019 The Wisdom and Beauty of Proverbs 31: Final Reflections

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The Proverbs 31 woman isn't following a checklist but building a lifetime resume that encompasses community service, wisdom, and beauty that deepens with age.

• Proverbs 31 shows a cumulative picture of a woman's life accomplishments, not daily expectations
• God delights in all types of women—both gentle homemakers and driven entrepreneurs
• The Woman of Valor has a community mindset, personally engaging with the poor and needy
• Only one verse mentions her children, challenging the notion that womanhood equals motherhood
• Her beauty comes from her wisdom and fear of the Lord, not just physical appearance
• She teaches with "Torah of chesed"—instruction with covenant faithfulness and backbone
• The passage showcases how God values women's contributions both inside and outside the home
• A woman's voice is meant to be heard, sharing wisdom and practical knowledge

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Episode Transcript

Jessica LM Jenkins (00:00):
Welcome back .
Today is our last episode ofthe Proverbs 31 podcast series.
After today I'm hoping to moveto talk about some of the women
that Jesus interacted with inthe Gospels.
So I can't wait to move fromthe Old Testament and talk about
a few New Testament women.
But today we're going to wrapup talking about Proverbs 31,

(00:22):
specifically the woman ofvalor's community, children and
teaching.
With me today is my dear friendElise Kilko.
She is a gifted communitybuilder, wife, mother and
foreign worker.
Elise, as we bring the Proverbs31 series to a close, what
thoughts from the whole seriesstand out to you as important?

Elice Kilko (00:47):
I've loved this series and I've loved doing it
with you, but I think that oneof the things that most stands
out to me is that Proverbs 31isn't a checklist, it's a
cumulative, it's a resume, it'sa woman's resume at the end of
her life.
I love that, yeah, and so Ilove that that just that alone

(01:08):
takes so much pressure off of ustoday when we look at it, and
it gives us something to aspireto, so it takes the pressure off
and it encourages us to moveforward.
And so I think if I could like,if I could really condense it
to like one thing, I think thatthat's what it would be.

Jessica LM Jenkins (01:28):
I love that.
I know that's been so good forme and so healing for me.
I realized before I startedstudying Proverbs 31, all of
these womanhood scars I have andstudying Proverbs 31 deeply has
healed many of those.

Elice Kilko (01:47):
Yes, that's true, and we just realized that we've
been friends for 17 years, whichsurprised both of us Like a
literal child could be an adultnow.

Jessica LM Jenkins (01:59):
It's crazy.

Elice Kilko (02:01):
But one of those things that I've noticed through
our study of Proverbs 31, as asour friendship has grown, is
how we've walked through thispassage together in those 17
years and seeing this passageheal our triggers as we come to
it now.
Then the little 21, 22 year oldbabies that we were when we

(02:25):
studied in Israel together, andI love that.
I love that.

Jessica LM Jenkins (02:31):
I love that this passage has walked that
whole life with us you know, yes, absolutely, and I love seeing
God's delight in various typesof women.
I think one thing from Proverbs31 that has stood out to me the

(02:52):
most, enough that I actuallywrote an article for the CBE
International Organization andthey published it actually today
, which will be a couple weeksago by this time this episode is
aired but on the masculineimagery around womanhood in

(03:15):
Proverbs 31, and we have anepisode on that.
You can go back in the series.
We talked through pretty mucheverything in my article.
In that episode the peopleprefer to read I will link the
CBE article but just recognizingthat God delights in all sorts
of women through Proverbs 31.
God loves the gentle, quiet,meek woman who loves babies and

(03:36):
is the ultimate homemaker.
God delights in that.
And God also delights in thestrong, driven, assertive type A
entrepreneurial CEO who ismoving and shaking in her
community, and that God looks atboth of those women as they
fear the Lord in theirrespective ways of living and

(03:57):
says that's really cool, and Ilove that for all of our
listeners because it gives suchfreedom, as you said, to no
matter what he is gifted andcalled these women to do.
They can walk in that in joy,saying this is what God called
me to do, and it is hard, holywork, whether I'm rocking babies

(04:18):
or imagining managing a Fortune500 company.
It is hard and holy workbecause God called me to do it
and God delights in me doingwhat he's called me to do.

Elice Kilko (04:29):
Yes, that's beautiful, yeah, and it's
exciting to see that you can befully the person that God made
you to be, regardless of whereyou fall on the spectrum.

Jessica LM Jenkins (04:43):
So to get back into Proverbs 31 for our
episode today, we've talkedabout the idea that the woman of
valor follows her passions anddoes what she's good at.
That was our last coupleepisodes.
But, I really want to noticesomething about her.
The woman of valor is notpursuing self-actualization or
even her own good.

(05:04):
She's not doing all thesethings to puff herself up and
make herself better.
Everything the woman of valordoes is for the good of her
family and community, as well asherself.
She has this mindset thatencompasses the other people in
her world as she follows herpassions.

(05:27):
It's not a selfish pursuit.
It's for the good of thosearound her, which I think is
absolutely beautiful and centralto the messaging of this entire
passage.

Elice Kilko (05:40):
And we see that in verse 19 and 20.
Verse 19 and 20 says sheextends her hands to the
spinning staff and her handshold the spindle, her hands
reach out to the poor and sheextends her hands to the needy.
So it talks about her not justdoing it for her but out her
door, out her family.

Jessica LM Jenkins (06:01):
Yes, and I love that.
She's personally engaged withhelping the poor and needy.
And these are ones who can'twork If we were to use modern
vernacular we might say thedisabled, those who are on food
stamps, the single mom who can'tget a job that pays for child
care.
She's not educated enough orprivileged enough to get a job

(06:22):
that pays a living wage enoughto pay both their living
expenses and child care, so shecan't even figure out what to do
.
It's these types of people thatthe Proverbs 31 is leveraging
her wealth and her position tohelp these people.
Her focus is not how to getbetter or just to improve her

(06:43):
family life, to keep up with theJoneses, as they would say.
She's reaching down for thosebelow her, leveraging her
position to give them life.

Elice Kilko (06:56):
That's amazing and it really shows her community
mindset that it's not just abouther, but that she's looking to
those around her.

