Virtuous Woman Or Virtual Slave?

Virtuous Woman or Virtual Slave? By Patricia Backora

Worn out and frayed She pays her own way To prove her virtue to all A virtuous maid She slaves night and day Until her juggled balls fall. Though made of clay She does more in a day Than her husband does in a year She never slows down Wears her martyr’s crown She’s fueled on religious fear. She slaves night and day She’s paid with lame praise She’s just a useful appliance When beauty fades Work compensates To justify her existence.

She suffers for others But never looks flustered You’ll never see her fatigue She acts like an angel Though her nerves are mangled She mustn’t lose her mystique. She earns her own bread Like Solomon said Though there’s no time to eat it ‘Cause 24/7 She works to earn heaven She doesn’t seem to need it. Sleep is forbidden She won’t feel forgiven If she should close her eyes Her health’s unimportant This virtuous woman Will be a doormat for life. I read a disturbing blog posted by some poor woman who seems to be in bondage to the Virtuous Woman described in Proverbs 31. Whenever you read any scripture, ask God to help you rightly digest it for proper application (if any) to your own life. I qualify this statement because some scriptures you wouldn’t apply to your own life, like “Judas went out and hanged himself (Matt.27:5b).”. You could even misapply scripture to try to build a case for copying this example by combining it with “Go and do thou likewise (Luke 10:37b).” Ridiculous, but tragic. It’s possible for two scriptural concepts to seem to clash with one another. Example: In Deut.23:6 God commands His chosen people to forever be at enmity with certain ethnic groups and not to seek their good, because those people didn’t treat them right (Deut.23:4). But later you read in the New Testament where Jesus teaches His people to love even their own enemies and do good to those who hate them and don’t treat them right (Luke 6:27). Taking the Gospel to ALL nations as Jesus commanded IS doing good to them. Seemingly contradictory concepts are found in Scripture, but which has the final say in your own life? Are you under Law or under Grace? Did the Virtuous Woman of Proverbs 31 live under Law or under Grace? She lived under Law! Just like the Penteteuch, or five books of the Law of Moses, Proverbs was also included in in the

canon of Old Covenant Scripture. This book was believed to have been penned by King Solomon many centuries before the death of Christ ushered in the New Covenant of Grace. The Virtuous Woman “ate not the bread of idleness”. This lady was a nonstop workhorse, scarcely even taking time off to sleep. She felt that she had no right to eat unless she was constantly working and producing things to earn her own existence. Although her husband praised her in the gates (verse 28), it was all about her OUTPUT, period (verse 31). This speaks of a relationship based on works, not grace. Can you spot the INEQUALITY in this marriage? The husband sits in the gates gossiping while his poor wife knocks herself out cooking, sewing, embroidering, haggling with merchants and running a business on the side, to provide for her household. She doesn’t seem to get much down time, either. Instead, she gets out of bed while it’s still dark, before her husband does! Women DID find time to rest, even in the Old Testament. It was a necessary “health and safety” custom because of the hot sun. Ruth went out to glean grain to feed herself and her mother-in-law Naomi. But she still took a rest break during the hottest part of the day like the other workers (Ruth 2:7). She even sat down to eat with Boaz’ men (verse 14). Jesus’ body needed to be properly prepared for burial after His brutal death. But the women did the bare minimum and rested according to the commandment until after the Sabbath (Luke 23:56). Unless it was necessary to preserve life, all work had to cease till after the Sabbath ended.

