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Proverbs 31
31:1 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
2 What are you doing, my son?1 What are you doing, son of my womb?
What are you doing, son of my vows?
3 Do not give your strength to women,
your ways to those who destroy kings.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine,
or for rulers to take strong drink,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing,
and wine to those in bitter distress;2
7 let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.3
9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
10 4 An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
15 She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She dresses herself5 with strength
and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.6
22 She makes bed coverings 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;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to 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 women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.
[1] 31:2
[2] 31:6
[3] 31:8
[4] 31:10
[5] 31:17
[6] 31:21
(ESV)
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
One of the rhythms that we have here at Redeemer is every few weeks, I ask someone different to come and to share their testimony. I think it's an important, part of the liturgy of this church, that we hear more from more than just the pastors. We hear from one another, that we had the opportunity to testify as to the Lord's grace in our lives. And so this morning, I have asked Mary Eleanor Trucks if she would come and share. And Mary Eleanor, we look forward to hearing from you.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:I'm so sorry for those of you who are hearing it for the 3rd time. When Joel texted me this week and asked me to share today, I quickly tried well, first of all a chill went through me And then I tried to think of an excuse, a good excuse where I could get out of this. And then Joel send me this text and I quote, if you love Jesus, then you should think of this as an opportunity, a great opportunity, to testify of his beauty and power. End quote. And then he added, but absolutely no pressure.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:I've got it. I've got it on my phone. I'll probably leave it there. Good morning. I'm Mary Eleanor Trucks.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:Richard and I have been married for 51 years. Yes. He is a saint. We have a wonderful family. Mary Becca, Laura Beth, Rich and his wife, Jennifer, and their children Olivia and Charlie, and Jim and his wife Lindsay.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:I was blessed to be born the middle child, yes I am a middle child, in a family of 5 in a pastor's family. My father was brother Jimmy Cantrell and he was the pastor of Third Presbyterian Church on Birmingham's south side. It was a wonderful time growing up. We had nothing and yet we didn't realize it. He served as the 2nd pastor following brother Brian, his entire ministry there for 37 years.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:My mom worked beside him playing the piano and the organ and teaching piano lessons, which I missed out on. Like all children, we went through the communicants class. After which, I joined the church not knowing what it meant to know the Lord. But I was a member. It wasn't until many years later that I found out there was more to being a Christian than just being a member of the church.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:And later, I came to know the Lord. When you've been raised in a Christian family and church, it's sometimes hard to actually pinpoint the day and hour and time where you pray to receive Christ. But I know that he is my savior and that I trust in him. I thought that being a preacher's kid was a great thing. That is until my 1st year at college.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:I went to Judson, which is a Baptist Girls School in Marion, Alabama. My roommate told me she was scared to death to meet me and to room with a PK because all the preachers kids she knew were wild. Well, I thought maybe that's because you only know Baptist preachers kids. Shortly after college, Richard and I married and within only a few months he was sent to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam conflict. I stayed in Birmingham and taught 7th and 8th grade at a school in North Birmingham called Carrie a Tuggle.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:While overseas, Richard felt the call to go into the ministry. So after his tour of duty, he came back and finished his undergraduate work at Sanford. And then we went on to Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. 3rd prayers called Richard to be their 3rd pastor. A week after his ordination and installation, my dad died of colon cancer.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:He had been gravely ill for months and we had spent each weekend driving back and forth from Jackson for Richard to preach. We felt like we knew the congregation having both grown up in that church, but were we ever in for a shock? It's a lot to learn how to work with people. It wasn't always easy being a pastor's wife. There were many trying times because I tend to let what people said to me or about me or especially criticisms about my husband bother me.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:I thought everyone was supposed to like you. Right? So lesson learned, try not to take criticism to heart, which is easier said than done. Being a mom has been my full time job and I loved almost every aspect of it. When your children are little, you think that these times will never end, And they will.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:It was hard for me to let them go. We homeschooled before it was popular to do. Then 1 by 1, they entered high school, then college, and then their vocations. And my job changed. So I threw myself into caring for my sister, my mom, and my aunt.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:And 1 by 1 that changed. All this time I was busy working in the church and I loved it. From Bible studies to teach in Sunday school, to choir, to children's choir, to musicals, to major dramas at Easter where we actually had Jesus on a cross and crucified him. There was big time to to vacation Bible school, plus being at every service. My life and those of our children were totally immersed in our ministry at 3rd.