Jessica LM Jenkins (07:05):
And she's bringing them into her community
.
It's not just going andvolunteering at a food bank.
So I'm from a wealthy whiteneighborhood and I'm going to
drive into the inner city andvolunteer for two hours at a
food bank, which is a perfectlyfine thing to do.
I'm not disparaging that.
But there's that distance there.
In verse 19 or 20, it says shespreads out her palm to the poor

(07:30):
and the needy.
This could imply invitationsinto her home for care or giving
them physical materials.
So it's the difference betweendriving to the food pantry to
volunteer.
I remember as a child andteenager we'd go volunteer at a
homeless shelter.
It's one thing to leave thecomfort of my home and go where

(07:50):
people are disenfranchised andhelp them, which is a good thing
to do.
It's another to bring thedisenfranchised people near home
with you to give them somethingout of your pantry, to feed and
clothe them yourself, to helpthem find a job.

(08:11):
She's doing so much more thansimple volunteer work.

Elice Kilko (08:17):
That's really interesting.
What do you think are some waysthat we can leverage our work,
wealth and privilege to helpothers?
Today, Like thinking through.

Jessica LM Jenkins (08:28):
Yeah, I think a lot of that comes back
to being creative, learning,hospitality.
However, that looks for ourlife.
Our life, that means using ourwealth and our privilege for

(08:54):
other people.
One way I know that I havetried to do this is using part
of the money I earn fromproducts that I sell here at we
who Thirst.
I have a set percentage of thatthat automatically goes to
donations to help immigrants atthe border or orphans in the
Ukraine or mothers of color inmy local region.

(09:15):
There's some pregnancy centersthat help them with like child
care and food and all of thosethings.
So we we intentionally seek outways of investing our money if
we can.
I know people who've broughtrefugees in and helped them find
jobs and homes, and that willdepend what's going on in your

(09:35):
area.
There's two For me.
I recently got a job substituteteaching in our local public
school, and that fulfilled twocategories One, I needed a job,

(09:56):
but two, I wanted that jobbecause it is a way I can, on a
daily basis, interface with thepeople of my community and the
little children of my community.
The least of these, thedisabled students, the
kindergartners.
A lot of them are on a lowersocioeconomic place than my
family is, and it gives me a wayto be there caring for the

(10:19):
little students that needsomeone to come and take care of
them that day, students thatneed someone to come in and take
care of them that day and tofind ways and jobs that may not
be glamorous and awesome butmeet very real needs in our real
communities.

Elice Kilko (10:36):
Yeah, for sure, I think I think of you know when
you're going to get food.
Maybe you've had a busy day andyou're going to go pick up food
at Chick-fil-A or whatever andyou see a family outside that
needs it and so you buy them ameal as well.

(10:56):
But then also I think of I meanI know we're talking about
Proverbs 31 and the woman but myhusband is a public school bus
driver right now, as we're doingtraining, and he makes a point
of knowing, trying to know eachkid's name and talking to them
and saying I, you know, I talkedto him and I was like you

(11:18):
should say good morning to allof the students as they get on
the bus, like really, you know,make eye contact and connect
with them.
And he said that he has haddifferent parents come up to him
and say thank you forconnecting with my kid.
They're having a rough time atschool and you know you're
saying hi every day and justgiving that smile has made a

(11:42):
difference and so, in that youknow, substitute teaching role
as you're doing, I, that that is.
That is that you know.
Um, I worked with the Y beforeand after school care years ago
when I was in college and it wasthe same way.
I loved being able to impactthe students and be the one that
gives that smile or reads thesame book every single day, you

(12:08):
know, to that kid because theylove it, and that's, you know.
Three minutes where they haveyour undivided attention.

Jessica LM Jenkins (12:16):
So yeah, and sometimes some of the best ways
we can help is just by creatinghealth in our homes and in our
churches and in our communities,because that overflows.
We may not have a lot ofday-to-day opportunities to

(12:38):
reach out and help those who arepoor and needy, especially
where we live in suburbia.
There's not a whole lot, yousee, going on.
When I lived down in Austinproper you'd see homeless out
quite a bit, and so the idea ofhaving like homeless bags in
your car to give them some foodand socks and underwear and that
kind of thing was reallypractical.
Where I live now we don't havethat and so there may not be a

(13:02):
lot of day to day but we canstill create health and
awareness in our communitiesthat could reach out to those
poor, disenfranchisedopportunities.
But it also can help those whohave needs who maybe they're not
financial needs, maybe they'renot homeless or disenfranchised.
But we can help the mom who'sdown the street and has had a

(13:27):
string of sickness where herkids have been sick for
literally eight weeks and she isjust drowning, and we can build
a community where our suburbanlifestyle of everybody who parks
in their driveway and goesinside and barely talks to each
other.
We can start to break that downsome.
Elise.
What are some tips and thingsthat you have done to create

(13:49):
community in various spaces inyour life?

Elice Kilko (13:54):
That's a good question.
I think at different points inmy life it's been the usual.
In my life it's been, you know,the usual.
Let's start a, a Bible study orum let's do a book club, like

(14:14):
you know.
Let's read whatever um book andthen talk about it.
But then also um, for me, evenway back in college, um, it was
just having people over forafternoon snack or tea.
So I had a hot pot in mycollege room and when people
would come in and talk with meI'd ask them do you want tea or

(14:36):
coffee or you know whatever hotchocolate?
So even just simple ways.
And even now my life is verydifferent than it was when I was
in college.
But I still really try to makespace and that is life giving.
You know, it's encouraging tomy heart when I have those times

(15:00):
to sit and chat with people andsee what they're learning and
how they're doing.
But then also it's encouragingto me, like I enjoy encouraging
others.
But then it also encourages myheart and I think that knowing
sometimes you can't be the onethat does it because of the

(15:22):
season of life that you're in.
You might be the mom who's hadsick kids.
I might be Exactly.

Jessica LM Jenkins (15:27):
And you can't do anything else.

