Be Prepared (Day 13)

So here’s a woman that plans ahead, thinks ahead, and is prepared so that crises don’t catch her off guard. Now there’s a sense in which you can overdo this, and there’s a sense in which you cannot be prepared for some crisis. Some things hit you and there was no way of preparing.

But you can be preparing in your heart and in your life and in your walk with God so that when the crisis does come you have the wisdom and the understanding to know what God wants you to do when you’re faced with that situation. = PRAY!

But she has prepared so that her family will have their needs met when the time of crisis comes. She anticipated the needs of her family. This is another practical expression of a woman who fears the Lord.

You see, your relationship with God will affect every area of your life, including the way that you plan your schedule, the way that you think ahead about life. Now, here it's speaking of the obvious, literal way that she prepares so that her house will have their needs met in the time of winter or snow.

In making those literal physical preparations, she’s reflecting to her children, to her family, the heart of God. He is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides. She’s showing her family what God looks like as she’s providing for them their clothing that they will need for the cold weather.

But there’s another sense by way of application that I think this passage speaks to us as women in the era of grace. That is that she has thought ahead about preparing her family for not just the winter snow in a literal sense, but also preparing them for the coming judgment, for coming crises between now and the judgment. She has thought ahead and planned and prayed and sought the Lord about how she can prepare her family for the days ahead.

We may be in this country facing some—and likely are facing—even more difficult days than what our nation has experienced in our lifetime. Are you thinking about how to prepare your children for suffering?

Verse 22 tells us, “She makes tapestry for herself and her clothing is fine linen and purple.” The NIV translates that, “She makes coverings for her bed.” That first phrase in verse 22 is not about her own clothing. It’s about items that she makes for her house. Bed coverings is what is specifically being referred to there.

So as this passage is unfolded, she has been caring for the basics of food and clothing for her family, and now she turns to decorating her home and then to clothing herself.

That’s kind of the order of priorities that unfolds in this passage.

·         Her relationship with her husband, of course, is primary over that with her children.

·         She’s met the needs of food and clothing for her family. (needs)

·         Poor and needy

·         Then she thinks about the environment of her home, decorating her home.

·         Then her dress

That word tapestry or coverings speaks of home furnishings. It can be different kinds of home furnishings—rugs or coverlets, upholstery, quilts, pillows, blankets, drapes, wall hangings, tablecloths, place mats, napkins, towels, sheets. All these kinds of things this woman makes on her own, wanting to make her home a place of beauty and a haven where her family will be nurtured and blessed and cared for.

And again, not going to extremes and not so that our house can be something that is admired by everyone around us, but so that our house can have a climate that is conducive to spiritual growth and encouragement in the lives of others.

Then we see this first and only reference to her own clothing. Her clothing is fine linen and purple. I think if you take this verse in the context of the whole chapter, it becomes clear that her clothing is not her number one priority, but it is a priority.

Now the kind of clothing she has, made of fine linen and purple, gives evidence that this particular woman is from a “well-to-do” family. Linen is made from flax. It’s a high-quality fabric that this woman uses. And then purple, as we’ve said, is something that’s rare. It’s a costly dye that actually is extracted from shellfish in very minute amounts. So to make clothing of scarlet or purple is something that would have been done by royalty.

Of course, we know that Proverbs 31 are the words of a king who was teaching us what his mother taught him about looking for a bride who would be a queen. So there’s nothing wrong with having nice clothing, good-quality clothing, if God has provided and made that possible, and if that is appropriate to the position and the place in life that God has given you. Those things are not sinful.

This author, Charles Bridges, writing on the book of Proverbs says that, “The wife’s exterior, her appearance, should continue to be not less pleasing than when at first her husband’s heart was drawn to her.”¹

So as you think about clothing as a married woman, it’s so important to be asking yourself, asking the Lord, and asking your husband what is attractive to him. What pleases him? It’s an unwise, a foolish woman, a self-centered woman who says, “I will dress the way I want to dress regardless of what my husband thinks.”

We can assume that she takes care of her clothing. We can assume that it is neat and that it is clean because that’s the way that this woman is all throughout the chapter. I think it’s not reading anything into the text to say that she cares about the details. But she’s not obsessed with details that are less important than other details. Some details matter more to her than others.

Again, God has to show us how to strike this balance. That’s where it’s so important to walk in the Spirit and not to let someone else tell you, “This is what this means for you.” Ask the Lord to show you how to walk in balance and how to be sensitive to what would be pleasing to the Lord for you at your season of life.

Everything that this woman does reflects on her husband. We’re going to see that he is known in the gates. He has a reputation. Everything about this woman has helped to enhance rather than to detract from her husband’s reputation. That includes her clothing.

Most importantly, it reflects on your God. We need to ask the Lord what’s pleasing to Him. This woman doesn’t want to embarrass her husband. She doesn’t want to reflect negatively on him, and nor does she want to draw inordinate attention to herself. It’s only as we walk in the Spirit and are sensitive to God’s work in our hearts that we know where that line is for us.

Ask the Lord to show you how to dress in ways that are feminine. He made you a woman. Enjoy it.

First Timothy and Titus tell us that we should apply the standards of modesty, of soberness, what is proper, what is sensible, of moderation and of discretion.

Dear Jesus, help me to have a heart and ear turned towards You so that I can better hear Your voice and better anticipate the needs of my family and be prepared for the future. Help me to rest in You trusting that You will take care of us. Thank You for loving and caring for us. Amen.