The Monday Memo from John Stanko

849: Proverbs 31

This is the last in our series on women of purpose in the Bible, which began last August. After this, I will compile all 22 entries into one document, write an introduction and conclusion, edit, and then go forward with the production process to publish this material as a book. The title will be The Power of Purple: Women of Purpose in Scripture. I will let you know when it is available.

As we close out this series, let's look at what Proverbs 31:10-31 had to say about a virtuous woman. When I teach purpose, I tell women that motherhood and marriage are roles and not a purpose. Children will eventually leave home and spouses can go home to the Lord before the wife as well, so a woman's roles at home change over time.

Her life purpose, however, does not change, and she must learn to feed and develop that purpose even when she is her busiest as children grow or as her marriage evolves and matures. I am going to move beyond any references to marriage, however, which are minimal (her husband is mentioned three times, her children once, and her household or family three times), and analyze the verses that describe the ideal traits and work habits of this composite picture of godly femininity.

WORK

The Proverbs 31 woman pursues her interests outside the home, making sure that her endeavors are a blessing to those closest to her:

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers (31:13-19).

This ideal women pursues her business interests with eagerness and enthusiasm, and what she does is profitable. She seems to follow her heart interests, with little direction besides building a successful career. The references to her work - the spindle, a vineyard, a field, trading - were common activities when these verses were written, but would undoubtedly be greatly expanded today to include medicine, teaching, business, social work, or ministry. Notice that she had servants to help her carry out her duties. I have often recommended that women who need help managing their household affairs find other women whose purpose it is to manage private matters and hire them to do that for them! Today's Proverbs 31 woman would apply the same traits of diligence, good business practices, and reinvestment of her profits into her work as this original model woman is seen doing.

INVOLVEMENT

The Proverbs 31 woman is also involved in the needs of the world around her.

She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness (31:20-27).

This woman helps the poor from her own funds and is a strong woman in her own right. She speaks with wisdom so she teaches others (with modern social media, this practice can be achieved from the comfort of one's own kitchen). There seems to be little purpose input from her husband if she is married, and if she is not married, then she would be quite free to pursue her business interests in a way that blessed and served other people.

THE CONCLUSION   

The writer concluded this chapter and the book of Proverbs with these verses:

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate (31:30-31).

The efforts of a Proverbs 31 woman were to be recognized by those around her. This woman realized her worth was not based on her looks or charm, but rather on the value she brought to those around her, whether single or married. The beneficiaries of her focus and virtue were to honor, recognize, and encourage her worth.

All this is summarized to say that the Proverbs 31 woman is a woman of purpose. She knows who she is and what God wants her to do. She is a blessing to those closest to her because she bears fruit according to her gifts in the sphere to which God has called her. She is true to her roles of mother, wife, daughter, niece, sister, or friend while pursuing the will of God for her life.

The lessons here are clear. God created Eve to be Adam's helpmate, not his maid. In other words, Eve had her own purpose that complemented Adam's but was not subservient to it. The Proverbs 31 woman is a picture of what God had in mind for Eve, but of course the Fall impacted her purpose just like it did for men. Jesus came, however, to reverse the effects of the Fall and that was to restore the power of purpose in everyone's life, including women. The Proverbs 31 woman was free to be herself, and she is now more than ever because of the work of the cross.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I hope this series has helped you, whether male or female, to realize that women are equal to men where purpose is concerned. The Bible is full of stories that depict women as leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs. Those women were not renegades or the exception to God's plan for women, but examples of His desire to use women without permission from their male counterparts. If you are a woman, I hope you will embrace the power of your purpose because of what you have read here. if you are a man, I trust you will see that women are co-heirs of the purpose message and are worthy of resources and attention so they can pursue and reach their potential.

Thank you so much for your feedback during these last seven months, and now it's on to the publishing process. While I do that, I expect you all to pursue your purpose. Have a blessed week!

848: Mary and Martha

In this next-to-the-last chapter in our series of women of purpose in the Bible, I want to look at two sisters who broke all the stereotypes of how women in Israel were expected to act and relate to the Lord. Their names were Mary and Martha and their brother was Lazarus. Neither appears to have been married or a mother of children, but they kept a home with their brother a few miles from Jerusalem. There are three stories that involve the sisters, so let's look at those stories to see what we can learn.

MARY

Here is the first account and it is the best known of the three:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:38-42).

Most interpretations of this story depict Martha as a busy worrywart who didn't spend time with Jesus because she was concerned with worldly or everyday, practical things. That is true in part, but that's not the most important lesson from the story. If you ever go to Israel and visit the Western or Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, you will find that it is a segregated wall. There is a fence and to the right of it stand the women, while the men go to the left side, which includes not only the wall, but a synagogue prayer area out of view that is even closer to where the Holy of Holies was located.