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:The busier I was, the better. I loved it. And then after 40 years, that changed. Richard retired. And the church I have loved and been raised in since birth, the same church we had raised our children in, no longer needed us there anymore.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:We had to leave. Certainly not because we were forced to leave. No. The congregation and the leadership honorably retired Richard and wished us well. But I thought this church needed us, needed me in order to keep going.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:They called a new pastor and the church has continued to go forward under its new leadership without us. That didn't diminish the pain of change, of being separated from the body of believers that we had loved, as well as the place where I had worshipped all of my life. Change has not been easy for me to walk through and I certainly have not done it very gracefully. It's been difficult to let go. To let go of our church.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:To let go of our children. To let God lead them in what he would have them to do. God has never changed in all of this. My circumstances have, but he has never. His love for me continues and he's making a way for our family.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:My life changed from having a purpose to wondering what next. To going from a church where I knew everybody by name, to a new church where I knew very few, and to new Sunday routines. The 1st Sunday after we left 3rd, we visited Redeemer with Jim. He actually invited us. You all welcomed us and seemed genuinely glad to see us come back Sunday after Sunday as we said in the back.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:But you're all so young. And we're well, I I try to put it this way when Denny I guess all of you know Denny. The first Sunday he welcomed us he said, oh I'm so glad you're here because now I won't be the oldest one here anymore. So thank you for receiving us every week. For letting me get my feet back under me after all these times of change.
Mary Eleanor Trucks:For showing us how such a young congregation loves each other and welcomes strangers, even old ones, into their midst. And for showing us each Sunday the love of God as you worship him here. Thank you.
Joel Brooks:Thank you, Mary Eleanor. I enjoyed that every time. Mary Eleanor's son, Jim, said that I would never ever get her to share her testimony. And I said, well, you grew up Presbyterian, so you're used to people only speaking grace. I'm gonna give some good guilt to get her up there.
Joel Brooks:And it worked. See y'all. The reason I asked Mary Eleanor to share is because of our topic this morning, which is Proverbs 31, the excellent woman or the excellent wife. You could go ahead and turn there. And, as you're turning there, I wanna tell you where we are going to be going for the next few weeks.
Joel Brooks:Next week is either going to be fantastic or terrible. We'll we'll see. We're gonna do something very different. I'm just going to walk through the Bible in an hour. I'm actually gonna bring a marker board up here and we're just gonna walk through the whole thing beginning with your table of contents and just walk through the Bible.
Joel Brooks:Did that about 5 years ago. I think it was beneficial. We're gonna try that again. So be sure to bring a journal, you know, a fresh pen or pencil, because we're gonna go over a lot of material next week. Then the week after that, we begin a new series, which is going to be on the gospel and the life of David.
Joel Brooks:So we're going to be walking through 1st and second Samuel, and that's gonna take us probably all the way through spring break at least. And I'm really looking forward to that series. But this morning, we bring Proverbs to a close. And I'm gonna begin reading in verse 10. An excellent wife who can find, She is far more precious than jewels.
Joel Brooks: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.
Joel Brooks: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.
Joel Brooks:Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the staff and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and she reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all of her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes her bed coverings for herself.
Joel Brooks: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 merchant. Strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come.
Joel Brooks: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 surpass them all.
Joel Brooks: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 praise her in the gates. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks, Lord. Pray with me.
Joel Brooks:Father, we thank you for this woman that we have just read about and for preserving this text over the years that we might benefit from her wisdom, see the beauty of your wisdom. Pray that you would write that wisdom deep in our hearts. I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore. Lord, may your word remain and may it change us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus.
Joel Brooks:Amen. Okay. So, women, be honest with me. As you heard me going through that chapter and reading all of the characteristics of this woman, were you inspired or intimidated? I mean, she's a pretty remarkable woman, so I would understand if you felt just a little defeated as you heard everything she does so well.
Joel Brooks:She takes care of her household. She cooks amazing dinners. She brings the food in from afar, so she's cooking exotic dishes. She makes all of her kids clothes. She runs her own business.
Joel Brooks:She even makes her own wine. She owns her own vineyard. She also dabbles in real estate, while also running a soup kitchen. People flock to her because they just love to hear her teach. She regularly works out at the gym.
Joel Brooks:Perhaps, she does Pilates or CrossFit because we read that her arms are strong. I mean, she is an amazing woman. And let's just be honest, if she had an Instagram account, every one of you would be following her, and you would love and hate her at the same time. Wouldn't you? She's essentially Joanna Gaines.
