Characteristics
of a Virtuous Wife
When God
made Eve, it was in order that she might be a helper suitable for man. “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make him an help meet for him”{Gen
2:18}The glory of this ministry is seen, when we notice that the title
of 'Helper' is what Jesus used to refer to the Holy Spirit as well (Jn. 14:16)!
As the Holy Spirit invisibly and silently, yet powerfully helps the believer,
even so the woman was created to help the man. The ministry of the Holy Spirit
is 'behind the scenes'. So is the woman's to be.
The life
of Jesus also is an example to woman; for God's Word states that man is the
woman's head in exactly the same way as God (the Father) is the head of Christ
(1 Cor. 11:3). Jesus always acted in submission to His Father.
A God-fearing sister will act likewise in relation to her husband. Eve's mistake in
the Garden of Eden was that she failed to consult her husband before she took a
decision. Thus Satan deceived her (1 Tim. 2:14). Where Eve failed, God calls
Christian wives today to manifest the glory of submission to their husbands,
exactly as Jesus was to the Father and as the church is to Christ (Eph. 5:24).
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Sin entered the universe through the rebellion of Lucifer.
Salvation came through the submission of Christ. The spirit of humble
submission to God's authority is the greatest power that there is in the
universe - for it is the Spirit of Christ. That Spirit conquered all the
spirits of rebellion on the cross.
When a wife submits to her husband, she is actually submitting to
the authority of God's Word which commands her to do so; and she is then being
influenced by the greatest power in the universe. Even unconverted husbands can
be won over by that power (1 Pet. 3:1, 2). If she lives in that submissive
spirit during her earthly life, she will be an overcomer, and will qualify to
reign with Jesus for eternal ages (Rev. 3:21).
Here is
where Satan deceives the woman again. As he led the angels astray, he leads the
woman astray - through the spirit of rebellion. A rebellious wife converts her
home into a barren wasteland, worse than any desert (that is the implication of
Prov. 21:19). On the other hand, a virtuous, submissive wife crowns her husband
as a king and thus converts her home into a palace (Prov. 12:4). Your home can
either be a palace or a desert, spiritually speaking. It all depends on the
type of wife that you are. No wonder that what God values most highly is a meek
(gentle) and a quiet spirit (1 Pet. 3:4).
Prov.
31:10-31 describes some of the characteristics of this virtuous wife. Her
heart, hands and tongue are described as excellent. Nothing is mentioned about
her physical beauty or her feminine charms, for these are declared to be
worthless and deceptive (Prov. 31:30). It would be an excellent thing if all
women and young girls, and especially young men considering marriage, realized
this fact.
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The
virtuous woman described here, has a heart that fears God (Prov. 31:30). This
is the foundation for her whole life. She works with her hands, stitching
clothes, cooking meals, planting trees and helping the poor (Prov. 31:13-22).
She uses her tongue at all times with kindness and wisdom (Prov. 31:26). She is
God-fearing, hard-working and kind - even if she is not beautiful. The glory of
God is manifested through her pure heart, rough hands and soft tongue. (Worldly
women, in contrast, have an impure heart, soft hands and a rough tongue!). It
is in these areas that God looks for women today to manifest His glory.
As a
wife, this virtuous woman is a true helper to her husband.
She does him good consistently till the end of her life - not in fits and
starts (Prov. 31:12). In other words, she never loses her first love for him.
She also adjusts herself to his profession and calling in life, supplementing
his income with her own quiet labours at home, being thrifty and careful in
expenditure, so that no money is wasted. She relieves her husband of home
responsibilities, so that he can have a ministry in the land for the Lord
(Prov. 31:23-27). No wonder her husband praises her saying that of all the
women in the world (including women prime ministers and women preachers), she
is the best of the lot (Prov. 31:29).
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Such a woman certainly deserves to be
praised publicly too (Prov. 31:31), for
she has understood the glory of her calling as a woman.
Zac
Poonen