Virtuous and Capable

(sorry for the delay, Blogger had a bit of a technical glitch this morning and wouldn't let me on to blog)

"Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies." Proverbs 31:10

Something I found interesting while looking at the verse is the use of the words capable and virtuous. (Some versions use excellence, some use worthy.) Looking to see where else in the Bible these words were applied is very interesting indeed! I found specifically that capable was almost always used to refer to men- and military men at that! Capable and virtuous men were leaders, warriors, fighting men, wealthy, influential, and brave! If you wish to look further into that, you can look up these verses: Exodus 18:25; Joshua 1:14; Joshua 6:2-3; Ruth 2:1; 1 Samuel 9:1; and 1 Chronicles 12:25. All of those verse discuss men in the same light that Proverbs 31:10 talks about a woman! An army's primary traits are mental toughness and physical energy- most definitely worthy traits to mark the Proverbs 31 woman.

Then when I looked for instances where virtuous or excellent is applied to woman, I find it in only four places in the Bible. First is in the book of Ruth. In Ruth 3:11, Boaz describes Ruth in this way "Everyone knows you are a virtuous woman." And reading through a few passages in the book of Ruth, we certainly see that Ruth could be very close to being the Proverbs woman. We learn in Chapters 1 and 2 of the book of Ruth that Ruth is loyal, persistent, compassionate, and a very dedicated worker.

Then we look at Proverbs 12:4 "A worthy wife is a crown for her husband." This tells me right here that this woman is a treasure. First, a treasure to her husband who holds the crown. And secondly, a treasure for those who witness the crown. The second part of Proverbs 12:4 isn't so pleasant. "A disgraceful woman is like cancer in his bones." This tells me that a non-worthy wife is like a disease to her husband. Something that is unwanted by him and all those around him.

Then again in proverbs 31:10 and 31:29 we have the description of the virtuous woman. And also, according to 31:10, we see that this woman is not easy to find. "Who can find..." she is beyond valuable by being described as a ruby or a pearl. Think of all the oysters that must be shucked before a pearl is found among them. Only a persistent person will find the pearl hidden within. And even better, according to Proverbs 19:14, "the understanding wife is a gift from the Lord."

So...how do I measure up? I would say I need some work. As I spoke about yesterday, what struck me today was the mention of physical strength and energy. The ability to keep going from dawn to dusk, and making the most of every minute. I definitely need help in that area. My time management skills, while constantly improving, still needs work. The story of Ruth spoke particularly to me as she continued in her work every single day for the benefit of her mother-in-law. She worked not even for herself- she was completely unselfish, doing what needed to be done. Something that really hits home today is that I find that I have the desire to do more. While enriching the mind is always a good thing, I want to be powerful in both mind AND body. In order to be a woman of excellence and worth, I need to apply my energy to better things than reading and lazing all day long. This is going to take some work and undoubtedly some prayer.