What will you wear when winter sets in?

There is an old saying that greatly assists us in understanding the unity of scripture.  It goes as follows:

"The New (Testament) is in the Old concealed.  The Old (Testament) is in the New revealed"

The purpose of all scripture is to show how God is at work in space and time.  Because the Bible's ultimate subject is the Lord Jesus Christ, we should expect to see even the most obscure texts pointing to him in one way or the other.  Proverbs 31: 10-31, while by no means obscure, is no exception.

Let's look at what this "woman" does when tough times (winter) set in (vs 21 and 25 Amplified)

21She fears not the snow for her family, for all her household are doubly clothed in scarlet.

25Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure; she rejoices over the future [the latter day or time to come, knowing that she and her family are in readiness for it]!

I can't believe I'm writing this worn out cliche but Robert Schuller's "tough times never last, tough people do" comes to mind.  Does this mean our Proverbs 31 "woman" might have leaped straight from the pages of a self-help manual?  Heaven Forbid.  So where does her strength come from then?

The clue is that when winter (tough times) comes, her household is doubly clothed in scarlet.  We've already established in an earlier post that this woman is a dealer in royal and priestly fabrics (namely linen)...we've seen how her beds are even clothed in linen.  But now we see that in addition to this priestly fabric, her family puts on "scarlet" in winter.   

"Scarlet" was not only a colour or hue...it was yet another sort of rare and expensive fabric made from wool.  On top of this, the wool has been dyed in a special colouring made from the eggs of an exotic insect found only in Spain.  The thermal qualities of wool coupled with this richly coloured dye produced the "double clothing" mentioned in the proverb.

In Romans 13:14, Paul encourages us as follows:

"But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and make no provision for [indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature] to [gratify its] desires (lusts).

It is only because of the Blood of Jesus that we can stand before the wrath of God.  Even in the depths of scarcity, need and hardship, the blood of Christ is a "double clothing" that declares us righteous and which qualifies us to come before the throne of God in our hour of need.   The blood of Jesus not only saves us from our sins but, as we grow in the likeness of Him, gives us strength, dignity and empowers us to rejoice regardless of the circumstances.

Her lamp does not go out at night...

During The Second Boer War fought at the turn of the 19th century between the British Empire and the Boer Republics, a key and bloody battle took place on a desolate hill near Ladysmith named Spioen Kop.  It began in the early hours of January 23, 1899, and after the first exchanges, it looked as though things had gone the British army’s way. 

But this was just the beginning. 

A lack of cover coupled with its failure to control the secondary peaks surrounding the plateau meant the Imperial army would be pinned down and suffer heavy casualties.  As the day wore on however, Britain’s numerical supremacy over the Boer force led to a stalemate that lasted well into the night. 

Dawn on the second day of battle brought a crucial turning point.   The Boers - unbeknownst to the British commanders - abandoned their positions and began to melt into the surrounding country.
The British front line commander – exhausted, dehydrated and traumatised by hours of sustained violence was completely unaware of this strategic development – and more importantly, completely oblivious of the fact that he had all but won the battle.  Even though 1400 reinforcements had been sent to help, he too ordered a retreat from the land for which he and his soldiers had paid so dearly.  A signaler stationed at a command post halfway up the slopes of the mountain was urgently ordered by General Buller to reverse the decision. But to add insult to injury, he found to his horror that his signaling lamp had run out of oil.  As Thomas Pakenham writes in his seminal book "The Boer War":

"The Battle was lost for want of a pennyworth of Oil"

Did you get that?  One of the most pivotal events in our country's history could have gone the other way had someone taken the simple precaution of making sure there was oil in a lamp.

The exact opposite is true of the Proverbs 31 "woman".  

"Her lamp does not go out at night" - vs. 18

She is like the five bridesmaids in Mark 25 who have been careful to bring enough oil with them to retrim their lamps.  As I contemplate her nature,  I see a woman who is "dressed with strength" - she is spiritually, mentally and even physically fit for the tasks that God has given to do.  She has always got a vial of oil in reserve...But what is the source of this oil?

