Proverbs 31:10-20--The Woman Who Fears the LORD (Part 1)

Proverbs 31:10-20
English Standard Version

The Woman Who Fears the LORD
10 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 herself 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.

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Assuming these are also the words of King Lemuel, he is probably looking at his mother and looking at her positive attributes and saying, "I want to find a wife who is just like that."  As we read this passage, it sounds like this woman was either a widow or possibly had a husband who was away on business all the time, and entrusted everything to his wife from the rearing of their children and providing them with food, to taking care of the servants, to caring for the property, to acquiring new property and making sound investments with his wealth.  He trusted her completely to make all these decisions, and she made gains when she made investments, because she made them with wisdom.

She was also industrious in that she worked with her hands to take care of their fields and vineyards, stayed up late to make items of wood and flax to sell at the market--items of high quality that were sought after by merchants from far off--and made her own fabric and thread to make her own clothes.

She was gifted when it came to business, but she was also generous with her money and a good steward of what the LORD had entrusted to her.  She managed time, money, and human resources well.  Somehow it seems she found time for everything except sleep.  She made sure everyone was taken care of before thinking of herself, including the poor and needy that were around her.  She did not complain about how hard she had it having to carry the burden of work, family, and being a pillar of the community all by herself.  She also had strength, vigor, fortitude and wisdom that kept predators at bay.  No one would dare mess with her, her family, her employees, or her property.

These are just a few of the traits of this woman who fears the LORD.  We'll get to the second half of this passage next time where we will see more about the self-sacrificing love that this woman has for her husband, children, employees, and neighbors.