Elice Kilko (15:30):
But knowing where the web of the community is.
Sometimes you can't be theperson that does it, but you can
be the one that connects.
So you're in the trenches andyou're having a rough time and
you happen to talk to a momwho's also having a really rough
time and maybe all it takes isyou send that text to your

(15:52):
friend that has a little bitmore space and says hey, I'm
drowning, but this isn't aboutme.
I checked in with this personand they are also drowning.
Can you go rescue them?
And so I think that that issometimes really important,
especially right now in theseason of life that I'm in.
Sometimes I can't give as muchas I have in the past or as much

(16:13):
as I would like, but by knowingwhere that community is,
wherever I am in the season oflife maybe I'm not the one
that's actively working in it,but knowing where it is, I can
connect, and I think that that'sreally important as well.

Jessica LM Jenkins (16:29):
And I think one thing that's really
significant in buildingcommunity.
We've talked a lot about whatto do and what you can do
practically, which is important,but I think we also have to
focus on who we are and thebeing aspect, because one thing
I've noticed about you, elise,is that you are really excellent
at keeping healthyrelationships with a broad
variety of people.

(16:49):
You have friends who havedeconstructed from the faith and
decided they're atheists.
You have managed, even thoughyou hold a traditional Christian
view of sex and marriage.
You have friends who areLGBTQBT.
You have friends who areLGBTQBT.
You have cross-cultural friendswith your cross-cultural work,
and so there are things in thehow we interact with people, how

(17:15):
we keep not necessarily a lackof judgment, but we approach
people with curiosity.
That's what I'm trying to say.
What would you say to that?
How do you because buildingcommunity, we have to hold an
open hand with curiosity.
Not this is our community aslong as you are white, middle

(17:39):
class, straight Christian Likehow do you keep that open hand
for all sorts of people ofvarious ethnic, financial,
religious, sexual backgrounds?

Elice Kilko (17:55):
That's such a good question and something I'm super
passionate about.
I definitely have a soapboxabout that which I do not need
to step up on, but but I thinkthat what allows me to do that
and thank you for giving me sucha beautiful compliment, because
that is what I strive to isreally I mean, it sounds kind of

(18:18):
trite to say, focusing on God'slove, but dude, focusing on
God's love, but dude, focusingon God's love, I think, and I
think down to like the marrow ofmy being, like I just I feel so
deeply that Jesus lovedeveryone, god so loved the world

(18:42):
.
And when we read the gospels wesee that he didn't hang out
with the cool kids, like he didnot.
He specifically went to theoutcast and so he went to the
outcast and that's what we seethe Proverbs 31 woman doing,
exactly Of those times.

(19:04):
And the outcasts of those timeswere, you know, not Jewish
people and you know sexuallyimpure quote, unquote, you know
and those who were ostracized bythe religious.
You know, leaders.

(19:24):
And I feel very strongly that inthese times, if Jesus came
incarnate today, I am not abovesaying that he may have been on
the outskirts of a pride parade,holding one of those papers
that says free hugs.
You know just being a personwho meets you where you are and

(19:48):
that's not to say that he wouldbe, you know, like woo woo.
You know just being the personthat is there.
And I think Something thataffects me very deeply and
allows me to love, even when Idisagree with the viewpoint of
the person that I am loving, isrealizing that I am not

(20:12):
responsible for my friend'sactions.
I am responsible for my ownactions, and so my
responsibility is to love andreflect Jesus, and if I am
loving and reflecting Jesus,then that's it.
That's the whole deal.

(20:32):
I am not responsible for thedecisions they make, but I am
responsible to love them wherethey are, and I am responsible
to be the light that they cancome back to if they decide they
want to.

Jessica LM Jenkins (20:51):
Amen, yeah, and one thing you didn't mention
but I know you do it and Ithink I try to do this as well
is learning about differentpeople's experiences.
To do this as well is learningabout different people's
experiences, whether it'sinternational experiences you're
a third culture kid but alsojust being endlessly curious
about how people function, theirpersonalities, their

(21:12):
neurodivergence, the way theythink and process the world,
understanding trauma.
I know some of my best friendsI've been able to make because
understanding a trauma allows meto see them, I can look past
everything they're saying andbecause we have a friendship and

(21:32):
permission and I ask forpermission.
I'm not trying to be nosy andbulldoze my way in, but it's.
Hey, this may be out of line,but I'm noticing and I can see
past everything and I can noticeX Is that something you might
want to talk about?
And they just look at me likeno one has ever seen that before
.

(21:53):
And being able.
I think this is why people wereso drawn to Jesus.
Not that I'm comparing, butJesus could look past everything
and see the heart of someoneand see underneath the layers of
pain and trauma and hurt andmisunderstanding and be like.
I see you and people are like.
I've never experienced this Icannot leave the side of that

(22:18):
man.

Elice Kilko (22:19):
I think that that's what we see with the woman at
the well, which is why it's myfavorite gospel conversation
ever.
We who thirst came from thatexact passage, exactly Because
that is exactly her reaction toJesus.
He saw everything I've everdone.

(22:39):
I think of Hagar, who namedJesus, or who named God.
The God who sees, and I thinkthat that is who the Proverbs 31
woman is is someone who lovesGod so much that she is his
hands and feet to her communityand her everywhere that she is.

Jessica LM Jenkins (23:04):
And she's able to see.
And I think, as we think abouthow do we build community, how
do we build friendships, how dowe grow into people who God can
give eyes to see those around us, to see their pain, to see
what's going on with them, sothat we don't give trite

(23:26):
responses?
But God, because we're curiousand learning constantly, god can
give us the wisdom to seebeyond the surface and meet
people where they're at, and Ithink that does something to
build a richness in community.
It's also terrifying becausesome people don't want to be

(23:47):
seen.
They you start to go a littledeeper, they're like oh no, you
know, and so being wise with it.
But for those who are hurting,they need to be seen.
I'm generally a very directperson.
That's just my personality.
I know I mean that's even howyou and I became friends because

(24:10):
we're both pretty strong directpeople.

Elice Kilko (24:13):
And we did not like each other at first.
I remember we were at Israel.
No, we did not.
We had a whole meeting.

Jessica LM Jenkins (24:19):
We were going to sway the whole team.
It was like we could eitherfight this whole time, because
we were there for nine months ina house together studying.
There was like seven students,eight of us students, eight
students I can't even remember,and so we are two eighths, one
fourth of the students and we'relike we can either fight this
whole time or and we looked ateach other and it's like we are

(24:42):
going to be friends and wedecided that we would be friends
and 18 years later, here, weare.
But I think knowing who we areand how that works into building
community is helpful.