Joel Brooks:Okay? That's that's who she is. I mean, come on, is anybody really that great, that good? Does all those things really that well? A matter of fact, this woman is presented as so remarkable to us, that a lot of readers just kind of assume that she didn't really exist.
Joel Brooks:She was just made up. You even find some commentators who also agree with this. And I will say that most of those commentators are women. They're like, trust me. No one is like that.
Joel Brooks:But I would argue, actually, that she is a real woman. She seems very rooted and grounded in history. There's nothing here to indicate that she is not real, except for perhaps a description of her children rising up to bless her. That's a stretch. But I do think she existed and she is written about here because she exemplifies the wisdom of Proverbs.
Joel Brooks:Now, if you were thinking there's absolutely no way that one woman could do all of those things, I would agree with you. If it was describing all of those things in the same season or at the same moment of time, that would be impossible. But that is not what I think is happening here. I think what we are seeing being described is a lifetime of wisdom. I've actually read some obituaries and perhaps you have 2 of of godly women.
Joel Brooks:And they've read remarkably similar to this description here of this Proverbs 31 woman. And what you see over a lifetime, the way, the the women and those obituaries have taught and they have served and how they were faithful spouses and parents and it's what a lifetime of wisdom looks like. So she represents wisdom, I think, over the long haul. Whether she's an actual person or not, don't get hung up on that because that is the purpose of this poem is to show you what wisdom looks like. You wanna understand what the previous 30 chapters of Proverbs are all about?
Joel Brooks:Look at this woman. I mean just think about it. Over the last 9 weeks as we've been going through all the different topics that Proverbs has brought up, you have heard sermons on the value of hard work, of being a faithful spouse, of using your speech well and to bring healing instead of hurt to others, Of using your wealth of taking care of the poor, of being humble, of serving. This woman checks every one of those boxes that we have gone over the last 9 weeks. That's why she is presented here to us at the end.
Joel Brooks:It's as if God is saying, you wanna know the beauty of my wisdom? You wanna know what that looks like? Look at this woman. Isn't she amazing? The way that she speaks to others.
Joel Brooks:The way that she serves, the way that she creates, the way that she contributes to society, that is what a life lived under my wisdom looks like. And can you imagine if the whole world lived that way? How transformed this world would be. I think that's what we're supposed to do as we come to this text. I think that's why it's here at the end and that's why it's actually written in a really unique way.
Joel Brooks:It's written different than the other chapters of Proverbs. This is written as a poem. This woman is described in 22 verses. Each one of those verses begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It's an acrostic.
Joel Brooks:None of the other chapters of Proverbs are like this. This is to stand out here. And I think the reason that the author who wrote this did it as an acrostic with the entire Hebrew alphabet, is because they wanted to say, you want to know the a to z of wisdom? You want to know all about wisdom. Here's the dictionary right here.
Joel Brooks:Study this woman. And guys, I do wanna just say this, that although this is a woman here, she is not being presented to us as a model woman. She is being presented to us as a model person. She is a model for everyone. I know, that this chapter, for some reason is often just you know relegated to women's bible studies with women's teachers.
Joel Brooks:I do not know why because we all have so much to glean from her. And also should probably point out that this is not just for married people. The word that's translated an excellent wife here, that word in Hebrew can be translated virtuous woman as well, and some of your translations might have that. This woman here is married which is why they translate it excellent wife. But it's the same word that's used to describe Ruth.
Joel Brooks:When she was widowed, she was single. She was an excellent woman or a virtuous woman. And I actually think it's helpful for us to hold up Ruth along with holding up this excellent wife here, because they both have the same description of an excellent woman, but very different lives. This woman here in Proverbs, she was wealthy. She was healthy.
Joel Brooks:Her life seemed to be fairly easy. You don't have any mention of suffering. And Ruth had the opposite of that. And I'm thankful for both of those stories because you get to see wisdom played out in both of those situations. A matter of fact, in some of the older, Hebrew bibles, Ruth actually came after Proverbs 31.
Joel Brooks:They tied the 2 together. Before we jump in to the description of the woman, we do need to look at the first ten verses that set up the poem. And I know a lot of people just kind of skip over those first 10 verses, but actually they lay the foundation for this virtuous woman. And so I want us to briefly look at them. Verse 1.
