The Wise Mother

Introduction

The poetry that is lacking in English

In Hebrew the writer is using an acrostic in which each of the verses beginning at verse 10 and ending with verse 31 begins in order and continues in sequence with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet.

And so what the writer is doing is writing a tribute to every virtuous women, every virtuous wife, every virtuous mother, here in this congregation today.

The wise mother, this A to Z mother (if we were to use our English Alphabet), this A to Z mother we will find out is more than a mother, she is a A+ Woman!

An anonymous writer once wrote concerning the A+ Woman:

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.

Anonymous

Mothers, what I want you to know this morning is that you are much more than just a mother.

You are a homemaker, a worship leader, a role model, an encourager, a blessing, and we could go on and on.

And to be wise your are to be complete.

This is why I believe the write of Proverbs 31 makes use of the acrostic in which he uses.

You are to be an Alef - Taw woman, an A - Z woman,

A complete Woman.

For you men here this morning, I want to just say, as one of you, we do not have the ability to be such a person.

We cannot be all the things our wives are called to be.

It is impossible for a man to be an A - Z man, a complete man.

You see that was our problem in the very beginning.

God created man is His image but there was something lacking, he was incomplete, so God caused the man to go into a deep sleep and he removed the rib from the man’s side and formed the woman.

And when God brought the woman to the man, the man said:

Genesis 2:23 “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh;

The man was made complete through the woman.

So, men, by the time we are finished this morning, and this goes to all the children here this morning also, (There is not a lot of difference sometimes between Men and children, the men just want more expensive toys, thats all),

When we are finished this morning, each of you should have a new perspective of your wife and mother.

She is an A+ Woman!

Henry Drummond even once this to explain the importance of a wise mother:

Most of the stones for the buildings of the City of God, and all the best of them, are made by mothers.

Henry Drummond

So what are the qualities of a wise mother, how does this mother receive an A+ rating?

Well first of all a wise mother is an admirable woman

The Wise Mother is an Admirable Woman

Proverbs 31:10–11 NKJV

Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain.

If you have your Bibles circle the word virtuous.

Basically and simply the word means good and good woman, a good wife, a good mother.

And beginning here in verse ten this is what the original Hebrew writer is going to tell about and describe

A Good Woman A Good Wife A Good Mother

But the Hebrew word for virtuous carries with it the sense of value.

It is the quality that something possesses that renders it desirable or valuable or useful.

And the writer says that a virtuous woman is worth her weight in Rubies, one of the most precious stones in the Old Testament, a stone so precious, so valuable that it was one of the jewels placed in the breastplate worn by the High Priest.

Now a Ruby of this value can be estimated to be worth somewhere around $10,000 a carat, that is $22.7 million dollars a pound.

So, my dear friend, if your wife weighs 120 pounds,

Well for the sake a multiplication let’s just say that she is beyond price!!

You cannot buy her value!

The first attribute of a wise mother, an A+ woman is that she is an Admirable Woman! worth more than you can ever possibly pay!!

Secondly, the wise mother is an ambitious woman

The Wise Mother is an Ambitious Woman

Proverbs 31:12–14 NKJV

She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands. She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar.

An ambitious mother is a woman who possesses a strong inner drive to see that not only herself, but her children, and her family thrives and succeeds in all that they do.

Think about Jochebed, the mother of Moses.

Jochebed gave birth to her son Moses at a very difficult time. It was a time when the Pharoah of Egypt was putting to death all of the male infants born in the Hebrew families.

But Jochebed was ambitious, determined that her child was not to be murdered nor was he to be troubled.

And the Bible records that she took the young child and hid him until she could no longer keep him hidden.

And then, out of sheer determination, she built a little boat and placed Moses in it and sent him floating down the Nile praying that someone would have compassion on him.

Little did she know that the one that found compassion was none other the the daughter of Pharoah who took the boy and raised him as her own child.

Not only does a wise mother have a strong desire and determination to see her family succeed, but notice in verse 13 that she does it willingly or as the New American Standard Bible translates it, she does it in great delight.

While all other women are out achieving their personal goals, the wise mother is answering the highest call of all, she is being a mother, being a homemaker.

