Proverbs 31

The Proverbs 31 Woman (vv.10-31)

“Martha Stewart Ain’t Got Nothin’ on Me!”

The reason there is so much misery in marriage is not that husbands and wives seek their own pleasure, but that they do not seek it in the pleasure of their spouses. The biblical mandate to husbands and wives is to seek your own joy in the joy of your spouse.

~John Piper (Desiring God)

Proverbs 31 challenges both husband and wife to pursue excellence in their marriage and not to settle for mediocrity.

Verse 10 says, “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.”

This is not saying that a virtuous woman does not exist; it simply says that she is a rare find. The “Proverbs 31 Woman” is an archetype, the ideal. So, do not be a discouraged wife; this woman is a prototype to whom you should aspire to emulate in essence—not in absolutes.

Nevertheless, marriage is to be mutually beneficial to the glory of God. The hub of this passage, however, is verse 23, which says, Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. Compare this to verse 31, “Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.” What are “her works” that praise her in the gates? Her “works” is her husband. She has made him what he is, and he praises her for who she is! Do you see it! She finds her happiness in his happiness, and he finds his happiness in her happiness! They find great satisfaction in their marriage, and God is glorified!

--Jeff Teague