What is a virtuous wife? Virtuous Wife

Good afternoon, dear reader!

I recently came across this description of a virtuous wife... There is something to think about.
"Reflections of a married woman" http://semya-moja.narod.ru/rassilka-2.html
The classic family nowadays is an eternally dissatisfied boring woman and next to her is either an alcoholic, or a reveler, or simply a weakling who does not know how to earn money.

Do you recognize your family? Or your husband? Or your wife? Or one of your close relatives or neighbors?
This is becoming the norm of life. This is how many people live, you say, and you will be right. Who is to blame if family relationships don't work out? Are families strong, husbands faithful and loving, and wives sweet and caring? Where does love go? How to excite and interest your husband over the many years you have lived together? That's what we'll talk about in the newsletter.

Who will find a virtuous wife? its price is higher than pearls.
The heart of her husband is confident in her, and he will not be left without profit.
She rewards him with good, not evil, all the days of her life.
He produces wool and flax, and willingly works with his hands.
She, like merchant ships, gets her bread from afar.
She gets up while it is still night and distributes food in her house and food to her maidservants.
She thinks about a field and acquires it; from the fruit of his hands he plants a vineyard.
He girds his loins with strength and strengthens his muscles.
She feels that her occupation is good, and her lamp does not go out at night.
She stretches out her hands to the spinning wheel, and her fingers take hold of the spindle.
She opens her hand to the poor, and gives her hand to the needy.
She is not afraid of cold for her family, because her whole family is dressed in double clothing.
She makes herself carpets: fine linen and purple are her clothing.
Her husband is known at the gate when he sits with the elders of the land.
She makes bedspreads and sells them, and delivers belts to the Phoenician merchants.
Strength and beauty are her clothes, and she looks cheerfully at the future.
She opens her lips with wisdom, and gentle instruction is on her tongue.
She oversees the management of her house, and does not eat the bread of idleness.
The children get up and please her, - the husband, and praises her:
“There were many virtuous women, but you surpassed them all.”
Loveliness is deceptive and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears the Lord is worthy of praise.
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her deeds glorify her at the gates! (PROVERS 31:10-31).

Thirty-one Characteristics of a Virtuous Wife

A virtuous wife is a crown for her husband; and shameful is like rot in his bones. Proverbs 12:4

Continuous drops on a rainy day and a grumpy wife are equal: whoever wants to hide her wants to hide the wind and the color in his right hand, which makes itself known. (Proverbs 27:15-16)

This is the way of an adulterous wife; she ate and wiped her mouth, and said: “I didn’t do anything bad.” From three the earth shakes, from four it cannot bear: a slave when he becomes a king; a fool when he eats his fill of bread; a shameful woman when she marries, and a servant when she takes the place of her mistress. (Proverbs 30:20-23)

Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to the destroyers of kings. (Proverbs 31:3)

For the mouth of another man's wife drips honey, and her speech is softer than oil; but the consequences from it are bitter, like wormwood, sharp, like a two-edged sword; (Proverbs 5:3-4)

Drink the water from your cistern and the water that flows from your well. Let not your springs overflow in the streets, nor let your streams of water over the squares; let them belong to you alone, and not to strangers with you. May your source be blessed; and take comfort in the wife of your youth, the dear doe and the beautiful brimstone: let her breasts intoxicate you at all times, delight in her love constantly. And why do you, my son, get carried away by strangers and embrace someone else’s breasts? (Proverbs 5:15-20)

because because of a prodigal wife they become poor to a piece of bread, but a married wife catches a dear soul. (Proverbs 6:26)

The same thing happens to the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife: whoever touches her will not be left without guilt. (Proverbs 6:29)

Whoever commits adultery with a woman has no understanding; He who does this destroys his soul: (Proverbs 6:32)

Say to wisdom: “You are my sister!” and call reason your relatives, so that they protect you from another’s wife, from a stranger who softens her words. (Proverbs 7:4-5)

A good wife gains fame, and the hardworking gain wealth. (Proverbs 11:16)

Like a gold ring in a pig's nose, a woman is beautiful and reckless. (Proverbs 11:22)

A virtuous wife is a crown for her husband; and shameful is like rot in his bones. (Proverbs 12:4)

A wise wife will build her house, but a foolish woman will destroy it with her own hands. (Proverbs 14:1)

He who found a good wife found good and received grace from the Lord. (Proverbs 18:23)

House and property are an inheritance from parents, and a reasonable wife is from the Lord. (Proverbs 19:14)

It is better to live in a corner on the roof than with a grumpy wife in a spacious house. (Proverbs 21:9)

It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and angry wife. (Proverbs 21:19)

