Skip to main content

'A woman who fears the LORD shall be praised'



By Angela Wittman

"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD shall be praised." (Proverbs 31:30)


I was recently reminded of the truth that a woman's beauty does not lay in her outward appearance (as this will fade); but true beauty is found in those women who fear the LORD. The type of beauty I am referring to is the beauty of integrity and conviction. When I read the accounts in Scripture of women who found great worth in the Lord’s eyes, I see women of strong character who feared the LORD more than man. It is my great pleasure to review with you what Scripture records about some of these beautiful women and the memorable deeds they performed in faith.

One of the first women who come to my mind is the prophetess Miriam who was also the sister of Moses and Aaron. Miriam is well known for the heroic story of hiding and watching the baby Moses as he floated in the Egyptian river and was found by Pharaoh's daughter. She was still a child herself when seeing the providential adoption of baby Moses by Pharaoh's daughter. One can only imagine how she must have marveled at the goodness of the Lord in preserving her baby brother. Then as an adult we have the recorded song she sang with the Hebrew women after they witnessed the destruction of Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea: "Sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!" (Exodus 15:21)

Let us not forget the account of Jael, Heber's wife, who drove a tent peg into the temple of Israel's enemy Sisera. Jael did not love her life more than God. Her story is recorded in the song of Deborah: "Most blessed among women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite...He asked for water, she gave milk...She stretched out her hand to the tent peg, Her right hand to the workmen's hammer; She pounded Sisera...At her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still..." (Judges 5: 24 - 27).

Or who can forget the story of the lovely Ruth, a Moabitess, who left her people and her gods to follow her mother-in-law to Bethlehem and serve the God of Israel. I am often in awe at the courage Ruth displayed in lying at the feet of Boaz and asking him to be her kinsman redeemer. How shameful it would have been for her if Boaz would have refused...but, he welcomed her instead and Ruth became the great-grandmother of King David. Ruth is also listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

My favorite heroine is Queen Esther who displayed great fear of the LORD when approaching the King without being called, knowing that she could very well be put to death for breaking this law. Please take note that Queen Esther did not dare to approach the King until after 3 days of fasting by the Israelites, her maids and herself. She received a favorable response and prepared a banquet where the despicable plot to exterminate the Jews was revealed by Queen Esther. The man responsible was hanged and Esther was instrumental in saving her people from annihilation.

These are women who not only displayed charm and beauty, but who feared the LORD and they shall be praised for all eternity. Amen.

------------------------------
Originally Published 2004.


Revised and updated 8.08.2014
Labels:

Comments

  1. insanitybytes22August 8, 2014 at 6:15 AM

    I love this post, thank you. Fear of the Lord is really a lovely thing, but people are so afraid to talk about it. Language can be so limiting, so "fear" is often perceived as a bad thing, as scary. We tend to forget that "scary" is also the power to move mountains, the power to protect and defend.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Angela WittmanAugust 8, 2014 at 6:35 AM

    I'm so glad you like it! It's one of my favorites, too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Michael W. PursleyAugust 10, 2014 at 5:33 AM

    Reblogged this on Regeneration, Repentance and Reformation.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts:

Kent State, the Summer of 1970 and the Grace of God

  Me in 1975 - Seeking God. Al Baker recently wrote an article on the tragedy of the Kent State demonstrations and the killing of four students in May of 1970:  Four Dead in Ohio ( FORGET NONE OF HIS BENEFITS )  . I remember being 12 years-old at the time this happened and the disagreement between my father (a full-time Air National Guardsman) and myself. I could see that he was pained over the event, but he defended the soldiers who fired on the students and I was shocked at his defense of their actions. I also remember that my friends and I embraced the rebellious culture of the time and soon found ourselves acting like our "heroes;" while we were only in our early teens we became somewhat jaded and mistrusted those in authority. By the time I turned 17 years-old, I began to have a yearning in my heart to become a Christian - I wanted to become a new creation, but I didn't know how. (As a child I remember watching televangelists and reciting the "sinner's praye
Post a Comment
Read more

Is Satan Real? Here's My Story.

Is Satan real? I think so and here's my story of a frightening experience that drove me straight toward  Christ. My story begins in the early 1970's while visiting the Wisconsin Dells area with my parents, I had brought a friend on vacation with us and she and I decided to walk around the local town square while my parents shopped for food and other items for our two week camping trip at Castle Rock Lake .  Historic Juneau County Courthouse on the town square in Mauston, WI Image Source:  Juneau County Courthouse - Juneau County Courthouse - Wikipedia My friend and I were both in our early teens; but we looked older. So, we were quite flattered when some local teenaged boys sitting on the lawn of the Courthouse noticed us, and we stopped to talk to them. We told them we were from Missouri and would be camping at Castle Rock Lake for the next couple of weeks.  Source:  Castle Rock - Juneau County Government (wi.gov) I explained that my dad was in the Missouri Air National Guard
Post a Comment
Read more

Dementia - Seeing through a glass darkly....

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.  ~1Corinthians 13.12 KJV ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I came across this article by Dr. Barry York written in 2014 and posted at Gentle Reformation , which I never read until today. If you have a parent/spouse/friend etc. with dementia and you aren't certain of their salvation, please read this. I think you will find it encouraging. It gives me great hope as my father suffered from dementia before his death earlier this year and who assured me he had asked the Lord for forgiveness while being ill. Salvation in a Dementia Ward Walking down the long hospital hallway, I approached the room in the emergency area where they had told me she would be found. As I came near the door, I found a security guard sitting there. He looked at me with sympathy as I identified myself and, with a warning and sad shaking of his head, gave me permission to enter.
Post a Comment
Read more