Proverbs 31: 10-12
“An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good not evil all the days of her life.”
The atmosphere at the table was anything but happy. Surrounding me were our daughters, my mother-in-law, along with another Navy wife and her son. Our husbands’ Naval squadron was deployed on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, and the men were due to fly home just before Christmas after having been gone for nine months. Three weeks prior, on November 4, 1979, 52 American diplomats and citizens were taken hostage at the American Embassy in Tehran. Shortly before we sat down for our Thanksgiving dinner, a call came from the commanding officer’s wife, telling us the ship was ordered to turn around and head back to the Indian Ocean until another carrier could take its place, which would be an additional three months. We were hugely disappointed but soldiered on as best we could, not knowing the tragedies that would soon befall our close-knit community.
From November 28 through December 16, there were four airplane crashes with a loss of nine men leaving widows and children, some who lived on our street. In what would become known as “Black December,” the final devastating blow came on December 29, when the commanding officer of my husband’s squadron and his navigator were killed when their plane crashed on takeoff from the ship. The entire town was left reeling, shaken, sick at heart and quite fearful. As one of the very few Christians in our small band of sisters, I reached out as best I could to bring words of comfort through God’s Word and prayer. One day a telegram arrived from my husband with this message:
“An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels . . .
Her husband is known in the gates,
when he sits among the elders of the land.“
At the time I was unfamiliar with these verses and found them in Proverbs 31. Though parted by thousands of miles, my husband was sending me words that spoke of how he valued me and about his confidence in me, which buoyed my hurting heart during those overwhelming days. From that experience I began digging deeper into Proverbs and, in particular, Chapter 31, to discover more about the “capable wife” described in the passages.
Firstly, it must be said that not everyone has an earthly husband or a believing husband, but all have a Heavenly husband. No matter our situation in life, God’s desire is for all of us to have the same godly character described in this passage. Let’s look first at what the writer means by an “excellent wife”—other translations use the word “capable,” “noble”,” and “virtuous” which means full of valor—all apt descriptions for this woman whose worth is far above jewels. She is a woman of virtue, a woman of power and strength, full of mental energy and she is so invaluable, even rubies cannot equal her worth. Her husband’s heart has complete confidence in her as she demonstrates that her desire is to “do only good for him and never harm.” Over the next few days, we’ll look more closely at this “capable woman” to discover rich truths from God’s Word that will give us a clearer picture of why she is so valuable in God’s eyes.
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You today for the many ways You love and care for us. Thank You that each of us is fearfully and wonderfully made according to Your plan and that You are working out Your plan for our lives. May each of us embrace the role You have bestowed upon us. Through Your Holy Spirit, empower us to be of noble character that is a reflection of You, impacts others for good, and brings honor and glory to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
~ painting by Heide Presse
