Proverbs: Chapter 31

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Salient points:

• The scriptures recommend intoxicating beverages for those in pain (vs.4-5). This has normally been interpreted as support for painkillers, especially in end-of-life situations. The point is that since alcohol affects judgment, those with decisions to make should do all they can to remain sober and alert. Reaction time has always been important, whether on the modern highway or the ancient throne.
• The king is the one addressed in vs.8 and 9, charged with defending the rights of the poor and needy.
• At long last (31:10-31) we meet the 4th significant woman in Proverbs. She is the Ideal Wife -- usually called the Proverbs 31 Woman.
• The ode to this apparently perfect woman is an acrostic (22 verses -- there are 22 consonants in the Hebrew alphabet).
• The 4 women, 2 virtuous and 2 wicked, are Wisdom (1:20-33; 4:5-9; 7:4; 8:1-30; 9:1-6), the Proverbs 31 Woman, the adulteress (2:16-19; 5:1-14,20; 6:24-32; 7:25-27), and Folly (9:13; 14:1).
• Think of her as Lady Wisdom -- so often mentioned in Proverbs -- in human form. The young, marriageable woman has found a man and settled down (9:1; 14:1)!
• She can hardly be the standard for all Israelite mothers, since she is from the upper classes, has servants, a husband well positioned in the leadership structure of the town (v.23), and is able to run a business from her home (v.24).
• The woman is wise because she fears the Lord (vs.30; see 1:7).
• Notice that in v.26 "faithful instruction is on her tongue" (NIV) -- "the teaching of kindness" (ESV). Instructing others (family, friends, strangers) is a trait of the truly discipline person. She or he wants everyone to benefit from God's wisdom and love, so that they too may "laugh at the days to come" (v.25).
• Parting thought: Consider how the book of Proverbs speaks to the spiritual condition of Israel. Israel didn't follow her wise counsel. She rebelled, led astray by the world's beguiling messages, failing to learn wisdom. Yet in becoming God's "disobedient son," she inadvertently prepared the way for the Gentiles. For all of us, regardless of spiritual heritage or pedigree, Christ is our wisdom (1 Cor 1:30).

Challenge:

• Don't eat the bread of idleness!
• Like the Proverbs 31 Woman, who is really Wisdom in work clothes, the charge is to implement the principles you've learned in the last month.
• To help you see where you've come from, and to refresh your memory, it might be good to review all the podcast notes. Make a list of the 31 challenges.
• Maybe you will even want to listen to the series again, to cement it in your thoughts.