Few if any will ever measure up to the epitome of household wisdom as portrayed by the Proverbs 31 woman. Yet we can apply the wisdom exemplified to specific situations in our own lives. We should examine our own finances, work ethic, reputation, and character. We must strive to live wisely in the situation and among the people God has placed us.

This week we are going to look at the Proverbs 31 Woman. What makes her so excellent and more precious than jewels? We are going to find that a godly woman applies wisdom in daily living.
Passage Overview
Proverbs 31:10-31 is a poem. In Hebrew, the poem is an acrostic—the first letter of each line began with the successive letters in the Hebrew alphabet. This poem was and still is recited by Jewish husbands and children at the Sabbath dinner. The manner of the poem is also similar to a hymn written to extol a heroine, in this case the wise wife and mother.
However, the Proverbs 31 woman is more than just an ideal wife and mother. She personifies wisdom applied in daily living. One author states,
“The poem certainly presents a pattern for women who want to develop a life of wisdom; but since it is essentially about wisdom, its lessons are for both men and women to develop. The passage teaches that the fear of the Lord will inspire people to be faithful stewards of the time and talents that God has given; that wisdom is productive and beneficial for others, requiring great industry in life’s endeavors; that wisdom is best taught and lived in the home—indeed, the success of the home demands wisdom—and that wisdom is balanced living, giving attention to domestic responsibilities as well as business enterprises and charitable service” (Allen Ross, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, p. 1130).
Now that we understand the type of passage we are studying, we will study it in more detail. We will break this poem into 8 stanzas, beginning and ending with praise for this wise woman.

General Praise

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. 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.” (Proverbs 31:10-12)
She is a rarity. Who can find an excellent woman? She is like a rare jewel.          
She is excellent. The Hebrew word for excellent often means “strength,” “brave,” “competent.” [1] She has strength of character; she is a fully-capable woman.
She is trustworthy. Her husband can fully trust her. She increases his resources—rather than emptying them. He knows she will only do him good for her whole life.
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The one who is slow to hear, quick to speak, and quick to anger is described in terms of unrighteousness, filthiness, rampant wickedness, forgetfulness, a deceiver of his own heart, and worthless religion. We need to be humble hearers who do what we hear and see in God’s Word. We need to put off proud prattling, in which we can deceive ourselves into thinking we are religious people who don’t need to respond to God’s Word. 

In James 1:19, James commands his beloved brothers to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Quickness to hear before speaking too soon is a biblical principle (Prov 18:13) and a wise way to go about conversations. Soft answers turn away anger (Prov 15:1), and James tells us that man’s anger does not produce God’s righteousness (James 1:20).
Therefore, what does James tell believers to do? If man’s anger—tied to a slowness to hear and quickness to speak—doesn’t produce the righteousness of God, then it must be put away. Notice the words that James uses in this command: “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness” (James 1:21). Filthiness. Rampant wickedness. These are strong words God uses to describe one who is not quick to hear, but rather quick to speak and quick to anger.
Putting off is one side of the command. The other side is what we are to receive and how we are to receive it—“receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). This hearing of God’s Word with humility seems to be James’ big idea when he tells believers to be “quick to hear.”
If quickness to hear God’s Word is a mark of humility, then its opposite—quickness to speak and anger.
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Eli and his sons serve as warnings to both parents and children. As parents, we need to obey God in our parenting. We cannot honor our children’s desires to the neglect of honoring God. The cost could be great for ourselves, our children, and future generations. And our children need to be faithful to obey their parents in the Lord, for this is right.

In Ephesians 6:1-3 God commands children to obey and honor their parents and fathers to discipline and instruct their children in the Lord. A child who obeyed generally lived a long life, a promise first given to Israel in Exodus 20:12.
The sons of Eli the priest serve as dire examples of lives cut short due to a consistent failure to obey. The failure of Eli to discipline and instruct his sons in the Lord contributed to the shortness of their lives, which should prod parents, especially fathers, to faithfully train their children.
1 Samuel 2:12 describes the sons of Eli as worthless men who did not know the Lord. They selfishly and disobediently demanded their choice of raw meat before it was even offered, disregarding the law (cf. Leviticus 7:28-36). The Lord saw this contempt for the offering as a very great sin (1 Samuel 2:17).
Eli, an old and apparently out-of-touch father, heard about his sons’ sins, which included sleeping with the women who ministered at the entrance of the tent of meeting. Eli confronted his sons (rather mildly, it seems), but his sons refused to listen (1 Samuel 2:22-25).
God laid the responsibility for Eli’s sons on Eli himself. He sent a man of God to him to speak, asking Eli why he scorned the Lord’s sacrifices and offerings and honored his sons above the Lord by letting them take the best parts of the offerings to fatten themselves (1 Sam 2:27-29).
The Lord then declared his judgment on Eli and his descendants:
Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. (1 Samuel 2:30-34).
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Caleb, Joshua, Ruth, Hannah, Samuel, David, and others are shining examples of obedience and blessing. Their amazing stories point to God’s infinite wisdom and sovereignty in lovingly working out his redemptive plan for Israel and the world. But none of these stories occurred in a vacuum of trouble-free bliss. Each of these characters struggled with his or her own sins and the sins of others, sometimes with great obstacles to overcome, yet God faithfully continued to work out His plan for them as individuals and for Israel as a whole.

What do we do when we receive the phone call about cancer or health problems—problems of your own or that of a friend or family member? What about when your life is thrown upside down because of unexpected events? Or when you hear heartbreaking news about someone? Or when your day or week doesn’t go as planned, making it hard to recalibrate and function?
I’ve had some phone calls like that recently, and my family’s regular routine has been a bit jumbled for various reasons. In thinking about and responding to scary health news, heart breaks, and waylaid plans and routines, I’ve meditated on God’s sovereignty.
In Daniel 4:34–35, Nebuchadnezzar makes the following conclusion about God’s rule:
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;
all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
and he does according to his will among the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and none can stay his hand
or say to him, “What have you done?”
Is Nebuchadnezzar’s conclusion correct? Are we inhabitants of the earth accounted as nothing? Does God just do whatever according to his will? Can none of us stop him or question what he has done?
My thoughts moved next to Psalm 138:8:
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Nebuchadnezzar emphasizes the unquestionable nature of God’s sovereignty, and the Psalmist adds to it: The Lord fulfills His purpose for individuals, not as a careless Sovereign, but as a Sovereign with steadfast enduring love for us.
As I contemplated these passages, I was assured of their trustworthiness. I’ve experienced these truths to a degree in my own life, but what settled me most is seeing them played out in the Bible. The stories of the Old Testament in particular have grounded me firmly in God’s steadfast, loving endurance to his sovereign plan.
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