Charm can be misleading, and beauty is vain and so quickly fades, but this virtuous woman lives in the wonder, awe and fear of the Lord. She will be praised throughout eternity. Proverbs 31:30 TPT
I would inwardly groan every time someone wanted to study the poem of the Proverbs 31 woman. I felt exhausted and overwhelmed at just the thought of trying to emulate that superwoman. That should have been my first clue that this proverb is a prophetic picture of the Bride of Christ.
Instead, I focused on verse 30 (quoted above). If I “feared the Lord,” I reasoned, then all these other things will fall into place. I reduced the poetic language that looked like an endless “to do” list into “character traits.” That made the Proverb more palatable … more doable.
And while that way of thinking may be valuable in a pragmatic sense, it misses the prophetic nature of the poem. The bride for the king that is described here, is the Bride of Christ. She seems superhuman because she IS! The Bride of Christ is supernaturally empowered by the Holy Spirit. Her “worth” is more than jewels because the price paid for her was the precious blood of Jesus Christ. The Husband that entrusts His heart to her is none other than Jesus Himself.
When read from the prophetic perspective, I feel inspired and encouraged instead of exhausted! Previously when I read about her rising up while it is still night, I thought of all those midnight feedings when the children were babies. How exhausted I was! Now, I think of Isaiah 60:1 where the Word says, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.” The Bride of Christ shines forth HIS glory!!! And I am privileged to be a part of that!!
You can see why I am enjoying the prophetic reading over the pragmatic reading. The pragmatic reading highlights my deficiencies. The prophetic reading declares my destiny!
Amen and Amen!!