Did Jesus slave around the clock producing products to deliver to the merchant? He left His carpentry business behind to go on the road to fulfill His 3-1/2 year ministry. During that time He lived on offerings (Luke 8:3). Instead of whittling wooden spoons while He sailed across the lake with His disciples, Jesus took a nap during a terrible storm which threatened to sink their boat (Mark 4:35-41). He must have been utterly exhausted. Yet was it “virtuous” of Jesus to be napping when other people’s lives were in danger? This was no light catnap. The disciples had to shake Jesus awake. He stilled the storm but rebuked them for being afraid. Jesus said He came to give rest to His people and that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matt.11:28-30). However much preachers try to limit Christ’s promise of rest only to SPIRITUAL rest in order to get their people to work around the clock to bring in extra donations, perpetual tiredness and ill health resulting from it is still a heavy burden to bear. Proverbs 31 must be given lower priority than the teachings of Christ and the teachings of the New Testament epistles to the Church. Far from being a virtue, it is vain (useless) for you to rise up early, stay up late and eat the bread of sorrows (toil). God gives His beloved sleep (Psalms 127:2). Are women included among God’s beloved? If so, this scripture surely applies to them, whether married or not. The blogger bemoaned the fact that she ALWAYS had to work, every minute of every waking hour of every day of every week. Such an assertion begs a question: If Proverbs 31 is a law she feels bound to live by, then why isn’t God’s Sabbath Day law equally binding on her? If you’re going to be legalistic, at least be consistent about it and apply ALL the Old Testament the same way. The blogger found no time to rest or study, or even to relax and enjoy her own husband once in awhile. Up before dawn, this dear lady kept toiling way past her family’s bedtime until she dropped from sheer exhaustion. She even felt guilty about taking time off to eat! She actually thought it was “eating the bread of idleness” to sit down at the table with her own family and benefit her own tired, depleted body with food prepared by her own hands! Well, I have news for her. Even the government requires rest and meal breaks for minimum wage workers and restricts the hours they can be forced to work at any given workplace in a week. Even under the Old Law of Moses, MAIDSERVANTS were among those who were required to rest on the Sabbath Day (Deut.5:14). Was a

man’s wife to be denied the same rest breaks were entitled to?

his female slaves

I confess I have problems with the Virtuous Woman being expected to toil late into the night, while at the same time being expected to get up before everybody else. Even farm animals would be led to their stall at the end of each working day, where they would be watered by the people they serve and allowed to rest and eat. Is a woman less valuable in the sight of God than a beast of burden?

There may be times when women sit up way past their bedtime to finish making a gift for someone’s Christmas or birthday (I’ve done this myself). But that doesn’t mean you’re obligated to live that way each and every night! Could it be that the Virtuous Woman had a deadline to finish her consignment of sashes to take to the merchant the next day at a certain time, so on ONE occasion she sat up most of the night sewing? Christ’s Spirit is a Spirit of liberty, not a spirit of fearful, cringing slavery (2 Cor.3:17). If you feel BOUND AND FEARFUL, even on account of some scripture, the devil is putting on a religious hat and dabbling in your devotional life! Did you know satan can use twisted Scripture to turn you into a fearful, mixed-up religious slave? When Christ fasted in the Wilderness, satan tempted Him to jump off the top of the Temple by appealing to Psalms 91:11-12, which promises that God will send His angels to keep us from falling and getting hurt. Jesus fended off this spiritual deception with a scripture of His own. Satan used Proverbs 31:27 to bind this lady blogger with fear. It praises women who don’t eat “the bread of idleness.” In modern terminology this would mean “If you don’t work, you don’t eat”, or “Earn your keep.”

Some readers of Prov.31 might imagine the Virtuous Woman’s husband with an indulgent smile on his face as he watches his wife’s frantic efforts to make an economic contribution. He knows he’s rich enough to buy the market place where she haggles and makes her deals to get a good profit for the sashes she makes to sell. The husband thinks it makes her feel fulfilled to have this outlet in her restrictive, male-dominated world, so humor her and let her do it. That would be similar to the way high society ladies would feel useful by working for various charities, or serving soup to poor people in missions. Such privileged women wouldn’t need to work for money; they just feel better doing their bit to make the world a nicer place. So is it possible the Virtuous Woman wanted to feel better about herself, not just supplement the family’s income (even if her husband was rich)? Remember, this Old Testament wife’s virtue, or “praiseworthiness”, consists solely of the outward WORKS SHE DOES, not her inherent worth as a being made in God’s image. Taking it a step further, The more good works the woman did, the more righteousness she possessed. What this essentially means is this: In the OT, good works didn’t just prove your righteousness, they WERE your righteousness! This is substantiated by a remark Christ made as He ministered UNDER

