Proverbs Pt. 48 Will You Be a Gracious Woman or an Immoral Woman?

Proverbs 11:16  A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches. 

Proverbs 11:22  As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. 

As we get deeper into Proverbs 11 we are introduced to two ideal people, one a woman and the other a man. First, we meet the gracious woman. She is comparable to the moral purity and ideal standards represented by the personification of Wisdom. The word "gracious" is most often translated "grace" and an example is right before the flood where the Bible says "But Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord." (Genesis 6:8).

A gracious woman is a woman who has heard the gospel and responded by faith. In New Testament terms we would say she has believed on Jesus Christ and has been born again. She has tasted salvation and the grace of God in her life. She retains honor. The word "honor" is almost always translated glory, specifically the glory of God. The idea that she retains this glory means that she has chosen to live for the glory of God. The comparison is to strong men who retain riches. Just as wealthy men take steps to protect their assets to preserve them, so the gracious woman retains her commitment to honor and glorify God. 

The contrasting woman is a striking and graphic way to drive this point home. Jewish women sometimes wore gold rings for special occasions and they served the same function as ear rings or bracelets worn today. 

Leviticus 11:7-8  And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. 8) Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you. 

It is a most wild and ridiculous idea to picture anyone putting a valuable gold ring into the snout of a swine. First, the Jews were forbidden from eating swine. Twice in the text from Leviticus we read that the swine was named as one of the unclean animals. 

Luke 8:32-33  And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. 33) Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. 

Luke 8:26-39 records a miracle of Jesus casting demons out of a Gadarene man. Christ allowed the demons to enter a herd of swine who violently ran over a cliff and drowned in the Sea. It seems appropriate that the Lord Jesus Christ permitted the unclean, demonic spirits to enter into a herd of unclean animals that were ultimately destroyed. 

I think that this miracle serves as a picture of the final fate of all Christ rejecters. They will stand before Holy God dead in trespasses and sins. They will be judged, found to be impure, unclean and will be cast into everlasting fire. 

How does a swine use it's snout? He uses it to root around in the mud, dirt and other places to search for food. This means that putting a beautiful gold ring on the snout of a swine will result in the gold ornament being pushed back and forth in mud, dirt and other unpleasant places. The gold would soon be gashed, misshapen, worn and discolored. Ultimately, the soft gold jewelry would break down and be ruined. 

Thus, the idea of fastening a gold ring on the snout of a pig is a very bad idea. Notice what this picture is compared to: a fair woman who does not act discreetly. This brings us back to the strange woman that we have seen before. A truly beautiful woman who acts like the morally bankrupt strange woman is just like a beautiful piece of jewelry on the snout of a pig. 

We have the gracious woman put in stark contrast to the indiscreet beautiful woman. It becomes very clear that the gracious woman is the model for all women to pursue. She honors God by her actions. She is concerned for the glory of God in all her decisions and she will not be like the strange woman.

Titus 2:3-5  The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; 4) That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5) To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. 

The apostle Paul gave us a beautiful pattern for all believing women of all ages to follow. The foremost consideration is to be focused upon living a holy life before God. He gave some things to avoid doing such as falsely accusing someone and to avoid the appearance of evil. 

The older women were to instruct the younger women to be sober minded, to love their husbands and their children. They needed to be shown how to manage their homes efficiently and they needed to learn how to be morally pure. This is very much a description of the gracious woman that Solomon spoke about. 

1 Peter 3:1-5  Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of their wives; 2) While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. 3) Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4) But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 5) For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: 

The Apostle Peter also wrote about the importance of a Godly woman. A married woman who knows the Lord but who is married to an unbeliever in this text. Her consistent Godly testimony is something that God can use to break through into the stubborn heart of her unsaved husband. 

I know that this is very true because my sweet wife was born again many years before I was. Over time I became greatly convicted because of my wife's faithful testimony and the evidence of God's grace at work in her life. I knew I was missing something important. Over many years, her good testimony finally sank in to my mind and when we went to a Bible preaching church I responded by faith when I heard the gospel. 

Thus, the emphasis by both Paul and Peter is on the inner woman. Her true beauty is in her meek and quiet spirit, in her trust of God rather than having fancy hair styles and flashy jewelry. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

I think we probably know how our corrupt culture tries hard to tell women of all ages who they are and how they should act.  We could say that the culture seeks to promote modern women in terms of acting like the strange woman of the Old Testament. 

Yet, the pure Word of God tells both men, women and children what we should strive for in terms of spiritual character. It reveals to us what His pure moral standards are. This is good and for our benefit. God is telling us the path to living a life of blessing.  

The ideal woman is one who seeks the wisdom of God. She is one who has a personal relationship with the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. She is one who is beautiful on the inside because of what God did through the new birth. She is a woman of influence and Godly character. She is a powerful influence upon her children because she seeks to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 

The Greek culture was always obsessed with the "ideal" in all things. God has spelled it out for us in His Word. In our next post we will look at the "Merciful Man" who is the compliment to the gracious woman. 

May we all be encouraged that God shows us the way to blessing and I pray that we all seek this path. It leads to the very best life in this world and prepares us for eternal life.

Bob