"Are You a Valuable Virtuous Jewel or a Vicious Vexing Jezebel?" (A study through Proverbs 31)

Howdy folks. :)

Before I do my "Awk 'n Awe" post (and an update on my goals for 2015) I'm going to do a post that The Lord has really laid on my heart.

Does anybody know the feeling when you are studying a subject in the Bible and the Lord just really pours the revelation on and you are just overwhelmed? :) It's really awesome and that's how I felt while I was studying this! Praise God.

So, we are going to do a study through Proverbs 31. I really love this passage of scripture and have memorized it and read it countless times. BUT- I hadn't really studied like I've wanted to. So you know what I did? I studied it! And I'm am going to share my findings with you.

When I dive in here keep in mind that you can also relate the Proverbs 31 woman to the bride of Christ (my Dad pointed out the fact that this passage can apply to men as well- as men are the bride of Christ).

I'm going to be showing the characteristics of a "Jewel" (as in a true Proverbs 31 lady) and a "Jezebel".  Which one will you be?


A Study Through Proverbs 31: "Are You a Valuable Virtuous Jewel or a Vicious Vexing Jezebel?"

First you'll see in verse 9 of Proverbs 31 that the Mother of King Lemuel encourages him to "judge righteously" right before she begins to teach him about the Virtuous woman.

 Vs. 9: "Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

Isn't that interesting? When it comes to discerning who is a virtuous woman or not you need to judge righteously and you'll also need understanding and wisdom. The Jezebel in Proverbs 7 deceived a young man because he was "simple" and "void of understanding" (Proverbs 7:7). The Bible says in John 7:24 to "judge righteous judgment." Ask God to fill you with His wisdom so you can judge righteously when it comes to yourself and/or others!


 Verse 10. Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

Obviously with this verse my mind ran wild with LOADS of verses that I could tie into it! Out of all the verses in Proverbs 31 this one is probably the one I've thought about the most. :)

Something my Parents said one day (that I really liked) was: "Who can NOT find a Jezebel? Her price is a dime-a dozen!" ha ha Very true.
 
Poor King Solomon found this one out (I have to think "WOW" sometime when I meditate on the fact that he was the WISEST man in the EARTH and the Jezebels brought him down!).  Read what he said in Ecclesiastes 7:25-28:

"I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness: And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her. Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account: Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found."

He couldn't find a virtuous woman among a thousand! Poor guy. But it's really true today. Go outside right now and look around (Warning! You may have to stare at your Nike shoes for most of the time) and see if you can spot a virtuous woman. Were you successful? I didn't think so.

When most people think of the Proverbs 31 woman they probably think of a weak little dopey woman who's spineless and just cumbered about with a bunch of work like a "Martha." Well, did you know that "Virtue" is actually a word used to describe the healing power that went out of Jesus Christ! Read this:

Luke 8:46,
"And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace."

The word "Virtue" right here is actually a noun that means, "strength, might, valor, and power." (Learned this from my Dad -by the way! *smile*)
The Proverbs 31 woman is STRONG (her strength is mentioned no less than 3 other times in the chapter) but she DOES NOT get her strength from men. This is NOT a "power hungry-kill all the men-feminist" ladies and gentlemen!

We don't take men's strength. King Lemuel's mother also taught him to NOT give his strength to woman (Proverbs 31:3 "Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.").
Proverbs 7:26 says (when talking about the harlot), "For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her." The glory of young men is their strength (Proverbs 20:29) but that's not our glory to take! Our strength comes from God (I'll explore this in more depth later in the chapter). By being under men God is glorified. Like my Dad likes to say, "In a society where WOMEN rule MAN is glorified, but in a society where MEN rule GOD is glorified."

Jezebels take strength from men (by using their bodies, manipulation, or even in the work force). They enjoy emasculating them.
But, Virtuous women encourage men to be strong through God! They want to see some mighty Patriarchs stand up! Which one are you?

Ruth was a virtuous woman (Ruth 3:11). You should go read her story. Maybe even study it sometime. You're gonna find some interesting things in there!

As the bride of Christ we should be a "Crown" to our husband (Jesus). Proverbs 12:4, "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones."
When He makes up his jewels we should want to be that rapture ready bride (Read Malachi 3:16-18).

A virtuous woman is a wise wife. (Get ready for a bunch of verses!)

Proverbs 18:22,
"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord."
Proverbs 8:35 (talking about wisdom), "For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord."
Proverbs 12:2a, "A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord:"

(Notice the same wording?)

Proverbs 8:11, "For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it."
Proverbs 3:15, "She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her."
Job 28:18, "No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies."

Are you a Wise woman? Are you a wise wife? Do you try to take men's strength or do you get your strength from God? Is your price above rubies? Are you virtuous? Selah.



Verse 11, "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil."

Does the heart of your husband or Dad safely trust in you? Give them your heart! Do you have a reputation of being faithful and honest? Can they trust you?

It's actually commanded in the Bible to give your heart to your father (Malachi 4:6). If you have a good patriarch then you should strive to give him your heart! How you respect your father is how you'll respect your future spouse. If your Dad does not have your heart, trust, respect, and submission now then your future husband will not either!

