Proverbs 31:28 Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
This is the part of the passage on the excellent wife that speaks of the rewards of her choices. The rewards are not received in ceremonies and award shows. She receives no trophies or plaques - no ribbons or citations are given to her. No, the reward of the excellent wife is far better than any of those things. Her reward comes from the praise and affirmation of those she has spent her life seeking to build up and bless. Her reward comes from her children and her husband.
The first thing we see here is that her children rise up and bless her. There are two words used for "bless" in the Scriptures. The word "barak" means to bless another - and most often refers to God blessing others. From what I've studied there is an aspect of grace here. God blesses others and chooses to bring blessing on them. The second word is the one we have used here and it is "ashar". It means to stand up and bless someone - to speak well of them - to compliment or praise them. For someone to receive this, they have to have done something. This kind of blessing is in a way earned by something someone has done to deserve being blessed or praised in this way. When we apply this to the excellent wife - she is blessed by her children - who have all benefited from her gracious works on their behalf. This lady is blessed by her kids - because they have all experienced her kindness and all the good things she does for them. The kids may not always do this - but the passage says that they "rise up" and bless her. The idea here is that as they get older - they come to appreciate what she has done on their behalf. There is also just a hint of them rising up in a kind of defense of their mother. If someone says something bad about mom - the children are quick to dispel this kind of talk by rising up and speaking well of her.
The second thing we see here is that her husband also speaks well of his wife. The word that is used here is "halal," which means "to praise." The kids rise up and say good things about mom - but her husband - he breaks forth into the Hallelujah chorus towards his wife. He has praise for her - but goes beyond what the kids have to say. In fact, we are given the verbiage of what he has to say about his sweet bride. We'll look into that another day. What I want to say here has two directions.
First is for us husbands and our children. Do you speak well of mom - on other days than the second Sunday in May (which is Mother's Day if you did not know). Mom needs our encouragement - and especially for us to RISE UP when our society speaks evil of mothers who give themselves for their families. She also needs her husband to do more than refer to her as the "ole ball and chain" or some other current stupid statement that is encouraged by men who are truly ignorant of the blessing God gave them. It is good to write her a note - or occasionally break out into your shorter version of the Hallelujah chorus for the Wife! You cannot imagine what a blessing it will be to her.
The second thing I want to do is to encourage the moms and wives who are not getting the praise from their families - and actually deserve some kind of acknowledgement. You will receive praise from God when you see Him for your sacrifice. I realize that you need some kind of encouragement now. Know this though . . . God sees everything you've done - your sacrifice - your tears - your laying down of your life to bless them. He will reward you for all of it on that day when men see the true value of a life lived for God's ways instead of those of our culture. You will be rewarded - and that reward will be from God Himself for a life lived to be an excellent wife for His glory.
This is the part of the passage on the excellent wife that speaks of the rewards of her choices. The rewards are not received in ceremonies and award shows. She receives no trophies or plaques - no ribbons or citations are given to her. No, the reward of the excellent wife is far better than any of those things. Her reward comes from the praise and affirmation of those she has spent her life seeking to build up and bless. Her reward comes from her children and her husband.
The first thing we see here is that her children rise up and bless her. There are two words used for "bless" in the Scriptures. The word "barak" means to bless another - and most often refers to God blessing others. From what I've studied there is an aspect of grace here. God blesses others and chooses to bring blessing on them. The second word is the one we have used here and it is "ashar". It means to stand up and bless someone - to speak well of them - to compliment or praise them. For someone to receive this, they have to have done something. This kind of blessing is in a way earned by something someone has done to deserve being blessed or praised in this way. When we apply this to the excellent wife - she is blessed by her children - who have all benefited from her gracious works on their behalf. This lady is blessed by her kids - because they have all experienced her kindness and all the good things she does for them. The kids may not always do this - but the passage says that they "rise up" and bless her. The idea here is that as they get older - they come to appreciate what she has done on their behalf. There is also just a hint of them rising up in a kind of defense of their mother. If someone says something bad about mom - the children are quick to dispel this kind of talk by rising up and speaking well of her.
The second thing we see here is that her husband also speaks well of his wife. The word that is used here is "halal," which means "to praise." The kids rise up and say good things about mom - but her husband - he breaks forth into the Hallelujah chorus towards his wife. He has praise for her - but goes beyond what the kids have to say. In fact, we are given the verbiage of what he has to say about his sweet bride. We'll look into that another day. What I want to say here has two directions.
First is for us husbands and our children. Do you speak well of mom - on other days than the second Sunday in May (which is Mother's Day if you did not know). Mom needs our encouragement - and especially for us to RISE UP when our society speaks evil of mothers who give themselves for their families. She also needs her husband to do more than refer to her as the "ole ball and chain" or some other current stupid statement that is encouraged by men who are truly ignorant of the blessing God gave them. It is good to write her a note - or occasionally break out into your shorter version of the Hallelujah chorus for the Wife! You cannot imagine what a blessing it will be to her.
The second thing I want to do is to encourage the moms and wives who are not getting the praise from their families - and actually deserve some kind of acknowledgement. You will receive praise from God when you see Him for your sacrifice. I realize that you need some kind of encouragement now. Know this though . . . God sees everything you've done - your sacrifice - your tears - your laying down of your life to bless them. He will reward you for all of it on that day when men see the true value of a life lived for God's ways instead of those of our culture. You will be rewarded - and that reward will be from God Himself for a life lived to be an excellent wife for His glory.
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