THE LAW BEFORE THE CROSS. In Matt.6:1 Jesus warns His JEWISH listeners to not do their alms to be seen of men. A note in the margin of the KJV renders “alms” as RIGHTEOUSNESS! Before the Gospel of righteousness by grace through faith was revealed to God’s people, righteousness consisted of WHAT YOU DID, not resting in what God had ALREADY done to save you. Jews under the Old Covenant (which includes the period of Jesus’ ministry before the cross) performed good religious deeds in order to earn a righteous standing before God. This could help explain the selfsacrificing zeal of the Virtuous Woman. It mattered not if she dropped dead from exhaustion if doing so would earn God’s favor, as well as her husband’s, evidently a man of double standards who expected his wife to work triple shifts while he sat chatting with his buddies in the gates.

There could be an even darker reason she worked that hard: that four-letter word: FEAR! Proverbs 31: 30 contrasts a woman who fears the Lord with the vanity of beauty. That verse seems to be saying that even if you’re not drop-dead gorgeous, personal holiness more than makes up for it.

Most women who get a bit older stop looking like teenage Barbie Doll eye candy. Perhaps this woman started pulling her weight like a plow horse as she looked more and more like an old gray mare, just so her adoring husband wouldn’t stray! She wanted to make herself so indispensable to him he’d never dream of trading her in for a fresh new filly to bring home the bacon. She “excelled them all” (verse 29) to make herself secure in her husband’s love. If that man spent all day “sitting in the gates”, somebody had to get up off their duff and slave away. Or, he would have starved to death!

In olden days, stage coach horses would pull their heavy load for so many miles, then they’d be swapped for “fresh horses” at some point along the route. Unless the Virtuous Woman’s hubby was rich as Bill Gates, he must have depended on her to pull his weight as well as her own. She must have worried that exhaustion, sickness, or the wear and tear of age might would rob her of the ability to finance his lazy lifestyle, and he’d swap her for a “fresh horse”. Even domestic beasts of burden have, historically, been treated with far more consideration than exploited wives! In the days before the nuclear family (2 parents + their kids), inlaws often lived with their married sons, especially the widowed mother-in-law. Could the untiring zeal of the Virtuous Woman have been at least partially motivated by the emotional abuse of such a woman, who insinuated she wasn’t good enough for her son? In many households of the ancient world, it wasn’t the wife who was queen of her own home, but the cross, overbearing MONSTER-INLAW who made sure her drudging daughter-ln-law never forgot her place.

As a rule, women never did feel totally secure in their husband’s love back in Bible days. Such seemed to be the case when Christ walked the earth. That’s why He had to attack the problem of Jewish men trading in wives like old cars. If a woman lost her looks or even burned her husband’s bagel, she knew she could be thrown out in the street with no severance pay in the wink of an eye. Women in that ancient culture were on lifelong probation, never sure about whether they’d still be married to the same guy the next day. Jesus made it clear that God joined couples together, and marriage was sacred and indissoluble “until death do us part”. Jesus allowed divorce and remarriage ONLY for marital unfaithfulness (Matt.19:9). Christ taught that marriage makes a man and a woman “one flesh”, and He forbids human judges to divorce what He’s joined together (Matt.19:5-10). Jesus’ teaching on divorce and remarriage was revolutionary for His time. Jesus’ fairness toward women made His male chauvinist disciples grumble. Because of this “one flesh” relationship between husband and wife, the husband should be genuinely concerned if the wife is unfairly overburdened with work and worries. This “one flesh” spiritual aspect of marriage didn’t used to be acknowledged by people of Biblcal times, especially under the Old Law. Paul speaks of married people being yoked together, which would further substantiate the one flesh doctrine. When one ox pulls the plow, so does the other one. But in Proverbs 31 all the burden of the work is carried by only one ox, the wife. The husband is blissfully free of any responsibility except to sit in the gates and visit his friends.

