic.
The next portion of this proverb describes a woman’s work ethic:
She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.
She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.
She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.
She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.
A woman of nobility is a working woman. She shops for the things she needs. Wool and flax were used to make fabrics and clothing. She prepares meals. She doesn’t punch a time card in life. She creates. In verse 19, the distaff and the spindle were instruments in spinning wool and threads. She is a provider.
Take a look at verse 24:
She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.
A woman of nobility is a hard worker. She takes care of business. Look at verse 27:
She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
A woman of nobility is no slouch! She works hard. She is not lazy. Ladies, you were created for a purpose beyond child rearing. First of all, never look down on your duty to motherhood as somehow less than compared to having a career. Motherhood is hard work. Second, do everything you can not to let whatever work you do take priority over raising your children. Everyone has to work, but we can never lose sight of our responsibility to raising our children well. Ladies, work hard. It is a service not just to your husbands or you children, but to the Lord.
Make wise investments.
Make wise investments.
Next, let’s look at what this passage says about making wise investments.
She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.
She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.
These verses are not so much about the ancient real estate business as it is about being an astute investor. You don’t have to buy a plot of land to be a noble mother, but you do need to know how to make wise investments, and the biggest investment you can make is in motherhood.
Motherhood doesn’t pay well. If you have children as a means to wealth, ask my mom how that worked out for her, then rethink your decision! Motherhood means changing diapers, wiping nasty noses, cleaning unidentifiable substances off of kids and their clothes. Laundry is unending. Tantrums are unnerving. They are constantly ready to walk off a ledge. And that’s all before Kindergarten!
Mothers are always critical in the lives of their children, but it is especially true in the earlier years. I see the bond Christy has with Marci. When mom is around, she wants very little to do with dad. That’s okay. My time to shine is coming. Motherhood is an investment into the lives of children, but it is also a transformation in oneself. Many of you are hopefully enjoying the benefits of decades of hard labor in the trenches. For those of us still raising children in the home, ladies, invest heavily in your children. They are the greatest investment you can make.
Show care for others.
Show care for others.
Motherly nobility shows care for others. This is seen in the way a woman manages her household as well as how she treats others. This proverb portrays a woman that has a deep care for others. We already saw that it begins with her husband, but see how that same care extends to other relationships in her life. Looking back at verse 15, we see:
She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.
Even in the middle of the night will a mother get out of bed and feed her household. In this verse, the mother has not only children, but those who are hired hands living in her home. She takes care of anyone under her care.
But not only this, a woman of nobility has a heart for those who are strangers.
She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
This reminds me of how Rebekah was chosen as a wife for Isaac. The story can be found in Genesis 24. Abraham was getting old and Isaac had not yet married. He called to one of his servants and made him swear not to take a wife for his son Isaac from among the Canaanites. Instead, he sent him back to his homeland to find a descendant from his own family. The servant leaves for the city of Nahor. When he arrives outside the city, he stops at a well and prays to God for success. He has an idea in his mind of the kind of caliber of wife would be a good match for Isaac. Look at what he says.
He said, “O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham.
“Behold, I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water;
now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.”
So the daughters of the men of the city come out to the well and begin drawing water for their families. The servant sees Rebekah, says to himself, “She’s beautiful, she’s young, single, and working. This is good. Perhaps she’s the one.” So he goes over to her and he asks her, “Hey, could you please give me a drink from your jar?” What does Rebekah say? “Sure. Oh and I’ll go ahead and get some water for your camels too.” Do you remember how many camels this man had? Do you know how long it must have taken Rebekah to supply water for ten camels? A thirsty camel can drink about 50 gallons of water in three minutes! Assuming all ten camels were that thirsty, we are talking 500 gallons total! That would be like filling your bathtub around ten times by hand! This was quite the investment. What did this tell the servant looking for a wife for his master’s son? Rebekah was a servant of servants! This was quite the time commitment. The servant found who he was looking for.
A virtuous woman gives of herself selflessly. She looks to the needs of others within her own household, but also outside her house.
Ladies, how would you rate your level of servanthood today? Do you see yourself as one who tirelessly gives of herself to others? Are you primarily looking out for yourself? Motherhood has a way of calling this sort of selflessness out of a woman because now someone else is dependent on her care. I would also argue that women have more of a nurturing spirit. That’s how God created you. But we can also see how these qualities are not limited to mothers.
I love the fact that we celebrate all women on Mother’s Day because these principles of motherly nobility are not exclusive to mothers. Marci exhibited this quality for years before we had Christy. It was seen in how she loved our nieces and nephews. It was seen in how she nurtured other kids within the church. It was seen in her willingness to help total strangers.
It is this quality that no doubt leads the people in her home to echo the words of verses 28-29.
Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
“Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all.”
Fear the Lord.
Fear the Lord.
The final principle for motherly nobility is a fear of the Lord. The opening of the book of Proverbs says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Like I have said before, this is not the kind of run and hide behind a rock kind of fear. This is a reverence or respect for God’s position as the creator and sustainer of the universe. This is respect for his authority as supreme judge of all the universe. This is reverence for his character. He is a holy and righteous God. He is slow to anger. His understanding is deeper than we can ever know. He sees all, he knows all, he is over all. He has the means and the right to destroy us but he comes to us as a loving father, offering a way of escape from the wrath we justly deserve by offering his Son Jesus as a substitute for our revolt against him, only for him to rise from the dead three days later declaring victory over sin and death, and promises everlasting life to those who believe!
The book of Proverbs closes by saying,
Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her the product of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates.
Charm is alluring. Beauty is captivating. But if a woman does not fear the Lord, then it is deceitful and vain. Charm and beauty fade. A fear of the Lord endures forever. It is the fear of the Lord that makes a woman praiseworthy. A fear of the Lord is what makes an excellent wife and mother. It is what makes her more valuable than jewels. It is her fear of the Lord that drives everything preceding these final verses.
Ladies, live for your king Jesus. We need strong godly women who will lead their homes alongside their husbands. Christianity is a life of self sacrifice. In it we have our roles to play. When we trust God with the roles he has defined for us, God will do wondrous things in us and through us. Ladies, support your husbands if you have one. Work hard in the arena God has prepared for you, whether that is inside or outside the home. Make wise investments starting with the investment of yourself into your kids. If your kids are grown, then your grandkids or the kids in this church. Never underestimate the power of godly influence on young lives. Work hard at whatever you do, and do all of it with a healthy fear of the Lord.