A Jezebel takes the heart of a man (Go read Proverbs 7:25). King Solomon's plethora of wives made his heart turn to wicked idols (1 Kings 11:2-4).

You must keep your heart with all diligence and have discretion in order to avoid the Jezebel stealing it (Proverbs 4:23, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." and also read Proverbs 2:10-11, 16 and Proverbs 5:2).

If you want your future husband to trust that his heart is safe with you then treat him like the man he is and don't try to take his heart. Let him give it.
 He's not going to need the "spoil" of Jezebels if his heart is safe with you.
Song of Solomon 8:6, "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame."

Verse 12, "She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life."

Take note of this: She will do him good ALL the days of her life. ALL of them. Even before marriage! Right now you are building your reputation as a single young lady. Are you honoring your future husband by the way you're acting now? What if he could watch the way you interact with guys? Would he feel cherished or completely dishonored and unloved?
Take the charge "Keep thyself pure" very seriously (1 Timothy 5:22). Do your future man good ALL your days.


Verse 13, "She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands."

Sound like she's a busy, hard working, and willing servant. Read the story of Rebekah in the Bible and see how "willing" she is (Genesis 24).  Love is willing.
Are you willing to selflessly serve others? Start following Jesus' example and esteem others as better than yourself.

"Wool" can also point to seeking and saving all those "lost sheep." Are you willingy spreading the gospel to all those lost sheep everywhere? I hope so!
Luke 15:47, "What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance."

Go out and bring some lost sheep back into the fold!


Verse 14, "She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar."

I'm going to be honest with you all. I meditated on this verse all day while I was working with my Dad! This is what I got out of it....

Matthew 13:45-46
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."

Also in the book of Ruth she had to glean and then bring her food back to Naomi. :)

Verse 15, "She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens."

Do you rise up early to seek The Lord?
Proverbs 20:13, "Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread."
When you rise up to seek the Lord He can satisfy you with His bread (Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4).
Give of that meat/bread to your family!

Think about this as well...
When all the world is dark (in sin and wickedness) you RISE UP in the light and strength of God through the meat of the Word.

Verse 16, "She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard."

As I was studying "vineyards" in the Bible I was amazed by all I was finding! I don't have time to share it all with you but I'll give you some. :)

When I thought about the "field" I thought of this verse: Matthew 13:44, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field."
Interesting, is it not?

In Song of Solomon it talks about the Shulamite woman giving of her "vineyard" to Solomon.

Song of Solomon 8:11-12, "Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.
 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred."

Song of Solomon 4:12, "A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed."
Song of Solomon 4:16, "Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits."
You need to keep your garden clean and pure for your beloved! A jezebel's garden will be tainted, dirty, and unkept.

Proverbs 24:30-32, "I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction."

(Read my post on "Keeping Thyself Pure" to read about a story involving a garden.)

Verse 17, "She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms."

She's gird about with truth (Ephesians 6:14).

2 Samuel 22:40, "For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me."
We are to be strong in The Lord and in the power of His might!
Nehemiah 2:18 and 1 Corinthians 16:13 are two good verses. Also, Luke 12:35, "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;"
That verse is also going to tie into the next verse in Proverbs 31....

Verse 18, "She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night."

She has good merchandise. An example of a bad Jezebel with bad merchandise can be found in Revelation 18:10-17.
Be a profitable servant for Jesus! (Matthew 25:14-30.)

Her candle goeth not our by night (even when she's living in a DARK/SINFUL world!). Let your lights shine BRIGHT (Matthew 5:14-16, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.").

Put on the armour of light and wage a good warfare (Romans 13:12).
Also, be like the 5 wise virgins who's lamps are trimmed and ready (Read Matthes 25:1-13).

Verse 19, "She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff."

In the Old Testament all the women who were "wise in heart" spun fabric for the tabernacle (interesting note: they also spun "purple and scarlet" fabric).
Exodus 35:10, "And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the Lord hath commanded;"
Exodus 35:25, "And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen."

I like the fact that this virtuous lady has "maidens" but that doesn't keep her from working hard as well. Esther was the same way. SHE prepared the banquet for the King (Esther 5:4,8).

Verse 20, "She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy."

She considers the poor! Psalm 41:1, "Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble."

Some more good verses (that I really like) are in Isaiah 58:7-11, "Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:
And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."
(You should read all of Chapter 58. It's good!)

An example of Jezebels who did NOT strengthen the hands of the poor is in Ezekiel 16:49, "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."

Remember, it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).
Proverbs 22:9, "He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor."


Verse 21, "She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet."

She's not gonna let her family be cold (or unsaved) because they are all clothed in the blood of Jesus!
Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and let Him wash you in his blood!
Also, you'll see that David and Solomon in the Bible were both described as being "ruddy" in appearance (Song. 5:10 and 1 Sam. 16:12).
Red with the blood of Jesus. :)

Verse 22, "She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple."

That Jezebel  in Proverbs 7 has linen from Egypt and Egypt is a type of the world in the Bible.
Proverbs 7:16, "I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.