In Bible days Women were considered unequal in all ways to men, barely human. Did you know there was a time every respectable Jewish man would offer up this “prayer” first thing in the morning: “God, I thank thee that thou hast not made me either a beast, a Gentile, or a woman”? John Lennon sang: Woman is the (racial expletive) of the world. Lennon, a non-Christian, wrote music to comment on what was wrong with the world. Anyone who watches the news knows that in many societies women are marginalized and exploited as inferior beings. A disproportionate share of the world’s menial work is done by women, who are still paid less than men for doing the same job. Now I don’t believe in women laying around all day munching Doritos and watching TV. We should all “redeem the time” and make the best possible use of it. But the Virtuous Woman passage in Prov.31: 10-31 also speaks of works, not grace. This scripture stands alone in all of scripture in teaching women that they’re expected to sacrifice necessary rest and nourishment to qualify for being virtuous. Written from the pen of a pampered king who didn’t punch a time clock or clip coupons to save on his grocery bill. Notice verse 17. After all her endless WORKS, the Virtuous Woman is still expected to make herself physically fit, even though she’s undernourished, sleep-deprived and overworked. But she’s bound to have a whistle-bait figure because she barely ever eats! Just imagine working as a harried waitress all day long, then moonlighting at McDonald’s, then sitting up all night to sew, skipping your night’s sleep, feeding everybody else breakfast, then rushing to the gym to bench press a few hundred pounds. Man, that woman would turn into such a sweaty gym rat her husband would RUN to those city gates to get away from her!

I believe in the divine inspiration of Scripture, but one scripture passage must be kept in right balance with other scriptures. We read the Word from the perspective of a New Covenant Christian, not from the perspective of a Jew under Mosaic Law. Where there seems to be a conflict between Old Testament and New, New Testament scriptures must always take priority and settle the issue in the life of a Christian.

Husbands are commanded to love their wives and nourish and cherish them (Eph.5:25-29). Nothing is said about the husband withholding his love and support if the wife doesn’t always act like a superwoman. Even in Exodus 21:10, an Old Testament scripture, God Himself states that a wife has the right to food and clothes which are provided BY THE HUSBAND, who is not allowed to diminish their quantity even if he marries a second wife (no mention of the wife having to work herself to death to earn these blessings, or even to work for money so the husband can afford to take the second wife). Yet in Proverbs 31 the wife is expected to earn her own money, provide her own clothes, do without sufficient sleep, and eat nothing she hasn’t first earned through her own toil.

Where is her husband’s contribution toward her upkeep? She goes to bed with the guy every night (for at least two hours), caters to his every desire, disregards her own personal needs. It appears the husband is the only one who’s getting all the benefits out of this virtuous marriage relationship. The icing on the cake is he doesn’t have to fork out a penny in tips (even a hooker would be treated better). No wonder he praises his wife (Prov.31:28). If you’ve got a good robot who costs you nothing, does all the work around the house, and expects nothing in return but an occasional pat on the head, of course you’ll praise that thing that saves you

