“More than rubies.” What woman wouldn’t like to receive such a compliment? Yet the biblical woman referred to intimidates and sometimes angers the women of today. Let’s take a look at this woman and what is required for God to consider us as more valuable than precious jewels. I think you’ll be blessed. I would love to hear your comments!

2MefromHim Devotionals

More Than Rubies

A wife of noble character who can find. She is worth far more than rubies. Proverbs 31:10

Proverbs says a wife of noble character is worth far more than rubies, a statement that intimidates most women. It makes me think of my mom. She made her family her entire world. She loved my dad with a love that’s still single-hearted twenty-two years after his death, and we knew she loved us. That sacrificial love that dominated her life reminds me of the Proverbs 31 woman. My lullaby was often the sound of her sewing machine as she made our clothes.

The woman described in Proverbs 31 intimidates us because we believe she was some kind of super-woman, impossible to emulate. However, I think we’re seeing a glimpse of her entire lifetime, not one single day. She provides an example of the attitude all women should have toward the importance of serving as a wife and mother. This outlook is worth more than rubies to the Lord.

This interpretation is rare in our world today. However, we must undertake our task with eager hands, seeing it as important above all but our relationship to God. Her arms were strong and her lamp burned late into the night as she cared, not only for her own family, but those who suffered need.

This woman’s husband was well respected and she behaved in manner that honored him. The influence she made through service to others gave her the reputation of possessing strength and dignity. Rather than eating the bread of idleness, she prepared for her family’s needs far ahead of time. She undertook her God-given task as a wife and mother with a seriousness we are to emulate.

Her husband called her blessed, not only for her abilities as a homemaker, but for a spiritual life and commitment that served as an example. We must spend time in God’s word, seek His wisdom, pray for our family, and serve them with joy to become the women God created us to be. Obedience to biblical priorities makes us as beautiful and valued by the Lord as the most precious of rubies.

There is winsomeness about a woman who puts her husband and family first. Nothing is wrong with having a career. Today’s economy often requires that women work outside the home. The key lies in seeing our ultimate purpose as pleasing God rather than men.

If we first bless our families, the Lord will see us as more valuable than rubies, for our commitment, our example, and the blessing we bring to others.

© Copyright by Norma Gail Thurston Holtman, 2011 and January 19, 2018

About the author:

Norma Gail’s debut contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 41 years. They have two adult children. If you’re interested in connecting with her, you’re to follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, or Amazon.