(25:03):
And that's going to be differentfor every personality type, but
I know for you and I and I saythis to encourage those who
might be nervous to do likewisebut might want to being direct
in friendship building has oftenbeen for us one of the best
routes.
I know I've made some reallygood friends just by going up to

(25:24):
them and being like you seemreally cool.
Can we get coffee and they'relike I'm cool?
Of course I want to get coffeewith someone who thinks I'm cool
and I'm like I know you do.
Let's go.

Elice Kilko (25:36):
Yeah, and I think I think often when we're kids you
know out on the playgroundthat's often how we make friends
and as adults we forget thatsometimes the simple way is best
.
You know it could.
Just we could save ourselves somuch time, right.

Jessica LM Jenkins (25:56):
Well, you brought up kids.
We've been talking aboutcommunity a lot, but we need to
move on for the Proverbs 31.
You mentioned kids out on theplayground, so let's talk about
the Proverbs 31 woman's children.
One trap that we've seen bothancient and modern cultures fall
into is equating womanhood withmothering, or measuring a

(26:16):
woman's value by her children.
Elise top quiz how many versesin Proverbs 31 talk about the
woman of valor's children?
I think it's just one.

Elice Kilko (26:28):
I think it might be two.

Jessica LM Jenkins (26:29):
I think it's just one.
It's just one.
Do we see her doing anymothering in the entire passage?

Elice Kilko (26:38):
No, not directly.
I mean, we don't see her likeshe made breakfast and you know
we don't see any direct actions.

Jessica LM Jenkins (26:46):
So what do we see happening in regards to
her children?

Elice Kilko (27:00):
We see her, we actually see her kids' response
we, then they're old enough todo so and, you know, self-aware
enough to see their mom and seethat she should be respected and
should be lauded.
Yeah, what do you think?

Jessica LM Jenkins (27:15):
Yeah, I mean that is verse 28 is the one
verse where we see children inthis passage and they are.
What we see them doing isblessing her.
And now this can be reallypainful because some women have
poured out their entire livesand their children for whatever
reason.
Maybe mom had some culpabilityin this, maybe not.

(27:36):
Society likes to blameeverything on mom.
I don't think that is fair as amom.
Society likes to blameeverything on mom.

(27:58):
I don't think that is fair as amom.
Sometimes it is, sometimes it'scompletely warranted, but
sometimes not.
Children are their own beingsand they can make their own
choices, and so this verse canbe very painful because some
children grow up and they don'tappreciate their mothers.
But one thing is, as you said,verse 28 is talking about old
enough children.
It's probably talking aboutteens or adults.
I mean, I remember growing up.
I did not appreciate my mothermuch until I was in my 20s.
I had to be old enough to belike, oh, oh, my goodness, she's

(28:20):
actually a pretty incrediblewoman.
But when I was like a kid and ateen it was just like, oh, mom,
I couldn't see her for who shewas.
I just saw her as aninconvenience or my not very
cool mom or whatever.
And so these children that arecalling her blessed are old
enough to act with discernmentand value their mother.

(28:42):
Yeah, that's true.
In one of the commentariesWaltke said in passing reference
to her sons, the Hebrew.
There is not children, it'ssons, which could include
daughters.
But it's more significant whenwe think it has to include at
least one son.
The passing reference to hersons Waltke says it is unclear
whether many siblings or morethan one generation is in view,

(29:07):
but in the conclusion itsuggests that this wife finds
fulfillment less in giving birthto sons and raising them to
maturity than in maximizing heropportunities on behalf of her
husband who, with her sons, nowarise presumably in her presence
to symbolize their respect forher In this time period.

(29:28):
The one who is respected satdown.
Other people stood up, so inverse 28, it talks about how her
husband and son stand up tospeak forth words praising her.
They rise in her presence andthey're not praising her because
she's a good mom, though sheprobably was, or they wouldn't

(29:49):
be, but she has earnedaccommodation by her character
and her whole life, not justmothering.
That's key Because in ourculture, especially in the
complementarian spaces we'vediscussed, they sometimes value

(30:10):
motherhood above everything elsea woman does, to the point
where I've heard women olderwomen, as they get older and
their kids age and move out ofthe house, bemoan their life.
There is one woman I can thinkof who is like my kids are grown
.
I feel like the Lord shouldjust take me home now, because I

(30:31):
have no purpose now that mykids are out of the house.
They have so wrapped up theirlife in being that hands-on mom
that they have no otherconception of womanhood outside
of mothering.
Is mothering a huge part of awoman's life who God grants the
gift of being a mother?
Absolutely, and it should be.

(30:51):
But it can't be the only aspect, to the point that when our
kids graduate high school, we'relike I'm done Take me home,
lord.
There has to be more thanmothering and grandmothering and
we see that here in Proverbs 31.

Elice Kilko (31:09):
Yeah, I've definitely heard that sentiment
voiced as well in circles thatI've been in, and I love looking
at the example of women whohave become more involved as
they've become empty nesters intheir community, so that they've
taken that mothering aspect,everything they've learned, and

(31:31):
now that their kids have flownaway they direct that mothering
outward then into the community.
And I think that that's sobeautiful, because then you get
to see all of that come together, the experience that they've
had over their life, and nowturn it out to their community.

Jessica LM Jenkins (31:49):
And I love that.
And I've also seen women whodon't, who their kids grow up
and they're just kind of like,okay, now I can just do my
little hobbies and hang out andcoast the remainder of my day.
I did my work, my kids areraised and now I'm done and I
don't think that's the picturewe have here in Proverbs 31.
She is active in buildingcommunity, as we talked about.