Joel Brooks:The words of king Lemuel, an oracle that his mother taught him. This is actually, I I think, really sweet. You have a king. We have no idea who this king is. But he's thinking back onto his mother's wisdom.
Joel Brooks:He remembers it. The what his mother said to him as a child, he actually remembers it, and he's held onto it for his life. So moms take heart. Your children are listening to what you say. And it was instructive for him.
Joel Brooks:And then he goes on to tell about the sweet words of his mom. And I I can't help but laugh every time. This is what he remembers his mom saying to him. What are you doing my son? What are you doing son of my womb?
Joel Brooks:What are you doing son of my vows? That's how he remembers his mom. As we all remember our mothers. I mean, we've all been there, Lemuel. You can almost picture, he just got caught doing something.
Joel Brooks:And essentially, his mom's like just grabbing him and drag him out going, what are you doing my son? And that's what he remembers from his mom. And she goes on or the poem goes on to tell what she said after that. Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. It is not for kings, oh Lemuel.
Joel Brooks:It is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to take strong drink. Basically, little king Lemuel got caught partying and chasing women and booze. And his mom graciously pulled him out of it and gave him some very stern words that he remembered that day. That is not how a king should behave. And then she goes on in the rest of this introduction to tell what a king is supposed to do.
Joel Brooks:Said a king is supposed to give a voice to the voiceless, to stand up for the oppressed, to stand up for those who are in need, and the poor. A king is supposed to judge righteously. That's what a king does. Not chasing women and booze. And then this sets up the poem for the excellent woman.
Joel Brooks:Basically, the mom is saying this, Listen to me, little king. Let me well. If you wanna pursue anything, pursue an excellent wife. Pursue wisdom and for you, wisdom looks like an excellent wife. And this would probably be the time for me to just grab hold of some low hanging fruit here and to speak to the single guys as to what you should be pursuing.
Joel Brooks:You should be pursuing wisdom. And for many of you, pursuing wisdom will be pursuing an excellent wife and not pursuing all those other things. And by pursue, I mean be intentional and pursue. And if you're thinking, well, I just don't know of any virtuous woman, women. Come and talk to me, and I will point you in the right direction.
Joel Brooks:Because we have so many godly, virtuous women here at this church. Can I get an amen? And so I'm happy to point you in the right My email box is gonna be so full, I know. Probably from elders going, you didn't. But, hey.
Joel Brooks:It needed to be said. Alright. So what does this virtuous woman look like? Let's go through a few of these characteristics of her. One of the main things you see is that this is a woman who works hard.
Joel Brooks:All the words that describe her are words of action. I mean, just look at everything she does. She's described as seeking wool and flax, putting her hands to the staff and the spindle. She makes her own beddings. She makes linen garments.
Joel Brooks:In verse 18, we read how she's burning the midnight oil. In other words, she is the exact opposite of the sluggard that we looked at weeks ago. This is not a woman who sluggardly lays on the couch binge watching on Netflix all day, or just thinking I have to watch every football game on Monday and Thursday and Saturday and Sunday. She's not the one who puts her hand in the dip. It's like, oh.
Joel Brooks:So Remember? It's like, so hard to bring it to my mouth. This is a woman, she goes to the grocery store and she buys the avocados. And then on the way home, she's picking up the dry cleaning. She gets home, she goes to the garden, she plucks the tomatoes, and then she makes her own guac.
Joel Brooks:That's this woman. She's not the couch potato. And here's the thing, she is wealthy enough to where she doesn't have to do any of this. It's obvious from the descriptions we have of her that she's fairly well off. She could just sit around, be bored, try to entertain herself, But she doesn't.
Joel Brooks:She doesn't just sit on the talents that God has given her and do nothing with them. And when I think of her, I I I think of Jesus in the parable of the talents. She was given many talents, but she didn't just sit on them. She multiplied those talents. She maximized the giftings that God gave her.
Joel Brooks:And I love how thoughtful she is as she goes about her work. In verse 16, we read that she considers a field and buys it. She's not an impulse buyer. She doesn't just throw money around. Jump into everything.
Joel Brooks:She thinks a thing through before purchasing it. Is this something she really needs? Will this purchase pay dividends? She's viewed as a contributor, not a consumer of goods. She's always contributing to society.
Joel Brooks:We read that she perceives that her merchandise is profitable. I love that. Once again, intentional thought as to what she's doing. And She's like, you know, the things I'm making have value. And then so she finds a way to sell it in the marketplace.
