“A wife of noble character”
Proverbs 31:10
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
Born 130 years ago, back in May of 1893, William Moulton Marston was an American psychologist, lawyer, and inventor. After attending Harvard University, he taught at the American University in Washington, D.C. as well as Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
You’ve heard of a lie detector test? Of course, you have! Well, you can thank Bill Marston. He invented it when he noticed that, whenever his wife got mad or excited, her blood pressure went up. Even more, Bill also appeared in an ad in 1938 for Gillette Razors. He must have been quite an interesting man!
But today, we don’t remember him so much for inventing the polygraph or for his Gillette razor ads. The reason we do remember him is because he invented Wonder Woman. That’s right! Wonder Woman!
After all, he said, “If children are going to read comics, then why don’t we give them good comics to read?”
You see, back in the 1940s, comic books were dominated by superpower-endowed heroes like Superman, Batman, the Incredible Hulk, and the Green Lantern--men who fought for truth, justice, and the American way. But that’s when Marston got the idea to create a whole new kind of superhero--one who would triumph not with fists or firepower, but with love.
When he told his wife, Elizabeth, about his idea, she said, “Fine, but make her a woman.” After all, as Marston himself said, “Women’s strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman, plus the allure of a good and beautiful woman.”
And if you know anything about her, you know she was quite the girl. Whenever there was even a hint of trouble, she would spin around and magically appear with red boots, heavy silver bracelets to deflect bullets, a tiara, and her hair “just so.” And let’s not forget about her lie-detecting rope--a magic lasso--that forced villains to tell the truth.
Wonder Woman was good, and she was strong, because she led from the heart.
It’s easy to say that mothers are wonder-women. After all, to be a mother, you have to be as insightful as a psychiatrist, as tough as a marine corps drill instructor, and as gentle as a nurse. To be a mother requires an endless supply of energy and patience, an iron will, and an understanding that, if she ever gets sick, she better be well before the end of the school day.
For the most part, mothers, just like superheroes, keep themselves pretty well disguised. While they seem just like anyone else, if you were to take a closer look at them, you’d see just how special they can be. She may have only two eyes, but she can see things most men never see. She may have only two ears, but she can hear things men would never hear.
Wonder woman might have a fancy tiara, shiny boots and a magic lasso, but she’s got nothing on mothers.
I’ll read the words of Proverbs chapter 31: “An excellent wife, who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life” (Proverbs 31:10-12).
The Bible, it seems, asks a lot of questions. In the book of Genesis, in the Garden of Eden, God asked Adam and Eve, “Where are you?” He asked Cain, “Where is your brother, Abel?” He asked Hagar, “Where are you going?” And He asked Jacob, “What is your name?”
And here in the book of Proverbs, we find one more. As another translation reads (what’s called The Amplified Version): “An excellent woman [one who is spiritual, capable, intelligent, and virtuous], who is he who can find her? Her value is more precious than jewels and her worth is far above rubies or pearls” (Proverbs 31:10 Amplified Version). Or in the words of the Contemporary English Version: “A truly good wife is the most precious treasure a man can find!” (Proverbs 31:10 CEV)
It’s a funny question, if you think about it--”An excellent wife, who can find?” It’s a rhetorical question and almost seems to expect the answer “no,” or at least, “You can find an excellent wife, but only once in a blue moon.”
Now before I go too far and get myself into trouble, it’s important to understand the story behind the story of Proverbs chapter 31. You see, not only was it originally written in Hebrew, it was an acrostic poem.
What’s an acrostic poem? It’s a poem that begins each verse with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. So the first verse began with the first letter “A” or “aleph,” then “B” “beth, “G” “gimel,” and “D” daleth,” all the way down to the last three letters of the Hebrew alphabet “sin,” “shin,” and “tau.”
And the words of Proverbs chapter 31 are actually a love letter written by a man to his wife. In fact, it’s said that Jewish husbands still recite the words of this poem every Sabbath night in praise of their own wives.
