Clothed in strength and honor
A teaching for wives · Proverbs 31:25–31
25Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the days to come. 26She opens her mouth with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband praises her as well: 29“Many daughters have done noble things, but you surpass them all!” 30Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 31Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her at the gates.
Context
Proverbs 31:10–31 is an acrostic poem: each verse begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in order, as if to say this is the woman from A to Z. The chapter contains words King Lemuel learned from his own mother (v. 1). It is a poetic portrait of wisdom lived out day to day, not a to-do list for a single woman to complete, much less on the same day.
What the Bible teaches
First, look at what she wears: “Strength and honor are her clothing.” She isn’t just a busy woman; she is a whole woman. She trades, buys a field, plants a vineyard, sells garments, helps the poor, speaks with wisdom. The Bible celebrates women’s work, inside and outside the home, and calls her strong. And “she can laugh at the days to come,” not because she controls everything, but because she fears the LORD.
Many women read this chapter and feel crushed: I’ll never be like that. But the poem isn’t a productivity goal. No real woman does all this at once, and the woman in the poem has servants and family around her: no one manages alone. The center is v. 30: charm and beauty pass, the fear of the Lord remains. Fearing the Lord isn’t dread; it’s living with reverence for Him and trust in Him.
Notice the ending, too: her husband and children praise her out loud, and v. 31 asks that she receive the fruit of her own hands. Recognition isn’t vanity; it’s justice. And this dignity doesn’t depend on marital status or on having children.
In practice
Write down three things your hands have built in recent months, inside or outside the home, and thank God for them. If you like, read this passage with your husband and tell him what you wrote.
To talk about
In what area of life have you been laughing at the days to come, and in which have you been living in fear of them?
Prayer
Lord, thank you for the dignity you have given me and for the work of my hands. Free me from measuring my worth by comparison or productivity. Clothe me with strength and wisdom, and teach me to fear you more than any other gaze. Amen.