Joel Brooks:This is a smart, capable, hardworking woman. And she's doing this all not for herself. Notice she's always serving those around her. All her labors here are for others. Her husband and her family are the ones who benefit from her labors.
Joel Brooks:I mean, she's making them breakfast. She's packing them lunches. She's putting things in the crock pot so they'll have dinner at night. She's making sure none of the kids run out, you know, without wearing the right clothes. She's serving her household.
Joel Brooks:She's also serving the poor. In verse 20, we have this description of her reaching out to the poor with her hands. And I love that because if you read verse 19, before that, she's holding on to 2 tools of her trade. 1 in each hand. And then we have this picture her letting go of those things, and then it says she gives to the poor, and then it says she reaches out to them.
Joel Brooks:And that's not just showing that she's generous. She's taking the money she gets from her trade, and now she's opening that up to the poor. She's not just generous, it's with both hands. She's reaching out to them. It's It certainly looks like an embrace.
Joel Brooks:She's giving her money. She's giving her affection. All of her labors here seem to be labors of love. As a matter of fact, the the only thing she makes for herself, that she actually does for herself, and once again I find this somewhat humorous, she has to apparently make her own bed coverings. Understandable.
Joel Brooks:We all want, you know, comfortable sheets, high thread count. She apparently can't find that anywhere else and so she's like, I will make my own bed coverings. But everything else, she is making for other people. Do you know people like this? I do here at this church.
Joel Brooks:I know many women like this, who love to willingly serve others. To do all those little things for people, without giving a thought about themselves. They joyfully serve. Can I just say that when you do that, one of the things that is just so beautiful about that is for those of you who serve in those 1,000,000 different ways, you make people they feel seen? They feel seen and loved.
Joel Brooks:It is such a demonstration of the gospel, which this woman later does when it says kindness drips from her lips. Kindness is the word hesed or steadfast love. It's used to describe God. She is generous with her works, with her money, and with the kindness of her mouth. The most remarkable thing I find about this woman though is found in verse 25.
Joel Brooks:Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she laughs at the time to come. I've mentioned this verse several times at the church, as to the most remarkable quality of this woman. That she can laugh at the future. I think in a culture that struggles so much with anxiety and fear, it's hard to even comprehend a woman like this, who doesn't have an anxious bone in her body. She laughs at what's to come.
Joel Brooks:I found that many Christians are often so stressed, so overwhelmed, so anxious, that they struggle to laugh now in the present, Let alone laugh at what might come. But here we have a woman who is so filled with joy and she knows that nothing can take that joy away from her. Nothing can hit her to take away that joy. And this is not because she has wealth. It's not because she has a loving husband or a family.
Joel Brooks:It's not because she has the career maybe she's always wanted. It's not because she has a good home, because all those things could actually be taken away from you in the future. You see that in the book of Ruth. She had those things and they were all taken away from her at one point. That's not why she could laugh at what is to come.
Joel Brooks:She could laugh at the future because of how she has clothed herself. Notice how she's clothed. She's wearing something that will never go out of style. It will never fade. It will never wear out and no one can ever take it from her.
Joel Brooks:She has clothed herself with strength and dignity. Have you ever heard the the saying, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear? We say that a lot at our household because our our family, we love to go hiking. And a lot of times, our kids forget to wear the right gear. And so when bad weather comes, they're shivering or they're cold or whatever.
Joel Brooks:It's like, why didn't you bring? We bought those jackets for a reason. No such thing as bad weather, only bad gear. If you're wearing the right clothes for the right weather, then you need fear nothing. You'll always be comfortable.
Joel Brooks:Do you notice that throughout this chapter, we have all of these materials being described? And we have materials like wool, flax, linen, warm clothing, dressed in scarlet. But when this woman's garments are described, not a single material thing is mentioned. She wears strength and dignity. And because she is dressed like this, there's no such thing as bad weather.
Joel Brooks:There's no such thing as a bad season coming her way. She'll never have to worry about being exposed to whether whatever harmful elements are out there. She is protected. She is comfortable. She can laugh.
Joel Brooks:This is a woman who knows who she is and more importantly knows whose she is. She belongs to the Lord and she trusts in Him. No matter what season she's in, she's protected. This brings us to our final point. She does not fear the future because she fears the Lord.