from expending your own energy to make life nice. Any old plow mule has to be fed and watered and bedded down in the barn for the night. But the Virtuous Woman not only works round the clock at a punishing pace, she also pays for her own stingy ration of hay. Even a vacuum cleaner isn’t expected to provide its own electricity! Sorry, I just can’t see how it’s fair to call such extreme exploitation of workers a virtue, but maybe I’m missing something. But I can’t help but think what a romance-killer it must be, that the Virtuous Woman’s husband would work her to death, then begrudge her the food in her belly and the clothes on her back! That’s the epitome of stinginess. For those who take, take, take and never worry about the welfare of the giver, cost-free love is wonderful. Everybody loves a bargain! What factory owner wouldn’t sell his right arm to get a worker like the Virtuous Woman? She’ll CHEERFULLY work nonstop 18-20 hours a day, unpaid, NO rest breaks, NO meal breaks, and all she asks for is an occasional word of praise (words are cheap). That’s all. As long as she doesn’t catch this disease the Japanese call “Karoshi” (death from overwork) she makes the ideal employee. Cheaper than a robot to run, because she requires no electricity. She eateth not the bread of idleness. Hmmm. Is Solomon our guide, or Jesus? Jesus Himself used the word “idle” only three times. Two of them appeared in the same passage, Matt. 20:3-6, the parable of the agreed wages of the vineyard workers. These workers were probably male. Christ’s other usage of “idle” refers to idle (useless) words. Another place where a synonym of “idle”, slothful, appears is ONCE in the Parable of the Talents in Matt.25:26. Again, Christ does not aim this adjective at wives or women. In fact, NOWHERE does Jesus order women to work harder than men, or do without sufficient sleep or food in order to transform themselves into a “Virtuous Woman”. I’m sure there were women out there in the crowd eating when Christ passed out the loaves and the fishes (Matt.14:21; 15:38). To all appearances, people who sit and listen to preaching are acting IDLE because their hands aren’t busy doing things and making things. The women who ate Christ’s free (unearned) bread and fish were eating a gift of grace, not a reward for works.

If a woman comes under bondage to the WORKS of Proverbs 31 she forgets what Romans 4:4 says. You expect a reward (all the Virtuous Woman expects is praise) for works which make others indebted to you. But God’s FREE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS comes from grace, not works. If your relationship with God (or others) is based on grace, it’s a whole different scenario than if you exchange so much work for so many smiles of favor. How does coming under the law of Proverbs 31 affect your own relationship with God and His Word? That woman who’s afraid to go to bed at night, or even stop for a meal break, evidently feels God is a harsh taskmaster who doesn’t want her to ENJOY her life, and that He isn’t pleased with her unless she’s being “productive” like one of Simon Legree’s plantation slaves. Funny how in Biblical days, wives were loved only for what the husband could get out of them in offspring and free labor while a son was loved just for being a son! How would your own son or daughter feel toward you if you were constantly threatening to punish them (or disown them, as in divorce) if they didn’t fulfill their work quota for the day? Doesn’t it grieve our dear Heavenly Father that some women (and men) associate Him with pain and toil instead of joy and happiness? The poor exhausted blogger wrote that she couldn’t wait for the Rapture to come to end the whole miserable cycle of exhaustion she was subjected to. Far from being a delight, her married life was unmitigated, miserable slavery! It makes me wonder why her husband doesn’t pitch in with the dishes if she’s got too much to do, or express more concern for his own wife’s health and well-being.

Could this man, even if he’s a Christian, be using her as an energysaving appliance to make his own life nicer? If so, I marvel that she’s been patient with such selfishness for so long! If a man loves his wife, he’ll nourish and cherish her, not exploit her (Eph.5:29). If God has made the two of them one, why doesn’t it bother the husband that his wife feels unworthy to go to bed when he does? Whatever is good and righteous on earth is also good and righteous in heaven (Matt.6:10). On that basis, the lady blogger should realize that if it’s God’s will for her to kill herself with overwork here on earth, then why wouldn’t that also apply after the Rapture, when she’s up in heaven? If it’s a sin for a woman to rest and sit down to eat with her loved ones here on earth, surely that would also be the case in heaven. If what this dear lady believed about the Virtuous Woman doctrine were God’s truth, then there would be a perpetuation of that same lifestyle up in heaven. Instead of her resting at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb with Jesus and the rest of the saints, Christ’s banqueting table would only have men seated at it. All female saints would be scampering around cooking, cleaning, carrying food platters, taking orders and tackling a mountain of dishes in God’s kitchen. Old Testament Scripture is just as inspired as the New Testament. But not all scripture is equally applicable to believers of our dispensation. For example, we don’t keep the ancient food laws or literally obey God’s commandment to ancient Israel to stone disrespectful children to death (Exodus 21:17). Also, consider who penned Proverbs 31. King Solomon, the biggest womanizer of all time, a man who kept 300 wives and 700 concubines (I Kings 11:3). A man who built demonic idols for these women and got spiritually ruined by their influence (I Kings 11:5-9). Did wise King Solomon follow the same godly advice he wrote down for others? How did his own wives live? Were THEY up before the dawn, grinding grain, knitting socks, sewing tapestries, weaving wool, cooking, cleaning, etc.? Did THEY stay up all night toiling like donkeys, or did they lounge around their luxurious harem painting their eyes and being waited on by slaves? What about Solomon himself? How hard did HE work? Oh, I know he did lots of mental work and study, but who actually did the physical toil of constructing his building projects and caring for his fruit orchards? His poor slaves did. For all Solomon’s exhortations about not eating the bread of idleness, Solomon dined richly while these slaves subsisted on poorer food. Solomon probably never even washed out a pair of his own sox. Maybe he even had his a special servant assigned to put toothpaste on his brush for him (like today’s royalty does). Do as I say, not as I do.

