The Virtuous Wife- Lesson Five

"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40: 31

Good day, Ladies. Let's begin our lesson with prayer......

Thank You, Father, for another great day of life. Thank You for Your holy word which strengthens us and renews us. I thank You for the promises that are all yes in Jesus. I give You all the glory and honor and praise this day.

I ask, Lord, for forgiveness of sins and know that I have sinned against You and only You. I pray that You will wash me through the reading of Your word and renew a steadfast spirit within me. I pray, once again, for each woman who reads this study. I pray that You will change her heart and heal her. I pray that Your word will penetrate her and give her strength.

In Jesus' name...amen.

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Lesson Five

We will be reading alot of Scripture today, Ladies, so make sure your Bible is handy, you are in a comfortable place, and are ready to learn:

Today's passage: Proverbs 31:12

"She does him good and not evil all the days of her life."

Vows. All of us know what they are. We who are married took a solemn vow to be faithful to our husbands and to honor him. We swore before family, friends, and God Himself.

Today's passage really speaks to me. There are so many chapters in the Bible about wives who did evil to their husbands for personal gain:

Delilah, Jezebel, Queen Vashti to name a few.

Please read:

Prov. 18:22

How does God look upon a wife...a bride?

Consider the Jewish marriage custom:
The groom would travel from his father's house to the bride's house to meet her father.
There he discussed the "mohar" or dowery for the bride. She was bought for a price.
This estabilishes the marriage covenant.The bride became "sanctified" or set apart for the groom.

The bride and groom drink wine.

The groom then leaves her house and returns to his father's house with a promise to the bride: "I will come again."

The father of the groom makes all the arrangements.

The groom builds a bridal chamber.

The bride gets her dress and trousseau together.

The bride wears a veil as as symbol of her purity to her groom.

9 months passes to ensure her virginity.

The groom comes with his groomsmen at night to the bride's house.

The bride does not know when the groom is coming.

Then, the bride and groom along with the wedding party return to the groom's Father's house for the prepared wedding feast.

After, the couple enter the "huppah" or bridal chamber prepared by the groom. There they consumate the marriage covenant.

For 7 days the wedding party celebrates.

Sound familiar?? God considers the Church to be the bride to His son, Jesus.

Please read the following:

John 14: 1-3 .... This is what the Jewish groom says to his bride.


Eph. 5:25 & John 3:29 .....Jesus, our bridegroom, gave Himself up for us, His bride. He is a good husband.

John 3:16- God, the Father, gave His only begotten Son to us.

1 Cor 6:19-20 We were bought at a very high price: Christ's blood.

Heb 10:10- The Jewish bride was sanctified for her groom....Jesus sanctified us as well.

John 14:2 & Matt. 9:15 ...the groom went away to prepare a place for his bride. Jesus also has gone to prepare a place for us.

John 14:3 Rev. 22:7 .....The groom promised to return and so does our Groom.

1 Thess. 4:15-16 The groom would return to the bride with a shout. Jesus will return with a shout as well.

Rev 21:3-4....the wedding party celebrated with the bride & groom. We will be with God and Jesus too.

Col 3:4 & 1 Thess 4:17-18 & 1 John 3:1-3... the bride and groom stay in the Bridal chamber hidden for 7 days. We will be hidden with Christ for 7 years. The veil will be removed from our eyes and we will see our bridegroom as He is.

Notice in these customs the Groom takes the initiative....not the Bride.

Jesus came to us for us. We do not choose Him. He chooses us.

The groom goes to the bride's house. She does not come to his house.

Jesus came to earth for us and established the New Covenant with us.
The groom pays the price for the bride. Jesus fulfilled this custom.

So, I ask again, how does God look upon a bride? Is it merely a role in life or is it a symbol of what the Church is to Him?

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Life Application:

As Christian wives, obviously we are important to our God. He calls us the "bride" to His son. We have a heavenly husband as well as an earthly husband. We are to remain faithful to both.

If we, again as Christian wives, do our best not to do evil in the sight of our Lord, shouldn't we also honor our husband by not doing him evil as well?

The problem I have is what I consider to be evil. Sometimes I do not think what I am doing, saying, or watching is considered evil! It is easy to see evil on a daily basis and then become accustomed to it to the point that I do not even see it anymore! Is arguing with my husband in front of my son evil? Is hiding money from him so I can spend it on myself evil?

Is belitting him in front of my friends evil? Is questioning each decision he makes evil?

The problem is that many of us do not consider the above evil or as evil as say, homosexuality, or adultery, or idolatry......yet in the sight of the Lord all sin is evil.

I recently sent an e-mail video out to a friend who was offended by it. I was shocked to receive her reply that she considered the video offensive because I thought the video was funny. The web site that contained the video had some raunchy photos on it that offended her husband and polluted their computer with more raunchy pop-ups. Again I did not even notice these photos when I viewed the video!

