No other Book in the Bible is so right for this very special
day and that is Mother’s Day’. As we
read the 31st chapter of the Book of Proverbs this speaks so much
about a woman who genuinely fears the Lord. The one who gives godly wisdom, and
guides her children in the genuine path of righteousness and truth. There is a
world of difference between godly wisdom and worldly wisdom. Let us mediate how
this part of God’s Word is applicable for women and especially for mothers on this
day. No one’s word can speak so rightly and aptly for any season, circumstances
and situations with so much authority.
The words of King
Lemuel’s mother
31 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. 2 What, my son? and what, the son
of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? 3 Give not thy strength unto
women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not
for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and
pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. 6 Give
strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of
heavy hearts. 7 Let him drink,
and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. 8 Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause
of all such as are appointed to destruction. 9 Open
thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
The virtuous wife
10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above
rubies. 11 The heart of her husband doth safely
trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12 She will do him good and not evil all
the days of her life. 13 She
seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. 14 She is like the merchants' ships; she
bringeth her food from afar. 15 She
riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a
portion to her maidens.
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of
her hands she planteth a vineyard. 17 She girdeth her loins with
strength, and strengtheneth her arms. 18 She
perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the
spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 20 She
stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the
needy.. 22 She
maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
23 Her husband is
known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. 24 She
maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength and honour are her
clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and
in her tongue is the law of kindness. 27 She
looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of
idleness. 28 Her children
arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. 29 Many daughters have done virtuously,
but thou excellest them all. 30 Favour
is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. 31 Give
her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates; Prov: 31.
Well may we pause to pay honour to her
who after Jesus Christ is God's best gift to men, mother. It was she who shared
her life with us when as yet our members were unformed, into the valley of the
shadow of death she walked that we might have the light of life. In her arms
was the garner of our food and the soft couch for our repose. There we nestled
in the hour of pain; there was the playground of our infant glee. Those same
arms later became our refuge and stronghold. It was she who taught our baby
feet to go and lifted us up over the rough places. Her blessed hands plied the
needle by day and by night to make our clothes. She put the book under our arm
and started us off for school. But best of all, she taught our baby lips to
lisp the name of Jesus and told us first the wondrous story of a Saviour’s love1. On motherhood by a man named W. L.
Caldwell written back in 1928.
Devotion
to God: Her love for God becomes her top priority and she will be able to
prioritize her activities in the right way. A woman’s God given nature to nurture surpasses all her fears about
her household. She willingly allows her to serve God, not only in her home
front but very much in the work place. 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her
household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet;
Prov31:21. She always wants to plan for rainy days and for changing seasons in
life. This is applicable both figuratively and literally. When her trust is in
the Lord, she fully focuses all her energy, anxieties towards God in prayer; 6 Be
careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 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; Phil 4:6-8.
Devotion to her husband: 23 Her
husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land;
Prov 31:23. She is a woman who values relationship and she is wired that
way. Apart from having a deep personal relationship with God, she values her
relationship not only with her children but also with her husband. When the
relationship with our spouse is strong, it helps the children to learn the
fundamental lessons of life like love, sacrifice, integrity, virtue, sympathy,
compassion, understanding, honesty and forgiveness. It also helps to unlearn
the unholy principles we may carry which could be parted easily to our
offspring. This helps to focus tremendously in the first Divine institution
that is marriage in this earth which is related to Christ and Church which now
is being torn apart in various wrong directions.
Devotion to her home and
community: 19 She layeth her
hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 20 She
stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the
needy. 22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her
clothing is silk and purple.prov:31:19-22. 24 She
maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength
and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 26 She
openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness;
Prov:31: 24-26. Apart from working for her family and nurturing her family her
kindness is touching others around her. The above verses tell us very strongly
that she gives to the poor, and she is kind and she influences the community in
her gentleness to bring forth her Creator in whom her trust is.
Godly
mothers train up the children in the fear of the Lord: There are so many
godly mothers in Scriptures like Hannah, Mary the mother of Jesus, the mother
of Timothy who was brought up in a godly heritage and many others. Apostle Paul
fondly mentions about Timothy and his faith in Lord Jesus Christ and gave the
gentle reminder that such faith was found first in his grand mother Lois and
his mother Eunice. The implication in the passage Acts 16: 1; is that Timothy’s
faith in Christ is pre-dated by the faith of his mother and grand mother even
though Timothy’s father was a non-believer. 16 Then came he to Derbe
and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son
of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a
Greek; Acts 16:1. This should
encourage some godly women to encourage and bring up children in the fear of
the Lord, even if they are married to a non-believer by a random chance. 14But you must continue in
the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you
have learned them, 15 and that
from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you
wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus; 2 Tim 3:14-15.
