I found this little gem at Tony Reinke's blog Miscellanies.
A-Trust-Worthy Wife
Proverbs 31:11 says of the godly wife, “The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.”
The passage is remarkable, writes Bruce Waltke.
“The statement, his heart trusts in her, which entails that his well-being stands or falls on her reliability, is remarkable. Outside of this text and Judg. 20:36, Scripture condemns trust in anyone or anything apart from God/the LORD (cf. 2 K. 18:21; Ps. 118:8-9; Isa. 36:5; Jer. 5:17; 12:52; 18:10; 48:7; Ezek. 33:13; Mic. 7:5). As E. Gerstenberger observed, ‘One can successfully place confidence only in Yahweh,… no other entity can be an ultimate object of trust.’ The present exception elevates the valiant wife, who herself fears the LORD, to the highest level of spiritual and physical competence. … Verse B presents the cause of his trust: he does not lack anything necessary. The surprising object, spoil, a military metaphor, implies that the woman has to win essentials like food and clothing through strategy, timely strength, and risk in this fallen world.”
—Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31 (Eerdmans 2005), pp. 521-522.
Quite a remarkable passage indeed.
Husbands, do you trust your wife so much that you can say, with the writer of Proverbs, that you trust your wife with your heart? Yes? Let her know. Today. Right now.
Hi Ruby,
ReplyDeleteThat was so beautiful. My husband and I have a wonderful trusting relationship. We have to, as he is in charge of giving me injections for asthma, and for literally saving my life on many occasions.
Fortunately, money is not so tight over here, but we do buy our clothing at opportunity shops, and we do own our own home, so that makes life easier. :)
Blessings,
Jillian
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Hi Jillian,
ReplyDeleteI love to find little snippets on verses like Prov. 31. I guess because there is so much written it is good to ponder on a new aspect. I thought this brought out our great responsibility as wives to BE that sort of woman, that can be highly trusted.
A pleasant 16C here...hope it is not down near -8 for you!
Ruby
Hi Ruby,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to this interesting blog.
I find Proverbs 31 challenging at the best of times, but to be the kind of woman that my husband can trust in this way is a true challenge indeed. I shall be praying about this tonight...
Ruby, this is so cool! Thank you for sharing it. It gives us wives new aspirations to shoot for, to be so trustworthy our husbands can fully put their faith in our efforts on behalf of the family during the day.
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