Three things are incomprehensible to me, and four I do not understand: the way of the eagle in the sky, the way of the serpent on the rock, the way of the ship in the middle of the sea, and the way of the man to the maiden. (Proverbs 30:18-19)

Who will find a virtuous wife? its price is higher than pearls; The heart of her husband is confident in her, and he will not be left without profit; (Proverbs 31:10-11)

He produces wool and flax, and willingly works with his hands. She, like merchant ships, gets her bread from afar. She gets up while it is still night and distributes food in her house and food to her maids. She thinks about a field and acquires it; from the fruit of his hands he plants a vineyard. He girds his loins with strength and strengthens his muscles. She feels that her occupation is good, and her lamp does not go out at night. She stretches out her hands to the spinning wheel, and her fingers take hold of the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor, and gives her hand to the needy. She is not afraid of cold for her family, because her whole family is dressed in double clothing. She makes her own carpets; Fine linen and purple are her clothing. Her husband is known at the gate when he sits with the elders of the land. She makes bedspreads and sells them, and delivers belts to the Phoenician merchants. Strength and beauty are her clothes, and she looks cheerfully at the future. She opens her lips with wisdom, and gentle instruction is on her tongue. She oversees the management of her house and does not eat the bread of idleness. The children get up and please her, the husband praises her: “There were many virtuous wives, but you surpassed them all.” Loveliness is deceptive and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears the Lord is worthy of praise. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her deeds glorify her at the gates! (Proverbs 31:13-31)

This room is for a Christian wedding. Everyone knows the 31st chapter of the book of Proverbs about the virtuous wife. This superwoman gets up at night and spins, and knits, and makes carpets for merchants... But much is incomprehensible to us due to the difference in time and culture. Why is her husband sitting at the gate? And why is she working while he sits? Etc. and so on.

Invite your wedding guests to write their own version of the parable about the virtuous wife. Let the presenter read one biblical text at a time and immediately give a microphone to the audience so that those who wish can offer their own modern version. The facilitator's assistant quickly writes down everything said. Then the presenter selects the most original sentences and reads a modern version of the 31st chapter of the book of Proverbs.

You might end up with text something like this:

Who will find a virtuous wife? Its price is higher than pearls. - Where to look for a respectable wife? Its price is higher than all shares on the stock exchange.

The heart of her husband is confident in her, and he will not be left without profit. - The husband can entrust his property to her: an apartment, a car, etc.

She rewards him with good, not evil, all the days of her life. - She is kind and affectionate, not angry and grumpy.

He produces wool and flax, and willingly works with his hands. - She plants a vegetable garden and grows organic food for her family.

She, like merchant ships, gets her bread from afar. - In the summer she makes a lot of preparations for the winter: jams, pickles, marinades, etc.

She gets up while it is still night and distributes food in her house and food to her maids. “She gets up as soon as the alarm goes off and turns on the washing machine and dishwasher.

She thinks about a field and acquires it; from the fruit of his hands he plants a vineyard. - If she wants to make repairs, she will save up money and do it!

He girds his loins with strength and strengthens his muscles. - She doesn’t need to do fitness, as she trains her muscles while cleaning the house and carrying heavy bags from the store.

She feels that her occupation is good, and her lamp does not go out at night. “She spends the whole day working, and even late in the evening the light in her kitchen is still on.

She stretches out her hands to the spinning wheel, and her fingers take hold of the spindle. - She is constantly sewing something on a sewing machine.

She opens her hand to the poor, and gives her hand to the needy. - She will always serve it to the granny in the passage and treat the neighbor’s children to pies.

She is not afraid of cold for her family, because her whole family is dressed in double clothing. - Her family’s wardrobe is always ready for winter, because she usually buys clothes for winter in the spring with big discounts.

She makes her own carpets; Fine linen and purple are her clothing. - She knows how to dress beautifully, although she spends her budget sparingly.

Her husband is known at the gate when he sits with the elders of the land. - Her husband is respected in the fraternal council, he also has connections with the mayor of the city.

She makes bedspreads and sells them, and delivers belts to the Phoenician merchants. “She is always not averse to working at home, and she sells her handicrafts in the Hand Made store.”

Strength and beauty are her clothes, and she looks cheerfully at the future. - She looks good and is always in a great mood.

She opens her lips with wisdom, and gentle instruction is on her tongue. - She doesn’t nag her husband and doesn’t yell at the children.

She oversees the management of her house and does not eat the bread of idleness. - She keeps her house clean and tidy, she always has breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared on time.

The children get up and please her, and the husband praises her. - The children listen to her and follow her example, her husband is simply not overjoyed that he married such a woman!

