10 Points The Woman of Proverbs 31

THE WOMAN OF PROVERBS 31 10 POINTS BIBLE STUDY BY Petra Vaughn

The Wife of Noble Character

Her Character: She represents the fulfillment of a life lived in wisdom (page 146)
V10: She is worth more than rubies…she is wisdom personified (3:15)

V12: She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life… The Husband will find favor from the Lord (18:22 & 19:14).

V13,V19,V21 & V22: She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. In her hand she holds a distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers, when it snows she has no fear for her household, for all of them are clothed in scarlet, she makes coverings for her bed, she is clothed in fine linen and purple (distaff-stick or staff in which the wool and flax is wound around during the spinning) Scarlet & Purple: colors symbolized fine materials for the wealthy) She makes clothes and bedding and rugs to care for her family.

V14,V15: She is like a merchant ships bringing food from afar, She gets up while it is still dark; she prepares food for her family and portions for her servant girls. (She is an enterprising woman and not a sluggard) see note 31:15

V16,V17, V18 & V24: She considers a field and buys it; out of earnings she plants a vineyard, she sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks, she sees her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night, she makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. (using her enterprising spirit she still takes care of her family and friends with the work she does)

V20,V25,V26 & V27: She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy, she is clothed with strength and dignity, she can laugh at the days to come, she speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue, she watches the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. (14:21 & 22:9, Job: 39-7, 1:8, 6:20, she is a God fearing woman and is living her life as God intends, faith,, dignity, love and not idle, not gossiping see foot notes)

V11,V23,V28 & V31: Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value, Her husband is respected at the city gates…her children arise and call her blessed her husband also, and he praises her ( Her Husband and family love her because she cares for them so well, they praise her and tell others how wonderful she is… see foot notes)

V29,V30: Many woman do noble things but you surpass them all, charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised (Loving the Lord and following his commands is the noble thing to do in our lives, see footnotes)

Like many Hebrew Poems, Songs and Proverbs are a play on words for God, Church and us, so we could use those words to make a better connection with the statements and our lives today.

The Rebekah Bible Study/Pot Luck 04/11/2015 Starts our Second Year of Women of The Bible

We start our second year of Women of the Bible with the study of Rebekah our twenty-third women of the series. Our text for the series is Women of the Bible, 52 Bible Studies for Individuals and Groups by Jean E Syswerda. The study of Rebekah is found on page 28.

We start our second year of the series with our Open House Bible Study which includes our Spring Pot Luck held immediately following the Bible Study. If you have not attended a Homewords Bible Study small group, this is a good time to come and see what we are about. We welcome all visitors, no participation on the Pot-Luck items required, Come and be Our Guest.

The Bible Study group will meet 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Pot Luck will follow. For complete information contact Glenda at 727-542-4683.

Rizpah Bible Study – 10 Key Points for Bible Study 09/13/14

1. Her name means, “A Hot Stone or Coal”. (4, page199)

2. Rizpah, concubine to King Saul, is first mentioned in the Bible after Saul’s death, when one of Saul’s generals is accused of seducing her. ( 3, page 257)

3. Rizpah was the mother of Armoni and Mephibosheth. Though a woman with few rights and little power, she displayed great courage and loyalty after the death of her sons. (4 page 199).

4. Joshua had promised to live in peace with the Gibeonites, but Saul had murdered many of them during his reign, attempting to annihilate them. As a result of Saul’s oath-breaking, Israel suffered a famine for three years running. (4, page 200)

5. She (Rizpah) appears again later, near the end of David’s reign, during a three-year famine sent by God as punishment for Saul’s massacre of the Gibeonites. (3, page 57)

6. ( David ) the king took… the two sons of…Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab…He handed them over to the Gibeonites, who killed and exposed them on a hill before the Lord. (5 page 111)

7. Executed for their father’s crime, their bodies were left to rot on the hillside, despite a law requiring burial by sunset. (4,page 200)

8. In her sorrow, Rizpah spread sackcloth for herself on a rock to keep watch over her dead sons until the harvest was finished and the rains came. When David heard about this devoted mother, he buried her sons in a family tomb in Ephraim. (3, page 258)

9. Her sorrow: That her only sons were executed and their bodies dishonored because of their father’s crime.(4, page 199)

10. Her Joy: That the bodies of her sons were finally given an honorable burial. (4, page 199)

1. The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volume Four, In Four Volumes, Abingdon Press, New York 1962.

2. The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan, 1995.

3. Who’s Who in the Bible, An Illustrative Biographical Dictionary, Dietrich Gruen, Contributing Editor, Publications International, LTD., 1998.

