The Virtuous Wife- Lesson Fifteen

"From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2

Good day, Ladies. Let' s pray to the Lord:

Oh Father, this day I come before You to worship You and adore You because You alone are worthy of any praise. I thank You, Lord, for giving us Your word that we can know You better and be comforted by it.

I seek forgiveness of my sins this morning so that I can be released from the bondage of sin. I pray that You will release me from the bondage of unrighteousness and from selffishness. I pray that You will purge me of my sins and make me new again this day.

I pray for each woman here reading this study that she will be changed, healed, and renewed through the reading of Your word today. Bless our marriages, our husbands, and our children this day.

In Jesus' name.........Amen.

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Today's passage: Prov 31: 22 "She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple."

When I used to go into the prisons for women's Bible study, the one thing I remember the most about the experience was the appearance of the inmates. Most of them had not colored their hair since they entered the prison so the blondes had long black or grey roots and the redheads too. Some were able to purchase make up from the store in the prison or have their hair cut short to avoid spending time trying to style it. Basically, what prison did to these women was strip them of all worldy pleasures: grooming, styling, clothes, jewelry, etc.

The Lord really spoke to me about this in my heart. He warned me not to get too attached to this world or He will take it away in order to get my full attention. That was the subject of one lesson I taught them: How God will take things away to get our attention!

The Virtuous Wife understands that appearance is important, but not most important. She also understands that style or taste is a necessary thing to have when your husband is "known at the gates."

Please read:

Prov 11:22 The word "discretion" in this verse is translated as "taste".

A woman who has worldy things but does not possess discretion or taste on how to wear them or appear in public is like a gold ring in a swine's snout. I think all of us can think of someone in the spotlight right now who fits this image.

Tapestry- the word implies a sort of craft-like art that was created in the ancient past as a sort of wall art used to tell stories or depict an era. Most tapestries depicted scenes from life. They were handmade and took many months if not years to complete because of the intricacy of the design.

Here we learn that the Virtuous Wife made "tapestry for herself". This woman had talents that she used to improve the look of her household as well as document scenes from her life.

Please read:

Prov 12:4

Prov 14:1

Prov 17:22

Because she clothed herself in fine linen and purple, we again are safe to assume she and her household were wealthy. Because we know her husband is known at the gates, she is careful to dress in fine quality articles of clothing to honor his reputation.

Prov 22:1

I like to tease my husband about how he represents our family out in public, so when he wants to wear shorts with sandals and black dress socks to go to the store.....well, let's just say he isn't representing his family well! Whenever he heads out to go running, I always say, "Don't fall down and embarrass the family!" and we all have a good laugh at that one. We joke with each other about how we all represent our little family out in public, so looking appropriate is important. Nathan is never allowed to wear shorts and sandals to church. I try not to wear too much makeup, and Scott never wears those black socks with shorts and sandals!

It's the little things that show how much we care.....

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Life Application

Let's look at a woman in Scripture who exemplified grace and beauty by acting appropriately in public because she understood who her husband was in society:

Please read:

Esther 1:1-2:18

Contrast Esther with Queen Vashti. How did attitude affect each woman's treatment of her King?

Esther 4:13-17

How did Esther show respect for her King's position?

Esther 5:1-8

What reward did Esther's respect earn her?

Esther 7:1-10

What was the final result of her obedience?

To this day the Feast of Purim is observed in honor of Esther. Whatever happened to Vashti??

Our duty is to teach good things to the younger women. That includes teaching them to respect their household and look the part!

When I was in high school, I used to draw all the time and won awards for my work. I was tempted to draw mystical and magical images of fairies, witches, and elves because they were fun to draw. But, as a Christian, I knew in my heart that these drawings were not honoring to God.

Even today, I could easily make a fortune drawing things that were evil or sexual because there is such a huge market for those images. Even Nathan asked why I didn't try to get into drawing for Hollywood studios that made such movies like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. I told him that in order to do that, I would have to compromise my beliefs and I cannot do that.

So, I try to make sure the images I draw and paint will be pleasing to the Lord no matter what. I make sure the art in my home is also pleasing to Him. I make sure the images do not bother my husband, but instead create a pleasant respite for him.

Our appearance is important as well. If our husbands have good jobs and are known among men, then we are to make sure our appearance represents him in a good way. We are to dress modestly, but not dowdy. Make up and jewelry in moderation is a good thing and should be taught.

Prov 19:20

I had the pleasure of working with 3 lovely older women and although they were not Christians, they helped me as a young 20 something woman to dress well at work. I learned how to look professional and yet remain modest. They also taught me to talk well about my husband to others. I had an awful habit of degrading my husband to my friends at work. It took a non-Christian friend to show me how badly I was behaving by consistently talking well about her husband in front of us. The Lord used my friend to convict me of my sin and I repented. I learned to talk about all the wonderful things my husband is and does around my friends. And I try to do it to this day. Even though I still fail at this from time to time, I still remember my friend and how she respected her husband in front of others and still does.

Please read:

Prov 22:14

Prov 18:22

I want to be that "good thing" to my husband and represent our family well. I would rather be obedient than disobey and be like the prison inmates who lost everything (appearance as well as their husbands) because God wanted their complete attention.

So, I will try and represent my family well in everything I do: appearances and respecting my husband.

...and not fall down and embarrass the family when I run!!

Until next time.........

"A wife is to respect her husband- We've learned that we are to help our husband and we are to follow our husband. And now, according to Ephesians 5:33, we are to also to respect our husband.

And what does that mean? To respect a husband means actively demonstrating and showing high regard for him in ways that all can see. A wife's esteem and admiration for her husband should always be on display, on parade, so that no one can miss it. Such respect encompassess all of the things- both little and large- that she does to create a visual expression of love."

-Elizebeth George (A Woman's High Calling, 2001, p. 128)

Blessings,

Ruth