(32:13):
Women in the ancient world wereoften building sustenance
reliance communities.
The women built these networkswhere they relied on each other.
Somebody's husband is sick?
Okay, we got to give them someextra food.
I'm going to send my teenagesons to go help in their field
or with their sheep, or you know.
I providing portions for hermaidens and giving things to

(32:43):
those who are in need is she'shelping feed this in many ways,
women-centered community theyhave that helps everybody in the
village and the town thrive.
And she's using her position andher age the fact that we don't
see her in this passage havingto spend a lot of time grinding

(33:05):
grain or chasing toddlers ordoing those things that are very
hands-on, time-intensive.
She can build a business toemploy people in the community.
She can buy a vineyard to giveall of those families, jobs.
She is actively working forthose around her and we don't

(33:25):
know what stages of the lifethat the woman of valor invested
in her many projects.
We have to remember this iskind of as you said at the
beginning of the show, an end oflife.
Look back at what she has done.
This is not all of her projectsnecessarily that she's doing
while she has three kids underthe age of five.
She is now a queen, a wealthywoman with help, with privilege,

(33:50):
with finances, that is able toforecast the needs of her
community and meet some of thoseneeds through her business
exploits, while buildingconnection in the community.
And at the end of her life, herhusband and her sons rather
than complementarians, which arelike the woman, doesn't have

(34:12):
any aims outside her home andshould just focus there alone.
Dorothy Patterson I paraphraseHer husband and sons don't look
at her and say why did you spendall this time focusing on
things outside of the home?
Why did you benefit our wholecommunity and not just us?
No, they stand up and are likewe praise this.

(34:35):
This is beautiful.
Can you read verse 31 for?

Elice Kilko (34:40):
us.
Yes, proverbs 31, 31.
Give her the reward of herlabor and let her works praise
her at the city gates.

Jessica LM Jenkins (34:51):
As Paul instructs women to be known by
their good works, in 1 Timothy,the woman of valor is praised by
her deeds.
This woman's actions on behalfof her family and community are
lauded in the highest offices ofthe land.
The gates is where the eldersand the big mucky mucks met, so

(35:13):
she's literally being repaid inhonor for what she has done.
And this is an honor-shameculture.
And I think this is reallysignificant because there are so
many studies, and I'm trying toremember who wrote a whole
article on it.
It may have been Jen Wilkin,who was talking about women in
Southern Baptist churchesbecause she's Southern Baptist

(35:35):
who don't get paid for theirlabor Not that we do everything
for financial remuneration, butthat is one way to honor someone
in today's cultures to pay thema worthy wage.
And she wrote an articletalking about how most women's
ministers are unpaid, or, ifthey are paid, they're paid a
fraction of what a male ministeris paid, and how today we often

(36:00):
don't give women the honor.
We have one sermon on Mother'sDay honoring women, which is
often Proverbs 31, which isinteresting because it doesn't
talk about mothering at all,it's just talking about praising
women.
So let's praise them.
But this idea that women shouldbe valued either.

(36:22):
They should be remunerated withhonor, which is a higher
currency than money.
They didn't necessarily havecash money in the Woman of Valor
Society, but honor was still ahigher currency than physical
goods Renumerated for theirefforts, honored for their
efforts.
Renumerated for their efforts,honored for their efforts.

(36:42):
And it's easy for us to sithere and say, yes, women should
be honored, but I also want toremind all of us that we can be
the first and foremost to dothat for the women around us.
I would love it if the men inour homes and churches were like
we have to make honoring womena priority.
God would love it if men didthat and any men listening.

(37:04):
This is your challenge to dothat, but I think most of the
listeners are probably female.
We're female, so I want tochallenge us directly that we
can do that too and, rather thana culture of competition among
women, we can create a communityof honoring each other.

Elice Kilko (37:25):
And where we lift each other up, just as the
Proverbs 31 woman did to thosein her community?
Absolutely.
What about the woman of valorand who she is as a person and
her voice?

Jessica LM Jenkins (37:40):
Let's talk about that.
Would you read verses 21 and 22for us?

Elice Kilko (37:44):
Verses 21 and 22.
She is not afraid for herhousehold when it snows, for all
in her household are doublyclothed.
She makes her own bed coverings.
Her clothing is fine linen andpurple.

Jessica LM Jenkins (37:59):
So we see here that she, of course she
owns a fancy textile exportbusiness, so she's dressing her
family probably with some of thegoods she has made for her
fancy textile export business.
She is extremely talented andgifted in creating clothing and
she's dressing her familyaccordingly and she's dressing
her family accordingly.
She's also likely a very highclass noblewoman and so she's

(38:23):
dressing her family according toher station.
In the ancient world.
The idea of personal fashion.
They had no idea what personalfashion was.
There was not personal fashion.
Today we have personal fashion.
I am a rather bohemian dresser.
I like kind of fringy, frilly,kind of bohemian-esque Glowy.

Elice Kilko (38:45):
Glowy.

Jessica LM Jenkins (38:48):
That's my personal fashion.
Other people like differentsorts of things.

Elice Kilko (38:52):
Yeah.
So what do the garments of thewoman of valor then indicate
from your?

Jessica LM Jenkins (38:58):
studies.
They indicate her station.
She is dressing appropriatelyfor royalty or a high, noble
woman, and dressingappropriately for your station
brings honor to your family.
So this isn't just personalexpression.
This is understanding her placein society and acting

(39:20):
appropriately.
Therefore, it would be like thepresident's wife coming to
appearances in sweatpants, likeyou're never going to see any
president's wife in sweatpantsever.
She dresses appropriately toher station and so that's what

(39:43):
we see the woman of valor doinghere.
Yes, she is caring for herselfappropriately.
She's investing time in the wayshe looks and everything else
because it brings honor to herfamily and it's appropriate for
where she's at.
But she's not doing this out ofvanity or trying to make much

(40:08):
of herself, which the scripturaltext also talks against
repeatedly.
In the New Testament it saysdon't let your beauty be fine
pearls and fine clothing.
Because Roman women were doingthese elaborate, super elaborate
hairstyles with like pearlssewn into their hair and lots of

(40:29):
gold jewelry, just because,again, it's not personal
expression, it's showing offtheir wealth.
And so here she's selling thesegarments, so she's wearing them
as part of the sales and she'sdressing according to her
station, out of respect for herhusband and her community.

Elice Kilko (40:48):
So it comes down a lot to appropriateness and
motive, Exactly so.
You know, there's gym clothesand there's business clothes and
there are clothes you wear tothe formal gala.
And wear the right clothes tothe right event is basically
what you're saying.