She is ambitious, putting forth all her efforts to see that her family is well cared for, clothed, and feed.

The Wise Mother is an Anointed Woman

So you see that a wise mother is ambitious but take note what verse 15 says about a wise woman.

Proverbs 31:15 NKJV

She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants.

She is anointed, The wise mother is an anointed woman!

She has been anointed as the care taker of the home.

Let me take just a second to explain this verse so you mothers can absorb the full truth spoken here.

If we just casually read this verse we would assume that the woman spoken of here has a house full of servants, maidservants, that are there to take care of all the work that has to be done.

But if she has a house full of servants, why is she getting up early every morning, before the sunrise, getting out of bed before the chickens and cooking breakfast?

If she has all of these servants, why is she doing all the work around the house?

Some of you moms this morning would say, “If I had as many servants as she has, I could get it all done just like she did. If my husband would give me about six maids, I’d show him what I could do.”

Well first my dear lady, you’ve have more servants today than any of the women of the Old Testament, no matter how rich they were.

Not a one of this women in the Old Testament had a washer and dryer, an electric stove, a shark robotic vacuum cleaner. They had no air conditioner, no microwave, nor running water.

I am sure it can get old real quick hiking out to the stream to get a pale of water.

But listen, this is not at all what the writer is saying,

The wise mother, The A+ Women gets up before dawn and begins her daily communion with God, gathering spiritual food for her household. That’s what the writer is talking about.

She is gathering manna for her children, maidens,

She begins her day worshipping the God of host having a quiet time making her request and needs of her family known to the King of kings and Lord of lords and patiently listening for His instructions for the day.

Verse 30 tells us that she is a woman who fears the Lord.

Throughout all of our lives together, back when I used to work 12 to 16 hours a day. I would never wake up in the morning and find Kim sleeping. She was always up early with her study Bible and a concordance open on the kitchen table, receiving the anointing to do the work God had called her for, to raise our children and care for our home.

It is a habit that she even continues to do now for not only me and our children, but now for each of our grandchildren.

Mothers, without the anointing of God in your life, you cannot be a wise mother, I know of no other way to say it.

Next on the list of the qualities of a wise mother is that she is an Astute Woman, look at verses 16-18.

The Wise Mother is an Astute Woman

Proverbs 31:16–18 NKJV

She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night.

Children, husbands, did you know that your mom was an astute business woman.

She has such good business sense that she can be driving down the road and see a field and decide that it would be a good investment to buy that field. She could plant a huge garden there that would provide food for her family.

Just that right there, men, should point out to us the wisdom that a wise mother has.

We men do not think like that. We that in selfish ways, what that field could do for us.

A could friend of mine, Richard Moss, we called him Dewey, he was always gathering up scrap wire that was left behind when we would be wiring a building or a house. And he would take that wire and burn off all the insulation and sell it for scrap copper, which at times would bring a good amount of money.

And I would say something like, “man Dewey, does Shanon, his wife, does Shanon know about all this cash you get from that wire.”

And his reply would always be, “no way, if she got a hold of this money she would want to go buy groceries for the kids, this is my toy money.”

Listen men, if you are in the middle of a business deal and just out of the blue your wife comes up and says, “I don’t feel good about this” Don’t start asking questions or trying to reason with her.

A wise woman has intuitions about things that we do not have. If she is having bad feelings about something you get out of the deal and walk away, no questions asked.

A wise mother is an astute woman.

Keeping the house to her is not something she tries to get out of the way so she can do something else. She is not a housewife; she is a homemaker. She is a good economist.

Listen mothers, I believe that many are doing a big mistake by not teaching the practical things in life.

If you do not teach your daughter how to cook and sew and do the practical things you are doing them an injustice.

Do you know that girls today graduate from college and do not know how to cook. They do not know how to hem a pair of pants or balance a checkbook.

Many in today’s society call that progress, because these things in the eyes of the world seem to be unimportant today. But here in God’s Word, when God is describing a astute woman, God takes time to say, “Here is a woman who perceives that merchandise is good. Here is a woman who can take wool and flax and sew and take care of things.

So far we have seen that a wise A+ mother is Admirable, ambitious, anointed, and astute, all inward qualities of a wise mother.

