I'm in a Bible study with a cool group of women (of all ages and life seasons) and we are studying Proverbs 31. The P31 Woman. Lots to learn about this rather intimidating figure that the mother of the King exhorted him to marry.
As I was pondering this role model, I realized that Proverbs talks quite a bit about women. These 22 verses are not the only mention of women in the book. In fact, there are alot more than 22 other verses in there about "The Other Woman".
The woman that we can be if we are not intentional about seeking God's grace and mercy to become more like the P31 gal.
There may be more than these but I find at least 4 types of "The Other Woman"....
1. The foolish woman - Proverbs 14:1 tells us that The wise woman builds her house but the foolish woman tears it down with her hands.
What are ways we can be this foolish woman and tear down our house? Lots of ways, to be sure, but Proverbs 9:13 specifies this : The woman of folly (uh, that would be the foolish woman so that would mean she is tearing down her house with this action) is boisterous, she is naive and knows nothing.
I looked up "boisterous" just to be sure I understood - it means "rough, stormy, unrestrained"
Boisterous. Foolish. The other woman.
2. The contentious woman - Proverbs 25:24 says that It is better to live in a corner of the roof than in a house shared with a contentious woman. And in Proverbs 27:15,16 Scripture clarifies the picture - A constant dripping on a day of steady rain ad a contentious woman are alike; He who would restrain her restrains the wind and grasps oil with his right hand.
So, again, I looked up "contentious" just to get it right - "tending to argument or strife, quarrelsome"
Contentious. Undesirable. The other woman.
3. The senseless woman - Proverbs 11:22 - As a gold ring in a pig's snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion. What a picture - a beautiful gold ring, wasted in the nose of a pig!
Used dictionary.com alot today - this was a long one - "judicious in one's conduct or speech, especially with regard to respecting privacy or maintaining silence about something of a delicate nature; prudent; circumspect."
Maybe just think of it as beauty used inappropriately.
Senseless. Without discretion. The other woman.
4. The adulterous woman. Lots of passages in this book address this type of woman. Proverbs 5:3-6 describes her this way: The lips of a seductive woman are oh so sweet, her soft words are oh so smooth.But it won’t be long before she’s gravel in your mouth, a pain in your gut, a wound in your heart.She’s dancing down the primrose path to Death; she’s headed straight for Hell and taking you with her.She hasn’t a clue about Real Life, about who she is or where she’s going.
Seductive. Adulterous. The Other Woman.
The difference in our lives between The Other Woman and the P31 woman?
That's found in that P31 passage...vs. 30...A woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Praying to be fearing the Lord,
Suzanne
As I was pondering this role model, I realized that Proverbs talks quite a bit about women. These 22 verses are not the only mention of women in the book. In fact, there are alot more than 22 other verses in there about "The Other Woman".
The woman that we can be if we are not intentional about seeking God's grace and mercy to become more like the P31 gal.
There may be more than these but I find at least 4 types of "The Other Woman"....
1. The foolish woman - Proverbs 14:1 tells us that The wise woman builds her house but the foolish woman tears it down with her hands.
What are ways we can be this foolish woman and tear down our house? Lots of ways, to be sure, but Proverbs 9:13 specifies this : The woman of folly (uh, that would be the foolish woman so that would mean she is tearing down her house with this action) is boisterous, she is naive and knows nothing.
I looked up "boisterous" just to be sure I understood - it means "rough, stormy, unrestrained"
Boisterous. Foolish. The other woman.
2. The contentious woman - Proverbs 25:24 says that It is better to live in a corner of the roof than in a house shared with a contentious woman. And in Proverbs 27:15,16 Scripture clarifies the picture - A constant dripping on a day of steady rain ad a contentious woman are alike; He who would restrain her restrains the wind and grasps oil with his right hand.
So, again, I looked up "contentious" just to get it right - "tending to argument or strife, quarrelsome"
Contentious. Undesirable. The other woman.
3. The senseless woman - Proverbs 11:22 - As a gold ring in a pig's snout, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion. What a picture - a beautiful gold ring, wasted in the nose of a pig!
Used dictionary.com alot today - this was a long one - "judicious in one's conduct or speech, especially with regard to respecting privacy or maintaining silence about something of a delicate nature; prudent; circumspect."
Maybe just think of it as beauty used inappropriately.
Senseless. Without discretion. The other woman.
4. The adulterous woman. Lots of passages in this book address this type of woman. Proverbs 5:3-6 describes her this way: The lips of a seductive woman are oh so sweet, her soft words are oh so smooth.But it won’t be long before she’s gravel in your mouth, a pain in your gut, a wound in your heart.She’s dancing down the primrose path to Death; she’s headed straight for Hell and taking you with her.She hasn’t a clue about Real Life, about who she is or where she’s going.
Seductive. Adulterous. The Other Woman.
The difference in our lives between The Other Woman and the P31 woman?
That's found in that P31 passage...vs. 30...A woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Praying to be fearing the Lord,
Suzanne