Mary crossed the fence, so to speak, and had the audacity to sit at Jesus' feet, in effect saying, "I have as much right to sit and listen to Jesus as any man does." Martha was not only offended that Mary wasn't helping her with dinner preparations, she was also upset that Mary was stepping outside of cultural norms to do what had never been done, which was a woman establishing a teaching relationship with a Jewish rabbi. Jesus endorsed Mary''s decision and invited Martha, and all women for that matter, to do the same.

MARTHA

Martha is always portrayed negatively in the first story, but let's look at the second account where Martha is the one who is sitting at the feet of Jesus, so to speak:

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:17-32).

Mary stayed at home when she heard Jesus was in town. Perhaps she was angry with Jesus that He had not come to save her brother, or maybe she was too distraught to get up. Either way, it was Martha who talked with Jesus, and what a discussion it was. Martha revealed that she may have been busy in the kitchen, but she was listening. She knew Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God. She knew that her brother would rise again at the resurrection of the dead. She knew that she had faith but didn't understand why Jesus had delayed coming. She was honest but she still had faith.

When her sister Mary came, she once again took her position at Jesus' feet, but this time to lament the fact that Jesus had been absent and her brother died. Even in their grief, both women ran and cried out to Jesus just as the psalmists had done centuries before them. They were the new female psalmists of the New Testament, confused and in pain but turning to the Lord even in their disappointment.

MARY AGAIN

Here is the third story:

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume (John 12:1-3).

We see that all was back to normal with Martha serving and Mary once again at the feet of Jesus, both women being true to who they were, steadfast in their love and service to the Lord. Mary had a sense that Jesus was heading to His death, so she took what was probably her dowry, the expensive perfume, and poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped them dry with her hair. What a lovely picture of devotion and giving to the Lord what she had that was precious. Martha was doing that as well in her own way, according to her own personality.

These two ladies left women everywhere in every generation a model of how a woman can and should relate to the Lord - and showed the Jesus welcomes the presence and touch of women as well as men (something the Jewish leaders never desired or modeled). The sisters were passionate, forthright, fearless, extravagant, intelligent, spiritual, practical, and dedicated. Jesus was drawn to them as close friends and was not ashamed of their intimacy or offended by their honesty.

If Jesus did not act like He made a distinction between a man and a women follower, then we should not either. If you are a woman, are you coming to Jesus as you are, or as culture (church or societal) dictates you should come? If you are a man, are you open to God's gifts and purpose in the women around you, whether at work, church, or in your home? The lessons of Mary and Martha are many, but the main lesson is this: God welcomes His female servants and isn't afraid to call them friends as well. Have a blessed week!

847: Sarah - God's Princess

This week I want to look at Sarah, Abraham's wife, as part of my series focusing on women of purpose in the Bible. I have gone back and forth on whether to include Sarah for she is not a woman who has drawn a great deal of attention. I don't believe I have ever heard a message preached or read an article written about the lessons to learn from Sarah's life. Perhaps that is also true for you, but after today, you won't be able to say never, for I am going to write about this woman of purpose and explain why I finally decided to include her in this series.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD

Because Abraham is a central figure in the book of Genesis, we also get to know a little about Sarai, which was her birth name. There are a few instances where Sarai made decisions the repercussions of which are still being felt in the Middle East today.

1. A surrogate mother. Sarai was the one who suggested that Abraham sleep with her maid Hagar so the maid could conceive and give Abraham and Sarai a child. We won't go into the ancient custom that allowed this practice, but it did not work out well for any of those involved:

   He [Abraham] slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.” “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her (Genesis 16:4-6).
   

2. Laughter and a lie. After Hagar's son, Ishmael, was born, the Lord appeared to Abram and changed his name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah (see Genesis 17). The Lord promised that a child would be born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. Then three visitors came to visit Abraham when he was 99 and Sarah was 90 to report that God's promise was to be fulfilled and Sarah would be pregnant. When Sarah overheard this, she found it humorous:

   So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But he said, “Yes, you did laugh" (Genesis 18:18:12-15).
   

3. Ishmael's eviction. After Isaac was born, Sarah decided that it was time for Hagar and Abraham's son Ishmael to go: "But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, And she said to Abraham, 'Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac'" (Genesis 21:9-10).

Now you understand why I was ambivalent about including Sarah in this series, but then I considered all the evidence that qualified Sarah to be a woman of purpose and found enough to warrant her inclusion. Let's look at that evidence now.

THE GOOD

Here is why Sarah is more than worthy to be discussed with other women of purpose.

1. She was a woman of faith. We read in Hebrews 11:11-12: "And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore." Sarah is the first woman mentioned in the Hebrews 11 list of faith champions. Even though she laughed and lied about it, she had faith and with faith, it is possible to please God. This 90-year-old woman believed God's word that she would yet give birth.
   
