Proverbs 31 - Week 5 - Family and Household

Proverbs 31:21-31
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes tapestry 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,
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 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.

This amazing woman has no fear of the snow because she has clothed her household in scarlet. During the hard times of winter she doesn't fear for her household but she has made sure that through winter they are clothed well with fine and expensive scarlet wool. Not only does she clothe her family well but her own clothing is of fine linen and is purple and colour of royalty.
She knows that her family is covered in scarlet which is symbolic of the Blood of Jesus. Se has covered her household in the blood of Jesus so that they will be able to weather the cold and hard winters in their lives. She also knows who she belongs to. She is the King of King's daughter and she clothes herself in royalty, strength and honour.
She rejoices about the future and when she opens her mouth it is with wisdom. She watches over her household. Not only is her husband known at the gates when he sits among the elders but so is she. She and her husband work together to keep their household running. She looks after the internal workings of her home life and he works on the external. They compliment each other. Her husband praises all she does and she encourages him.

So to wrap up the series, we see that Proverbs 31 women are women of strength and are clever in business and run their family well and are caring and nurturing. She is a blessing to those around her. What we learn from the advice this mother gives her son is that she tries to shape an idea of what her son must look for in a wife but also what qualities he needs to have in order to be worthy of her. She tells him that this woman does all these things and is all things but she is strong in the Lord and fears the Lord and that when he finds this woman he will bless her and praise her and their children will rise up and call her blessed.

Single women and men. Guard your hearts and your spirits. Do not open yourself to just anyone. God will show you the right person to share your life with but in that time give your heart to Him and Him alone. Seek Him first and His righteousness. Don't lean on your own understanding but trust Him completely.

Women you are put here for a purpose. God didn't create you to be like man and do everything a man does because otherwise he would have just cloned Adam. But instead he put Adam to sleep and fashioned woman from his rib. This is how close we become to our husbands. We are right beside him. We protect their hearts and with their strong arms and they shield and protect the most precious person in their lives. They needed a helper and we are that helper. God saw all of creation was good and man was good but what was not good was that he was alone and needed a helper. And God made us perfect for this purpose.

Be who God created you to be and don't settle for anything less than the best that God has always had planned for you.