Strength and honour are her clothing...

Proverbs 31:23-25

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.

The gates in ancient cities were built with an inner wall and an outer wall as a double layer of protection.  Between these walls was a space big enough for meetings to take place.  It is here where the leadership,  even the King and his advisors,  gathered to make important governmental decisions. Business transactions were negotiated and sealed in front of individual witnesses as well as in front of a public gathering of the people.  It is here where the husband of the Proverbs 31 woman is well known. He must have been an honourable man and well known in leadership and in business circles of the day.

Somehow we have the idea that in the Bible, women were only allowed to be at home, raise children and run the household.  I do not get that idea from Proverbs 31 at all.  This husband does not seem  threatened by any of her accomplishments, business transactions with the merchants or the work she does in general at all.  The writer of Proverbs 31 acknowledges his accomplishments as a leader as much as it acknowledges her accomplishments.  In fact, she is encouraged and supported by him in all her roles as a leader, a businesswoman, a mother, a provider and a person who lends a hand to the poor.  If he was not respected for the wife he had, perhaps he would not have been as known in the gates as he was. 

This woman is clothed with strength and honour and she rejoices in the time to come.  She looks forward to the future - some translations say she laughs at the future.  She knows who she is, who her husband is and she rejoices in her relationship with him because he respects her and she respects him.  She has an honourable identity and she knows who she is, and she wears it as a garment of strength and honour.

The points to ponder this week:

Our heavenly Bridegroom has given us talents with which we are to live out the calling He has for us.  Are we using them for the benefit of His Kingdom?  

Am I secure in my God-given identity and do I wear it with confidence as a garment of strength and honour?

Am I rejoicing in the future because I know my heavenly husband is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and I can trust Him with my future?  

Wedding day - Casting Crowns 

  

A Colourful fine linen garment...

Proverbs 31:19-22

She stretches out her hands to the distaff,

And her hand holds the spindle.

20 She extends her hand to the poor,

Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.

21 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.

In verse 19-22 we see how the bride, as represented by the Proverbs 31 woman, makes beautiful woven, colorful, durable and luxurious garments.  We see how she starts with making the cloth, once again from the raw materials that the Lord provided for her.  She spins the wool or linen herself into yarn that will ultimately be used to weave cloth with.  This yarn needs to be prepared and she dyes it in beautiful colours like scarlet and purple (which were very expensive).  What really stood out for me in this passage is that she makes garments for her own household and the poor - but - that does not mean that she neglects herself.  She also makes tapestry and clothing of fine linen for herself.  She does not just look after others - she makes sure that she takes care of herself, and she does so with luxurious tapestry and linen garments in rich textures and expensive colours. In Revelation 19:8 the following is said about the bride's garments:

Revelation 19:8

It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

The linen of the bride's garment is made of her righteous acts, in addition to this we read in Isaiah  61:10 the following:  

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,

My soul shall be joyful in my God;

For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,

He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,

And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

God Himself clothes the bride in garments of salvation and righteousness.  It is His garment of righteousness that we are clothed in, and out of that flows righteous acts, and those righteous acts become the linen of the bride as mentioned in Revelation 19.  In Proverbs the two colours that are mentioned are scarlet and purple.  Scarlet is a red colour so for me it will point to the blood of Christ that is woven into the bride's garment - it is through the blood of Christ that we are saved and become righteous, and then righteous deeds can be done.  Out of our own works that would not be possible.  The purple was a kingly colour.  It indicates a change in position.  When the bride is redeemed through the blood of Christ, she is made righteous and then she can be His bride.  Her position changes from being a slave to sin, to being the bride of Christ that does righteous acts.  She now is the bride of the King. His work of redemption is completed in her. 

This is surely reason to rejoice - look what Isaiah 61:3 proclaim:

"To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

This garment of the bride is also a garment of praise against a spirit of heaviness.  The King says He will give those who mourn beauty for the ashes of our broken and lost dreams, wrong choices and sinful acts.  He will take the ashes of our own frivolous works and replace them with beauty.  Give us the oil of joy in the place of our mourning - and we will be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord - so that He may be glorified!  What a precious promise.

The bride in Proverbs 31 understands this - therefore she takes the wool or flax and starts to weave with what God gives her in her hand.  Firstly the scarlet goes into the garment - the blood of Christ that gives us salvation, then the purple of a changed position in Him and then the beautiful colours of righteous acts that flow from there.

