Mother's Day 2022

Proverbs 31:10–31 ESV

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.

Introduction:

Psalm 34:8 ESV

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

God is good and his goodness can be found in him identifying a problem that man was alone

And created the perfect helper for his need

And now women find their joy in giving themselves to this vital original need

It is of such importance that the devil has created tempting world philosophies that give you women a different purpose

It’s engine is fueled by selfish desire, instead of selfless service

It is vital that we examine scriptures to ground us against the attacks of worldly philosophies meant to steal our worship away

Here in proverbs we get great teaching for both women and men

Women you are to seek praise, value, strength and intelligence in fearing the Lord by giving yourself to service (homes, church etc)

Men, grow in your amazement of the service of the woman

I. Purpose of Women

A. Biblical

A great evidence of God being good to man is in his creation of the woman

Genesis 2:18 ESV

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Then God made a masterpiece in the woman for this need and it sends Adam into a joyful song (thankful amazement):

Genesis 2:22–23 ESV

22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

Eve was given to Adam to assist in his temple work

B. Modern Philosophies (Feminism)

Current worldly philosophies (feminism) is a far cry from this original purpose

Feminism says to live to serve man is backwards and not the purpose for women

Women should be free to do whatever they desire

This is nothing new but had its beginning at Eve’s fall

Genesis 3:1–7 ESV

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

She followed her own desires instead of submitting them to help Adam in his work

And this is the same lie that women believe and we see manifest now in modern feminism

The curse given to women being

Genesis 3:16 ESV

16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”

It runs in the sinful nature to strive against this service to men as we see in the prevalent wordly philosophy of the day

Modern feminism is an outgrowth of this tragic fall here

They hate God’s role for you women and they claim for a woman to be a server is degrading and makes you:

Without Praise or Honor

Valueless

Weak

Dumb

What’s ironic, in the book of proverbs, that list of characteristics is reserved for the godless woman, and the opposite of that list is shown in the woman who fears God

II. The Book of Proverbs and the godless woman

A book written to young men about how to live a life of wisdom

A major aspect is the importance of desiring the godly woman (A woman who fulfills Eve’s original purpose)

In the book we have examples of both the godless woman and the godly woman

The godless:

Proverbs 2:16-19 “16 So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, 17 who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; 18 for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; 19 none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life.”

Proverbs 19:13 “13 A foolish son is ruin to his father, and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.”

Proverbs 21:9 “9 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.”

Proverbs 25:24 “24 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.”

Proverbs 27:15-16 “15 A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; 16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.”

Proverbs 14:1 “1 The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.”

The major takeaway? The feminist accusation of a godly woman being without honor, valueless, weak and dumb is actually realized in the godless woman of proverbs

This is the great lie of Satan, to create a philosophy that says to submit to God means certain death for the women, and the way he takes you is selfish desires instead which the actual realization of that death

Now the book of proverbs ends with an example of the godly woman

III. The Book of Proverbs and the godly woman

Proverbs 31:10-31.

Acrostic and Chiastic

A. Fulfillment of being a help for man

31:10-12;23

Valuable (despite the wordly lies)

Men do you place such value in women?

B. Made possible in fearing the Lord

This is only possible when they fear the Lord (31:30)

To fear the Lord is to not lean on own desires and understanding but to submit to God (Proverbs 3:5-8)

This is only possible through Christ who trains us by his grace (Titus 2:11-14)

The modern philosophies teaches the opposite (to look to own interests)

Thus, far from liberating women, the modern feminist movement has enslaved women to selfish desires and to take them away from purpose given by God

C. The work of the woman who fears the Lord or The work of the woman who is trained by Grace

31:27 summarizes it well

Should it be any surprise that after women have been told looking after household is degrading that the American family is a wreck?

31:11-26 is marked by the characteristics the world says the biblical woman lacks: praise, value, strength and intelligence

Conclusion

A.

Women I hope you hear this sermon, and see this lofty role God has for you and lament your weakness

I hope you celebrate your role to be a server, and see the benefits that come forth from fulfilling that mandate from God

And I hope as you look upon the godly woman of scripture

You lament your weakness

Because in that lack you will be ready to be trained by grace through the work of Christ

B.

Men are you like Adam in which you break out in poetic verse when you consider women

“This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”

“Many women have done excellently but you surpass them all.”

Perhaps we need to revisit what God has done in creating the woman, and the perfect masterpiece he created in our counterpart

Are you leading your wife to be a proverbs 31 woman? To be trained by grace?

C.

Young men is this what you are looking for in a woman?

31:30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain....but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised

Look not primarily to outward appearances that tends not to do well with time

But look for a woman who loves the Lord Jesus Christ…because it is that woman who is willing to be trained by him

D.

Children do you rise up and call your mother blessed? 31:28

A good mother will create the environment around you and teach you to curb your natural desires to sin and to look to Jesus instead…when is the last time you thanked your mom for that?

What’s the final conviction we should have after all of this?

Romans 11:33 ESV

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

God has created man and female…and when both roles function in a way that honors him

Beauty is the result

In a time in which the world has chased vain philosophies, let us prove the timeless value of being trained by Christ by being a biblical man and wife

Miscellaneous notes and thoughts:

Most unpleasant chore

Taking out the filter of the septic and washing it out

An effluent filter is a cylindrical device installed on the outlet baffle of a septic tank that assists in the removal of solids from wastewater before it enters into a drain field. These effluent filters are designed to protect the drain field and allow for cleaner and more clear effluent to exit the tank

Growing up in the suburbs I enjoyed the ignorance of flushing and forgetting that it even exists. But with this chore, as I stare into the pit of the beginnings of the septic system, I am forced to not only to remember, but to touch, and smell....

As I pull out the filter and consider from whence this filter comes from, it is the similar reaction as I pull out the philosophy of feminism and consider from whence it comes from

Indeed, modern day feminism comes from the very bowels of Satan and his fallen angelic thugs

It is the vomit of all naturalistic nonsense

And just like what happens to anything that swims around in toxic waste for too long

So anyone who is enticed by this dung hill of a way of life is destined to the same fate

A most nasty and disgusting end

This is a masterful poem

Acrostic (each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrews alphabet_

And it’s chiastic

A: High value of a good wife (10)

B: Husband benefited by wife (11-12)

C: Wife works hard (verse 13-19)

D: Wife Gives to poor (20)

E: No fear of snow (21a)

F: Children clothed in scarlet (21b)

G: Coverings for bed, wife wears linen (22)

H: Public Respect for husband (23)

G: Sells garments and sashes (24)

F: Wife clothed in dignity (25a)

E: No fear of Future (25b)

D: Wife speaks of wisdom (26)

C: Wife works hard (27)

B: Husband and children praise wife (28-29)

A: High value of a good wife (30-31)

The center statement being about the man having respect (because of his godly wife)

The main point of the poem is not actual about the woman but about the man

This is for women in good instruction about being a godly women

And it is for men in what you should look for (and lead you wife) in being a godly woman

The book of proverbs is an instructional book on how to be a godly man

And a common theme is to avoid the wicked woman

And here the book ends on finding a godly woman

So women should listen to be instructed on what God requires of you

Men should listen to know what to look for in a woman

And if God has gifted you with the single life as a woman: still has principles you should seek to emulate

And if God has gifted you with the single life as a man: you should know this to help others who are looking