In her anxiety about measuring up to the Virtuous Woman, the overworked lady forgot that the Virtuous Woman had maidservants (Prov.31:15). I doubt that this poor blogger has a maid to pitch in with the chores. Does she think she’s greater than Almighty God, Who rested from all His own works on the Seventh Day (Gen.2:3)? Does God require more endurance from His creatures than from Himself? Surely not. The slave masters of the Old South varied greatly in how they treated their poor black slaves. Some (like the fictional Simon Legree) provided the bare minimum in food, clothing and shelter to keep their cotton pickers alive. When they died, other slaves were available to replace them. The wisest of slave masters treated their slaves humanely enough to let them rest on Sundays and go on an occasional picnic to keep their morale up. Slaves could never be truly happy as slaves. But the most fortunate of them could at least have a few fun times to lighten the burden of their dreary days. Does the New Testament command women to work like dogs? In the New Testament all believers are commanded to do their part to help their poor relatives, but I believe Paul primarily addressed MEN as being responsible to work with their own hands to provide for their families (note Paul’s use of the male pronoun ‘his’ in I Tim.5:8). Paul worked with his own hands to provide his own living instead of soliciting offerings. Even under the Old Covenant it was the HUSBAND who was held responsible by God for providing the necessities of life for his wife (Ex.21:10). Paul said a loving husband will nourish (feed) and cherish his wife just as he would his own body (Eph.5;29). Paul emphasized EQUALITY of well-being in the Body of Christ. He urged that no one be burdened while others have it easy at the expense of those who contributed more (2 Cor.8:13-14). King David fed his estranged concubines instead of making them run a rug factory to earn their own grocery money (2 Sam.20:3). Some might object that the word “any” in I Tim.5:8 refers to women also as being responsible to go out to work to support their households. Often this is necessary. But if this verse means Paul was ordering women to go out to work as the primary breadwinners of their families (especially married women with kids to take care of), where would women in Paul’s world have gone to find a job in order to avoid being classed as “an infidel who has denied the faith”? Nursing careers were nonexistent in Paul’s day. Few women could read or write, so they couldn’t have landed an I.T. job. McDonald’s Hamburgers and KFC hadn’t come to town yet. Women couldn’t teach school, because only boys usually went, and only

