The 21st Century Christian Wife: A Godly Woman.....She is a Work of Poetry!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

A Godly Woman.....She is a Work of Poetry!

Hi Ladies,

Since my last post I have been reading..."Discovering the Treasures of a Godly Woman" by Elizabeth George. It is a very in-depth study of the Proverbs 31 woman and already I have learned new meaning from the scriptures. I almost don't know where to being and I am only on chapter 4!

So my dear readers let us start at the very beginning...a very good place to start.

Chapter One - A Godly Woman

Much of the bible is poetry and it is the same for the Proverbs 31 passages. In the Hebrew language there is rhyme and meter and parallelism. You may notice that a proverb, or saying, usually has two lines, each with a parallel relationship to the other....for example....

Synonymous parallelism is this...Proverbs 31:20

"She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needs."

Antithetical Parallelism is This Proverbs 31:30

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting but a woman who fears the lord is to be praised."

You will find this through out the bible and Proverbs especially...examples...

Proverbs 1:2

Proverbs 10:1

Proverbs 3:6

The next example we find in Proverbs 31 is Synthetic Parallelism - here the second line simple continues the thought of the first line with the second line usually starting with "and"....

Proverbs 31:13

"She gets up while it is still dark; and provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls."

Overview

I am glad we took the time to discuss this important aspect of the Proverbs in general. I learned something new. I hope you did too! It will help us to have a better understanding of our God and the Word in my opinion.

The next section will focus on Godly Excellence. The writer has us again read Proverbs 31 in it's entirety and pick out all of the characteristics of the Godly Woman...or the Wife of Noble Character.

Some Characteristics of the Proverbs 31 woman translated

into the 21st Century.

She is valuable, there are not many woman like this to be found!
Her husband has full confidence in her, he lacks nothing that he needs to be happy. In other words, ***at the top of her priority list is the happiness and comfort of her husband.
She is kind to him and brings him ONLY good, not harm.
She is a SMART shopper.
She works very hard and is a prudent business woman - at times she will have to leave the house to provide - "she is like the merchant ships bringing her food from afar"
She is frugal
She gets up early in the morning and may work late into the night to provide
She MADE food for her family and servants. She also made sure they had appropriate clothing and were warm and well dressed.
She was charitable
She was crafty, she knew how to sew, cook, clean, manage finances.
She made sure that she was well dressed. Fine linen and Purple were expensive and pretty fabrics of the time, not to mention the time it took to keep those garments well kept!

WOW - that is a lot. The writer asks us to see which of these character traits we have and those which we lack.

I can be MUCH better in managing our finances and being more frugal....and have taken steps in the right direction.

My goal this week in my journey to becoming more like this Virtuous Woman....is to also make bread daily and use what we have in the house for our nightly dinners.

I also want my thoughts and speech to be pleasing to God. I often find myself reciting proverbs that I want to remember (Proverbs 3:5-6) when I am feeling less than virtuous, and singing hymns of praise while doing mundane chores around the house.

What is your goal this week?

Since my accident it has been hard for me to plan and cook but last night I was able to and I felt like my old self again.

I put on my favorite vintage apron and felt like the woman of the house again as I slow cooked some country style ribs for my Stepsons. I also made some french bread!