2. She was submissive. Abram heard the Lord and left his homeland of Ur to travel by faith to the land God promised him. Sarah followed him. On two occasions, Abraham lied about who Sarah truly was since he was afraid the locals would kill him and take Sarah since she was beautiful. In truth, Sarah was also Abraham's half-sister, which is how he introduced her, conveniently concealing the fact that she was also his wife. How did Sarah react? Peter told us in his first epistle: "For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear" (1 Peter 3:5-6).
3. She had a sense of humor. After she was confronted about her laughter and caught in her lie, Sarah memorialized her faults. She named her son Isaac, which meant laughter, explaining, "'God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.' And she added, 'Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age'” (Genesis 21:6-7).
4. She was God's princess. God changed Abram's name, which meant exalted father, to Abraham, faith of a multitude. God changed Sarai's name, which meant my princess, to Sarah, which meant princess: "God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her'" (Genesis 17:15-16). God identified Sarah as His princess, and anyone whom God honors like that deserves to be considered a woman of purpose.

THE LESSONS

The obvious lesson from Sarah's story is that your flaws do not disqualify you from a life of purpose just as hers did not. They also don't prevent you from exercising faith for your purpose, which always pleases God. Even though she was unkind to Hagar, even though she laughed and lied about it, God saw Sarah as His princess and changed her name so that others would recognize that fact as well.

You have strengths and weaknesses and if you are like most people, you underestimate your strengths and overemphasize your weaknesses, feeling they disqualify you from an effective and purposeful life. I urge you to consider Sarah, God's princess, the next time you think your failures or flaws are sufficient to render you useless where God's purpose for you is concerned. Have a blessed week!

846: Rahab

Today the Monday Memo turns 17 years old! I began writing in 2001, starting out with eight subscribers and the hope that the Memo would last a few years. It has lasted more than a few, and I have produced six books from my weekly Memo content. With today's edition number 846, I want to continue our series on women of purpose in the Bible, this week focusing on an Old Testament woman who is mentioned three times in the New Testament, the controversial character named Rahab.

THE NEW TESTAMENT

What does the New Testament have to say about Rahab? The writer of Hebrews wrote, "By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient" (Hebrews 11:31). In James' epistle, we read,

You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead (James 2:24-26).

What's more surprising is the third mention of Rahab, this time in Matthew as he outlined Jesus' family tree: "Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David" (Matthew 1:5-6).

What do these three passages tell us? First and foremost, Rahab was a woman of faith, and both James and Hebrews bear witness to that fact. Those two books also indicate that Rahab was a harlot, but more probably she ran a hotel of sorts that served as both a boarding house and a place for women to work their trade as ladies of the night.

Who better to know what was going on in the land than someone who ran a hotel who heard all kinds of stories of what was happening from all around the region? Rahab did indeed hear about the Lord and His works on behalf of His people, and those stories stuck in Rahab's mind and heart. When the spies showed up at her establishment one day, she knew what she had to do to save herself and her family.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

Rahab hid the spies whom Joshua had sent out as scouts, and the mayor of Jericho, assuming they would be staying at her establishment, asked her to turn them over to the local officials. Rahab refused, hiding the spies on her roof while saying they had already departed. The locals believed her and then Rahab lowered the spies from her roof. Before they left, however, she negotiated a deal with them in return for her protective services, something she was accustomed to doing in her line of work (negotiate a deal with men, that is):

Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roofand said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

“Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death" (Joshua 2:8-13).

The spies agreed to her terms but only if she displayed a scarlet rope from her home when they attacked the city. If they could see the rope, they promised to spare her and her family.

FAITH'S REWARD

When Jericho's walls fell and Joshua attacked, Israel kept their promise and spared her household: "But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day" (Joshua 6:25). Not only did Rahab live among the Israelites after that, she married and had children, becoming part of King David's and Jesus' family heritage.

Rahab put her faith in the God of Israel and the God of Israel saved her and her kin. I mentioned in the first paragraph that she is controversial because of what she did for a living and also due to her deception, dare I say her lies, that saved the spies. It's as if the New Testament anticipated some people's misgivings toward her and endorsed her not once, but twice, for the faith she exercised.

If Rahab could exercise faith and please God, then you should be able to so as well. The message of Rahab is that your past sins and your present occupation cannot keep you from purpose if your heart is set on serving the Lord's will for your life. You don't have to be perfect to be a person of purpose, and God has another future for you that isn't related to who you have been up to this point in time. All you have to do is put your trust in Him and He will take care of the rest, as long as you continue to have faith. May the Spirit who helped Rahab help you this week as you seek to break with your past and present to embrace a future of purpose. Have a blessed week!