male teachers were allowed to teach them. Prostitution was one of the few professions available to women back then, and even if the money earned from being one fed the woman’s family, that income wouldn’t have prevented that woman from apostatizing from the faith. Ancient husbands usually frowned on their wives working for other men, although women could run home workshops, like Priscilla, who helped Aquila make tents. Lydia, the wealthy seller of purple, was a rare exception to the rule that women didn’t generally go into business back in Paul’s day. Significantly, Paul writes that widows under the age of 60 should remarry and fulfill their duties at home, not go toil in some exterior workplace run by strangers (I Tim.5:14). Sometimes, especially when the husband’s health fails or economic times are terribly tough, the woman MUST work, at least part-time. It is then life becomes a juggling act and God’s help is needed to ensure that husband and children (if any) aren’t neglected while the wife concentrates on supplementing the family income. The long, long list of duties performed by the Virtuous Woman makes intimidating reading to most modern women. She spins, weaves, sews, embroiders, makes winter coats, engages in agricultural tasks, haggles with merchants. She goes to the ends of the earth to source foods her family loves. But does it necessarily mean this woman did each and every task each and every day of the week? I’m reminded of a description I read of Ma Ingalls’ week in the Little House on the Prairie books. She’d wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday, mend on Wednesday, sew on Thursday, churn butter on Friday, bake on Saturday, and rest on Sunday. Ma didn’t do everything possible for a woman to do each and every day of the week. According to another source, Ma also knew how to make hats. That doesn’t mean Ma made hats on a daily basis, only when they were needed. This busy woman insisted on getting reasonable rest on Sundays. Those who take Proverbs 31 so literally that they insist each and every day must be packed with all the chores it’s possible for a woman to perform, forget that when Jesus left the Carpenter’s shop to go perform His preaching ministry, He was still strong and capable enough to hammer and saw, like He’d always done since He was old enough to help Joseph in the carpenter’s shop. But something else was far more important at that particular time in His life. Are we women stronger (or more virtuous) than Christ Himself? Those same men who criticize women for not staying supernaturally busy like the Virtuous Woman usually do only ONE job per day to earn their living (unless they moonlight at McDonald’s), and they’re

done. In Bible times, as now, there were innumerable ways a man could earn a living: as a ship builder, a blacksmith, a tent-maker, a shepherd, a farmer, a merchant, a carpenter, a potter. Most men settled for only one livelihood. Peter didn’t make tents on the side. When Peter got done skinning his catch, he’d go home, eat and hit the sack. Peter wouldn’t sit up all night making pillow slips to sell in the marketplace. I prefer to interpret that long list of jobs in Proverbs 31 as a poetic celebration of the talents and abilities possessed by good women in general. An exposition of all the wonderful creative things women all over the world are capable of doing to bless others. Get out your fiddle and play a sweet tune as you sing the praises of female enterprise and ingenuity: What is woman in this world of ours? A high achiever who aims for the stars She votes in the Senate, the bill gets passed She sits on a jury, she weighs all the facts She studies rat cells in a laboratory Makes plastic parts in a factory She weaves silky threads to make a bed spread She cooks so divine, keeps her angels fed She nurses the sick from the edge of death She bakes cakes so light they melt in your mouth When tears need drying, she’s always around She puts on a badge, enforces the law She dabbles with data at home and abroad She paints pretty pictures and writes a book She shops in town till it’s time to cook She drives a massive delivery truck She teaches math, helps kids who get stuck She tackles the dishes and scrubs the walls Woman, how does she do it all? Would the Virtuous Woman have been expected to earn the money for her own birthday or anniversary present? Would she have had to do all the work at her own birthday party while everybody else kicked back and relaxed? Her husband could have spent more of his own resources to lighten her load instead of working that woman to death. It wasn’t a case of economic hardship. The Virtuous Woman’s husband may very well have been loaded, because he sat in the city gates conversing with other eminent men, with an air of “somebody-ness” about him. Poor men just didn’t act that way. Instead of rewarding his virtuous wife only with verbal praise, why didn’t that lazy cheapskate take her to a nice restaurant and let others wait on her for a change?

