Worth Far More Than Rubies

Pastor: 
Rev. Jon Brohn
Date: 
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Sermon Text: 

Proverbs 31:10-31

 

 10[a] A wife of noble character who can find?
       She is worth far more than rubies.

 11 Her husband has full confidence in her
       and lacks nothing of value.

 12 She brings him good, not harm,
       all the days of her life.

 13 She selects wool and flax
       and works with eager hands.

 14 She is like the merchant ships,
       bringing her food from afar.

 15 She gets up while it is still dark;
       she provides food for her family
       and portions for her servant girls.

 16 She considers a field and buys it;
       out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

 17 She sets about her work vigorously;
       her arms are strong for her tasks.

 18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
       and her lamp does not go out at night.

 19 In her hand she holds the distaff
       and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

 20 She opens her arms to the poor
       and extends her hands to the needy.

 21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
       for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

 22 She makes coverings for her bed;
       she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

 23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
       where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

 24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
       and supplies the merchants with sashes.

 25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
       she can laugh at the days to come.

 26 She speaks with wisdom,
       and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

 27 She watches over the affairs of her household
       and does not eat the bread of idleness.

 28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
       her husband also, and he praises her:

 29 "Many women do noble things,
       but you surpass them all."

 30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
       but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

 31 Give her the reward she has earned,
       and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Footnotes:
  1. Proverbs 31:10 Verses 10-31 are an acrostic, each verse beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet

 

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
     How many of you spent time trying to find the right Mother’s Day card for mom or grandma? Some of the messages are funny, almost a confession of all the things we’ve done to make mom’s life miserable. Some of the messages might be described as mushy declarations of love for mom and how great she is. No matter what the message, the cards that we choose for mom each year help us communicate how important and special she is to us.
     As we look at this section from the end of Proverbs, we find God’s version of the perfect Mother’s Day card. God inspired the author to create a beautiful poem. In Hebrew, each verse begins with the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet. It was a way for the poet to express how special mom was, from A to Z. As we celebrate Mother’s Day, let’s take a closer look at God’s poem and see what makes a good wife and mother worth far more than rubies.
 
Proverbs 31:10
10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
 
     How much is your mom worth? Is she worth a card and a hug? Is she worth a fancy brunch at a nice restaurant? Is she worth a bouquet of flowers and a nice gift? God tells us she’s worth much more than that. “She is worth far more than rubies” (Proverbs 31:10).
     What makes a woman like that so valuable? She is a woman of noble character. That phrase has also been translated “the complete woman;” “the truly capable woman;” “a woman of worth.” The Bible uses that phrase one other time. Ruth had left her homeland to follow Naomi back to Bethlehem. While she was working in the fields, she met a man of good reputation in the community, Boaz. Boaz told her, “All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character" (Ruth 3:11).
     What makes a woman of noble character? What makes her worth far more than rubies? We’ll take a look at that in the next section of this Mother’s Day card. Let’s join in singing the refrain that uses the words of Proverbs 31.
 
Proverbs 31:11-24
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. 13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. 15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. 16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. 18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. 20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. 21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. 22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. 24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
 
     I asked the 8th graders what made their moms worth far more than rubies. Here are a few of their answers: She’s hard working, she cooks, she takes care of me, she helps me with my homework, she makes sure we have clothes, she loves us.
     The 8th graders’ observations sound a lot like this section from Proverbs 31. Did you hear how God describes the woman of noble character? She is a blessing to her husband. He knows he can trust her with the household and she’ll take good care of it. She makes sure there’s food for both family and workers.
     She’s also a businesswoman. She picks out textiles. She invests her earnings in real estate and agriculture. She works from early in the morning until late at night—“her lamp does not go out at night.” She gets her own hands dirty, doing the spinning and weaving, the sewing and fitting. She markets her line of clothing to the surrounding community, especially selling embroidered belts that every businessman wants to own. Her hard work brings a profit for her family.
     A woman of noble character is worth far more than rubies because she works hard. That’s true about the wives, the moms, and the ladies of Salem. Each one of you works hard wherever the Lord has put you. You may be a housewife or a lawyer, a teacher or teacher’s aide, a receptionist or nurse, a grocery store checker or manager. No matter what your job, many of you have the added challenge of balancing the needs of a husband, children and yourselves. Sometimes you feel like a juggler with way too many things up in the air, but you still manage to get things done. You get them done, not because you are Superwoman, but because, as the Apostle Paul wrote, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13).
     What makes ladies, wives, and moms worth far more than rubies? She is a woman of noble character who works hard wherever God has put her. Let’s join in singing the refrain again.
 