Joel Brooks:Look at verse 30. Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. I read that verse at every wedding. Every wedding I've ever done, I have read that verse. Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Joel Brooks:Did you notice that all 22 of those verses in Proverbs, there is not one single description of what this woman looks like? Not a single description of her appearance. Remarkable. Over 22 verses, When you're writing a poem about a woman to not comment on her appearance. To not mention anything about her face, her eyes, her hair, her body.
Joel Brooks:Nothing. And now we know why. It's because beauty is vain. The word vain, it means it's empty. Beauty is useless.
Joel Brooks:Which is absolutely not how the world views beauty, is it? I mean, beauty is what opens doors. Beauty is how you find dates. Beauty is how you get into sororities. Beauty is what makes you money.
Joel Brooks:Beauty is what brings you fame or makes people notice you. It brings praise. And we all know that which is why we have mirrors at our house. I mean there's no other reason for you to have a mirror at your house except for the fact that you wanna at least look somewhat beautiful as you leave. And that's why you spend so much time putting on the makeup or doing your hair or making sure you have the right clothes.
Joel Brooks:Because you know how the world works. The world praises beauty. But here in this remarkable woman, we read that beauty is vain. Meaningless. Can I say as an aside to the husbands here, speak directly to you, Make sure when you praise your wife, you praise more than just her physical beauty?
Joel Brooks:I realize that you can't help yourself. So what I mean, you're married to a beautiful woman. You're always gonna be commenting on the way that she looks. You find her beautiful. That's great.
Joel Brooks:I'm not asking you to stop doing that. But praise her more, for more than that. Praise her for the things that will not fade. Because also, with every praise you give about her physical beauty, there's also a pressure on her knowing those things will ultimately fade. Praise her in the things that will not go away.
Joel Brooks:Praise her the fruits of the spirit you see growing in her. Praise her of the character that she has and how it reflects Christ. Praise the way that she fears the Lord. Fan those things into flame. And if you're not married, fan those things into flame with your friends.
Joel Brooks:Praise more than their appearance. Praise their character. The things that matter. Remember, it's the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. That's praiseworthy.
Joel Brooks:Notice that the book of Proverbs, it begins and it ends with that theme. The fear of the Lord. When we started the book of Proverbs, it was the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Now we come to the end of Proverbs and we see what the fear of the Lord, the fruit that it has brought. And it's praiseworthy.
Joel Brooks:A woman who fears the Lord need not fear any other thing. The fear of the Lord is not a fear that drives one to anxiety or to despair. The fear of the Lord drives you to laughter. Now if you fear the latest headline, if you hear the way your 401 k, if you fear the way your 401 k is looking, you fear the news you might get from the doctor, You fear what the world is gonna call you because of your beliefs. You fear those things, you will be filled with anxiety.
Joel Brooks:You won't laugh now nor at the future. But if you fear the Lord, well that's a solid rock that you could build your entire life on. Because you know that no matter what comes your way, you will never be separated from His love. You see, ultimately, Proverbs 31 is about the love of Christ towards us. It's about another king who pursued another bride.
Joel Brooks:Remember this chapter, it began with King Lemuel and he was being reminded that he needs to quit sinning. He needs to not pursue sin. But what he needs to pursue is judging righteously. And he needs to pursue his bride. This is exactly what our king Christ Jesus has done.
Joel Brooks:He did not pursue a life of sin. A matter of fact, he never sinned. He judged righteously. And then He did not just pursue an excellent wife. Jesus has created an excellent wife through His blood.
Joel Brooks:You see the Proverbs of the woman of Proverbs 31 points to us in our standing that we have with Christ. As the bride of Christ. Jesus has clothed us with something that will never fade, something that will never perish, something that will protect us in every season. He has clothed us with His own righteousness. And in that righteousness, we find strength and we find dignity that could protect us from whatever the world throws our way.
Joel Brooks:Is this what you clothe yourself with as you leave the doors every day? If not, you'll be filled with fear. Proverbs is calling us once again. No. Don't fear those things.
Joel Brooks:Let the fear of the Lord be the beginning of your wisdom. Pray with me. Father, we thank You again for this woman, preserving her story for us over 3000 years now. Lord, I pray that we would learn from her as she points us to you. Thank you for how you have clothed us with your righteousness, Jesus.
Joel Brooks:You protected us from the elements. There is nothing Satan can throw our way to hurt us. And we can laugh at the present and laugh at the future. We will be laughing even after death itself. Praise you Jesus.
Joel Brooks:In your name we pray. Amen.