There were many virtuous wives, but you surpassed them all. - None of my friends and acquaintances have such a wonderful wife!

Loveliness is deceptive and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears the Lord is worthy of praise. - Beauty fades over the years - and cosmetics will not help, but a good heart that fears God is a real treasure.

Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her deeds glorify her at the gates! - Husband, give her your salary and tell everyone about her good deeds!

My usual answer is that the Bible calls everyone, but not everyone will obey. And the reasons for this are not in education, nor in start-up capital. The reasons are that we, believers, for the most part, have the wrong attitude towards business and do not understand the real tasks that God sets for it. After all, if Jesus in Matt. 6 tells us not to care about what we eat, drink and what we wear, then clearly we are not working and doing business in order to feed ourselves. Therefore, the right attitude towards business does not consider money as the main topic. But today is not about that.

Today, this is what caught my attention in the description of a virtuous wife: note that in the entire rather lengthy description of her actions, nowhere is it said that she carries out someone else’s decisions. On the contrary: She decided and bought a field, she got up and distributed it to those in need. In other words, she is a person who makes independent decisions, a person who takes responsibility for managing the course of events in her life.

This means she is not an employee. What is an employee, in the very depths of this phenomenon? Why is this so attractive to so many? There is no need to make decisions and, therefore, be responsible for the consequences. It’s much easier to blame everything on the boss - let him give me what to do, what to do, tell me how to do it and how much to do - let him worry about how to support me, where to get money for my salary. And despite the unsatisfactory results of MY work, HE is still an extreme bastard!

While an independent person, well, actually stands on his own! He decides what to do, where and what to do it with, how exactly and how much to do it. How much money he will have in his pocket depends on this, and whatever the results, he himself is responsible for everything.

Therefore, I see that a virtuous wife is at least a “self-employed” person, to use currently relevant terminology. On the other hand, can a “self-employed person” independently cover as many areas of activity as are listed here? I highly doubt it. That is, other people work for her, she is an entrepreneur!

So, the conclusion suggests itself that a virtuous wife is a wife - an entrepreneur. Not at the expense of motherhood (vv. 21, 26, 28), combining these things (which once again confirms the fact that people work for her, otherwise it is simply unrealistic).

But the most interesting thing is how this passage ends. Let's analyze two lines according to the principles of Eastern poetry.

On the one hand, we see the words:

“Strength and beauty are her clothing” (Prov. 31:25),

And on the other:

“Cuteness is deceitful and BEAUTY is vanity” (Prov. 31:30)

How so? Here you need to watch the original. In the first case, the word “hadar” is used, meaning “majesty, dignity”, and in the second case, “yofi” - decoration, glamor.

You can often hear sermons telling people not to be proud. However, one must distinguish between pride and arrogance. We see that a virtuous wife is clothed with strength and self-esteem. And not Botox, silicone, glued eyelashes and extended claws. All this last, it is said, is “vain.” At the same time, if we look at the end of verse 25, we see that “she looks cheerfully into the future.” Indeed, when a woman’s attractiveness is just external “body kit,” then there will be a constant fear that someone more beautifully hung will “float” next to her husband. And glamor won't hold you back. And verse 30 contrasts and says that a woman who fears the Lord (how? See verses 12-27) is worthy of praise. Regardless of cuteness and beauty.

What does her husband do then? You can often hear the opinion that he sits at the gate. I doubt. Verse 23 has one little word that elaborates on this gate-sitting:

“Her husband is known at the gate WHEN he sits with the elders of the land.”

The entire book of Proverbs speaks quite clearly against laziness, and that laziness inevitably leads to ruin. Here we see that it is said about the husband that “he will not be left without a profit,” therefore, I assume that he is busy with activities, and, apparently, even more than his wife. But WHEN it is necessary to come and make decisions at the city level (this is what they did at the gate), when he comes, he looks, thanks to his wife, in such a way that he becomes known, and she is honored for her virtue (v. 31).

“What about the children if they are both in business?” you ask. And here there is a reason to comprehend the “achievements” of our time. In the cultures of the East, and Israel, although it is near, is still the East, children were either in schools (yeshivas) or with their parents, no matter what the latter did. And from the age of 12, they generally went to work for their father. Today, our children sit at home after school, but in biblical times, in biblical cultures, children, if there was time after the yeshiva, went to work with their parents. Therefore, today there is a gap: “When should we take care of children?” If not for this radical distortion of the worldview, such a problem would never have existed.

These are just my thoughts on the passage of Scripture I just read. And yes, as usual, you don’t have to agree, just please write what you don’t agree with today?)))