Year 8, Day 322: Proverbs 31

Theological Commentary: Click Here

I find proverbs 31 to be a perfectly fitting end to the book.  In this proverb, we have a pair of passages, one directed about the male and the other directed about the female.

The first passage are words of advice from a queen to her prince (who then became king).  What is the main thrust of the proverb?  Don’t let alcohol spoil your life.  If we dig a bit deeper into the undercurrent of meaning, though, we find a more generic truth.  People need leaders who are level-headed.  People need leaders who will guide them in honesty.  People need leaders who will have access to their faculties and who will be able to find words of wisdom when they are needed.  People need leaders who are role models and icons – people who genuinely practice the morality that they preach.

The second passage is full of words about the strong female leader.  What makes a great female leader?  This is the woman who is confident of her worth.  She knows her assets and is confident that she can do her tasks well.  She works hard, understanding her role in partnering with the husband to have a positive home.  She is also dignified, much like we already spoke about with the male leader.  She is also wise, much like we spoke about with the male leader.

In the end, we get a great glimpse of human leadership.  Both men and women need to be strong in character, wise, grounded, confident, able to listen and give sound counsel.  The different genders may go about it in different manners, but the goals and outcomes are the same.  But then again, it isn’t really a gender thing, either.  One strong woman will lead differently from another equally strong woman just like one strong man will lead differently than another equally strong man.

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