But a wise mother does not only possess inward qualities, beginning here in verse 20 we find that she also has many outward qualities.

And the first outward quality that we see in a wise mother is that she is an affectionate woman.

The Wise Mother is an Affectionate Woman

Proverbs 31:20 NKJV

She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.

Let me begin by just saying that there are poor and needy and there are rich and needy people in the world.

You may gather clothes to give to those in need.

You may cook meals to take to the hungry.

Or maybe your neighbors next door who live in that fine home and have that big four wheel drive truck and that high price sports car, maybe they are needy because they don’t have Jesus.

The point is, the wise mom not only takes care of her home, but she is a woman who has a heart for others.

She is a woman whose heart just goes out to others in need.

And don’t we need these wise moms in our homes today, loving others and at the same time putting into application what they have been teaching their children how we are to care for those in need.

But notice too that she does not neglect her own family, this is made evident throughout the text.

There is a joke that talks about a woman who got into politics, and oh she was so excited, she was gaining popularity in the polls and it looked as if she may even make it to the governors mansion one day.

She was neglecting the children and neglecting her husband. But she told her husband as she was looking at the poll, and she said, “We’re going to sweep the state.” and He said, “Why don’t you start in the kitchen?”

A wise mother will never neglect her home for selfish reasons, she is affectionate but at the same time keeps her home first priority.

Notice that the wise mother is also an assertive woman.

The Wise Mother is an Assured Woman

She is a mother that remains calm and confident, rooted in her trust in God.

Do not read the scripture, it is on the screen

Proverbs 31:21–22 NKJV

She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

notice verse 21 says, “She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet.”

What could this mean?

And then verse 22, “She makes tapestry for herself; clothing is fine line and purple.”

First of all and most importantly, Let me tell you, this woman has gotten up with the chickens, she has had her quiet time with God, she’s has been handling all the business of homemaking all day, supervising her vineyard, caring for the poor and needy, balancing the books, reading the newspapers searching for coupons to make wise choices for the food she buys.

And the whole time she is not anxious about the elements of the world in which she has sent her little children out in. Because she knows she has them dressed in scarlet. She has covered them in the blood of Jesus throughout her prays and the ways that she has taught them.

Even as she is going about all her work, she is still praying for them. Being obedient to the Word of God which says to “Pray without ceasing.”

And then at the end of the day, man, let me tell you men, I hope that you love your wife for all the work that she does in a day caring for the family and for the house.

And she closes her day in the same way she began, on her knees in praying praising God for His blessing of the day, covering herself in royalty as she approaches the throne of God.

And we are running out of time but I want you to see one more quality of a wise mother.

So far we have covered all the qualities that a wise mother has that gives her an A on the report card.

But there is one more quality and if the wise mother possesses this quality she is an A+ woman.

And that is, the wise mother is an Zealous Woman, a Zealous Woman.

The Wise Mother is an Zealous Woman

Proverbs 31:27–31 NKJV

She watches over 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 daughters have done well, But you excel them all.” 30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.

Look up here mothers,

Do you want to know what you are made of?

If those people who know you best and live most intimately with you say you are real, then it doesn’t make any difference really what anybody else says.

If you have that kind of a witness to your children, that they see all the enthusiasm and energy you spend pouring out love upon your home, upon your children, upon their father, that all you do doesn’t just end with the husband and the children, that it even reaches outside,

Then the Bible says, “Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.”

To her children, to her husband, and to her neighbors she’s known as a godly woman, a woman who fears the Lord.

She is zealous for the things of the Lord.

I am convinced that if we just had more wise mothers, A+ women here in America today our world would change overnight

I do want to make one thing clear as we begin to close, I am not trying to put a burden on someone and make you suffer in comparison and say, “Well, my mom failed here or my wife fails there.”

Nor to I want to make you feel incriminated.

Not at all!

What I am saying is that the only way to be this kind of mother, this kind of father is to fear the Lord.

Notice one more time verse 30:

But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

Becoming a wise mother, an A+ woman is only possible because of Jesus.

Conclusion

Soft-hearted mothers rear soft-headed children; they hurt them for life because they are afraid of hurting them when they are young.

Charles Spurgeon