Woman

An adult female person. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) Are to prepare meals for the household, to attend to the work of spinning, and making clothes, to bring water from the well and to care for the flocks. (Genesis 18:6 ; 2 Sam 13:8 ; Exodus 35:26 ; Proverbs 31:19 ; 1 Samuel 2:19 ; Proverbs 31:21 ; Genesis 24:15 ; 1 Samuel 9:11 ; Genesis 29:6 ; Exodus 2:16 )

beautiful gem. Priceless; a virtuous woman with rare intrinsic character is far worth than anything. She cant be placed a value. A virtuous woman is very hard to find. She is more valuable than a rare gem. She has an inner beauty and strength of character and moral firmness that is lacking in the vast majority of women, even believing women. 2. The works of a virtuous woman Trustworthy A good helpmate; to complete the man, to do what the man cannot do, to be for him what he cannot be for himself. The virtuous woman deals out to her husband that which is good. She dishes out to him and serves him that which is good and not evil. She wants only God's highest and best for him. Her life and her deeds are a constant benefit and blessing to her husband. She is not up and down, hot and cold. Her godliness is marked with consistency. Industrious; she takes great delight in her work. Rather than being a laborious and boring chore, it is pleasant and enjoyable. Resourceful; she uses her time and individual resources in the best way she can. Responsible; she is up before the sun, showing that idleness and laziness have no place with her. She rises up so early is to provide food for her household. The virtuous woman makes sure that her family gets off to a good nutritional start. Diligent; she has a reservoir of inner strength which is

- Implies tenderness and courtesy and not disrespect.

(Matthew 15:28 , John 2:4)

Warm-up Questions
How can you tell that a woman is virtuous? Do you know about Gods standards of being a virtuous woman? **Now, let us look into the scripture to understand more about being a virtuous woman. **

Scripture (Proverbs 31:10-31)

Key points: 1. The exceeding worth of a virtuous woman. Virtuous is from a noun meaning strength, efficiency, ability. Here it refers to strength of character, which is moral strength and firmness. A rare find like a beautiful gem. For some reason God made most common stones unattractive; yet He made most rare stones very beautiful and brilliant and lustrous. The virtuous woman is a beautiful woman, not necessarily outwardly, but certainly inwardly. She is not only a rare gem but a

able to energize her and enable her to accomplish physical tasks which require a great amount of physical strength. She is not weakened by sloth or laziness but she is a wonderful example of diligence and industry. Successful in every endeavour; she is experiencing the rewards of her labor. She is reaping what she sowed by her diligent industry, and she is finding it to be a good harvest. She is seeing the results of the labors of her hands. She learns that success results from her labors and she reaps the fruits of hard work. Compassionate; she has compassion toward the poor and needy and she shows her compassion with concrete deeds of mercy. She loves the poor, not in word or in tongue only, but also in deed and in truth. Confident; because she is a helpmate who is industrious and compassionate, she is ready for any emergency. Presentable; she did not dress in a shabby manner. She was industrious and enterprising, and she was able to purchase the finest materials, and with her own hands make the finest of garments. She did not consider it a mark of spirituality to go around looking impoverished, dilapidated, and threadbare. Rather, as was often true under the former dispensation, material prosperity was a sign of God's blessing, and was not to be despised. She wore expensive clothing, royal clothing, to match her regal and godly character. Her outward garments of beauty and splendor matched her inner beauty. "The virtuous woman is robed in what bespeaks her true character and dignity". Influential; she contributes greatly to the success and prosperity of her husband, is a crown to her husband.

3. The words of a virtuous woman Dignified; she was the type of person who laughed or smiled at the future. She was not vain or arrogant and she well understood that external beauty. She understood that the most important clothing was the adorning of the inner man: "strength and honor are her clothing." Cautious, gracious and kind; the law of kindness is in her tongue. She had a tongue that led people to God. She is not talkative and trifling, as most women, but thoughtful and sensible in her words. The instruction of the virtuous woman will be characterized by kindness and steadfast love. It will be kindly, faithful, loving and gracious instruction. 4. The witnesses of a virtuous woman She is praised by her own family members. Those who know her the best praise her the most. She invested herself in her loved ones, and she is recognized and rewarded by the same. The virtuous woman has three witnesses to her Godliness. First of all, her children, who were well raised and well taken care of for so many years will rise up and call her blessed! She will also have the praise of her husband. And she will have praise in the community, at the gates. 5. The core of a virtuous woman Real beauty in the sight of God is not the product of cosmetics but the outshining of the indwelling Christ. Relationship to the Lord; Inner beauty comes from a right relationship with the Lord. Fear of the Lord; to fear means to walk in reverence with God, to take God seriously. This holy fear, this reverence opens up the door to a godly way of life. There is no substitute for a life given over Christ.

A godly and virtuous woman will be rewarded. What she gives out she will get back. It is the boomerang effect: she hurls out many a good deed, and they are all going to come back to her. In devotion to her God and in love for her household, she is willing to expend herself ("to spend and be spent"). As she steadfastly labors and abounds in the work of the Lord, she knows that her labor will not be in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). God is a very generous Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6), "knowing that whatever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord" (Eph. 6:8). The Lord who knows all our works will faithfully reward all that is done in His Name and for His glory. It pays to live in a right manner. It pays to fear the Lord.

Conclusion
So today may Christian women adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour by their good works (compare Titus 2:10). God's special people should be "zealous of good works (fervently seeking to please God in all we do)" (Tit. 2:14). May our light shine before men, that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16). 1. Have a proper reverence for the Lord This is to have a proper relationship with the Lord. The BASIS of that relationship IS FEAR of the Lord. 2. Learn the fear of the Lord The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Get yourself off the throne and let Christ reign. Make time each day to rest in Him. Learn His righteous principles so the Holy Spirit can work them into and through your life. Its the only way to live up to your God-given potential. Blessings of fear A hatred for evil that leads to discretion; to reverence the Lord is to foster an increased sensitivity to evil, to develop the ability to discern between right and

wrong. This means your counsel and teaching will be will be filled with sound judgment. A cautious, controlled tongue; the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life. The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom. The tongue of the wise brings healing. The heart of the wise weighs its answers. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. Fear of the Lord enables her to think before speaking and then to offer wisdom, healing, and life when speaking. Emotional strength and stability; the woman who fears the Lord will have power over even the difficult, unexpected circumstances of life. She will be a strong tower in which her family can take refuge. She will always have something in reserve. A humble spirit; the fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor. A worthy, noble, priceless woman does not need to seek or speak words of praise on her own behalf; God guarantees the praise will come. The crown of life; the mother is the one supreme asset of the national life. She is more important, by far, than the successful statesman, or businessman, or artist, or scientist

A virtuous woman must be a Christian. All of us, women and men, are sinners. We possess an old sinful nature. That means we all have natural qualities and habits, that is, sins make us anything but virtuous. It is the person who has acknowledged their sin and turned to Jesus Christ by faith for forgiveness and salvation that has had their life changed. Becoming a Christian, however, is not a guarantee that a person will be a virtuous woman. It is the Christian woman who is yielded to Christs Lordship, and controlled by the Holy Spirit that will be virtuous.