Jessica LM Jenkins (41:06):
Yes, and in their culture, certain classes
of people, they had a much moreclass oriented society than we
do.
Certain classes of people worecertain clothing and certain
classes didn't, and so youneeded to dress according to
your station, your station, yourclass.
If you overdressed, that wasdishonoring to your family.

(41:29):
If you underdressed, that wasdishonoring to your family and
it's an honor shame culture.
So you need your whole familyis impacted by what you wear.
It's not just oh, elise, that'sa cute blouse.
I really like yourself-expression.
You're like oh yes, hubbingbirds are my favorite, so I got
hummingbirds on my blouse, youknow it's not that at all.

Elice Kilko (41:49):
Yeah.

Jessica LM Jenkins (41:50):
Yeah, so look at verse 25 and 30 for me.

Elice Kilko (41:56):
Okay.
Verse 25 says strength andhonor are her clothing and she
can laugh at the time to come.
I love this verse.
Verse 30, charm is deceptiveand beauty is fleeting, but a
woman who fears the Lord will bepraised.
This verse, for me personally,was super triggering because it
was the basis of like charmcourses back in the 90s, and I'm

(42:20):
sure that it's just beentwisted a million ways.
So I would love to hear yourthoughts on both of these verses
.

Jessica LM Jenkins (42:26):
Verse 25,.
She is clothed with strengthand dignity.
She can laugh at the days tocome.
I've heard this twisted, thatwomen shouldn't care about
clothing, they shouldn't careabout how they look, that
shouldn't matter to you.
You should just be focused onyour character which isn't the
case, because we see herdressing appropriately, taking

(42:49):
great care to care about howshe's dressing, but she's
clothed with strength anddignity.
Her aura, the way she carriesherself, is appropriate for what
she's doing and who she is.
She laughs at the day to come.
She speaks with wisdom that'sthe next verse and faithful

(43:10):
instruction is on her tongue.
So you get this image of awoman who is not only physically
put together appropriately,she's mentally put together.
She's not flighty, she's notworried, she's not all over the
place.
She has wisdom and insight forboth today and the future, and a

(43:30):
little bit of cockiness.

Elice Kilko (43:32):
The whole lack of she's like emotionally prepared
for the hurricane that's off thecoast.

Jessica LM Jenkins (43:41):
And she's prepared enough.
She could even have a littlebit of a bring it on Like I got
this, you don't intimidate me.
And so this, this woman, thesethings, the word.
She is clothed with strengthand dignity.
These are as obviouscharacteristics about her as her

(44:04):
purple garments.
You notice somebody in thestore the first time it's like,
oh, the guy in the red sweaterin the back.
All you can see is theirclothes.
But for her, for someone whoknows her, strength and dignity
and wisdom and an ability toforecast the future, understand
it and deal with it are asobvious characteristics of her

(44:28):
life as her clothing.
It's not pitting clothingagainst character.
It's saying her character is asobvious as her clothing.

Elice Kilko (44:40):
That's a really important distinction.
So it's almost the whole laughat the future comment in the
Bible.
It's almost what you're sayingis it's a fearlessness of what's
to come.
Is that what you're saying?

Jessica LM Jenkins (44:57):
That's how I often interpret the phrase.
She gazes towards the futurewith a confidence born of
preparation and characterdevelopment.
She is ready, she's notintimidated.
She also fears the Lord andknows that he is in charge of
the future, and so she can laughat the future because the

(45:18):
future has no power.
God has the power.
She fears the Lord, not thefuture.
That's really key.
It's easy to get caught up inwhat about the future and it's
easy to ruminate and worry andthink about these things and
feel anxiety and I'm not sayingshe never felt those things.
And if you're listening andyou're like, wow, worry and

(45:40):
anxiety are really.
Those are really big themes inmy life and you're especially if
you're starting to feel shameabout that.
I want you to pause and I haveseveral episodes on Philippians
maybe several, maybe one.
I have to go back and look.
I have at least one episode onPhilippians 4, and the do not be
anxious.
So go back and listen to thatepisode as well, because I think

(46:02):
that will really help youunderstand God's heart for those
who are anxious.
Some people are more naturallyinclined to not have anxiety, to
be able to plan ahead, and thatseems to be what the Proverbs
31 woman does, partly becauseshe is wise, she is exercising
wisdom, but in exercising wisdom, she's able to see possible

(46:28):
problems, which is where a lotof our anxiety comes from.
We can see possible things thathappen.
She is responding to thosewisely and she's able to trust
the Lord more than her emotions.
Mm-hmm, that's really, reallyimportant to trust the Lord more
than her emotions.

Elice Kilko (46:44):
That's really, really important.
How do you think that thisrelates to?
How does the proverbs 31 woman?
You know it talks about herwearing purple, which would have
been a very beautiful thing.
So can we talk about what wecan learn about beauty from the

(47:07):
proverbs 31 woman?
Because in our day and age,beauty and, you know, staying
young and all of that it's sucha focus today.
What do you think we can learnfrom Proverbs 31 about beauty
Like actual physical, beauty,like the character is super
important, but let's talk aboutlike actual physical beauty.

Jessica LM Jenkins (47:28):
I think you said verse 30 is triggering to
you and I want to hear aboutthat.
But it says charm is deceptiveand beauty is fleeting.
I think first we have to ownthat Our culture is obsessed
with staying beautiful.
There are like 10, 12-year-oldswho are obsessed with their
skin routine because they'reafraid of aging at 11.

(47:48):
Yeah, I am finding as I agethat beauty really is a young
woman's game, and I say this asalmost 40.
I'll be 40 in June, so at leastfor me.
I am finding all the like 50year olds are like Jessica,
you're still so young anybodyolder is like okay, my, my

(48:08):
husband and I have an age gapmarriage, so I could never be
like I'm so old, because he justlike passed me on my head like
I'm a toddler, I'm like I know,but I still feel old.
I'm almost 40.
But at the ripe old age ofalmost 40, I am very much aware
that a younger woman in her 20swill always be, from here on out

(48:31):
, and probably for the lastseveral years will always be
more of a head turner than Iwill.
If we're talking about justphysical beauty, I'm out of the
competition against 20-year-oldsand have been for a while, and
that's okay.
Beauty is fleeting in some ways.

