17 She girds [l]herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.
18 She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her [m]hands grasp the spindle.
20 She [n]extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
This “excellent wife” sure has a lot going for her. She is strong, and clothed in fine linen, even purple, which would have been a sure sign of wealth. Not only that, she has a husband who is well esteemed, such that he sits on the “city council” with the elders of the region. None of this happened by accident though, and that is where we learn from this fine woman.
Let’s just start with v. 17, where she has strong arms. That certainly doesn’t come from avoiding hard work. Culturally, I don’t believe they exercised for fun. Rather, they toiled physically in order to build up their strength. We see that displayed in v. 19 where she is spinning flax (among other things) with the distaff and spindle.
She doesn’t just quit because the sun goes down either. Though there is something to be said for getting proper rest, because taking it too far earns one the dubious distinction of “workaholic”. But that isn’t this woman, and as a result, not only is she well-clothed, but so is her entire household. Remember her husband?
Why is he known in the gates? Superficial or not, you didn’t get to be highly regarded because you looked like a slob (and typically, you still don’t). He also is well-dressed when he takes his seat at the gate, and they all know it isn’t his doing! It all reminds me of something I’ve taken for granted a while, but has come to the forefront with a new puppy.
When training him, we have to be consistent. If we just worked with him every few days, nothing would stick. Rather, it is an every day task, all day long, and putting it off only makes it harder. So it is with anything we put our hands to do. We’ve all been admonished (and I’ve said it recently) to do everything “as unto the Lord”.
Yet there is another reason to put our best into everything. If we do not, our muscles (and minds) grow weak and our “best” is no longer really even our true potential. It’s strange how God made us to require pain and tearing of muscles to grow stronger, but He did. If we really want to do everything as unto God, then we have to do it every day, not just when it is comfortable or convenient. It’s going to hurt, but it will all be worth it in the end.