What Is A Woman Part 8
What Is A Woman Part 8
In my last installment in this blog series, we looked at the excellent woman in Proverbs 31 to see what we can learn from her. I want to continue that focus in this installment. Last time we saw that God teaches us that the excellent woman is queen of her home and one who does good to those in her household. She has her priorities right: God first, then husband, then children, then community. Today we are going to look at the Proverbs 31 woman’s first priority: God. This is the most important priority and the one which enables her to be an excellent woman. In Proverbs 31:10-31, we see the excellent woman busy being queen of her home, but the crescendo in the passage is verse 30: “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” This quality is what drives all her other activities in the chapter.
We need to understand what the fear of the Lord is before we can understand how fear of the Lord is a good thing. There are two types of fear of God in Scripture. One type is what unbelievers have and one type is what born again believers have. The unbeliever fights against God all his life, but at some point, he will experience a terror of God. The reason is because the unbeliever will be judged by God for eternity for his sins and for the rejection of the offer of salvation from Jesus. Here are some Scriptures that picture this terrifying view of God that unbelievers will have someday:
Hebrews 10:26-27,31 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries…it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Revelation 6:15-17 : “And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand’?”
In contrast, the born again believer’s fear of God is completely different. It is not terror. You do not see the woman of Proverbs 31 acting out of what we think of as fear. The believer does not fear God’s wrath because they have taken Jesus as their Lord and Savior. God accepts them lovingly as His children because of Christ’s work both in His righteous living which fulfilled the law that we could never live out, and in His death and resurrection where He paid the punishment for our sins. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation of those who are in Christ Jesus.” When we are born again, we are changed. II Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold new things have come.” In Ephesians 2, God tells us that we were dead in our sins before salvation, but He made us alive together with Christ.
So then, what does the fear of God mean for us? John MacArthur explains it this way, “The fear of the Lord is a state of mind in which one’s own attitudes, will, feelings, deeds and goals are exchanged for God’s.”
Let’s look at this more deeply. One of the themes of the book of Proverbs is that a fear of God leads to wise and blessed living. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” As the book progresses, we see the wise person seeking diligently and humbly for wisdom and understanding because they fear the Lord, while the fool rejects wisdom and goes to their destruction. The Proverbs 31 is a crowning example of a life lived wisely because of the fear of the Lord.
If you look at the passages that discuss a fear of the Lord, you will have a better understanding of what the fear of the Lord looks like in real life. The fear of the Lord has these qualities:
1. Awe at God’s character and reverence for His authority and power. Psalm 33:6-9 “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made; and by the breath of His mouth all their host…. Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke and it was done; He commanded and it stood fast.”
2. Trust in God because of confidence in His goodness. Psalm 33:18 “Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His lovingkindness.” Psalm 34:8-9 “O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! O fear the Lord you His saints; for to those who fear Him there is no want.”
3. Lack of fear in other things and people. The Scriptures repeatedly tell believers not to fear, while at the same time telling us to fear God. The truth is that we cannot fear anything if we have our focus, and our reverence, and our devotion fixed on God. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us to be anxious for nothing, but to instead pray to God who will give us peace that passes understanding. Psalm 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?” Psalm 118:6 “The Lord is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?” Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.”
4. Obedience to God and His word. In Proverbs 3, after telling us to trust in God with all our heart, it says in verse 7 “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” Psalm 112:1 “Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments.” Proverbs 14:2 “He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is crooked in his ways despises Him.”
5. Fear of God comes with love for God. Deuteronomy 6:5 commands us to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts. But in verses 2 and 13 of the same chapter, we are told to fear God. Deuteronomy 10:12 “…what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
6. Fear of God involves love for His word: Psalm 119:36-38 “Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to dishonest gain. Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in Your ways. Establish Your word to Your servant, as that which produces reverence for You.” Proverbs 2:1, 5 “My son, if you will receive my sayings, and treasure my commandments within you, … Then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God.”
7. Undivided devotion to God. #4 in this list says that those who fear God obey Him. One of the 10 commandments, which God talks about many times throughout Scripture is “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3) Deuteronomy 6:13 “You shall fear ONLY the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.” The one who fears God knows this: Psalm 36:7-8 “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.” Only in God is found true delight, and contentment. We must have no rival in our affections for God.
The excellent woman cannot be an excellent woman without fearing God. If she places her trust in anyone or anything other than God, she will be severely disappointed and will have sorrow because of that misplaced trust. That sorrow will sometimes sidetrack her from doing what is right. Our husbands, our children, and our friends will all disappoint us and sometimes hurt us deeply. But if our trust is in God alone who never fails and is always good, we can go forward in obedience and joy to be the women God has called us to be. The woman of Proverbs 31 is busy as queen of her home doing good to those in her household and community because she fears God. Her motivation is always to please God. She can do good to her husband her whole life, smile at the future, open her mouth in wisdom, work hard, and speak with kindness because she fears God. Her behavior is not linked to the response she gets from others, but rather she is doing what she does to please God regardless of the response from others. In Him alone is her delight.
If you want to study this topic more, I strongly encourage you to look up verses that talk about fearing God. One book I would recommend you read is Desiring God by John Piper.
One of my favorite singers in junior high and high school was Sandi Patti. She sings this song, which perfectly sums up what we should think of God as we fear Him:
SandiPatty, Larnelle Harris - More Than Wonderful [Live] - YouTube
In my next installment, I will talk about more specifically about the excellent woman’s second priority: what God calls us to be as wives.
Verse to memorize in response: Proverbs 31:30.
Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback. You can email me at candice@anastasihome.com