(48:52):
But I think there's a deeperlesson here that we see echoed
throughout all of scripture, andI really want to emphasize this
my faith and my body show thesigns of age, pain, trauma,
neglect, living in a sinfulworld.
Yeah, I find passages like thisto be even more meaningful as

(49:14):
my physical beauty starts tofade.
Scripture never decries a womanbeing physically beautiful.
We see all sorts of women inthe Bible whose beauty was a
great asset for them.
But it offers us hope beyondbeauty, and I feel like this is
a lesson I had a glimmer of whenI was at my peak in my 20s,

(49:35):
that now I'm starting tounderstand even more.
There's a hope beyond physicalbeauty.
It points us to a beauty thatis more breathtaking.
Beauty and charm are singledout in verse 30, because so many
of us are swayed by them.
We want to hang out with theattractive, young, popular,
well-known, beautiful people.

(49:56):
The beautiful people onInstagram do a lot better often
than the less beautiful people.

Elice Kilko (50:02):
It's sales.

Jessica LM Jenkins (50:05):
So we seek to add those qualities to our
resumes so that we can succeed,so that we can have community,
because we think if I'm pretty,people will like me.
Proverbs quickly reminds usthat we need something more and
something deeper.
We need something that takes alifetime to cultivate.
Real beauty takes time.

(50:29):
There is the beauty of a youngwoman, a teenager, a woman in
her 20s who's just coming intomaturity, and they are gorgeous
and that's amazing and theyshould be.
But as I sit and I think aboutProverbs 31, it doesn't describe

(50:52):
a young, beautiful woman, butan elderly matron with gray hair
, a slightly hunched back, awoman who has gazed steadfastly
through the years, applyingwisdom to her circumstances and
resting in the Lord.
She is a woman who has earnedher beauty, Her beauty.

(51:13):
You might not look at her andthink, wow, she's gorgeous,
though you might.
I know some women who are 70and you're like, wow, you're
still gorgeous.
It's a different beauty thanthe 20-year-old, but she still
has it.
But the women I think of in mycommunity, in my church, who are
the most beautiful if I justsit there and feel vibes, I know

(51:34):
that sounds really woo-woo, butwhen I sit there and think
about it the women who are mostgorgeous are not the hot young
20-year-olds who are verypicture-perfect, pretty.
They're picture-perfect, prettyand they are nice to look at.
But the women who are beautifulare 65, 70-year-old women who

(51:55):
have suffered, who haveextensive trauma, who have
walked with the Lord through theheartbreak of losing children,
either to death or abandonmentof the faith.
And these are the women pouringinto those around them and
trusting the Lord and speakingout with wisdom, and they are

(52:20):
beautiful.

Elice Kilko (52:24):
That's really amazing.
I agree so much with that.
That really resonates with meand I've always wanted to be
that lady with the white hairwho's, like, still very put
together and beautiful, even asshe has, you know, gray, graying

(52:46):
hair.
And I think it's reallyinteresting.
You know, we learn this and wesee this so vividly in Proverbs
31.
And I think it's so interestingthat even in the world there
are pockets of grace where wesee people noticing the truth of

(53:08):
this.
I do not remember exactly whereI saw this quote, but it has
caught my attention and itstayed with me.
It was, I think it, like anineties supermodel talking
about a conversation she hadwith her mom, because she was,
you know, she was the hot youngthing and she was on, you know,

(53:28):
the catwalk, and as she gotolder then of course she wasn't,
and so she had thisconversation with the mom, and
it was an article that I read,and she talked about how her mom
told her to not be afraid ofthe wrinkles and the white hairs
that would come, because hermom the quote was I, I earned my
face, or you know that thewrinkles that she had, the you

(53:52):
know stretch marks, and all ofthat came from what she had been
through, and that that in andof itself, was also beauty.
And so, even if she wasn't onthe catwalk, there was a beauty
to be seen, and I thought thatthat was so incredible that even
when you're not looking at theBible, the created world can

(54:18):
still see glimmers of this.
You see it in the NationalGeographic pictures of, you know
, the people that live to beover a hundred, with all their
wrinkles, but yet they have, youknow, wisdom in their eyes.
You look at them and they arebeautiful.
You know, not the catwalkbeauty, but yet they have, you
know, wisdom in their eyes.
You look at them and they arebeautiful.
You know, not the catwalkbeauty, but there is a crazy,

(54:39):
you know, just something thatreally catches your eye about
that, and I think that that wecan see that here too.

Jessica LM Jenkins (54:47):
There's a there's scripture offers us a
beauty that takes a lifetime tocultivate, and I think that's
something that young womenespecially have a hard time
grappling with.
I remember being teenager 20and these verses were hard
because I was pretty.
That was when I was at myprettiest and it's like well,

(55:07):
but I want to be beautiful.
You know, especially as ateenager, that was really
important.
I need to be physically pretty.
Now I'm old enough.
I'm like, okay, I could tryreally hard and I'm still not
going to match a 20-year-old,and I'm okay with that.
But understanding that Godoffers women a beauty that takes
a lifetime to cultivate, thatit is possible to become more

(55:35):
pretty, more beautiful, and thatit's not something that has to
fade.
Verse 30 says Charm isdeceptive and beauty is fleeting
.
Talking about the skin you'regoing to age, but a woman who
fears the Lord is to be praised.
She's going to have somethingmore as she walks with God.

(55:59):
He's offering greater beauty asshe gets closer to him, because
God is the most beautiful, heis the author of beauty.
So as we get nearer to him,over a longer period of time,
that beauty rubs off.
I really want to emphasize, forthose who are listening,

(56:20):
because I think there are a lotwho are.
I think there are many womenwho, as they get to a certain
age, start giving up on beauty.
It's easy to be like beauty isa young woman's game and I want
to encourage us that we don'thave to chase the latest
skincare fads to try to keep thewrinkles away.

(56:41):
I mean, if you want to do askincare routine, that's fine,
go for it.

Elice Kilko (56:45):
But you don't have to.

