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Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.

~Prov. 31:23

Is there a satisfactory application of this verse that renders it profitable, when we’re far in time and geography from Israel’s local councils? A certain kind of thinking would translate this specifically into church eldership. Within those confines, the wife’s work is strictly delineated as non-spiritual beyond the principle of charity, tailored to the circle of family and fellow believers.

While the broad principle applies, does it fall within the requirements of God’s character and the New Testament expression of Christian personhood to so confine an entire gender by insisting on a straight parallelism?

Here, in fact, we have a failure of the fundamentalist viewpoint which attempts to exalt simplistic living and strict social patterns. Two culprits may be in play: an eschatology which urges Christians to hide in the hills as the world worsens, or a theology which presses the body of all believers for all time into the specific mold of national Israel.

Her husband is known. By whom? Of course the elders would know him. He’s right there beside them.

She works among the businesspeople, the merchants who go in and out of the gates. Her presence in the community would encourage fair dealings, because she has a direct line to the arbiters of law and order. As a positive incentive, one wants to be thought well of before those of influence; as a negative, one does not want to be caught out in things which make one look bad. That’s a purely human, selfish perspective, and yet it comes into play all the time.

On the other hand, there’s the inspirational factor. Those who wish to do good need to know that they’re not alone. We can build one another up in the pursuit of what’s God-focused. But sometimes, people need to know they’ve got backing, that they won’t be torn down or discriminated against for seeking to uphold justice. At least, not without recourse.

She and her husband are involved in their community, participating in the world around them, and they make a difference. They are advocates for the afflicted, the poor and needy. Clearly, she and her husband are not people who’ve gone off to “live in a tree,” as my pastor put it last Sunday. Is it relevant whether a faith-based community or a more general one is in view? Not necessarily.

She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.

~Prov. 31:24

Is it necessary, then, for Christians to create a parallel economy amongst themselves, a “sanctified” form of trade? Should we attempt to deal only with those who profess what we do?

Thinking back to the maidens within her household, I’m not convinced that this would serve the purpose of upholding the afflicted and needy. On a very basic level, everyone needs to make a living. In order to create economic empowerment for those who have none, a stable trade base is needed. This trade with shopkeepers or other sellers translates into work for the household, filtering gain to the disadvantaged from within the safety of the house’s employment.

Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.

~Prov. 31:25

Last time around, I wrote about the symbolism of her clothing’s colours. But how proverbial is this passage?

Strength and dignity are her clothing. Fine linen and purple, scarlet. At the core of it all, again, is a faith which gives the strength to step out in the community and be a force for stability, prosperity and peace. And something more.

The first time I read this, I was a very new Christian. I had never before laughed at the thought of the future. It hit me like a lightning bolt: This is a different life entirely from the affliction and need of a lost soul. I am safe as a woman in the hands of God.

I read that verse again and again, and I wept.

Perhaps the joy of salvation is the most concrete need there is.