So the thoughts to ponder this week are:

• Have you accepted the garment of salvation that the King gives you?
• What am I weaving?  
• With what am I weaving?  
• For whom am I weaving?
• Do I remember and give myself permission to weave for myself?   

Garments of praise - Robin Mark

Her lamp does not go out by night...

Proverbs 31:18

"She perceives that her merchandise is good,

And her lamp does not go out by night" NKJV

"She perceives that her merchandise is good..."  

The bride, as represented by the Proverbs 31 woman, looks at her "merchandise" - the fruit of her labours for the King - and she perceives, she knows and understands that it is good because it is the fruit, or the product, of the labour of the Holy Spirit within her.  She knows the Holy Spirit produces it in and through her.  So what will be the merchandise of the bride of Christ in this sense?  The following scriptures explain much about this:

Galatians 6:7-9

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

The bride's merchandise is therefore the harvest of that which she has sown - it is her return on the investment she made with her labours and conduct in and out of season and she perceives it is good.  

"...her lamp never goes out by night..." 

The bride's light never goes out - not even in the dark times and seasons of trials and tribulations.  When the clouds of cultural darkness assembles itself and persecution is around the corner, even then her light shines brightly.  She wraps herself with the armour of light - Romans 13:12-14 "The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." When the bride puts on the Lord Jesus Christ, she cannot help but wrap herself with the armour of light - look what is written in Ps 104, how He is dressed in light!  

Psalm 104:1-2

My soul, praise Yahweh! Lord my God, You are very great;

You are clothed with majesty and splendor.

2 He wraps Himself in light as if it were a robe, (HCSB)

We can be assured and rejoice in Christ, for in John 1:1-2 we read:

John 1:4-5 (HCSB)

Life was in Him

and that life was the light of men.5

That light shines in the darkness,

yet the darkness did not overcome it.

The bride's lamp will never go out by night for the darkness cannot overcome the light of Christ in her!

So the questions to ponder this week are:

• Rejoice in the merchandise that the Holy Spirit already produced and put in your hand - give Him the glory for it!
• Reflect on what we are sowing - thus what kind of merchandise are we expecting to harvest?
• Are you and I wrapped with Christ and therefore with the armour of light?
• Do we believe that as the night deepens and darkness prevails in the culture of our day - that our lamp will never go out for darkness cannot overcome or comprehend it?  

Let there be light - Hillsong

   

She wraps strength around her waist like a belt.

Proverbs 31:17

"She surrounds her waist with strength

And makes her arms strong"

NASB

There is a footnote in one of my Bibles that states the literal translation for this verse can read

 "She wraps strength around her waist like a belt"

... and the Amplified describes it like this:

She equips herself with strength [spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task]

And makes her arms strong.

As I was contemplating this verse on strength, wrapping it around our waist and making our arms strong, wondering how do we do this as the bride of Christ, the following scriptures came to mind:

Nehemiah 8:10

Then Ezra said to them, “Go [your way], eat the rich festival food, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be worried, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and your stronghold.” Ampl

Ephesians 6:14

So stand firm and hold your ground, having tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart), Ampl

Ephesians 3:16-19

May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, 18 be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; 19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself]. Ampl

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

4 The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ,

So how strong would we be if we wrap joy around our waist and worship God with joyful arms held high.  When we dress ourselves with the belt of truth and stand our ground, when we bring every disobedient thought into captivity and subject it to the authority of God, breaking down all lofty arguments that exalt themselves against God?  How strong are we when we are strengthened through His Spirit in our inner man so that Christ dwells in our hearts through faith, being deeply rooted and grounded in His love for us, being completely filled and flooded with God Himself? 

That I think is a pretty amazing picture of the strength of the bride of Christ - and it is by no means a complete picture.

So the question for this week is:  What does the belt around my waist look like ?  Am I surrounded by His strength?  

"She surrounds her waist with strength

And makes her arms strong"

NASB

Your Love Surrounds me

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

Willing hands...

"She selects wool and flax
and works with willing hands."
Proverbs 31:13

In this verse we read how the bride receives raw materials from God and then with willing hands she works, prepares and produces useful items from it. She is creative in her labours and with a pure and righteous character she is a factory, producing and creating new, useful products from the material she receives from Him. Not only does she provide for herself and her family, but she serves others by providing in their need with her talents and resources also.

