Proverbs 31:10. An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
We come now to the last section of the book of Proverbs. It is all about the excellent woman – an excellent wife who can find? There are a lot of questions about this final section of Proverbs. Is King Lemuel still quoting his mother, or are these his own words, or Solomon’s, or someone else’s? Also, who is the excellent wife? Is it an actual woman, or is this another metaphor about wisdom and being wise? You may remember that Proverbs calls wisdom a woman many times throughout the book.
The best answer to that question might be both. Yes, it is describing what an actual excellent wife is like, but it is also a description of what wisdom is like. And all of us can be wise, both men and women, married or single.
The poem begins by pointing out the rarity of the excellent wife. She is unique. She is few and far between. She is scarce like precious jewels. Wisdom itself was described this way in Proverbs too.
Proverbs 8:11. for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.
This woman is rare because she is excellent. This word excellent is used in the Old Testament mostly to describe might and valor. It is usually used to describe men, warriors, like the judges or David. In the book of Ruth, both Ruth and Boaz are described with this word. Both were courageous, noble, and of high integrity.
Boaz was excellent in his generosity, integrity, piety (he obeyed the law), justice, and love.
Ruth was excellent in her courage, faithfulness, loyalty, hard work, risk taking, and love.
Are you excellent? Courageous? Hard working? Truthful? Faithful? Do you run toward others, not away? Do you keep your promises? Do you finish what you started? Do you help the poor and needy (see yesterday’s devotion)?
Truly these qualities are a rare jewel for anyone to find, female or male. But they are not impossible to find. In Christ, we have found the pearl of great price. The rare jewel of divine wisdom that any and all who have placed their faith in Jesus can take hold of for eternity. The rare jewel of not just an excellent wife, but an excellent life. A life lived from the wisdom of grace, love, and kindness through self-sacrifice.
Jesus is the rarest of jewels, the only person who was excellent all of the time. Always noble. Always courageous. Always honest. Always trusting. But when our lives are connected to Jesus’ life, when we know that he has been excellent FOR us, then we too can begin to be excellent WITH him. We are the excellent wife of Christ, his bride, his greatest love, his precious jewel.
The more we embrace that we are his jewel, the more we will embrace him and his wisdom as ours.
You: Are you excellent? Noble? Honest? Courageous? Do you live from integrity?
You in Christ: How does knowing that Jesus is fully excellent FOR us allow us to live from his excellence day by day by grace, not self-effort?
Christ in you: Is there a situation that you are facing that requires excellence, courage, valor, nobility today? How can Christ in you empower you toward this self-sacrificing wisdom today?
Pray: Jesus, you alone are perfectly excellent. Help me to trust your excellence as my own. Amen.
To Live is Christ 