God’s Word for You
Proverbs 31:15 While it is still night
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Saturday, October 19, 2019
15 She rises while it is still night
and provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
This verse is probably tied to the previous one, both by the sixth alphabet-letter, vav (which here is the word “and”) and by the connected subject-matter. The ideal and heroic wife sets aside sleep to do much of her work, at the one time when there are no interruptions from the demands of children or husband or neighbors. In the dark watches of the night she can concentrate on what needs to be done.
This is not to say that she never sleeps at all. Some women get up early, some stay up late instead. Some women know that they need a certain amount of sleep to function, and they find a way to get it. Doing one or the other is not so much the point of this verse. Providing for the family is the point. The heroic wife is really compared to a lioness, ripping apart portions of the prey (tereph, “prey,” is translated “food” here) to give to her cubs (children) and to the servants.
It’s said that genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains, or that it is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration. This is the definition of the work of the lady of a house: wife, mother, top sergeant. Like the executive officer of a ship at sea, she is responsible for every person under her care and for the management of the home itself. How the duties of each home are arranged is up, of course, to the married couple themselves. Who is better at this? Who is better at that? Whose schedule makes more sense here or there in terms of caring for our affairs: the children, the home, the daily duties, the bills, the laundry, the yard, etc.?
In 2003, my wife had her second of two miscarriages. Although the first one was not very difficult physically or emotionally, she was further along for this second one, and I will spare the details of the day except to say that she very nearly died in the ER of our local hospital, but by the grace of God she was spared, and was able to conceive, carry and give birth to our youngest son in the spring of 2005. While we were on our way to the ER, I shouted out the car window to our neighbor to keep an eye on our two boys who were being left home alone, ages 7 and 4. Four hours later, when my wife had stabilized and I wanted to check on the boys, I found that our neighbor hadn’t even heard me, but our sons had taken care of themselves. Juice boxes were opened and drunk, cookies and cereal got eaten, the TV got watched, and the bathroom got used without any accidents. Our boys hadn’t even noticed that we were gone. Why? Because my wife, without any particular plan, always made sure that the boys knew where everything was, how to use the things they needed, and what to do with dirty dishes. She has always provided for her family, not when emergencies come, but in the months and years long before any emergency arrives, in the long, dark watches of the night. They will always be all right, because they know the Lord who watches over them, and because the heroic wife and mother who cares for them has taught them more than she realizes.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.