In this verse, we see a lady who has definite concern for the less fortunate.

This God-loving woman isn’t so busy in life that she can’t stop and help someone who is hurting or someone not as fortunate as her.   She is as intent on giving as she is on getting, and does it freely and cheerfully.   She is sympathizing and charitable, and loves to extend to others the blessings which have been given to her.

When I first read this verse, I thought it was pretty straight forward.   But once I dug a little deeper, I found there was more to it.

The King James Version of the first half of the verse is She stretcheth out her hand to the poor.   This was described as she her hand stretched out to the poor, with alms in her hand.   The definition of alms is money, food, or other donations given to the poor or needy; anything given as charity.

The King James Version of the second half of the verse is yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.  In this verse, she is reaching her hands out to raise and soothe the poor man.  She wasn’t just satisfied by giving him money, she wanted to exercise the gentle ministries of a tender love.

She can see these needs because she isn’t focused on only herself. It’s so easy for us to just get caught up in life and put blinders on to those around you.

It’s so important for us to learn to have a servants heart.  After all, Jesus did say the second greatest commandment was to love your neighbors.  Reaching out to others, being the hands and feet of Jesus, is one of the greatest callings we have in our faith.  Not only does it show the love of Christ for the world, it’s also an opportunity for us to worship God and for us to grow more like Jesus.  I not only think it’s important for us to have a servants heart, but to also model this for our littles.

So this week, be kind, thoughtful and compassionate.  Serve your husband, family, friends and neighbors with a gentle and loving spirit.  Look to the needs of others before you satisfy your own wants.

This week we see a wife who is a capable, intelligent woman. She has a good savvy business mind; which is very needed when raising a family, especially on one income in these economic times.

The first thing we see is the Proverbs 31 woman considers a field, she doesn’t just quickly buy it.  This doesn’t mean every woman needs to go into real estate and horticulture — the principle here is that this woman uses her mind.  She is smart, patient and wise with her finances and doesn’t just purchase things on a whim.  She considers it, prays about it and talks to her husband about it.  She seeks her husband’s council and approval before making any purchases.  She would never make a purchase without consulting her husband first.  She spends her money wisely and unselfishly.  And I would say she’s a saver, since she obviously had the money saved up to purchase the field.

She doesn’t just buy the field, she plants a vineyard in it.  She is obviously a hard worker.  When she has a special project like this, she gets at it and get it done.  She doesn’t get to the middle of the project and decide it was too hard and give up.  She works hard, eagerly and vigorously.

The Proverbs 31 Woman was a BEAST y’all!  She took pride not only in her spirit and mind but also her body.  She treated her body as if it were a temple.  WHY?  Not to be beautiful in the worlds eyes, but to be fit and ready for anything GOD called her to do!

We need to have diligence and a heart that’s willing to work.  Our home is the place where our children’s hearts are molded and where they grow spiritually, emotionally and intellectually.  Our home is where our husbands come after a hard day of work to find comfort and to relax.  A home with a hardworking woman is a complete blessing to her family.

Remember last week we studied a bit on Verse 15 {She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants} and how it ties to Verse 18.  A lamp is always kept burning at night in Eastern houses.  Since the houses are very small, the careful housewife has to rise at midnight to replenish the oil.  While she is up, she often then begins her household work by grinding the corn or preparing something for next day’s meals.

I was curious about Verse 19, so I really studied it and researched the meaning.  This verse tells us that she performed the work of spinning her flax into thread.  The distaff definition is a staff for holding the flax or wool in spinning.  The spindle definition is a slender round rod or stick with tapered ends by which thread or yarn is twisted in spinning by hand and on which it is wound.
We also see a reference to spinning in Exodus 35:25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.

She was such an industrious lady!  My goodness, even spinning her own thread to make her own fabric to make her family clothes.  Wow!  As I’ve said before, I’m not friends with sewing at all.  But there are lots of other ways we can apply this to our own lives and do with eager hands to provide for my family.  I enjoy loom knitting and can whip up a mean scarf in a few days.  There are so many different things we can do with our hands…sewing, knitting or crocheting to name a few.

These verses show a woman who endures, who keeps going, who is strong for all that she must do and be.  This week, be willing to get your hands dirty, work hard and show an amazing work ethic.  And as we discussed last week, do it without complaining.  Remember, your most important work will be done inside the walls of your home!

Welcome back to week 3 of our Proverbs 31 study. I hope y’all are enjoying it as much as I am! This week we’re going to look at Proverbs 31: 13-15.

She selects wool and flax 

and works with eager hands. 

She is like the merchant ships, 

bringing her food from afar.

She gets up while it is still dark; 

she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. 

Proverbs 31:13-15

 

This week we see a picture of a woman who is clearly not afraid to work and is certainly not lazy. Lets dive in a little deeper and see how we can relate these

Verse 13

Not only is she a woman who works hard to bring her husband good – but she does her work with an outstanding attitude.  She willingly works with “eager hands.”  I’m going to be honest y’all, there are some chores I just don’t approach with eager hands.  Shoveling out the chicken coop being one of them.

