You will have when and where. Until Your blessed face I see, Your rest, Your joy, Your glory share. Amen. The Holy Word of God, Proverbs 31, page 701 in the Blue ESV Bibles. And we'll be looking now at part two of our two-week working through this chapter. So both as quick review for those who are here and a quick summary for anyone not here, Proverbs 31 is both more about women and less about women than we usually think when we hear the words Proverbs 31. It's more about women than we usually think because it's really written by a woman. It's one of those chapters which has as its first human author a woman like the Song of Deborah in Judges 5 and other chapters because it is the words of Lemuel that his mother taught him. And verses 10 to 31 is a poem that she taught her son. And that's part of the context. And so it's more about women than we may at first think. And it's also less about women because sometimes we forget those first nine verses and the instructions, the prayer of Lemuel's mother for her son and specific to his role as king and those things. And so we'll read verse 1 and then we'll go to verse 10 and we'll read our text verses 10 to 31. So beginning with verse 1, the words of King Lemuel and Oracle that his mother taught him and then we'll go now to our text for this morning beginning at verse 10 of Proverbs 31. An excellent wife who can find She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not harm all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant. She brings her food from afar She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it. With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the distaff and Her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them. She delivers sashes to the merchants. Strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also and he praises her. Many women have done excellently, but you surpassed them all. Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands and let her works be praised in the gates." So far, the reading, the grass withers, the flower fades. The word of our Lord endures forever. Dear congregation, of our Lord Jesus Christ, the mother's prayer continues. Again, that's the context. It's a mother's prayer for her son. It's a mother's prayer for her son to find an excellent wife. It's a very plainly a poem. It's a poem that would lend itself to memorization because this is one of the acrostic poems in the Hebrew Bible from A to Z. There's 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, verses 10 to 31 start with each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It's all part of the context of how this is given. And so right there we can stop and say this isn't just a text which is especially to women who are married, and in ways it is. It's also especially to men about thinking about what kind of woman they should look for when they consider marriage, even as there is much here for each and every one of us. And as this poem is given, it is true. It comes in a specific context. As Lemuel is a king, we're not surprised to see that some of that includes specific words about what a wealthy woman could do. Just right here, I'm going to point out one thing, brothers and sisters. Her lamp does not go out at night, verse 18. It's not saying that she works 24-7. Sometimes mothers do come close to that, especially when the newborn babies are waking up in the middle of the night and all those kinds of things. That's not what the picture in verse 18 is saying. It's a picture of wealth. The lamp does not go out. They can afford to keep the lamp burning all the time. And it's contrasted with the picture of the poor who cannot light the lamp. Jeremiah, the prophet, and others use that picture. in the Old Testament. And so this is, there are some specific things here, right? This is about a wife, a mother, there are children. It also is including a context of wealth. But brothers and sisters, there are broad principles here which are very profitable for each and every one of us to consider. And we very much have an increasing importance in our points this morning. Our theme is this, trusting in the Lord let us grow in trustworthiness and virtue. And growing towards that trust in the Lord, which is our fourth point, her true piety, we have an increasing importance from her working hand to her open hand to her kind attitude before we get to her true piety. And so let's come to her working hand Brothers and sisters, this poem of the excellent wife, the noble woman, the worthy woman, the wealthy woman, the valiant woman, all of those would be possible translations for the Hebrew word there. The ESV chooses excellent, the excellent wife. What we see here in the description of here, in her description, much of it is focused on her hard work, her commitment to hard work. Work that she does willingly. She does it willingly. Look at the end of verse 13. Her willing hands. And right here, brothers and sisters, we run into the first broad principle that certainly speaks to each and every one of us. We always need to be a little bit careful about that phrase, the good old days. But if we think about the good old days, And about maybe one plain issue, there should be a couple others, where there has been a sad decline in our nation in the last decades. It's willing workers. It's someone who's willing to go and work hard and work willingly. There has been visible change in that, even in my lifetime. And so right here, We see much of the description of this worthy woman, this excellent wife, is focused on her willing hands and all of this work of her willing hands, all of this diligent work. And right here, this is an application for everyone. Two things that should be simple. Working willingly, working reliably, that should be simple. But right now, we are in a generation which especially struggles with the sins of laziness and idleness. But the worthy woman, she does not eat the bread of