Vicky Courtney believes that this passage is not in the Bible by accident and that a virtuous woman is a rare find in today’s world. Join Vicki as she sojourns with you to unravel the mystery behind the Proverbs 31 woman.
Product Excerpt:
The Virtuous Woman
Introduction
I remember my first encounter with the renowned Proverbs 31 woman. I was a new believer and a new bride to boot. I had heard that when it comes to a biblical version of the “ideal woman,” this was the gal to emulate. So I opened up my Bible and read the passage—all twenty-two verses in one sitting. Talk about overwhelming. I mean, somebody give this woman a chill pill, and make it fast! Just make sure she washes it down with some decaf. Just reading about her made me want to take a nap. If the formula for becoming virtuous was contained in these twenty-two verses, I was in big trouble, especially if it was meant to be interpreted in a literal sense.
I have no problem bringing my food from afar, whether it’s take-out pizza or the bag-o-burgers deal at Sonic. I was thrilled to find the verse about the maidens and was quick to point it out to my husband. He responded by pointing out the sewing and cooking verses. Ouch. I’ll have to pass on planting a vineyard until I can manage to keep a Chia pet alive. As for strengthening her arms, does this mean I can get a personal trainer to help me strengtheneth mine? If my husband’s pants need hemming, can I hire someone else to layeth hands to the spindle and still get credit? Can I stretch out my hand to the poor by participating in the canned food drive at my kid’s school? I don’t care much for wearing purple and silks, but we definitely share a passion for finding the perfect outfit. When it comes to exhibiting the law of kindness, can there be exemptions on days when the toilets need cleaning, the kids are fighting, and I have PMS? Is my Sunday afternoon nap considered the bread of idleness? Did her husband and children rise up and call her blessed every day? I have a couple of teenagers who might rise up and call me “dorky,” but “blessed” is pushing it. If beauty is vain, can every day be baggy-sweatpants-and-sloppy-ponytail day?
I wish I could tell you that reading the passage served as a turning point in my life, that I committed to follow in the footsteps of the Proverbs 31 woman from that day forward. Not so. I made a note to self: Never, ever, read this passage again. As far as I was concerned, it should come with a required warning label:
Caution: Reading this passage can induce more guilt than eating a one-pound bag of M&Ms. Common side effects include uncontrollable laughter, fatigue, shortness of breath, feelings of inadequacy, depression, and an irrepressible desire to pop this lady upside the head should you ever meet her. Read at your own risk.
And then it happened. Years later, a publisher asked me to write a Bible study for college women. As a speaker to women of all ages, I was growing more and more concerned about our culture’s brand of the “ideal woman” and the resulting fallout it was producing in the lives of women, both Christian and non-Christian alike. I knew I wanted to write a study that would contrast the world’s version of the ideal woman to God’s version.
Therefore I petitioned God to show me the ideal woman in his _eyes. You got it—he took me right back to Proverbs 31. I begged and pleaded: Please, Lord—don’t make me write about Little Miss Perfect! Women are afraid of her! No one will buy the study! But it was no use. Who was I to argue with God?
As I began researching different commentaries of the Proverbs 31 passage, I made a startling discovery: several commentaries speculate that the passage does not reference one actual woman; rather, it is a compilation of qualities that make up a virtuous woman. Whew, what a relief! Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Proverbs 31 woman—all in the same category: MAKE-BELIEVE! Maybe she would have a more favorable reception if she left behind gifts and money like the first two. Instead, she leaves behind a big dose of guilt. Regardless, this new revelation changed my outlook and made reading the passage more palatable.
Now before you jump the gun and think we’re off the hook, the purpose of the passage, regardless of whether this woman is real or an ideal, remains the same: to assist women by providing a summary of what constitutes a virtuous woman. In addition, it is meant to provide a quick reference guide to aid men in finding a noble wife.
After writing the Bible study about the Proverbs 31 woman for college women, followed by another study for women, I discovered that in spite of the intimidation factor, many women are curious about the Proverbs 31 woman. This passage is perhaps the single greatest text in the Bible addressing what it is to be the ideal woman in the eyes of God. Unfortunately, many women fail to give it a chance because they misunderstand the message behind the passage and get sidetracked by this woman’s long and unattainable list of domestic accomplishments. In this book we will look at the passage in practical terms and learn how best to apply it to our lives. Before we rush out to tillith our backyard and planteth a vineyard in an attempt to reach “virtuous” status, we’ll take a look at what she was like on the inside.
I am excited that you have chosen to join me in this journey to better understand the Proverbs 31 woman. However, before we get started, I must make a disclaimer. I am not writing this book as an authority on the virtuous woman but rather as a fellow sojourner. If you are looking for a how-to manual on domesticity written by a woman who has it all together in the “virtue” department, this is not your book, and I am not your gal. I am no different from the majority of women—I get cranky with phone solicitors who call during the dinner hour, and my driving has not yet merited placing a fish on my car. I don’t sew my own clothes or make biscuits from scratch. In fact, if the truth be told, I can hardly sew on a button, and I have a special fondness for heat-and-serve skillet dinners.
Regardless, I am intrigued by the Proverbs 31 passage and the challenge to be a woman who excels them all. Who doesn’t want her husband and children to rise up and call her blessed? However incredible that sounds, our greatest motivator should be to please our Father. If the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 is the ideal woman in God’s eyes, I want to be like her with every ounce of my being. Who knows, in the end we might be surprised to discover that we had much more in common with the Proverbs 31 woman than we originally thought.
ISBN: 9780805430547
Catalogue code: N/A
Publisher: B&H PUBLISHING GROUP - published 15/02/2005
Format: Hardback