In our instant society we are so used to getting the finished product that we often do not even think about the processes necessary to produce those products. Our instant society fosters and develops a culture of consumerism and instant gratification, that in many instances is functioning in quite the opposite way. We buy, use and dispose and then buy, use and dispose again... we want and we want it quickly and without having to put the effort into developing our own creativity and skills to produce something of value, since it takes to long and after all, we don't need to because we can buy the finished product.

 

Thus, some questions to ponder for this week would be:

• What raw materials did God provide you and I with and what are we doing with it?
• Are we using our inborn creativity, our talents and gifts to produce those products that He designed us to do?
• What are those valuable things that you and I were created to produce, that provide for ourselves and others in the body of Christ and above all serve our King and His Kingdom?
• Are our hands willing to take the raw materials He gives and put in the effort necessary to produce the end product?

However, I do not think this verse is only about producing something of value with the raw materials we are given.  Wool and flax are symbolic of purity and righteousness.  So I think if we engage with God to take the raw materials he gives us and walk out the process with Him, much more happens than what meets the eye.  Let's liken it to the following analogy:

 

If a child wants a wire car to play with, the father has one of two choices.  He can buy the car and give it to the child, which will meet the immediate need and bring joy for a time, or he can provide the raw materials and spend the next six weeks building that car with his son.  At the end of that process much more happened than just having a wire car to play with.  The father developed a skill-set in that child that will last a lifetime and the child will be able to use those skills in many other life situations to provide for himself and serve others throughout his entire lifetime, but above all they had lots of time to do things together that built relationship.  It is in this process that the father uses every opportunity to grow the child's character, making use of teachable moments to produce purity and righteousness in him.  This process also passes on skills and talents to the son, making sure that these qualities are not lost and that they are grown from generation to generation.  So also, through the fruit of our willing hand's labour, a relationship with God is fostered and formed and cultivated in ways that are valuable beyond this lifetime.

 

Thus, two more questions to answer this week will be:

• What do we have that God intended for us to impart into the next generation?  
• Do we have willing hands to persevere through the process so that our character can be built in purity and righteousness, building a relationship with God that is of eternal value?  

 I think this video from Casting Crowns carries a message that captures many of these thoughts...

 

In the Hands of the Potter - Casting Crowns  

 

 

She rewards Him with good...

Last week I shared the thought to read Proverbs 31 from the point of view that it speaks of the Bride of Christ or the Body of Christ and then I thought to continue this journey in the same manner this week and possibly for the next couple of weeks looking at the rest of the chapter in more detail.  Thus this week we are looking at verse 12.

Proverbs 31:12

She rewards him with good, not evil,
all the days of her life.

So my question to the Lord was: 

"Lord how do I reward You with good and not evil, all the days of my life?" 

And then these scriptures came to mind: 

Deuteronomy 30:6

  ⁶ The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live. 

When we allow God to circumcise our hearts so that we will love Him with all our heart and all our souls, we shall live and we reward Him with good and not evil.  Come, Lord Jesus, come circumcise my heart so that I will love you with all my heart and all my soul and that I will reward you with good and not evil all the days of my life...

John 4:23-24

 ²³ But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. ²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

When I worship Him in Spirit and in Truth - I reward Him with good and not evil. 

So let us love and worship Him with all our heart and soul... 

I love you Lord with all my heart - Ray Watson

Proverbs 31

Proverbs 31 is one of those chapters in the Bible that I have always avoided to read because I just feel so inadequate when I read it.  It is a standard that is just too high to ever be able to reach.  However, recently we had an interesting discussion at a cell group about this chapter. What if we read this chapter in the context of the body, or bride, of Christ?  What if this chapter is meant to tell us how Christ as the Bridegroom sees His bride? If it can be read as a reference to the bride of Christ it gives us 'n picture of the mature and perfected bride - in other words it is the end result of what God is growing us into.  If we can read it as a picture of the body of Christ then it means that we do not have to be all of it all the time to everyone. We just need to do our part - that part that we are called to, and for which God created and equipped us for, when He intricately wove us together when He made us.  So suddenly this is a chapter that I read with new enthusiasm and an open mind, to see what the Holy Spirit will show me from it. 

Proverbs 31:10-11

Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
¹¹ The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.

Two questions to ponder from these two verses:

1.  Do I know how much value I have for God?  Do I know my worth?

2. Is my heart a safe place for Him?

Proverbs 31

In God's waiting room...

