Proverbs 31:15
She Rises While It Is Yet Night
1. Lemuel is describing the virtuous (strong; noble; capable) woman.
2. So far we have learned several things about her.
a. Vs. 10 – She is valuable—like rubies.
b. Vs. 11 – She is trustworthy.
c. Vs. 12 – She did good deeds for her husband her whole life.
d. Vs. 13 – She was a willing worker and made clothing for her family for all seasons.
e. Vs. 14 – She was a diligent and wise shopper.
f. Vs. 15 – Tonight we are going to learn a bit more about the work ethic of the virtuous woman.
1. The virtuous woman was an early riser.
a. She got up very early in the morning, when it is still dark out. She rose up before the sun and before the roosters.
b. This fact is part of what makes her a virtuous woman – a hardworking, noble, capable woman.
c. Obviously, different people have different schedules.
2. However, the Bible does speak of rising early as a virtue.
a. Psalm 119:146-148 – The psalmist “prevented” (preceded) the dawning of the morning.
• He rose up before sunlight, like the virtuous woman.
• He rose up early because he wanted to “cry unto the Lord” in prayer for all the burdens on his heart. That was the best time for him.
• He also rose up early so that he might meditate on God’s Word.
• In the morning it was quiet; the hustle and bustle of the day had not yet begun.
• In the morning he had the time and the quiet to think… to meditate… pray to God and bring his requests to the throne of grace… and to read God’s Word AND to hear from God.
• Psalm 5:3 – “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”
b. Mark 1:35 – This was the practice of the Lord Jesus as well.
• He Lord also rose before the sun. Note that He arose a “great while before” day dawned.
• Then He went to seek out a quiet, solitary place… and there He prayed.
• Vs. 33-34 – Jesus knew that all day long He would likely be surrounded by a mob of people.
• Therefore He arose early seeking for peace and quiet to get alone with the Father before another hectic day of ministry began.
• He sought a solitary place because He didn’t want to be disturbed.
• John 6:46 – “And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.”
• John 6:15 – “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.” There were burdens on His heart over the dullness of the people. He needed to get alone with His Father in prayer.
• It is good and needful to get alone with God each day.
• That’s what the Lord did; that’s what the psalmist did; and that’s what the virtuous woman did.
• Early morning may not fit into your schedule. But choose the best time and be faithful.
• Biographers tell us that Susanna Wesley (who had 17 children) used to sit in the corner in a rocking chair and put her apron over her head in order to block out all the commotion in the house so that she could have her quiet time with God each day.
c. Proverbs 20:13 – “Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.”
• Prov. 19:15 – “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.”
• This woman did not love sleep; she got up before the sun!
• As a result, she did not come to poverty. Nor did she or her household suffer hunger.
• And she and her household (including her maidens) were “satisfied with bread.” They had plenty to eat as a direct result of her diligence.
A. She Gave Food to Her Household
1. Note also that this was a well-to-do woman.
a. She had maidens – female household servants.
b. She didn’t have to get up early but she did.
c. She could have stayed in bed and had her maidens take care of whatever needed attention early in the morning.
2. She got up early to prepare food for her family.
a. Meat: This is an old English word for “food.” (As in the meat offerings in the Old Testament which actually contained no meat; they were grain or food offerings.)
b. This woman arose early to prepare breakfast for her family.
c. Again, she was a wealthy woman with servants.
d. She could have told her servants to prepare breakfast. Most wealthy ladies would say, “Why should I get up? What do I have maidens for if not to do that kind of work?”
e. But getting up early to do it herself was an act of selfless, sacrificial LOVE.
• Vs. 14 – It was also an act of love to bring her food from afar—because she wanted the best for her family.
• Vs. 13 – It was an act of love for her to make wool and linen cloth for her family—so they would be prepared for both hot and cold weather.
• Vs. 13 – It was also an act of love for her to work willingly with her own hands—when she as a wealthy woman could have had her maidens do all the work for her.
f. The fact that she prepared breakfast for her family when she didn’t have to accentuates her virtue.
• A poor woman would have to get up early to feed her family breakfast.
