I invite you to remain standing and open your Bible to the book of Proverbs. Chapter 31. The very last chapter in the book. And we will be in the last point in the book. We'll be in verses 10, to the end of the chapter, 10 through 31. And this is the famous Proverbs 31 woman. Just might be the most misunderstood woman in the history of women. Hear the word of the Lord. An excellent wife who can find, she is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not harm all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant. She brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night. and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it. With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands up to the distaff and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hands to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household. For all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates where he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them. She delivers sashes to the merchant. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also, and he praises her. Many women have done excellently, but you surpassed them all. Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the fruit of her hands and let her works praise her in the gates. Let's pray. Father, in the name of King Jesus, help me speak your word with faithfulness, clarity, and humility and open the hearts of all who hear to receive your word through my words. Amen. Please be seated. Gentlemen, I don't know how to tell you this, except to just come right and say it. But you are not married to the Proverbs 31 woman. She's not your wife. She's not your mother. She's not your grandmother. Your grown daughter, your sister, your aunt. You don't know anyone who's the Proverbs 31 woman. And that's because she's an ideal, a portrait And with a portrait, you can remove all her blemishes. So here's the big idea of the text. The Proverbs 31 woman is an ideal portrait of feminine wisdom. She is an ideal portrait of feminine wisdom. If you took all the wisdom in the whole book of Proverbs and asked the question, what would all the wisdom in all areas of life look like if it were embodied in one person? What you would have is the Proverbs 31 woman. In one woman, she incorporates all the wisdom of Proverbs in all areas of life. Linda Brownback writes that true wisdom isn't just for men. It's for all of God's people. It's completed in its fullness in King Jesus. Of whom Paul says, there is neither slave nor free. There is no male or female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3.28 All who are in Christ inherit all the riches of God's kingdom, and that includes wisdom. So what about this woman? Is she real or not? Well, the answer is yes. She's a real woman. In the prologue of Proverbs, that is the first nine chapters, lady wisdom is a personification of wisdom rather than a real-life woman. But here in the epilogue, the end of the book, she's described as a real-life woman with a real-life husband, a real-life family, doing all kinds of real-life things. But she's also some kind of superwoman. She's unbelievably energetic and competent in all areas of life. and she appears to be wealthy. So she should never be used as a standard to measure or critique any woman. When I think of all the women who are struggling for their daily existence, or who like me and everyone else are only too conscious of all their failings, It would be a crying shame to put still another burden on them by implying that they could somehow live up to the idealistic standards of the Proverbs 31 woman. So don't put that burden on any woman unless you want to be held to the same standard. So the first thing to say about the Proverbs 31 woman is she represents a real life woman. The second thing is, that in the context of the entire book of Proverbs, this woman is the ideal wife for young men to seek. So I don't know why this is so often preached on Mother's Day. It wasn't written for women. It was written for young men. Remember who the original audience was for Proverbs. The entire first nine chapters is a father or a wise teacher instructing a young man on wisdom. And then from the beginning of chapter 10 through the first nine verses of chapter 31 are all these nuggets of profound wisdom the first nine chapters prepared us for. So it's also written for all of us boys, girls, men, women, young and old. And now at the very end of the book, for all of us to see is a picture of what wisdom looks like. Or as Kathleen Nielsen puts it, the Proverbs 31 woman is wisdom in action. As far as structure is concerned, this is a poem They're structured as an acrostic. An acrostic means that the initial letter of each verse follows the sequence of the Hebrew alphabet. So there are 22 verses in this text, and they begin with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. So what we get is a sense of completeness, a total picture. In English, You could say it's everything about the subject of wisdom from A to Z. Sort of an alphabet of womanly excellence. So let's get to it. What can we learn about this superwoman? Well, first of all, she's excellent and precious. Verse 10. An excellent wife, who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. It says, an excellent wife, who can find? So the poem begins with a rhetorical question. And the answer is that only God can bring a woman to a man. Proverbs 19, 14. House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord. God prearranges marriages. I don't know if you knew that or not. You see it in how He gave Isaac a wife in Genesis 24. And how He gave Ruth a redeemer husband in Ruth chapters 3 and 4. Then it says, she's far more precious than jewels. This woman is the embodiment of wisdom that's often compared to precious metals and jewels. Proverbs 2.4. If you seek wisdom like silver and search for it as hidden treasure. Proverbs 3.15. She, that is wisdom, is more precious than jewels. So she's virtuous, and she's valuable, and her husband trusts her. Verses 11 and 12. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not harm all the days of her life. Her husband not only trusts her, he trusts her with his heart. His heart is everything there is about him. He never doubts her. He's never suspicious of her. So this is not only an idealized portrait of her, it's an idealized portrait of him. But it is amazing how much good you can do for someone who trusts you. Who isn't questioning what you do or the decisions you make. Who has full confidence in you. And so the result of his trust is that they lack nothing that's good. And verse 12 says, she will be a blessing all the days of her life. Now notice it says her life. If he precedes her in death, he doesn't worry about what she will say or do when he's no longer there. In life and death, he's confident she'll do him good. And when it says she does him good and not harm all the days of her life, I can see how you can get the impression that it means every day of her life. Because we don't get to see her flaws. We don't get to see her when she's tearing her hair out in frustration from living with this guy day after day, year after year. And frustration from all the things she has to do. And all the disappointments in life. Those are the times when she may not be all that virtuous. She might even say a bad word now and then. So she's consistently good, she's just not perfectly good. But back to this superwoman. Talk about wisdom in action. Look at verses 13-19 and also verse 24. In verse 13, she seeks wool and flax and works with willing hands. So she produces clothing from scratch. And she's willing. So it's not a drudgery for her. She does it joyfully. In verse 14, she's like the ships of the merchant. She brings her food from afar. From afar is a metaphor. She's not going on an international shopping excursion. It speaks of her ability to find new ways of adding to the family's finances. Verse 15, she rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. Rising while it's still night implies she puts the well-being of her household above her own comfort. And portions for maidens means that she also provides for her extended household. And by doing that, it further blesses the whole household. In verse 16, she considers a field and buys it. With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard. This woman not only uses her hands, she uses her head. She's also an astute businesswoman who reinvests her earnings. In verse 17, She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She not only has spiritual strength, she has physical strength. Verse 18. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. I don't know if this woman ever sleeps. Verse 19. She puts her hands on the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. I'm told that a distaff is a stick that you put coarse wool around to spin. She even has the skill to make her own thread. And verse 24, she makes linen garments and sells them. She delivers sashes to the merchants. So again, she's a businesswoman, deals in garments, selling the clothes she makes. What a woman. I'm worn out just talking about her. But there's more, much more. Not only is she an unbelievably hard worker and industrious, and really smart, she's compassionate. Verse 20, she opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy. This family is clearly prosperous, they're well off, and she exemplifies the principle that prosperity is meant to be shared with those who are less well off. Ephesians 4.28, let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, do an honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. So verse 20 says she helps the poor. As busy as she is, she can still see when others are hurting. She meets them where they are and reaches out to assist them any way she can. And it says she helps the needy. She's sensitive to the needs of others and works to find ways to provide their needs. their needs, not necessarily their wants. She's been blessed. She's been blessed. So she's benefited from the truth of Proverbs 11, 25. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. So she doesn't use her prosperity for self-indulgence. She sees prosperity as an opportunity to bless others. She's self-sufficient, but she's not selfish. And she's not afraid. Verses 21 and 22. She's not afraid of snow for her household. For all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her hard work gives her hope for the future. She fears nothing. Least of all, something hasn't even happened yet. Wisdom leaves no room for fear. In the first nine chapters, Lady Wisdom is never afraid to call out fools in public, pleading with people to listen. It says she makes clothes of scarlet for her household, meaning either clothes of fine fabric or clothes that are extra warm or both. And in verse 22 it says her clothing is fine linen and purple. In the ancient Near East, purple garments of fine linen were expensive. But in Scripture, fine linen has a much more a deeper meaning. God instructed that the garments of the high priest were to be made from linen, Exodus 28. Also, fine linen was worn by King David and the Levites when they brought the Ark of the Lord after Jerusalem, 1 Chronicles 15. Mordecai, who uncovers a plot to kill the Jews and helps in saving them, is later clothed with a fine linen robe. Esther chapter 8. In Ezekiel's oracle, God enters into a love covenant with his people and then beautifies them with fine linen. Ezekiel chapter 16. However, God's people would soon break that covenant. Yet God prevails and by King Jesus' victory, His people will again wear clothes of fine linen. And this time, it's an indicator of purity. Revelation 19, 8. She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints. So don't miss the significance of fine linen. So she works with her own hands to make herself the finest of bed coverings and cloths. She manages to take care of herself as well as everyone else. And because of her, her husband can do what he was called to do. Verse 23. Her husband is known in the gates where he sits among the elders of the land. Her husband has an important role to play. He's a leader in the community. It says he sits among the elders. So he's probably an elder himself. The gates are the gates of the city. It was a public meeting area. Think of it as kind of like a town hall or city hall. And that's where the elders would make important decisions on issues that affected the whole city. The implication is that her husband is able to do this only with the support of his wife. You've heard it said that behind every great man is a great woman. Well, that's what you see here. She runs the household, she handles the finances, so he can be a leader for the good of the community. As Tremper Longman writes, her reputation enhances his reputation. She also has strength and dignity, and apparently a sense of humor. Verse 25. