"The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him: What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. . . . An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels."
I had a random revelation, this morning, I was thinking about verses on being a godly single man and woman, and realized that Proverbs 31 is not describing a married woman, but a single woman.
You see, Proverbs 31 is the advice of a loving mother to her son. She advices him to not seek pleasure in ways that destroy kings, women and alcohol, and instead to pursue justice as a godly man and to find a godly wife. And then we go into a description of this godly woman.
We often read this description of this woman as a description of a married woman, however it is not. It is a description of a single woman. King Lemuel's mother is not telling her son to look for a married woman, but is describing the character of a single woman and telling her son, marry this kind of woman.
God does not have a separate plan for preparing to be a godly single woman than He does for preparing to be a godly married woman. He only has a plan for being a godly woman. Proverbs 31 applies equally to the single woman and to the married woman. God is concerned about the character of a woman and it is the character of a godly woman which will enable her to handle any situation in life, whether married or single.
So single women, read Proverbs 31 again, it was written about you and applies to your life, today. And know that whether single or married, God has called you into an unfading beauty, for you are more precious than jewels.
That is a good question. Actually all of it can be applied to a single woman, if you are willing to look deeply into what this mother is telling her son.
ReplyDeleteIt is obvious that the mother is describing a single woman for her son to look for as a wife. So we know that these attributes do apply to the single woman. Although these qualities are described in the marriage context they are expected to be demonstrated in the single context. Every point listed can be demonstrated by a woman as she lives singly. The son should be able to see by the character and actions of the single woman that she will be this as a married woman. There are not certain points in this description that he will just have to wait till they get married to find out whether she fits them or not. No, by the way she lives her life as a single woman, he will know who she will be as a wife. And these qualities and traits as they are lived out by single woman are the characteristics required for every woman whether single or married. They are not things just required of a married woman. Yes, the context may be different on how these traits are lived out, but the heart is the same. These verses are very clear, the mother is telling her son to find a godly single woman, a woman who fears the Lord, because a woman who fears the Lord, will be one who displays these qualities as a wife.
For example, a godly husband will be one who is capable of training his children in the way of the Lord. You can see this quality while he is still single. Does He fear God? Does he love God’s word? Is his theology sound? Does he have a passion for living it out? Does he encourage others and build them up in the Lord? Is he a brother or a father to those that are younger? Does he have a godly view of children, for the fatherless, the orphan?
So for the single woman the question is, do your actions as a single woman demonstrate that you would be this kind of woman as a wife?