A Virtuous Woman & Her Work Prov. 31:10-31 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

The thing to notice about this virtuous woman is that she is a working woman.  She is on the go and starts early and works late.  You won’t find her dining out all the time, barhopping, fornicating, dancing, gossiping, movie going, novel reading, clothes shopping, wasting the day with vain beauty and magazines and soap operas and talk shows, waiting on her husband to come home so that he can take her out and wine her and dine her in the high social scene.  She’s not the society queen hob knobbing with all of the other socialites in town and putting in appearances at all the best clubs in town.  She is not consumed with all of the vain talk and social gossip of her day.  She’s too busy for that.  She’s got work to do.

The virtuous woman works:

Willingly – v.13 – see Rebekah and Ruth.

Tirelessly – v.15, 18 – see Anna Lk 2:37 – and Aquilla

Wisely – v.16 [unlike Jezebel], 18, 24 – see Abigail who was, unfortunately, married to a fool.

Economically – v.16 [not just a place for recreation], 22, 24 – stays in the budget, knows the value of a thing, isn’t just interested with how much she can accumulate, not honored for her clothing but clothed in honor [25].

Physically – v.17 – all fashion magazines and lady’s journals show women who are under nourished and who seem to know only one thing: how to pose for a camera.  It is their beauty that will catch your eye [30] and not their ability.  If they are physically strong they are buff because they work out in the gym not because they are used to physical work around the house.

Diversely – there are lots of different jobs she can do: cooking, cleaning, sewing, needlework, weaving, gardening, canning, and so forth.

Charitably – v.20 – she is always looking for ways to be a blessing to others.