Unfortunately, or so it seems, when a man asks a woman to be his wife, he often chooses her for the wrong reasons. He likes the way she looks or the way she thinks, or her personality, her likes and her dislikes, her accomplishments, and her style. But in the long run, those things don’t really matter. What does matter is her virtue--her honesty, her dignity, and her integrity. What does matter is her character. And that’s the very woman we meet in the words of Proverbs chapter 31.
Look at verse 15: “She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.”
Verse 20: “She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.”
And verse 25: “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.”
This is a model woman, an ideal woman, one most women can only hope to be.
Think about it--when her husband goes off to work each day, he doesn’t have to worry about what’s going on back home, because he trusts her completely. She can handle their house and home. And she loves what she does, because she loves her husband and she loves her family. She doesn’t grumble or complain.
Her entire life is devoted to the well-being of her husband and family--through the good times and the bad, through little and plenty, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health. She’s an utterly selfless woman.
And not only does she provide, as it says in verse 21, wool garments for the cold and snowy days, she dyes them in scarlet, a deep and beautiful shade of red, a color of beauty, a color of dignity.
And she doesn’t sweat the small stuff. Instead, her life is all about what matters. She even laughs at the days to come. Why? Because she knows her life is right with God.
Verse 26: “She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” She speaks the Word of God, whenever and wherever necessary. And she does it with kindness, love, and grace.
Then at the end of her life, when her work is finally done, as it says in verse 28: “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.”
And when her children grow up and have children of their own, they raise them just as she had raised them--with tender guidance, wise counsel, loving discipline, hard work, and unselfish giving. And every day, her children appreciate her more and more. Even her husband can’t help but say: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all” (Proverbs 31:29). To put it another way, “If I had the chance, I wouldn’t trade you for anyone else in all the world.”
Deep in the mountains of northern Japan, there’s a tiny town called Tokamachi. It’s where heavy snow can isolate towns and villages for days.
And during the worst blizzard to hit the area in thirteen years, work crews were attempting to clear the roads in and around town. And since the snow seemed to be letting up, a woman by the name of Tomiko Takano decided to run out to the store with her daughter. Her husband had already left the house earlier in the day to help clear the roads.
But when Tomiko and her seven-year-old daughter Izumi were out clearing a path to the road, a huge pile of snow on the roof suddenly slid off the roof and buried them beneath ten feet of snow. When her husband returned later in the day and saw that his wife and daughter were missing, he launched a search, but they were nowhere to be found!
The next day, as a work party was clearing snow from around their house, they heard a soft whimpering from a huge mound of snow. And as they frantically dug toward the sound, they discovered the mother’s frozen body curled around the girl.
Tomiko Takana had given her life to save the life of her daughter.
And you know, that’s exactly what our God has done. When He saw us with all our sins and shortcomings, as lost and lonely as we were, He sent His Son to take it all away. In an act of grace far greater than anything this world has ever known, the sinless Son of God left His perfect home above to come to earth to become one of us. And He was born into this world, unwanted and unwelcomed, by those He came to save.
As a Child, He was laid in a manger because there was no room for Him in the inn. As a Man, He preached salvation to the people of His own hometown, even though some refused to listen. When He healed ten men of their leprosy, only one bothered to return to give thanks. And when He confronted the proud and arrogant Scribes and Pharisees, they plotted to put Him to death.
Finally, after three years of ministry, of teaching and healing, He fell face down to the ground in prayer as even His disciples, His dearest friends, fell asleep. And as Annas and Caiaphas and Herod and Pilate played out their cruel charade, He was crucified, died, and was buried.
And because of His life, death, and resurrection, even we have the power to love as Jesus loved, to be the fathers and the mothers God has called us to be, never thinking about ourselves, but about the ones whom God has placed into our care.
So what an honor and a privilege it is to do what we do, and to be what we are!
In the words of Proverbs 31: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is greatly to be praised” (Proverbs 31:29-30).
As a mother gives life to her child, dear Father, so You watch over us and care for us. Bless the women whom You have called to be mothers, and grant that we, their sons and daughters, may hold them in honor, love, and esteem, for Jesus’ sake. Amen