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She's only not afraid, verse 21, but verse 25 25 says she laughs at any expectation of future danger. It's like she's saying, me worry about the future? Are you kidding? That's funny. I think I laugh at that. She wears strength and dignity like a garment. Strength implies that she has powerful energy. And it's her dignity that makes her stand out among her peers. And when she speaks, you better listen. Verse 26, she opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She speaks with words of wisdom. She knows the power of words and she uses them well. And her teaching of kindness comes from God's Word. From the love of God Himself. And so her words are words of life that flow from her wise heart. Proverbs 13, 14. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life. Her teaching comes from the book of Proverbs. As Christians, our teaching also comes from King Jesus, the one who is greater than Solomon. Matthew 28, verses 18-20. And in case you ever noticed, this lady is no sluggard. Verse 27. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. She's vigilant in managing her household, and the metaphor that she does not eat the bread of idleness stands in sharp contrast to the pathetic sluggard in Proverbs. And in appreciation for all she does and who she is, her family praises her. Verses 28 and 29. Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also, and he praises her. Many women have done excellently, but you surpassed them all. Her children praise her, and her husband praises her by echoing the words that began this poem. Verse 10 refers to her as an excellent wife. And here again in verse 29, her husband says, Many women have done excellently, but you surpassed them all. You know, the wisdom of humility is really important in the book of Proverbs. And God gave us a great illustration of humility in the previous chapter with Agar in chapter 30. I preached that, I think, four weeks ago. So it's fitting that others are praising her and she's not praising herself. And finally, in verses 30 and 31, you know it's nice to be honored by family, but this lady is honored by the Lord because she fears the Lord. 30 and 31, charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain. But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands and let her works praise her in the gates. It says charm is deceitful and beauty is vain. Have you noticed that with all the attributes this lady has, There isn't one mention of her physical appearance. It seems to be beside the point. Oh, don't get me wrong. Charm and beauty are good attributes to have, so I don't want to take anything away from all you charming and beautiful ladies. It's just not what makes a great woman of wisdom. As Bruce Waltke writes, it's inner spiritual beauty that doesn't deceive because it never fades. And the last part of verse 31 says, and let her works praise her in the gates. That's where we first encounter wisdom at the beginning of the book. Lady wisdom. In chapter 1, verses 20 and 21, it says this. Wisdom cries aloud in the street. In the market, she raises her voice. At the head of the noisy street, she cries out. At the entrance of the city gates, she speaks. And so we end the book, not with a personification of wisdom, but with a real-life woman of wisdom again at the gates. being praised for all she has done. So we've come full circle, haven't we? But here's a more important way we've come full circle. The last part of verse 30 says this, A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. And that also takes us back to the beginning of the book. Takes us back to the motto of the whole book of Proverbs. Proverbs 1-7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. And repeated in chapter 9 verse 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Graham Goldsworthy writes that in New Testament terms, the fear of the Lord is faith in King Jesus. King Jesus is the true wisdom of God. And King Jesus is the true wisdom of humankind. King Jesus implements the perfect plan of salvation that brings in the Kingdom of God. King Jesus is the one who justifies our flawed wisdom. And so that we're no longer condemned for our failures and our foolishness. And so in King Jesus, we're set free. Set free to pursue the task of working out our own sanctification and striving to be wise. So you know what? I'm going to take something back I said at the beginning of the sermon. I think a lot of you guys really are married to the Proverbs 31 woman. I know I am. And I think you really may have a mother or grandmother who's the Proverbs 31 woman. I know my mother was. And I think you really may have grown daughters who are the Proverbs 31 woman. My daughter certainly is. And so is my sister and my granddaughter. Because what really matters to a Proverbs 31 woman are not these idealized standards of the woman in this poem. What matters about the Proverbs 31 woman is this is a lady who knows the Lord. She loves the Lord. And she fears the Lord. And there are plenty of ladies right here in this room that meet that standard. The only standard that really matters. And young single men, and boys who will be single men so fast they'll make your parents' heads swim. I said at the beginning that this text is written for you in knowing how to find a wife. So here's my advice. Don't look for someone who's some sort of superwoman like you see in this passage. You won't be able to find her. And even if you did, she'd expect you to be the ideal of wisdom that she is. and you're not any more than I am, look for someone who fears the Lord. See, you can find her because God prearranges marriages of believers when it's His purpose for you to be married. And you know what else? You'll be surprised at how many of these other virtues you see in this text she'll have as a bonus. Not perfectly, but consistently. Because that's what the fear of the Lord does. It causes you to grow in wisdom. Jonathan Aitken writes this. The only way to be a Proverbs 31 woman is to be a saved woman. A born again woman of God. The woman in Proverbs 31 isn't just any woman. She's a saved woman. A godly woman. A Bible woman. She's a Jesus woman. To a woman who fears the Lord, the applause and praise of the world mean nothing. But the applause and praise of King Jesus mean everything to her. She walks in wisdom because she knows that King Jesus is the true wisdom, the wisdom of God. And if you follow her example in her fear of the Lord, you will be blessed. Be a blessing to others. What a great way to end this chapter. And what a Christ-honoring way to end the book of Proverbs. Let's pray. Father, we so much want to have the wisdom of Proverbs 31, woman. But we know it's only found in the wisdom of God and King Jesus. So will you give us a heart that fears the Lord? And for those here who don't know you, will you draw them to you and save them so that they too can be set free to pursue the wisdom of God? We ask this in the name of King Jesus, who is wisdom incarnated. Amen.