Providing food for herself and others

"She is like the merchant ships,

She brings her food from afar.

She also rises while it is yet night,

And provides food for her household,

And a portion for her maidservants.

She considers a field and buys it;

From her profits she plants a vineyard."

Proverbs 31:14-16 NKJV

In Proverbs 31:14-16 there seems to be a theme around the provision of food.  We see that these verses speak of different ways of providing food and it speaks of different groups of people the food is provided for.

The ways in which the woman of Proverbs 31 provides the food, are:  

• She brings a whole shipload of diverse kinds of foods from a far country.  
• She rises while it it is still night to provide and prepare the food.
• She buys a field and plants a vineyard.

The people she provides for are:

• Her household.
• Her employees.
• Herself.
• Her generations to come.

Looking closer at these points in the context of the analogy of the Proverbs 31 woman being the bride or body of Christ, we see that, like the merchant ships that source a rich diversity of the choicest products of far countries, she seeks far and deep with the help of the Holy Spirit in the Word for spiritual food and finds a diversity of spiritual truths and treasures in those deep and far places.  She brings all these treasures home so that she and others can enjoy the benefit thereof.  She rises while it is still night.  It is in the deep, dark and difficult night seasons where there is often a lot of pain that the products she brought from the far countries are processed and prepared, so that her whole household (her family, friends, guests and employees) will be able to enjoy and feast on the spiritual food she found, processed and now provides.  Not only does she provide for one season, but she also plans and implements a long term project to ensure provision in the seasons and for the generations to come.  With the fruit of her labours she buys a field and plants a vineyard.  A vineyard is symbolic of her own intimacy with God.  She takes care of her vineyard so that there will be a continuous harvest -  in seasons and for generations to come.  She therefore does not just focus on the immediate needs, but also has the vision and wisdom to do in this season what is necessary, so that there will be a harvest and provision in the seasons to come.  To do this she knows that she needs to look after her own intimacy with God to ensure that it will bear fruit continuously.  Her vineyard is a treasure that she passes on to the next generation as a blessing to them.  

So the questions for us this week are:

• Are we seeking and sourcing the spiritual truths God has for us in those far countries?  Are we making time to journey through His Word and in fellowship with His Spirit to ensure that we fill our our ships with these treasures to bring back home?
• What kind of food are we preparing in the night seasons when life is difficult?  Are we preparing a wholesome feast for our household and employees?
• Are we planting a vineyard?  Are we tending, guarding and keeping that vineyard of ours - for ourselves but also for the seasons and generations to come?    

The Sower's Song - Andrew Petersen