{"id":901,"date":"2021-07-30T10:59:01","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T14:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=901"},"modified":"2021-07-30T10:59:01","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T14:59:01","slug":"the-wife-of-noble-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2021\/07\/30\/the-wife-of-noble-character\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wife of Noble Character"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Throughout July we\u2019re taking an in-depth look at Proverbs, the Bible\u2019s one-of-a-kind book about our never-ending need for wisdom.<\/em>

“We can rebuild him. We have the technology.  We can make him better than he was.  Better…stronger…faster.”

Those solemn words introduced every episode of the TV action series The Six Million Dollar Man<\/em>, which aired on ABC from 1973 through 1978. 

Lee Majors played USAF Colonel Steve Austin, an astronaut critically injured during a NASA test flight.  His body is secretly rebuilt with cyborg technology by a shadowy US governmental agency.  Austin is now a Cold War superspy with a bionic left eye, a bionic right arm, and a pair of bionic legs, transforming him into something like Superman without the cape.  All of this is accomplished for six million dollars, which seemed like a great deal of money in 1973.

The show was such a hit that it spawned The Bionic Woman<\/em>, a spinoff starring Lindsey Wagner as professional tennis player Jaime Sommers.  After suffering severe injuries in a skydiving accident, Sommers is fitted with three bionic limbs and a bionic ear that allows her to listen in on exceedingly quiet conversations.  When not deployed as a Cold War superspy, she teaches middle school kids (since it\u2019s widely known that no one should attempt to teach middle school kids without cyborg enhancements). 

So far, bionic husbands and wives and teachers and cops and car mechanics exist only in Hollywood. 

But that didn\u2019t stop at least one ancient Hebrew author from coming up with his own real-life profile of the Bionic Woman.  It\u2019s typically identified as the Wife of Noble Character, and comprises the last 22 verses of the book of Proverbs (31:10-31).  It reads a bit like a personal ad you might find in a Late Bronze Age newspaper under the title Seeking Mrs. Perfect<\/em>. 

When you read the verses for yourself, you\u2019ll discover that this is the woman who can do it all. 

She handmakes her family\u2019s clothing.  Her kitchen is like Waffle House; it\u2019s open 24\/7.  She\u2019s physically tough, even without a personal trainer.  Her rpms are always in the \u201cred zone,\u201d because she \u201cdoes not eat the bread of idleness\u201d (verse 27).  She dabbles in real estate, plants a vineyard as a personal investment, is compassionate to the poor, is a wise and insightful teacher, laughs at the days to come, and did we mention that she never slows down? 

You can almost hear the words playing in the background:  “We can rebuild her. We have the technology.  We can make her better than she was.  Better…stronger…faster.”<\/em>

To plummet back to reality for just a moment, no woman can be \u2013 nor should ever try<\/u><\/em> to be \u2013 Martha Stewart, Oprah, Mother Teresa, and Beyonce all rolled into one. 

Throughout history, unfortunately, these verses have taken on a life of their own.  A Jewish husband traditionally recites them aloud to his wife on Sabbath evenings, and they have served as the centerpiece of many Christian sermons on Mother\u2019s Day.  It\u2019s worth noting that there\u2019s no equivalent idealized description of the Husband of Noble Character anywhere in Scripture. 

So what are we to make of this unusual finale to the book of Proverbs? 

First, let\u2019s recall that Proverbs was most likely a training manual for young men who were expected to provide leadership \u2013 including royal leadership \u2013 for ancient Israel.  A life partner of high character was a treasure \u201cworth more than rubies\u201d (31:10). 

Do you want to live well?  Then do everything you can to marry well. 

Second, these verses provide a summary of the themes of the entire book.  Like Lady Wisdom (chapters eight and nine), the idealized Perfect Wife embodies the Good Life.  She works hard.  She values her family.  She sets goals and keeps her eyes on the prize.  And she\u2019s generous: \u201cShe opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy\u201d (31:20). 

Most important, she is a \u201cwoman who fears the Lord\u201d (31:30).  Thus the call to cultivate a profound reverence for God not only opens the book but closes it, too.

Third, and finally, there\u2019s a delightful twist at the end of the Bible\u2019s profile of the Bionic Woman.  It\u2019s found in the last four verses of the book of Proverbs.

\u201cHer children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: \u2018Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.\u2019  Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate\u201d (31:28-31).

In Bible times, the city gate was like Facebook.  It was the public meeting place where people exchanged ideas, opinions, emotions, hopes, and dreams.  What is the real benchmark for the Wife of Noble Character?  It\u2019s that her husband and her children go public with their praise:  \u201cI love my wife.  We love our mom.  You\u2019re the best!\u201d<\/em>

Let\u2019s revisit the scene of the Jewish husband reciting aloud Proverbs 31 to his wife every Sabbath evening.

Yes, there\u2019s that crazy list of capabilities and accomplishments.  But everything changes at the moment he looks over at his partner and says, \u201cYou know, there are a lot of amazing women in this world.  But none of them holds a candle to you.  I’m so blessed that you’re in my life.\u201d

Imagine how the history of the world might have been transformed through such heartfelt public affirmation of girls and women.

It\u2019s not too late.  History is still being written.

May God give us the grace to offer thanks and praise at the city gate. 
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Throughout July we\u2019re taking an in-depth look at Proverbs, the Bible\u2019s one-of-a-kind book about our never-ending need for wisdom. “We can rebuild him. We have the technology.  We can make him better than he was.  Better…stronger…faster.” Those solemn words introduced every episode of the TV action series The Six Million Dollar Man, which aired on ABC from 1973 through 1978. … Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":902,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[123,198],"class_list":["post-901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-proverbs","tag-women"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=901"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":903,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901\/revisions\/903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}