I was grateful to have her point it out to me otherwise I wouldn't have even noticed. I have become accustomed to seeing web sites without actually "seeing" their content.

I didn't realize how evil the video or web site was and now her family is suffering from my lack of discernment. See how subtle evil can be??

Please read:

Psalm 101:3

Our good friend gave the sermon at our church services Sunday morning because our pastor was out of town. Our friend did an outstanding job of reminding us that as Christians, we are not to have anything to do with evil. It was convicting, but necessary to hear.

Please read:

Psalm 97:10

Ps. 34:12

3 John 11

What do these verses say about Christians and evil?

How do you respond to evil when you see it? Some evil is obvious: homosexuality, fornication, foul language, etc.

Other evil is not so obvious: feminism, liberalism, idolatry, covetousness.

I fell for the lie of feminism because it empowered women. I thought I needed some of that "empowerment" in my life. Boy, did I fall for that lie of Satan.

Many of you may be "doing evil" to your husbands and not even realizing it. Many of you may be trapped in the lie of feminism. It is easy to fall into the trap because it is everywhere: magazines tell us we are better than men. TV ads show us men are lazy and stupid and women are strong and great. Movies paint men as incompetent and women as saviors.

Think about it. Have you fallen for the lie of feminism? Do you make all the decisions in your home? Do you handle all the finances, spiritual issues, and child rearing in your home because you cannot "trust" your husband with these issues?

Is that the truth or a lie?

Besides, Eph 5:22 doesn't say we are to submit to our husbands only when they are acting perfectly. It says we are to submit to our husbands as to the Lord, our heavenly husband.

I know, some of you are saying, "Yes, but my husband isn't a believer" or "My husband has hurt me in the past." or "My husband has been unfaithful to me and I cannot trust him with big decisions anymore...."

Please read 1 Pet. 3:1-4

Notice that is speaks about husbands who do not "obey the word" because "they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives..."

Consider the following:

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was raised in Somalia in a Muslim home. She was betrothed to a man she had never met. She writes in her book, "Infidel" about the plight of Muslim women in her country. They have to submit to their fathers and their husbands and their "god" Allah or die. She writes about these women:

"There is the woman who is flogged for committing adultery; another who is given in marriage to a man she loathes; another who is beaten by her husband on a regular basis; another who is shunned by her father when he learns his brother raped her. Each abuse is justified by the perpetrators in the name of God, citing the Quran verses now written on the bodies of the women. These women stand for hundreds and thousands of Muslim women around the world."

Because she has written about the true facts of Islam and refused to marry the man, she is in hiding for fear of her life.

Because this woman does not know Christ, she has no protection from the evil around her.

Please read:

Gen 7:1

Gen 7:13-16

"..and the Lord shut them in."

Charles Spurgeon gives a great study on this verse alone. He talks about how the Lord protected Noah because of his faithfulness. All his family was protected from the evil outside of that ark: both the moral evil of the people and the natural evil of the flood.

Noah was in a covenant with his holy God. That is something you and I have that this Muslim woman did not have. She had to submit to an evil law, but the Lord's laws are perfect.

Please read;

Prov 30: 5-6

Deut. 4:1-6

Deut. 12:32

Psalm 119:97-104

Psalm 119:81

What do these verses tell us about God's word? What do they tell us about God's laws?

While we stay in the Lord's word, we have covenant....we have protection. We are "shut in" from the evil that can penetrate our homes, our hearts, our marriages.

Psalm 119:50

Psalm 119:33-40

Your reasons for not wanting to submit to your husbands may be vaild reasons not to trust. But, if you are a believer, you have to trust in your heavenly husband FIRST. He is the one whom you serve. You have made a vow to Him to be faithful. He has vowed to provide for you, protect, you, and have presence with you.

Ask Him to help you trust your earthly husband.....and the Lord will honor that prayer. I know from personal experience.

Then get on your knees and thank the Lord you were not born into a Muslim home.

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Please read:

Eph 5:33

1 Cor 11:3

Gal 6:1-5

Col 3:18

Is. 1:19-20

Remember, we are to have patience, be reverant to our husbands, not gossips, teachers of good things. Why? That the word of God may not be blasphemed.

It is hard to live with a contentious woman. I know, I can be one. I grew up with one. It is hard.

Please read:

Prov. 21:19

Now re-read 1 Pet. 3:1-4

Having a quiet and gentle spirit is precious to the Lord.

Remember how precious a bride is to the Lord. Remember your first husband....now remember your earthly husband.

Do him good and not evil all the days of your life.

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Lastly........

Prov. 4:14-15

"Do not enter the path of the wicked,

and do not walk in the way of evil.

Avoid it, do not travel on it;

Turn away from it and pass on.

For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;

And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.

For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence."

For next time, answer me this question if you can:

Why did God create?

Until then.....

Blessings,

Ruth