Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth [is] far above rubies.
As a woman, this verse can seem a little daunting.
Why is it so difficult to find a virtuous wife?
Does this mean I can’t be one, is it unattainable?
Scripture is always the best place to look for understanding scripture.
And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. Ruth 3:11
Boaz is speaking to Ruth, a Moabitess, who had been widowed. She loved her mother-in-law and the God of her husband’s family so much that she moved to a land she knew she’d be hated, just to help her mother-in-law survive. Her only option to do this was to glean in the fields, dangerous work for any woman, much less for her because of the people she’d been born into.
All of these details don’t seem to make a recipe for a virtuous woman.
Yet, here, Boaz is speaking the same adjective to her that is used in Proverbs 31.
The key is in Ruth’s own words:
Ruth 1:16 NKJV — But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.
Ruth was devoted to Naomi’s God, the only God, thus her life makes sense, because the adjective of virtuous is a response to her devotion.
Proverbs 19:14 Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers,
But a prudent wife is from the LORD.
Both the book of Ruth and this verse from Proverbs makes it clear that the Lord is the reason a woman can and will be a woman of virtue.
It is not an impossible thing, it’s just not common.
For the secular culture paints a very different picture of what a woman should be.
As followers of Christ, our interest should lie in finding out what God’s plan for women is and walking in the guidelines of scripture.
We as women can be virtuous through our walk with Jesus Christ both as women and as wives.
Like Ruth, it begins with total commitment, letting go of anything in our past which doesn’t belong in our relationship with Jesus, and diligently completing the task at hand without complaint or worry over the future.
Because that verse in Proverbs doesn’t end with the question:
“Who can find a virtuous wife?
It ends in establishing something the heart of a woman truly desires, to be cherished.
For her worth [is] far above rubies.”
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank You for Your Word, for the truth, wisdom and applicable teaching within. Lord, thank You for giving me and other ladies a standard in Your Word to live by, that we might walk with integrity and honor knowing You created us, You know what is best for us, and You are giving us the instruction on how to find worth and value in our actions. Thank You that we are already so precious to You that You left Heaven and lived on Earth to be crucified and rise again to save us. Truly, Your sacrifice shows us just how cherished we are. Lord, let our hearts never forget what a costly price You paid for us. Lord, please help us as women not to get caught up in the world’s standards for, not to be bitter, envious, selfish, crude, filthy, nor seeking the gifts of others, but rather let us be thankful, forgiving, generous, diligent, edifying, respectful, loving, kind, and gentle. Lord, help us to put off the “old flesh” full of the lusts and sin and to put on the “new flesh” which comes through being cleansed by Your blood, washed in Your Word, and a temple of the Holy Spirit. Thank You. Amen.
patientlyhopeful 