4. Women of the Bible, One Year Devotional Study of Women in Scripture, Ann Spangler and Jean E. Syswerda, Zondervan, 2007.

5. Women of the Bible, 52 Bible Studies for Individuals and Groups, Jean E Syswerda, Zondervan, 1999

Announcement: The Ninth Anniversary Celebration & Pot Luck will be held with our Saturday Bible Study, September 27, 2014 at 4:00pm. Please contact Glenda for information at 727-542-4683.

Women of the Bible, Bathsheba – August 16, 2014

Bathsheba is our ninth study in our series from Women of the Bible, 52 Bible Studies for Individuals and Groups by Jean E Syswerda. The study of Bathsheba is found on page 99. The Bible Study small group will be held on August 16, 2014, 4:00-6:00 p.m. If you have not received your books for the study, please see Glenda. Remember that all materials are free as they are gifts to you from students participating in Homewords Small Group Bible Study Ministry. For information contact Glenda at 727-542-4683 .

Instructor’s Comments 4 – “Evidence of God’s Timeless Presence and Provisions”

Lesson Three – Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 2:1-3:18)

By God’s providential care Ruth and Naomi are now living in Bethlehem. Ruth is honoring her vow to God (1:16-17). She is very aware of the need to provide food for herself and Naomi.

We see evidence of God’s presence, timing, and provisions in that they arrived in Bethlehem safely and at the beginning of the barley harvest season (1:22). If you’ll remember, Naomi’s family left Bethlehem because “there was a famine in the land (1:1)”. The famine has run its’ course, there is food available again; and ready to be harvested in late April through early May (1:22), the wheat harvest (2:23) followed in May and early June (Life Changes Series: Ruth and Esther, pg. 34).

Ruth recognizes that she has committed, with God’s help, to care for herself and Naomi —who is too frail to work, has land that she can’t access, and is “caught-up” in her losses which seems to have alienated her from God. But God is still faithful in his care of the women.

Ruth has a major obstacle that might have created additional problems for her. She is a Moabite, her race makes her a potential victim of the long-standing historical scorn by these Israelites (Gen. 19:30-38, Deut. 23:3, Jud. 3:12-30), if she goes out alone in this community to work. We can question God’s motives or we can admire Him for His attributes, as He does what He does to fulfill His purposes. Ruth clearly understands that she is “at the mercy of the saints” for food for she and Naomi. She discussed/got permission from Naomi to go to the source of food—the fields and “pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor” (2:2). Ruth 2:3 states, “…As it turned out, she found herself working in the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech”. This Boaz is a relative of Naomi’s late husband. This Boaz is a wealthy and virtuous Bethlehemite. (The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. A-D, pg 451.) This Boaz is the son of Rahab, you remember Rahab from Joshua 2:1-24, as the prostitute who hid Joshua’s spies on the condition that her family would be spared when they attacked and were victorious over Jericho.

This Boaz shows up in the lineage of Jesus and David in Matthew 1:5-6, with his rich heritage which is a major benefits to every Believer, especially today. We can question what and why things happen in our families, but a family committed to God has no real need to worry or question. If we nurture our relationship with God daily, we can continuously see Him working on and through each family member from one generation to the next to accomplish His will in each of us.

Boaz now knows he is in a position as kinsman-redeemer (2:30), to marry one of these women. Naomi is eligible to marry first however, she seems to have come out of her “grief-stricken state” in time to focus on finding a home for Ruth instead of herself (3:1). Naomi instructs Ruth on the proper custom to approach Boaz to make him aware that she (Ruth), not Naomi, is no longer in mourning for her husband, she has ended the period of mourning, and is available for marriage to the eligible Kinsman-redeemer (2:29-20, 3:1-15).

We can see God’s hand as He directs the historical path of each character of this great book of Ruth. Let us look to God daily as He continues to lace our lives with evidence of His presence and provisions.

Reverend Glenda Brunson