Firstly, she knows that the tasks she does are not tasks of naked ambition but ones that God has assigned and ordained - a heavenly assignment if you will.  In this way, her work is not just motivated by WHAT she does but also by WHY she does it

Secondly, she "tastes and sees" that her work is fruitful -

"She tastes and sees that her gain from work [with and for God] is good" - vs. 18 Amplified

At the end of every day, despite the odious work of processing flax, spinning linen - of haggling with hard driving traders - she is able to reflect on the incredible reward of having spent her time labouring for the interests of her husband, her household and those in need.

For many employment seems meaningless, bogged down in tedium and low-grade stress.  They leave the office feeling sapped of energy only to crash in front of the TV to binge watch the latest season of whatever on Netflix.  By contrast, The Proverbs 31 woman is a flywheel of growing and ever refining energy because she "perceives that her merchandise (her output) is profitable" (vs. 18 ESV).  Imagine coming home from the office like that?  Your lamp would never go out either!  It would burn without flickering through the good times AND the bad -  

"but it burns on continually through the night [of trouble, privation, or sorrow, warning away fear, doubt, and distrust]"  Vs. 18 Amplified

Zoom In/Zoom Out -

We are exceptionally prone to tunnel vision - to navel gazing and all forms of self-absorption.  It's understandable when you consider how busy most of us are.  But it is sub-optimal and will soon have us living well below our calling.   In his book "Start with Why", Simon Sinek says:

"Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do what they do. By WHY I mean your purpose, cause or belief - Why does your organisation exist?  WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?"

Management consultants and life coaches have taken to Sinek's philosophies like ducks to water.  One strategist likened the "WHY" question to the "view from 30 000ft".  This is the cruising altitude of a passenger aeroplane and it's the altitude at which, depending on the light, you can sometimes even discern the earth's curvature.

Our busy lives however tend to restrict our altitude to100ft - that's about 30 metres from the ground.  We are hardly clear of the trees and power lines at this elevation.  To use Sinek's analogy...we are stuck in the WHAT.  We need to learn the difference between "zooming in" and "zooming out".

The Proverbs 31 "woman" appears to have found the balance between her WHY and WHAT she knows when to Zoom...  Look at verse 19:

She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.

The picture is of someone living in the WHAT - living at 100ft.  Intense focus, razor-sharp concentration.  Commitment to the task

But now let's look at the very next verse

"She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy"

What a juxtaposition!  What amazing flexibility:  "hands to the distaff and spindle", almost in a heartbeat give way to "open hands" and hands that "reach out" to meet the needs of others.  Our Proverbs 31 Woman toggles effortlessly between "zooming in and zooming out", between WHAT and WHY.   The first is lived out in light of the second.

Our church Vision is a coherent unity of WHY and WHAT.  Are you as clear on your own?   

Proverbs 31 and the meaning of work

Two things that jump out at me in Proverbs 31:10-31 are references to "flax and linen" (vs 13, 22) as well as to work that involves "distaff and spindle" (vs 19).  Clearly, this was inspired by someone involved in the arduous work of making fabric from plant matter.

When Lisa and I got married, a relative in Ireland sent us a tablecloth made out of pure linen.  It had been manufactured artisanally in a private facility somewhere in the countryside outside Dublin.  Everybody who sees that tablecloth comments on what a privilege it is to own real linen.  That's because it has been manufactured by hand from flax, a blue-flowered plant whose stalks are slowly processed over time to produce the linen fibre.  I didn't know a thing about this until I Googled how the transformation of flax to linen takes place.  I won't bore you with the details - (and you can click here to read up on itself yourself) - but simply put - it is an arduous, time-consuming and smelly process that stretches out over weeks.  It requires patience, focus and as manual labour goes, is very tough on the hands.