The virtuous woman's coverings are modest and pure. Purple is the color of royalty and we are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;").
Are you clothed with the world's clothing or with the King of King's royal apparel?
 

Verse 23,  "Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land."

We should be out in the gates making our Husband (Jesus) known!
Proverbs 24:7, "Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate."
Something my Dad showed me is that the above verse is Proverbs 24:7! We should be preaching and making Jesus known 24/7. :)

Verse 24, "She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant."

The fine linen is the righteousness of the saints (Revelation 19:8, "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.".

She also delivers girdles of truth (remember that she's gird about with truth). Truth is the word of God (John 17:17). Go out to the merchants in your city and give them truth! It'll make them free!

Verse 25, "Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come."

There's strength mentioned again! Also we learn by inference that she's humble as in Proverbs (I think twice-maybe more) it says, "Before honour is humility." (Proverbs 15:33 and 18:12)

Proverbs 11:16 and Proverbs 5:9 talk about retaining honour and also keeping yourself from giving your honour to the strange woman. Jezebels take your honour as well! (imagine that....)

1 Thess. 4:4, "That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;"
Also, be clothed with humility (read 1 Pet.5:5).

Verse 26, "She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness."

She speaks the word of God (that's wisdom right there!), and the Holy Ghost has tamed her tongue.
 
Proverbs 15:4,
"A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit."
1 Corinthians 13:4,
"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,"

There's a LOT of verses about the tongue in the Bible! Another one is: Proverbs 18:21.

Verse 27, "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

She is a good keeper at home, she's not idle! Remember those Jezebels in Ezekiel 16:49? They had an abundance of idleness in them!
Also remember, every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account on the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36). Isn't that a scary thought?
God has been convicting me of this lately. I want to make sure I'm redeeming the time by speaking those things that are not vain or empty. What do you talk about?
Are you idle? Do you use your time wisely? Are you a talebearer? (As in a "Gossip"?)


Verse 28, "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her."

We desire the praises of God MORE than the praises of men!  One of my favorite verses is: Galatians 1:10, "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ."
We want Jesus to say to us, "Well done thou good and faithful servant."

Song of Solomon 6:9, "My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her."

I tell you, that Shulamite woman was PRAISED by Solomon! Go read Song of Solomon and see if you agree with me. :)

Verse 29, "Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all"

We are to be over achievers like the house of David! Excel them all.


1 Samuel 18:25-27, "And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son in law: and the days were not expired. Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king's son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife."

He brought the double amount!
In the aforementioned verse in Song of Solomon he said that she was his ONE undefiled. He saw her as being the BEST out of every other woman out there.
Be the BEST that you can be by God's Spirit coursing through you! Excel them all!

Verse 30, " Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised."

I've talked about this verse a lot (to read more about my post about "Beauty or Vanity" go here. ).
But I'll say some things here as well.
Vain means "Empty." All that beauty that woman think they have is just hollow, fleeting, and empty.

God is looking on the heart and He's going to praise a woman who's fearing Him.
1 Samuel 16:7, "But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

Psalm 4:2-4, "O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah."

A truly godly man will not love lust over the vain woman Jezebels out there. He'll love/cherish a GODLY Virtuous woman.

Leslie Ludy said in her book "Set-apart Femininity":
"Set-apart femininity exudes a beauty that is not of this world; it's the spectacular radiance of a woman completely transformed by the Author of all things lovely and pure.

It's true feminine beauty merged with absolute abandonment to Jesus Christ. It's the sparkling, vibrant, world-altering, Christ like version of femininity that your King created you to exude.
This king of beauty is not found in the pages of fashion magazines.
It's not in the "love yourself" mantras of the modern self-esteem messages.

   The spectacular sparkle of set-apart femininity is found through absolute abandonment to the Author of all true beauty. It's found by exchanging a life consumed with self for a life consumed with Jesus Christ, by trading the desire to be attractive to this world for the longing to be attractive to Him alone. Find a woman who cares about nothing but loving, serving, honoring, and glorifying Jesus Christ, and you will see who truly is "the fairest of them all."




Verse 31, "Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates."

Here we are at the last verse. Isn't it beautiful? :)
Her vineyard is bearing fruit and she is going to receive a hundredfold in the Kingdom to come. She's dead to self so she's bearing fruit (John 12:24).

Proverbs 11:30, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise."
Go out and win some souls and bear some fruit for your Beloved master!

I love this verse: Job 8:7, "Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase."


So let me leave you with some verses to think about (Pun intended by the way.... You'll find out in just a second... *wink wink*)

Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

If you want to be virtuous and if you want Praise think on all these good things! By the way- if you're in someone's thoughts and you're NOT those things (pure, lovely, etc.) than you are a Jezebel and you could be messing someone up!

And lastly:
2 Peter 1:2-8, "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue, Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Beautiful! Isn't it?

So, are YOU a Valuable Virtuous Jewel or a Vicious Vexing Jezebel?

I hope you are NOT the latter!

Be blessed my beloved family in Christ.
Keep thyself pure!

Vale la Peña, Your sis in Christ,
~Hope Jerusalem <3
Romans 8:18  

 

 

 


















 













"Keeping Thyself Pure"