Sometimes what we need is a change of perspective!  Each boring, mundane chore we complete for our family is a labor of love.  As you grocery shop, cook dinner, fold the laundry and clean the toilets – remember that these small tasks all added together equal a well nurtured home and family.  Without speaking one word your actions speak volumes of love to your husband and children.

I wanted to research the mention of wool and flax.  I know wool has been used for clothing since early times. I was thrown off by the mention of flax, I automatically thought of flax seed. But I’ve learned that flax was largely cultivated for the manufacture of linen. It would be dried, peeled, hackled and spun first and then would be ready to be made into linen. So, not only does she make their clothes, she actually makes the material as well.

There may be some of you who make clothes for your family, but this chickie right here isn’t one of them. Sewing and I are not friends. But there are lots of other things I can do with eager hands to provide for my family. I enjoy loom knitting and can whip up a scarf in a few days. There are so many different things we can do with our hands…sewing, knitting or crocheting to name a few.

Also, in our modern times we are blessed with inexpensive clothes. I might not be able to sew but I can shop a mean clearance rack, normally with coupons in tow.  Even further than that, doing the laundry and ensuring our family has clean clothes to wear.  I know laundry can seem like a never-ending task…washing it, drying it, folding it and putting it away.  Believe me, do I ever know that.  I have a teenage boy who changes his clothes a minimum of 3 times a day.  Yeah, I know, unreal right?  Laundry is a task we should approach with eager hands as well.  Y’all know whats written in the Bible there isn’t any arguing with, right?  So when God says to do our work joyfully and eagerly, and we actually do it without grumbling, that is what is honoring to God.  Think it’s impossible to do your laundry with joy?  Nothing is impossible with God.  When you sit down to fold it, pray and ask God to help you to have joy in your heart about it.

Verse 14

This woman is willing to go to great lengths to get good food for her family. The Proverbs 31 woman didn’t have a refrigerator, so she would have had to travel to the market daily.  Sometimes she would have to go a long way to get all of the things she needed for the day. I even read y’all that she might have had to travel the whole way to Egypt just to get corn for her family. Thank goodness for grocery stores, can I get an Amen? But she was willing to go as far as she needed to go to get food because of her love and care for her husband and children.

I think it’s important that as women, we learn how to cook good meals for our family.  With the access to the internet and Pinterest, there really isn’t any reason we wives shouldn’t be good cooks.  Casseroles are so easy and yummy.  We literally have thousands of recipes at our fingertips.  While turning to easy meals is convenient (think Hamburger Helper or fries and fish sticks) they aren’t the most nutritious.  With a little extra effort we can prepare a good, healthy, home-cooked meal for them to come home to.  I tell my family all the time that one of the ways I show my love for them is through my cooking.  Be willing to go the distance to get the meal done, cooking for a few hours if need be.  I like to cook homemade bread, rolls or cinnamon rolls once a week for my family as a treat.  Yes, it takes time…but seeing how much they enjoy it makes it totally worth it.  And if you have a bread machine, that makes the task even easier but equally as tasty!

Also, take the time to clip coupons and save your family as much money as you can.  There are so so so many coupon websites out there that you just print the coupons right off of {HERE, HERE and HERE}.  With a little searching you can find which local grocery stores accept printed coupons and they may even double or triple coupons!  Grocery shopping is another task we can approach with an eager heart.  Braving those busy stores can seem like a big chore at times, but remember you’re doing it for your sweet family.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

Colossians 3:23

Verse 15

Why did she rise early?  To provide food for her family and to provide portions for her servant girls.

The word portions in this passage actually means work.  She rises early not only to feed her family but to also delegate the days work that needs to be done.  I would guess none of us have servant girls, unless you have a housekeeper.  In that case, lucky you!  I would say your dishwasher, washing machine, dryer and sweeper are our modern day servants.  And they sure do lighten our work load tremendously compared to Biblical times.

This verse really caught my eye.  I found some really interesting info about it.  A lamp is always kept burning at night in Eastern houses.  Since the houses are very small, the careful housewife has to rise at midnight to replenish the oil.  While she is up, she often then begins her household work by grinding the corn or preparing something for next day’s meals.  So this also directly ties to verse 18, She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.

So it’s the middle of the night, the house is quiet, what would this be a perfect opportunity for her to do? What did Christ do early in the morning {Mark 1:35}? Pray! What a great lesson for us as well. You know how much easier it is to concentrate in a quiet household. That would be the perfect time to spend time with Him through prayer, being in His Word, giving thanks and praise. I actually write 90% of my blog posts early in the morning while everyone is still in bed.

So I encourage you this week to do your chores, even the ones you hate, to the glory of God. Maybe try getting up a little early one day to spend some time in prayer. Maybe go for a walk and pray at the same time. I call those “walk and talks”. What better place to talk to God than in the beauty He created!! Create a warm and loving atmosphere for your family to come home to with eager hands and a joyful heart.

This weeks study guide

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