The Proverbs 31 lady:
Is she a true beauty? Am I?
Are you?
CONFESSION: The description of the Proverbs 31 lady disturbs me. She seems too perfect, too polished, just another unattainable standard. I don’t want to be her, I want to hurt her, maybe knock her on her bottom with one of those spinning karate kicks you’ve seen in a Chuck Norris flick. Wow! It felt good to admit that.
Thankfully, the Proverbs 31 lady doesn’t exist.Theologians agree “she” is a poetic description of what a man would like to see in a wife. Admirable, yes.Should we beat ourselves up if we don’t compare?
No.
To discern the difference between outer beauty and inner beauty, let’s do a little word study.
Outer beauty:
In verse 30, we read, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting.”The Hebrew word for beauty here is yophiy, and it means “beautiful as to outward appearance.” And it is “fleeting.”
Ain’t that the truth? In my cosmetics bag, I have concealer for minimize wrinkles, foundation to even my complexion, blush to pink my cheeks and eyebrow pencil to fill in gaps.
Gray hair? I prefer to call these strands “platinum.” They blend nicely with the blond.
Ha!
Inner beauty:
A few verses earlier, the noun hadar describes how the Proverbs 31 woman is “clothed”: with splendor and honor, strength and beauty. This beauty is godliness.She “laughs without fear of the future” and “shall rejoice in time to come.”
Her inner beauty shines Jesus! Look at these New Testament verses.
Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of your sinful nature. Romans 13:14
As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.” 2 Peter 5:5b
Now scoot back to Proverbs 31:30. I purposely skipped the second half of the verse, so we could talk about it now. In its entirety, it reads, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” In this context, the word “fear” means to revere, to honor, to adore.
Did you get this? Her belief is her beauty. So is yours.
You can write it as a simple equation:
BELIEF = INNER BEAUTY
I think I’m beginning to like the Proverb 31 lady.
Sure, she sews her clothes and I don’t.She invests in real estate. Not me.She gardens. No green thumb here.She wakes up before dawn and cooks breakfast for the family.I’m sleeping.So much of what she does, I don’t do.
One thing we have in common: We love the Lord.
That’s all that really matters.
You Are Precious!
I love it! Very Nice post:)
Question: “Her Husband can safely trust his heart to her” Her Husband wants her to protect his Heart. How many women know how to do that?
I speak on this subject and I have found very few do, or have even considered the question.
I am a mom of an 11-year-old child who is blind due to cancer. We participate in Relay for Lifes around the state of Texas.
May I use the picture of the woman for a t-shirt?
To gain strength & become a greater influence in our Generation is a precious oppurtunity God has given to every person that has breath on the Planet. For us ( Ladies/Women) The Proverbs 31 Lady is set before us not as a poetic pitcure of an abstract being that we only wish we could be but know we never can.. Nor has the Lord Jesus set an example for us that we can never acheive but wish we could.. On the Contrary! Grace is a powerful thing and if used wisely we (ALL of us) can acheive the impossible. We can become the Proverbs 31 Lady and even surpass her. Just as we can be like Jesus. Their is Great Freedom in Strength.. The Mountian is High… But gather the tools you need and Climb, Ladies Climb.. Our God, Husbands, Children, family, nation and World needs us to.
A Women of Strength
Beth