Proverbs 31:25-29
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. 26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”
 
     “Mommy, you’re beautiful!” the two-year old gushes. Mommy stands in the kitchen wearing slippers and robe, hair looking like Elvis really has returned, and eyes still puffy with sleep. How can we look at mom, no matter when, no matter how old, and still say, “Mommy, you’re beautiful?” God’s card said, “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” Mom’s beauty comes from within—from her character, her intellect, and her heart. The apostle Peter also wrote, "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." (1 Peter 3:3-4).
     The two year old saw what we often fail to see as we get older. She sees mama’s love in breakfast on the table; in the clean clothes folded and stored in the dresser (or maybe just in the basket). She experiences mama’s love in the hug she gets before she goes to her caregiver, and in mom’s smile and waves as she walks back to the car. She sees in her un-made-up mommy the inner beauty that God praises, a gentle and quiet spirit, a woman of noble character, and she loves her mama for it.
     Verse 28 said, “Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.” Children and husbands: when was the last time (besides Mother’s Day) we stood up and said, “Thanks mom” or “Thanks honey,” for all the things the woman of noble character does in our homes? We don’t say “thank you” enough. We don’t appreciate her enough. Too often, children complain because mom is always after us for something, always telling us to get our chores done, eat our vegetables, have good manners, show respect to others. Too often, husbands gripe because the wife doesn’t let us do anything, is always nagging, always complaining about something. Our lack of love and respect for mom and wife translates to a lack of love and respect for God, who gave her to us. We sin, and once again we earn God’s anger and punishment!
     Think back to our gospel reading for a moment. We caught a glimpse of Jesus and his relationship with his mother. Jesus could have dictated to his mom the way things would be. After all, he was the Son of God. Instead, we heard, "Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." (Luke 2:51-52). Jesus treated his mom like every day was Mother’s Day. He did it perfectly. On top of it all, he died for the times we haven’t loved and respected mom like we should. He also died for the times that ladies haven’t been women of noble character, when they haven’t juggled perfectly, loved perfectly, cared for perfectly. Jesus paid for it all! He sees perfect children, husbands, wives, moms, men and women, thanks to his sacrifice on the cross.
     What makes these ladies worth more than rubies? The inner beauty that Jesus made possible. Let’s join in singing that refrain again.
 
Proverbs 31:30-31
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
 
     When I asked the 8th graders what made mom worth more than rubies, they came up with one more answer that I haven’t shared yet. They said, “Spiritual strength.” There’s the greatest gift a woman of noble character can share—the gift of faith and love for the Savior. The author said, “Charm is deceptive.” That’s true, isn’t it? A beautiful face can mask a fatally flawed character. He also wrote, “Beauty is fleeting.” Literally he said that beauty is a “breath.” It’s here one moment, and then gone, stolen by the wrinkles of age, or the vicious appetite of some disease. What makes a woman of noble character worthy of our praise? When she “fears the LORD.”
     A friend once told me, “The only thing we can take to heaven with us is our children.” That’s true, isn’t it? We can only take our children, our grandchildren, our nieces and nephews, the little ones in Sunday School. Moms play a vital role in bringing children with them. It begins even before baby is born. Mom comes to church, listens to the Word, sings the hymns, reads from the Bible, and baby has a chance to hear about Jesus before it’s even born. Mom hauls the baby seat into the back pew and juggles baby, hymnal, bottle, and burp cloth. She reads the Bible stories to them, helps them fold their hands, and tucks them in with a prayer at bedtime. She teaches them as they grow and mature to make good decisions with their friends. She catches them in the act, forgives them when they confess, and deals out the consequences. She prays extra hard when they get behind the wheel, begin their first job, walk down the aisle with their spouse and begin their own families. A mom who fears the LORD is to be praised because she entrusts her family to the one who loves them even more than she does—God himself.
     What makes Mom worth far more than rubies? Her spiritual strength that comes from the fear of the LORD.
     Proverbs 31:10-31 is a pretty impressive Mother’s Day Card. It’s a great reminder that a mom, a wife, a woman of noble character is worth far more than rubies. She’s worth it, because she’s a gift from God.
     Let’s sing our refrain one last time.
 
To God alone the glory!          Pastor Jon Brohn
Sermon Audio: 
20100509 Sermon.mp3