• But a rich woman who didn’t have to but did so out of love highlights this woman as being noble, honorable, gracious, and loving.
• Of course the young children would probably never appreciate all the things that their mother did for them that she didn’t have to.
• That is they wouldn’t appreciate it until they grew up and had their own family and realized how hard she worked… how much she did… even when she didn’t have to.
3. Another point to consider is the meaning of the word “household”
a. Dictionary of Bible Languages defines this Hebrew term as: “a very small unit of a clan or tribe, consisting of parents, children, close relatives, including servants, living in relatively close proximity.”
b. If we apply the common meaning of the word “household” to our proverb, [(1) the family members, (2) extended family members, as well as (3) household servants] then we are forced to conclude that this woman also prepared breakfast for her servants… the maidens.
c. That would be highly unusual for a wealthy woman.
d. If that is the case here, we see a noble, honorable, virtuous woman going the extra mile.
e. We are told here that this wealthy woman with household servants got up early to prepare food for her household servants when they should have been up early preparing food for her!
f. This is a remarkable expression of love—sacrificing self for the good of others.
B. She Gave a “Portion” to Her Maidens
1. This expression serves as a good illustration to us all as to WHY we need to look up words in a Bible dictionary when doing Bible studies on our own.
a. Reading the text as translated here one might assume that this woman prepared food for her family and in addition, she gave a portion of that food to her maidens.
b. The first part of the proverb indicates that she gave food to her maidens—but not this expression.
c. “Portion” here does not mean a portion of the food. A quick trip to the dictionary will tell us that.
2. Portion defined:
a. Complete Word Study Dictionary: A masculine noun meaning regulation, law, ordinance, decree, custom. Primarily, this word represents an expectation or mandate prescribed by decree or custom.
b. Dictionary of Bible Languages: Regulation, decree, statute, ordinance, i.e., a clear communicated prescription of what one should do.
c. It can also mean a “quota.” This definition is what caused many translations to translate the word as “portion.”
d. But that is not the most common usage of the term.
e. The most common usage is “regulations; commands; instructions as to what to do.”
3. Using the most common meaning for the term indicates that this woman rose up early to (1) feed her family and her maidens and also to (2) give “instructions” to her maidens. (their work assignments for the day).
a. In other words, after feeding her maidens, she used their labors wisely and efficiently.
b. The virtuous woman had plans and goals to accomplish each day.
c. Evidently, she had already prepared the instructions for each maiden the night before. She had already thought out and perhaps wrote down a “to do” list to give to her maidens each morning.
d. She did this because she was a diligent leader of her maidens and wanted to use their talents in a most effective manner.
e. This woman was disciplined; organized; a good planner; a wise and efficient manager. She redeemed the time.
f. As a result of this, she got a lot of work done each day (1) from her own labors and (2) from managing her maidens well.
g. To use the words of the apostle Paul, she was “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.”
4. And it is likely that her maidens were only too happy to do the chores she had arranged for them to do that day.
a. Why? Because this woman (their “boss”) wasn’t a mean tyrant who sat around sipping lemonade and delighted in ordering others to do all the work.
b. No. She set the example.
• She too was a hard worker. Her servants would have seen her working too.
• This noble, capable, virtuous woman—a wealthy lady—did not set herself above her maidens.
• She worked with them. They would have appreciated that.
c. And they knew that she loved them. It showed.
• Vs. 26 – the law of kindness was in her mouth. She didn’t yell and scream at them. She was kind and gracious.
• Besides, she got up early to cook breakfast for them! No other wealthy lady did that.
• And even though she had high standards and expected a lot from them, they were happy to serve her – because she also served them.
5. This woman greatly added to the wealth, security, the well-being, and order to her household.
a. Between her diligence, early rising, good management skills, her wise and diligent shopping, her organizational skills, and her care for her maidens, it is no wonder that she was a wealthy woman and that her family was dressed in scarlet!
b. Her diligence, wisdom, and organizational skills added greatly to the wealth and wellbeing of her family.
c. She is a woman to be praised.