One can be proud of our mothers for the
following reasons based on the above passage. Her devotion to God, her husband,
her children, to her home, and for her community as a virtuous person are
something a child can be proud about their mother. 29 Many daughters have
done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is
vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord,
she shall be praised. 31 Give
her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates; Prov: 31. These verses speak for itself; everything under
the sun is in vain and a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised. When one
genuinely fears the Lord, they would not think evil for others and will not
despise and look down on the unfortunate.
The most important quality which needs to
be adorned by a mother would be genuine faith in Christ which changes the
person inside out. This makes a person ‘non-hypocritical’
and they need not have to mask their faith in the public. Having two different
types life style public life style which is different from the private life
style is not genuine faith. The children can see for themselves whether the
parents love each other genuinely or they are genuine hypocrites. Genuine faith
does not mean perfection but rather loving the Lord genuinely and learning to
walk with Him on a day today basis. When
Scripture confronts our wrong behaviour having a genuine remorse and developing
godly character qualities like attitude of submission, thankfulness and having
a teachable gentle spirit is a sign to show some one wants to be genuine and
not be a hypocrite.
We may think and ponder on this day how
much we can influence our families with the God given position as mothers. As I
have mentioned in my writings before women are wired differently and the
beautiful characteristic quality of Christ is weaved in our thoughts and that
is we are nurturers. How can we
appropriate and apply this in our family lives to influence our future
generation and in our communities? I would even go further to say, the future
leaders are in the hands of godly mothers! Mothers indeed can influence their
sons and daughters and one of the greatest gifts mothers can give to their sons
and daughters would be to be a godly mother.
End notes:
1The Profile of a Godly Mother - Grace to You
Well may we pause to pay honor to her who after Jesus
Christ is God's best gift to men, mother. It was she who shared her life
with us when as yet our members ...
Website
References:
31 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother
taught him. 2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of
my vows?
10 Who can
find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband
doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
Experience
the majestic language of the King James Bible skillfully
narrated Through the powerful voice of Max McLean. The King James
Bible (KJV) was written with ...
www.bartleby.com ›
… › The Bible ›
The King James Version ›
Proverbs
The Holy
Bible: King James Version. Proverbs 31
... but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
biblehub.com/kjv/proverbs/31.htm
The Words of
King Lemuel. 1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught
him. 2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my
vows?
6. The Profile of a Godly Mother - Grace to You
Well may we pause to pay honor to her who after Jesus
Christ is God's best gift to men, mother. It was she who shared her life
with us when as yet our members ...
7. What Is a Godly Mother
A godly mother is one who can be regarded
as a virtuous woman, and a strong spiritual leader. Such women are expected to
teach their kids how to pray and worship
8. What does a Godly mother look like? | A Heart For the Home
aheartforthehome.com/what-does-a-godly-mother-look-like...
May 13, 2013 ... But if we are truly desiring to
be a “Godly Mother” then we need to look to what God says a Godly
Mother is. Let's take a look at a few things we ...
For further reading:
1. Millard J. Erickson. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids
2. R.T. Kendall. Understanding Theology,
Developing a Healthy Church in the 21st Century. 1996, p. 357-364.
3. Jay E. Adams. A Theology of Christian
Counseling, More than Redemption. Grand Rapids
4. Louis Berkhof. Systematic Theology. Grand
Rapids
5. Robert P Lightner.
Handbook of Evangelical Theology, Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey
and Review. Grand Rapids ,
MI
6. Charles Ryrie. Basic Theology. Chicago
7. A. H. Strong. Systematic
Theology. New Jersey
8. Wayne Grudem. Systematic
Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids
9. Steven W. Waterhouse. Not By Bread Alone, An Outlined Guide
To Bible Doctrine. Amarillo
10. John Theodore Muller, Th.D. Christian
Dogmatics, A handbook of Doctrinal Theology for Pastors, Teachers, and
Laymen. St. Louis ,
Mo
11. Prayers To Move Your Mountains. Nashville
12. John White. Parables, the
Greatest Stories ever Told. Illinois
13. ESV Study Bible. English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton ,
Illinois
14. The Matthew Henry Study Bible.
King James Version. Iowa
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