Interestingly, this is work that our Proverbs 31 steward has chosen to do.  She could have settled on the housework but for some reason, she deemed this burdensome industry worthy of her time and effort.  There are a few lessons we can take from this in our Journey to becoming better stewards:

There's more to work than a job description

While manufacture of linen was chiefly a woman's job, practitioners of this trade were highly sought after and respected in society and commercial circles.  This was unusual given the general attitude to women at the time.  A good steward has a keen sense of the tasks God has called them to do and the gifts entrusted to them to perform it.  In this way, their job becomes a sacred duty and they will stop at nothing to excel in it.  For more inspiration on this, look at Oholiab and Bezalel, two of the most distinguished persons in the book of Exodus (Chapter 31).  In supervising the construction of the Tabernacle we see two men whose earthly skills were utterly sublimated for Kingdom purposes.

All work - when done as to God - is a noble and priestly act

The Proverbs 31 steward trades in a much sought after commodity.  According to the BibleHistory.com, Linen was used chiefly for priestly garments and for the clothing of people of distinction.  It was rare and expensive, a luxury in every sense.  Where a simple sheepskin might have sufficed in the bedroom, our Proverbs 31 steward "makes coverings for her bed" out of Linen.  Where an everyday garment might have done the trick, she dresses herself and her family " in fine linen and purple" (the colour of royalty).  She is not so much defined by her job description as by the nobility it confers on her.  As children of the Highest, we ought to take a similar view.  Perhaps Proverbs 22:29 puts it best:

 "Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank".  

All work is ministry

In verse 32 we learn that our steward not only clothes her household in linen, she actually trades in the fabric and supplies "merchants with sashes (aprons)" (vs 24).  When ships arrived in port laden with merchandise, the captains and officers would don special aprons before trading commenced.  The functional purpose of these was to have a place to store money so that both hands could be free for hefting goods.  In such a case, a leather apron was usually sufficient.  But in the case of the Phonecians (the trading heavyweights of the era), Linen aprons embroidered with Gold fibre and even jewels were worn to confer prestige and honour on the wearer.  The work of a true steward literally acts as a channel for God to adorn people with his beauty.  Our work should uplift people, capacitate people, help them go further than they would have had they not engaged us or hired us

In what ways does the "Proverbs 31 woman" change the way you see your work? 

Stewarding Opportunity

With each reading, we discover more about the intriguing "Proverbs 31 woman" who I spoke about last Sunday.  If you're reading this for the first time, you may want to read the intro and the second post to understand why I'm using apostrophes.  Suffice it to say, this truly is a remarkable human being.  In this post, I look at how she uses her time and how much discernment she brings in choosing the type of work she does.

I once heard it said that Christians should have "both hands full".  I was uneasy with the statement as it suggested a lifestyle of being overworked.  In his book "Essentialism: the disciplined pursuit of Less", Greg McKeown asks the following questions:

• Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin at home, work (and church?)
• Do you feel overworked or underutilised?  
• Do you feel busy but not productive?  
• Do you ever feel constantly in motion but never getting anywhere?  

While you may have answered "yes" to some of these, I suspect our Proverbs 31 steward would not have

While we should indeed be exerting all our energy in the service of our master, we are not to do so indiscriminately.  While the steward described here "works with eager hands" (vs 13) she is very discerning in the tasks she sets out to do.  She "selects" wool and flax (vs 13), she carefully "considers a field" (vs 16) in which to invest her earnings for a fruitful return.  Once she has chosen her battles, she "sets about her work vigorously" (vs 17) safe in the knowledge that God alone - who has directed her to these specific undertakings - will fuel her efforts.

We too can live like this but we have to wait on God for clear guidance about where our energies are to best spent.  Once clear, we can joyfully exert all our energies without worrying we are misallocating them on the "wrong" types of projects.