idleness. It could be tempting to do as little as possible as a homemaker. You're your own supervisor if you are a homemaker, and that's again the specific context of Proverbs 31. And then even she might have a further temptation in that as a wealthy woman, she has maidens, maidens, the end of verse 15. She has female servants in the home. That's even the first context. And today, what do we have? We don't have maidens, but we do have dishwashers and washing machines and things like this. And as we think about all of the work of homemaking, there's so many things that can be done from hour to hour, but you're also your own supervisor. And so being a good homemaker, it requires diligence. It requires a diligent commitment to be self-motivated in being hardworking. And if it's hard to find hardworking people today, it's even more difficult to find self-motivated hardworking people. Again, this is something that we can all learn from brothers and sisters. Well, the hard work that this worthy woman is involved in, it's tied to the primary kinds of work that women of her time could do. It especially is focused upon the textile world. Look that she knows how to find and make materials, verse 13. She knows how to fashion those materials. We see that especially in verse 19. And then she knows also how to sell those materials that she is making, and we see that especially in verse 24. But beyond this, she even steps into areas that we would not normally read about women stepping into in this day and age. She also knows how to make a good purchase of land, verse 16, and how to be involved firsthand in the working of that land. Verse 17, she dresses herself. Literally in the Hebrew, she's girding up her clothing. In more modern terms, she's rolling up her sleeves and getting involved in the hard work on the land itself. All of this is part of the portrait of the excellent wife of Proverbs 31. And brothers and sisters, to this day, women can still be involved in all kinds of labors. Indeed, the areas where women can work is really expanded. And that is a healthy thing. There are simply more jobs for men and women than there used to be. And now the context can really broaden. And we can think about many different things that women could excellently put their hands to and skillfully put their hands to. As we're thinking about this, one more aspect of hard work to highlight on, and this comes back even especially to the home making and to the keeping of the home and the providing of the home, and that is that she provides meals for her household. Verse 15, she rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. Brothers and sisters, it is a daily labor for many women to provide food for the household. It is not an easy thing. But here we have the picture of a woman skillfully doing this, creatively doing this. Look back at verse 14. She is like the ships of the merchants. She brings her food from afar. We might say that a 2024 paraphrase of that is she searches out tasty recipes from all different places. That's the kind of picture we have from verse 14 into verse 15. She's creative in this labor. She makes tasty food, getting the recipes from far places, and she does this work diligently, providing food for her household. And then there's a hidden word there which gives an interesting picture for the mother because the word for food in verse 15 is literally the word prey. And so the picture, the word picture that comes in this poem is that the mother is providing food for the home, something like a lioness going out and hunting down prey and bringing it back and providing for everyone. But with that, I want us to think about another hidden word in the text. Because as the woman is doing all of this, she is not doing it all as her own master. The headship role of the husband still comes clearly through this poem. And we see that in verse 12. She does him, her husband, good. and not harm all the days of her life. And we also see it in the Hebrew, but not really in the English, of verse 23. There's a hidden word here. And I'm going to tell you what it is, partly because, and I'm going to tell all of you, including our young boys and girls, partly because this is the only book where you're really going to hear this anymore. If you are a young boy or girl in 2024, you're really not going to hear this movies or books or anything like that that you find today. Because the hidden word is that when the text says her husband, in the Hebrew it's literally her lord. Her lord is known in the gates. Right here, let's stop and consider a couple of things. First of all, this is not only an Old Testament idea. 1 Peter 3, verse 6, speaking in New Testament language, speaks about the example of Sarah, who obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. And so here's this excellent wife. She's doing all of these things, but she's not doing it as her own master. It is very plain that she's doing it under the authority of her husband. Again, this is not just an Old Testament idea. Christian wives to this day should be comfortable with using titles of respect to speak to their husband. When's the last time any of our wives here called their husband something like Lord, Master, Leader, Head? Frankly, it just doesn't sound right today. Because it is so counter-cultural. It is so counter-cultural. Think about this. Imagine a best-selling book series. And book four of the book series comes out. And there's two characters, and they're married. And let's say maybe they weren't married in book one. But now they're married in book four. And this best-selling New York Times, best-selling book series, these two characters, these two major characters who are now married, the wife turns to the husband and says, I'm so glad you are my leader, my master, the head of our home. You lead our home even better than you lead our city. Can you imagine a book today using that kind of biblical language? Because that's biblical