Part I
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies….She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
Proverbs 31:10,13
I have heard many sermons preached about the Proverbs 31 Wife, or Wife of Noble Character, over the years. There are numerous blogs and even entire ministries built around this particular passage of scripture. These messages generally focus on the woman’s character and duties as a wife and mother; I don’t want to diminish that focus in any way. It is both valid and important.
However, there is a major aspect of the Proverbs 31 Woman that is widely glossed over, and even totally ignored. This relates to her business acumen and the way she manages her finances. Here are the facts. Of the twenty-two verses in the passage, seven are comments for the reader’s benefit or general praise from her husband and children (E.g. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her – vs28). While these are interesting, they don’t actively describe her character. The remaining fifteen verses focus explicitly on her character and actions.
Of the fifteen verses that actively describe her character and actions, only two actually focus on how she acts toward her husband. Another three focus on how she cares for her children and household….
And no less than six verses focus on how she conducts her financial life. How can we, in good conscience, read this passage about the ‘Ideal Godly Woman’ and simply disregard 40% of what the Bible tells us about her!
Works With Eager Hands
So with that in mind, I will focus on verse 13…
She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
Proverbs 31:13
This verse shows a woman who is not afraid of hard work. Nor does she scorn menial work that others of her station might feel is beneath them. The manufacture of garments for one’s own household was a common task for women at this time in Jewish history. However, as we see in other verses in this passage, this lady did not work out of necessity because she had no help; she was a wealthy woman and had servants who could perform these duties for her.
However, instead of resting on her laurels, she worked both willingly, and gladly — with eager hands. Rather than delegating all the work to her servants, this woman takes an active role in selecting the raw materials (wool and flax) from which to make garments.
It is worth noting that the manufacture of household garments for the family was a common task for women in Old Testament times. However, as the other verses in this passage show all too clearly, this woman took that responsibility to another level. She went way beyond the task of merely making garments for her own family. As such, we can take this verse to show that, when she went out to select wool and flax, she did this in order to find the right suppliers and source the raw materials she needed to run her business.
Flax and wool were her stock in trade. As such, she needed to be sure of the quality and took that task upon herself.
Overall, though, this verse focuses on the Proverbs 31 Woman’s attitude toward work. In fact, this is a resounding theme throughout this passage. She was a wealthy women to be sure. But based on what we read in Proverbs 31:13, you would be far more likely to find her negotiating prices in the boardroom or on the factory floor than enjoying cocktails at the country club.
Every believer in the modern economy — both men and women — would do well to follow this lady’s example.