My Daily Pause

It is hard to find a good wife,
because she is worth more than rubies.

Her husband trusts her completely.
With her, he has everything he needs.

…

She is strong and is respected by the people.
She looks forward to the future with joy.

She speaks wise words
and teaches others to be kind.

She watches over her family
and never wastes her time.

Her children speak well of her.
Her husband also praises her,
saying, “There are many fine women,
but you are better than all of them.”

Charm can fool you, and beauty can trick you,
but a woman who respects the Lord should be praised.
Give her the reward she has earned;
she should be praised in public for what she has done.

– Proverbs 31:10-31 NCV

At the beginning of man’s time, he knew something was missing in his life when there was no woman for him. (Genesis 2:18-20) God knew that out of everything he created, this situation was not good. As he took steps to fill in what was missing, he noted his intention that she be considered one and the same as her husband. (Genesis 2:22) A godly woman can be the difference for her husband’s salvation. (1 Peter 3:1-2)

A vast majority of the women of young America fit the Proverbs 31 description. They pioneered this land and made it the great Christian nation that it is. They were responsible for its growth, godliness, and family values. It is no wonder that we see these things deteriorating right before us as the nation continues to devalue the family as God designed it.

It is too bad that there are those that think they can do better with a mate other than what Proverbs 31 describes. They are turning their backs on the very beauty of God!

Daily Bible reading for June 27

Proverbs 31:10-31
Deuteronomy 29:1-30:10
Micah 6
Matthew 7:1-12

1 Corinthians 7 gives a general outline of how marriage works by God’s rules along with some good advice by Paul.

The Proverbs writer gave us the blueprint for the kind of woman to look for and to be. The “Proverbs 31 Woman” is the backbone of her family and Christian men would do well to look for her.

The Good Wife

¹⁰ It is hard to find a good wife,
because she is worth more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband trusts her completely.
With her, he has everything he needs.
¹² She does him good and not harm
for as long as she lives.
¹³ She looks for wool and flax
and likes to work with her hands.
¹⁴ She is like a trader’s ship,
bringing food from far away.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still dark
and prepares food for her family
and feeds her servant girls.
¹⁶ She inspects a field and buys it.
With money she earned, she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She does her work with energy,
and her arms are strong.
¹⁸ She knows that what she makes is good.
Her lamp burns late into the night.
¹⁹ She makes thread with her hands
and weaves her own cloth.
²⁰ She welcomes the poor
and helps the needy.
²¹ She does not worry about her family when it snows,
because they all have fine clothes to keep them warm.
²² She makes coverings for herself;
her clothes are made of linen and other expensive material.
²³ Her husband is known at the city meetings,
where he makes decisions as one of the leaders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen clothes and sells them
and provides belts to the merchants.
²⁵ She is strong and is respected by the people.
She looks forward to the future with joy.
²⁶ She speaks wise words
and teaches others to be kind.
²⁷ She watches over her family
and never wastes her time.
²⁸ Her children speak well of her.
Her husband also praises her,
²⁹ saying, “There are many fine women,
but you are better than all of them.”
³⁰ Charm can fool you, and beauty can trick you,
but a woman who respects the Lord should be praised.
³¹ Give her the reward she has earned;
she should be praised in public for what she has done.– Proverbs 31:10-31 NCV

The Good Wife

¹⁰ It is hard to find a good wife,
because she is worth more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband trusts her completely.
With her, he has everything he needs.
¹² She does him good and not harm
for as long as she lives.
¹³ She looks for wool and flax
and likes to work with her hands.
¹⁴ She is like a trader’s ship,
bringing food from far away.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still dark
and prepares food for her family
and feeds her servant girls.
¹⁶ She inspects a field and buys it.
With money she earned, she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She does her work with energy,
and her arms are strong.
¹⁸ She knows that what she makes is good.
Her lamp burns late into the night.
¹⁹ She makes thread with her hands
and weaves her own cloth.
²⁰ She welcomes the poor
and helps the needy.
²¹ She does not worry about her family when it snows,
because they all have fine clothes to keep them warm.
²² She makes coverings for herself;
her clothes are made of linen and other expensive material.
²³ Her husband is known at the city meetings,
where he makes decisions as one of the leaders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen clothes and sells them
and provides belts to the merchants.
²⁵ She is strong and is respected by the people.
She looks forward to the future with joy.
²⁶ She speaks wise words
and teaches others to be kind.
²⁷ She watches over her family
and never wastes her time.
²⁸ Her children speak well of her.
Her husband also praises her,
²⁹ saying, “There are many fine women,
but you are better than all of them.”
³⁰ Charm can fool you, and beauty can trick you,
but a woman who respects the Lord should be praised.
³¹ Give her the reward she has earned;
she should be praised in public for what she has done.– Proverbs 31:10-31 NCV

Like the women of Israel, the women of America that fit the Proverbs 31 description pioneered this land and made it the great country that it is. They were the responsible party for its growth, godliness, and family values. What a fitting tribute to great women after so many warnings against the ungodly kind throughout Proverbs!

Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a wise wife is a gift from the Lord. – Proverbs 19:14 NCV

The wife I was blessed with could have only come from God.

She rose to his requirement, dropped
The playthings of her life
To take the honorable work
Of woman and of wife.

If aught she missed in her new day
Of amplitude, or awe,
Or first prospective, or the gold
In using wore away,

It lay unmentioned, as the sea
Develops pearl and weed,
But only to himself is known
The fathoms they abide.

–Emily Dickinson

Bonus: Compare to Proverbs 31:10ff