Promoting the interests of Zion

Kazuo Ighiguro's classic novel "The Remains of the day" is the story of Stevens, the distinguished and long-standing butler (steward) of Oxfordshire's prestigious Darlington house.  As we get to know Stevens, we learn he is one of the finest butlers (stewards) of his generation.  We learn of his utmost dedication to his master Lord Darlington, a man who moves in circles of great political influence.  Though Stevens knows that many of his master's rarefied dealings are beyond his intellectual grasp, he will, so far as he is able, exert every possible energy in promoting the interests of Darlington and in maintaining the honour of the stately house.

This is the essence of what it means to be a steward.  To deploy one's every ounce of being to the upkeep of another's honour and reputation.

David understood this concept though he himself was a man of great influence and power.  In Psalm 122 he writes:  "For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity".  Commenting on this verse, Charles Spurgeon wrote:

“When David says ‘I will seek your prosperity’  - it is not a careless, loose seeking after it.  No…effort is implied.  I will throw my energies into it, my powers, my faculties, my property, my time, my influence, my connections, my family, my house, all that I have under my command shall, as far as I have the power to command, and as far as God gives me the ability to turn them to such a use, be employed to promote the interests of Zion”  - Treasury of David

The "Proverbs 31 woman" (who we've established is not so much a real woman but a picture of wisdom being acted out by any conscientious pilgrim - female or male) - seems to be possessed by a similar ambition.

We read that her husband has "full confidence in her", that he "lacks nothing of value" and that she "brings him good" all the days of her life.  We learn later in the passage that He is respected at the city gate where He sits in the company of the elders of the land.  Since the Bible likens the church to the bride of Christ, it follows that like this "wife of noble character", it is the responsibility of every Christian Steward to make it their surpassing priority the "honour" and "good name" of our bridegroom which is Jesus Christ

Indeed, we could do a lot worse than to use Proverbs 31: 10-31 as our playbook.

Wisdom is a woman

In Sunday's sermon on stewardship, I introduced the "Proverbs 31 woman" as the Bible's picture of the perfect steward.  I said that the passage of scripture is in fact "Gender agnostic" i.e. that while it looks as though the author is describing a real woman he is, in fact, describing what Kingdom Wisdom looks like in practice.  As such, the passage applies to us all.

Because this insight came relatively late in my preparation for Sunday, I thought I'd write a few blog posts to expand on the points I made during the sermon.  I'm very excited to do this because, the more I look at those 21 verses, the more the insights jump from the page in glorious technicolour.

Firstly, why do I feel that Proverbs 31 vs. 10 - 31 is about more than (if you'll excuse the term) - a housebound housewife?  Simply because of the way Wisdom is personified in the first 9 chapters of Proverbs.  Here are a few descriptions:

• Wisdom calls aloud in the street - SHE raises her voice in the public squares
• Blessed is the man who finds Wisdom - SHE is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.  She is more precious than rubies (3:13)
• HER ways are pleasant and all HER paths are peace
• SHE is a tree of life
• Esteem HER and SHE will exalt you (4:7)
• And so on...

Interestingly, those same opening chapters contain warnings about a very different sort of "woman".  The adulteress

• HER house leads down to death, HER paths to the spirits of the dead.  None who go to HER return or attain the paths to life.  (2:18)
• My son, pay attention to wisdom...for the lips of an adulteress drip honey and HER speech is smoother than oil, but in the end, SHE is bitter as gall...(5:3)
• And so on

When I first read this, I felt it a bit unfair that the writer was only mentioning the seductress when, for an affair to happen, you need a male partner as well.  But this is another metaphor at work -  the author is setting up an adversary for wisdom - namely folly - and this is a "woman" who is treacherous to the core

It thus makes perfect sense as we move into the closing stages of Proverbs, that we return to the same metaphor that we saw in the first 9 chapters.  Only this time, the author is taking it a few steps further.  As we will see in the coming posts, these 21 verses show in great detail what the operation of wisdom should look like in a person's life - be they woman or man