Why didn’t Solomon, to appear unbiased and fair, write a job description for the VIRTUOUS HUSBAND? Now, that would have gotten a response from the male “amen corner”! It’s usually MALE preachers who romanticize the role of the Virtuous Woman. Frankly, any husband who loafs while his wife toils to earn her own room and board doesn’t sound like he’d be much of a prize in the marriage market once his wife dropped dead from overwork! Can you hear the birds go “cheep, cheep”? About the only way the Virtuous Woman’s cheapskate husband could be any meaner would be if he dug her up when she’s dead, to make her work some more to reimburse him for funeral costs! Ancient Jewish misogyny often brought unequal treatment under the Old Law, but in Christ there is neither male nor female (Gal.3:28). All believers are to look out for each other’s welfare on an equal basis as being members together of Christ’s own Body (I Cor.12:25). Under the New Covenant, no provision is made for the unfair exploitation or convenient divorce of women. If this blogger would rightly divide the Word of God (2 Tim.2:15) she would realize that even the best of Old Testament teachings are superseded by the liberating truths of the New Covenant. The biggest harm that poor blogger is doing to herself is spiritual. If she’s worried that God won’t count her as righteous unless she emulates the Virtuous Woman, she’s pinning her hopes of heaven on works, not the grace of God in Christ. “Grace” means “unmerited favor”. If you have to work to earn God’s favor, it’s no longer a free gift of grace, but wages for works (Rom.11:6). There is a danger of falling from the grace of God (and all that brings us) if we do ANY type of good work to earn or keep God’s favor (Gal.5:4). Before Christ came to set women free, they were usually valued ONLY as bearers of children, objects of male desire and laborers. It was even debated whether or not a woman had a soul. Consider Mary and Martha, a study in contrasts. Martha was the dominant, energetic sister. Scripture plainly states it was HER house Jesus came to (Luke 10:38). Martha had a brother, Lazarus, who was probably too weak and sickly to take charge as head of the household. So it was Martha who had to do most everything. Her sister Mary sat at Jesus’ feet with the male disciples, something unheard-of back then. Martha had a huge feast to prepare. There was far too much work for just two hands. She was overstressed and overworked. Martha came to Christ and demanded that He

banish Mary back to the kitchen where she belonged. Jesus refused. Instead He said that Mary had chosen the good part which would not be taken away from her (Luke 10:42). Instead of commending Martha for being highly productive, Jesus said she was “troubled and careful (anxiety-filled) about many things”(verse 41). But only ONE thing was needful, to allow Him to feed her spiritually. I’m sure they could have managed well enough with a much simpler meal, like a pot of stew and a bit of bread. But Martha probably realized that Jesus didn’t get a decent meal very often and she wanted His dinner to be extra special. Down through the ages elaborate meals might consist of many courses, all of them very time-consuming to prepare. Even with all the modern kitchen gadgets I own I find that it sometimes takes whole days to pull off a special meal for birthdays or other celebrations. Martha didn’t have a pressure cooker. She was one! Think of that worried, worn-out woman, who had to draw water from the well, build cooking fires and create everything from scratch. Who better fits the profile of the Virtuous Woman, Martha or Mary? Martha, the gal who never slowed down. The flying workhorse who barely took time to eat and NEVER took time to sit at Jesus’ feet. Nothing is written in Proverbs 31 about the Virtuous Woman sitting quietly beside a brook to meditate and pray. She’s always churning out products and denying herself rest in order to meet the material needs of others. We can’t always sit quietly and pray. Sometimes we MUST go to the kitchen to tackle that big pile of dishes. Sometimes we’re so busy even important tasks have to “take a number” because there’s only one of us and too many of them. But which example would the Lord have us, as women, follow? That of the Virtuous Woman (and busy Martha), or Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus to hear His Word? Who is Lord in our life? Solomon? The Virtuous Woman? Or Jesus? The three disciples who accompanied Christ to His Transfiguration on the Mountain were Jewish. They had their MALE historical heroes to look up to. Matt.17:4: And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

In verse 4 Peter seems to put Moses and Elijah on the same level as Christ, for he wants to build a tabernacle for each of them, there on that mountain. But God the Father bypasses any mention of Moses and Elijah. God says it is JESUS He is well pleased with, and the disciples should listen to what HE has to say. The Virtuous Woman never took any “down time” to recharge her batteries. She worked her fingers to a nub. But round-the-clock busywork can’t save either man or woman. Only Christ’s FINISHED work on Calvary can do that. ****** Gal.4:7: Wherefore thou art no more a servant (slave), but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. I Pet.3:7: Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. Heb.4:10: For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. ****** http://waronbullying.tripod.com http://banpreachergreed.tripod.com http://kingdomage.tripod.com