language. If it happened, and it wouldn't happen because even if the author wanted to say it, the publisher wouldn't publish it. If it happened, the Twitter mob would come out. You could just see the screenshots put on the internet. This is not the way the world speaks today. But it's biblical language. She does all these things, but she doesn't do it as her own master. It's written in a context, a context of marriage and a home and of children. And so she does it with her husband as her authority over her. And that's very plain in verse 12 and in the Hebrew of verse 23. And so brothers and sisters, I want us to step back and I want to ask, what is your attitude? Does the Twitter mob and the attitude that totally surrounds us, does that sound right to you? or are you ready for biblical language? Now, with this, let's come to our second point, and our points are not all going to be the same length today. Her open hand. Because while verse 23 would have been very easy for the ancient world to read, oh yeah, wife calls her husband Lord, that's of course, the rest of this chapter would have sounded very strange in the ancient world. A wife taking charge of all of these things? Having such control over the family funds that she's making purchases of land? Being involved in all these different aspects, taking charge in so many different ways? That would have been completely countercultural when it was written. and for a thousand plus years afterwards. This stands against the attitudes of the ancient Near East. This stands against the attitudes of the Greeks and the Romans who came after them. This stands against the attitudes of many tribes and peoples to this day. A Proverbs 31 woman is clearly under the authority and and working for the reputation of her husband in some ways. She does him good and not harm. But she is plainly given a key role and an active role and an authority to even spearhead the generous giving to those in need. Chauvinistic male superiority views are contrary to biblical male authority views. Authority is not the same thing as superiority. And this chapter plainly stands against both the common attitudes of our day and the common attitudes of 1000 B.C. It clearly teaches both the headship of the husband and the worth, more valuable than rubies, together with the many faceted opportunities of the woman. And so, brothers and sisters, let us see this and let us see how it's worked out in generosity. She has control of the family money. In various ways, she can even consider the field and buy it, verse 16, and she spearheads then the generosity, verse 20, she opens her hand to the poor, which is a poetic way of saying she opens her hand in generosity. She reaches out her hands to the needy. But how does she do all this? Because there is a progression here, is there not? There are people who might work hard, but then it's all just for them. It's just for their own gain, for their own reputation or whatever it is. And so there's a progression. We have to get from the hard working hand to the hard working hand being willing to work hard. to the hard working hand being ready and open and generous, but now all of this needs to be done with a good attitude. We are progressing as we now get to her kind attitude. Look at this excellent woman. She's not only doing all of this work with her hands, and she's not only opening her hand in all of this generosity, she's also, verse 26, opening her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. And let's just stop right there and bring this back to the first context, the context of a mother in a home with children, and let's think about how difficult that is. all the meals made, all the laundry spearheaded, all of the emotional support for children at different ages and with different attitudes who need to be dealt with in different ways and all of the children waking up at different hours of the night and the excellent wife is dealing with all of these things. She's also perhaps involved in industry in various ways at the same time and then She has to speak nicely to people while she's doing this? She has to be ready to speak a word of wisdom and kindness? That's harder than the hard work itself, I would challenge. Do all of these things and then speak kindly? Now again, this is in the first context of a mother in a home. But again, we step back and this general progression applies to all of us. Do you work hard with willing hands? Are your hands open in Christian generosity? And are you doing all of this with wisdom, love for God, and kindness, love for neighbor? That is challenging. That is challenging. It's one thing to work hard and then get snappy and angry at everybody who's not working as hard as you are. It's another thing to have all kinds of diligence and at the same time to be filled with words of kindness and wisdom and love. It's a willing, cheerful, kind worker. Oh, brothers and sisters, this is a difficult, difficult calling. And then, before we get to our fourth point, which is our crowning point, let us hear this, because it's plain in the text. It could have been our fourth point if we made this fifth point, but It is not only that the worthy woman should be speaking words of kindness, we also see in Proverbs 31 that the worthy woman should be hearing words of kindness. It should not be a one-way street. Look with me especially at verses 28 and 31. Verse 28, her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also and he praises her. And then in verse 31, give her of the fruit of her hands and let her works praise her in the gates. She's under the authority of her husband. Yes, that's true, but let her never be dominated. Let her voice never be lost and let the whole community praise her, verse 31, but verse 28, it starts in the home. And husbands, especially if your children are young enough, because children do not by nature express gratitude. That needs to be taught. It needs to be