This character ought to be true of all believers, but it too is particularly associated with wives. In order to qualify for the position of deacon, a man must have a wife who is faithful in all things (1 Tim. 3:1111Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. (1 Timothy 3:11)). This is a large order and surely covers many aspects of the wife's life that are too numerous to name. It seems to imply, among many things, special thought to avoid in any way bringing dishonor to the Lord: special care in bringing her children up for the Lord, special energy in serving the Lord, special concern only to speak truthfully of the Lord's people, special efforts to live soberly, gravely and discreetly before the eyes of a watching world.
The wife of Prov. 31 seems to be one who was faithful in all things. Again she is not a specific person but personifies a wife who knows her place in the family which is functioning according to Scripture. She is faithful in all things: to her husband (verses 11, 12, 23, 28), to her children (verses 15,21,27, 28), to her maidens (verse 15), to the poor and needy (verse 20), in her work concerning her household (verses 13-24,27), and in her manner of dress and talk (verses 25, 26).
In this age when men are failing to play their role in the family as they should, and women attempting to "liberate" themselves from their proper role, wives are heard to complain that they are only known by who their husbands are and by what they achieve. How different it is in the family where the wife plays her proper role. Because of his wife "the husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land." Prov. 31:2323Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. (Proverbs 31:23). Because of his wife's virtues, he praises and honors her, and her children, instead of rebelling as is so often the case today, arise up and bless her. What harmony and happiness exist in the family where there is the desire to maintain order in the family according to the Word of God.
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