This morning in church the message was about being in God's waiting room and it made me think about the times that I recently spent in various medical settings in a waiting room.  I had a lot of time to observe the staff, the patients, the way people were treated and the way people wanted or expected to be treated. Everybody was not as patient with the waiting as was needed - to the credit of the medical staff they were always polite and helped as quickly and efficiently as possible.  Waiting is not easy, especially if you are not feeling well and you are waiting to be tended to.  Waiting is not convenient.  Waiting is not our first choice in any setting and I think in our instant world it is becoming increasingly difficult to wait for anything, let alone to wait on God.

Waiting on God can have different meanings, though. Waiting can be passive or active.  It can mean to literally passively sit and wait until something happens or your needs are tended to.  However the active meaning of waiting can be illustrated as follows.  A waiter waits on his or her customer.  It's not a passive thing, it's an active thing.  They wait to see if the customer gives an indication of something they need or if some piece of cutlery should be taken away.  Many years ago I had Sunday lunch with my parents at a hotel that offered a silver-service Sunday lunch.  Those waiters brought serviettes and dished up your food and cleared the table constantly.  Before you could even think something was needed, they already did it.  Recently I was eating at an outdoor restaurant and my fork fell on the pavement.  Before I could even catch the waiter's attention to ask him for a clean one he already got the clean fork and brought it to me.  That is an active way of waiting on someone.  What if we change our perspective of waiting on God from something that is a passive 'I-am-sitting-and-doing-nothing-till-God-answers-attitude" to an active waiting on God?  This requires keen detail observing.  Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus to see what His next move or instruction is.  God does not always give us all the information beforehand, but gives enough and if we walk in immediate obedience, the rest will follow and eventually we will have the full picture.   

So while in God's waiting room, waiting for that breakthrough or that promise to be fulfilled, what if we ask ourselves:

1.  What is God building/forming in me while I am waiting?

2.  What is God calling me to do while I wait?

3.  Who is waiting with me and why?  Who am I to be to the person who waits with me?  

I think the answers to these questions may give us enough to celebrate while waiting on God for whatever we are waiting for...

Wait upon the Lord - Leeland

Your Life Story Matters

We all have life stories. So many of the people in the Bible have their life stories or at least part thereof written up for us to read, that I am sure that there is a spiritual principle behind people's life stories, otherwise I do not think that God would have spent so much time on getting it recorded and embedded into what we today call 'scripture'. Jesus often used parables to teach people - many of them were stories, I think it is safe to say that your story matters and your story matters to God. And it matters so much that in Revelation 12:10-12 God writes the following about the power of our life stories:

“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom (dominion, reign) of our God, and the authority of His Christ have come; for the accuser of our [believing] brothers and sisters has been thrown down [at last], he who accuses them and keeps bringing charges [of sinful behavior] against them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them [in the presence of God]."

This is such a hopeful scripture because our life stories are not just beautiful - they are also filled with sinful behaviour that the enemy uses to accuse us before God.  This scripture says he does that day and night.  Imagine - day and night the enemy is trying to remind God about every sin we ever committed. He does not want us to forget and he certainly is not going to forget and if he has his way, he is going to make sure that God does not forget. However, our God is bigger than that. There are certain things the enemy can do nothing about. He can do nothing about the fact that the salvation and the power and the kingdom, the dominion and the reign of our God and the authority of His Christ had come when Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected, and that it still will come in a visible manner to and on earth at His second coming.

The accuser can do nothing about the fact that the sin of those who believe in Christ are forgiven and they are washed clean. He can do nothing about the fact that he will be overcome by the BLOOD OF THE LAMB and the WORD OF OUR TESTIMONIES, and by us holding on to faith even when faced by death. He can do nothing about the fact that the heavens and all those who dwell in them are rejoicing because the accuser has been conquered and will finally be thrown down.
 

Our life stories matter.  That part of your life story that the enemy uses to accuse you day and night, mattered so much to God that He sent His Son to change it into a powerful testimony that will be instrumental in overcoming the enemy.  

 

When we allow Jesus to clean and heal and re-write the ending of our life stories, He makes all things beautiful in time. The enemy would not want you to tell that life story.  He does not want you to share with others how much God has done for and in and through you because He knows it's part of God's tools to overcome him.  He will try to steal your voice.  He will try to silence you so that you will not  tell of the goodness of God in your life.  Be intentional.  Share the story of the goodness of God in your life.  Declare the failures of the enemy, by celebrating the victories of God.  Every time he tried to steal, kill or destroy something or someone in your life - tell the world how God did not allow it, how He overcame the enemy's attempt and testify how God built you up.  Heaven will rejoice with you! 

Let our lifesong sing to Him! 

Casting Crowns