learned. So husbands, if you are not praising your wife, especially when the children are young. If you are not taking the lead and saying, thank you for hunting down this meal as our lioness. Maybe she would appreciate that language from Proverbs 31.15. Maybe not. Thank you for homemaking, for providing for us, for all that you do. Husbands, if you are not taking the charge in that, especially when there's only young children in the home, then the wife is not going to be hearing it. And so it especially falls upon all of the husbands here so that their wives would not have thankless days. And it is a very sad thing when an excellent woman has a thankless day. She should be speaking in kindness and wisdom, and she should be hearing kindness and wisdom. Now, I started with the husband, with the father, but children, boys and girls, look at verse 28. It actually first mentions the children. Her children rise up and call her blessed. Do you thank your Mothers. Even if your mother's no longer the homemaker or caretaker in the home with you, even if you're older, do you still call up your mothers and honor them and express gratitude to them and respect them? But now let's come to our fourth point because brothers and sisters, not everyone is a woman. Not everyone is married. Not everyone is in a home like this. Even if you are, you're not always wealthy. Some of the opportunities here are expressly in the category of what a wealthy woman could do, Again, the original context, that's not surprising. Lemuel was a king. These were instructions for him to find a wife in a special way. And then we think about the hard work and the opportunities for industry. Again, this is not going to look the same way for every faithful woman, and we're not all women. So what does all this come down to? And then, of course, there are There are other things that can break apart this picture of Proverbs 31. So what does it all come down to? As we progress up the levels of importance, what is the crowning characteristic? It's her true piety. She fears the Lord. The end of verse 30. And again, that is the continuing theme in the book of Proverbs. We see it in the very beginning. We see it right in the middle. We see it here at the very end. And we see the importance of fearing the Lord, trusting upon the Lord, leaning upon the Lord, and not upon your own understanding. We see it expressed at key points throughout the book of Proverbs. And so that even this book, full of all these practical and pithy often short sayings that speak to us for all kinds of different situations and specific places and times and seasons of life. What is it all but the Word? Because all of the hard work, all of the generosity, all of the kind words are nothing if there is not a holy fear of the Lord. And all of the hard work that you might be unable to do, all of the ways that Proverbs 31 may be impossible for you because of your life situation. If you fear the Lord, that is what the Lord calls us to. That is the primary thing for each and every one of us. Our work is never perfect for no man, for no woman. Only Christ is perfect. Are you hardworking? Good. But you can never do everything and you will never be perfectly diligent. Are you generous? Good. But you can never solve world hunger and you will never be perfectly generous. Are you kind? Good. But you can never show kindness to all people. You're just one person limited in time and space. And you will never be perfectly kind to everyone that you know. It comes down to this. Do you fear the Lord? Do you fear the Lord? Do you repent of your sins and trust in the Lord? Because all of that is part of fearing the Lord. This is the message of all faithful prophets. It was the message of the one faithful prophet. Matthew 4.17 summarizes the ministry of Jesus Christ around the word repentance. Are you coming to the Lord? Are you fearing the Lord? Are you repenting of your sins? Are you depending upon Him? Luke 5 says it this way, and if you turn there with me, I'm going to read another text from Luke in a moment. Luke 5.30-32 Luke 5, verses 30-32, And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus answered them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Brothers and sisters, when we would see a just and faithful husband working together with a diligent and generous wife, well, that can be a great blessing within that marriage, that home, that household of faith, that community. And it may even be praised at the gates. And that would be a blessed thing. We do not always see that in royal families or in all families. What is praised in a much greater way than this? What is not just praised at a city gate, but what is praised in the gates of heaven? Luke 15, verse 7. Heaven rejoices whenever a sinner repents. This stands above all else. And this is praised and will be praised above all else when we fear the Lord. when we fear the Lord, when we repent and trust in Him. And then one more text from Luke. Who helped the earthly ministry of the Lord in a special way as the good news of repent and believe and you will be saved and heaven rejoices whenever a sinner repents. who were special assistants of the Lord in his ministry. Luke 8, verses 1-3. Soon afterward, he went on through cities and villages proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God, and the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chazza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna and many others who provided for them out of their means. And so the portrait of Proverbs, 31 women, finds a special fulfillment in the women, some single, some married, who even gave special assistance in the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. and faithful prophets before Christ and faithful preachers after Christ will proclaim that same good news. Fear Him, for there is salvation in Him. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, We pray, oh Lord, that you would.