Jessica LM Jenkins (56:47):
It's okay to let yourself wrinkle, it's okay
to let yourself gray, it's okayto not be in the absolute
latest fashion.
There is a beauty that enduresand it's not dependent on
wrinkles and hair color andfashion, and that's not

(57:07):
something I even couldunderstand when I was a teen or
in your 20s.
I had a tiny glimmer of it, butI couldn't understand it and I
don't think I understand it now,like I will in 20, 30, 40 more
years, so we can come back tothis conversation in 40 years,
yeah, but I want to offer thathope and that encouragement that

(57:32):
God offers.
God offers an enduring beauty,because beauty is important to
him, but that beauty isn'twrapped up solely in the beauty
of a young person, and part ofthe reason the woman of valor is
so beautiful is because shefears the Lord, as we've talked

(57:52):
about, but also her wisdom.
We see, she is in many ways atype of wisdom.
Some say this entire passage isabout lady wisdom.
So we see the woman of valor inverse 28, not 28.
What is it?
26.

(58:12):
, not 28.
What is it?

Elice Kilko (58:18):
26.
So we see the woman of valor inverse 26 teaching.
Would you read that verse forus?
Yes, verse 26,.
You said Her mouth speaks.
Wisdom and loving instructionis on her tongue.

Jessica LM Jenkins (58:27):
So the woman of valor is known for her
teaching.
A matriarch had a social rolefor carrying on oral traditions
and helping the youngergenerations, both male and
female, do what is right.
We see here that she teacheswisdom.
The Hebrew word wisdom hereimplies, and throughout the
entire book of Proverbs implies,skill in technical matters,

(58:49):
expertise, knowledge of rightliving, and in the book of
Proverbs wisdom is contrastedwith foolishness or anti-wisdom.
And wisdom often in the OldTestament is a woman's domain.
All throughout the OldTestament wisdom is linked to
women specifically, which isreally an interesting peek into

(59:12):
their culture and the role ofwomen in that culture.
So here we see her teaching,speaking wisdom to those around
her.

Elice Kilko (59:23):
And in Proverbs, all throughout Proverbs, we see
wisdom personified as a woman.

Jessica LM Jenkins (59:29):
Exactly so.
She teaches wisdom and she alsoteaches law.
The Hebrew word here for law isTorah, and our first thought
when we hear Torah is the Mosaiclaw.
But it can also mean generalteaching.
Either way, the woman's word isto be considered law of some
kind, Torah of some kind,whether Mosaic Torah or

(59:53):
practical wisdom, you are totake it seriously.
You don't blow her off.
Oh, it's just an old wives tale.
No, you listen to her wisdomand her Torah.

Elice Kilko (01:00:05):
Listen to the words of your mother.
You see that.
So much throughout Proverbs.

Jessica LM Jenkins (01:00:11):
She's teaching chesed, which is a
Hebrew word often translatedloving, kindness or covenant
faithfulness.
But this isn't a gentle,emotional word.
This word has backbone.
It is often translated love,mercy or kindness, but chesed
carries with it the idea ofrelational faithfulness, spurred

(01:00:34):
on by one's mercy, love andcovenant promises.
Elise, what are some real-lifeexamples of what Chesed looks or
feels like?

Elice Kilko (01:00:48):
Okay, I've talked about her on this podcast before
, but my Aunt Didi, who was oneof our coworkers in Brazil, a
lady who was single all of herlife, she would take me with her
to go to tea and learn how tomake European hot chocolate with

(01:01:13):
survivors from World War II whohad been through the Holocaust.
These were Jewish seniors, oftenliving alone, who were shut-ins
.
She would take me with her andwe would either just sometimes I
mean it wasn't just about aBible study, sometimes she never
opened the Bible but justvisiting them, hearing their

(01:01:37):
story I cannot tell you how manytimes I heard the stories of
how awful the things that thesepeople had been through and just
seeing my aunt D, who was noblood relative but so much by
love, seeing her hold space forthe pain that they went through

(01:02:02):
and loving them through thatpain and then celebrating with
them the life that they couldhave now you know that they
could teach us how to makeEuropean hot chocolate, like
they had done in Hungary whenthey were five.
And you know admiring thecrochet doilies that they had

(01:02:25):
made and smuggled out of theirone suitcase that they were
allowed to bring.
You know, listening to thestory, like we talked earlier
about, with curiosity, withoutjudgment, allowing the big
feelings to sit, that feeling,the hurt with them.
Just, I think that that is sucha beautiful picture of Chesed

(01:02:50):
holding that kindness and thatlove and also decrying the
injustices that were done.
You know, as you listened tothat story.

Jessica LM Jenkins (01:03:03):
Yeah, that's beautiful.
When I think of Chesed, I thinkof love with a backbone, love
that doesn't give up.
I think of a spouse walkingthrough cancer with their spouse
.
They could say this is too hardand walk away.
Their spouse has lost physicalability, lost physical beauty.

(01:03:24):
They're not able to give muchin return.
But it's because of chesed,it's because of covenant,
faithful love, that theycontinue.
They do not give up.
And this is the type of loveGod has for us.
It is that grit love that neverstops.

(01:03:45):
When the feelings are gone.
Chesed stills there when you'retired of this and you're just
fed up.
Chesed is what keeps you inthat rough marriage.
Chesed is what keeps you duringthe hard times.
It's so much deeper than justthe emotion of love.

Elice Kilko (01:04:09):
So what would you say is significant, then, about
the words specifically Torah andChesed being used together in
this verse, then Proverbs 31,.

Jessica LM Jenkins (01:04:20):
26 is the only place in the Old Testament
where Torah and Chesed are usedtogether in this way In
Deuteronomy 5 and 7, they havesome similar usages, but this is
the only place they're usedtogether like this and it
describes a woman's teaching,which I think is really
beautiful.
Many translations interpretthis phrase as kind instruction,

(01:04:44):
or I think you said lovingteaching or something like that,
but that translation loses someof the depth that each word
carries.
The woman of valor isn't simplyteaching nicely, which I feel
like, is how it's off, like theEnglish kind of gives that vibe
like just a nice teacher like akindergarten teacher.
That's not it at all.

(01:05:05):
Here she is drawing on thedepth of wisdom in the entire
book of Proverbs and thecovenantal fear of the Lord
found in the Mosaic law, so thather teaching isn't just about
handicrafts or housekeeping, butit's about how one walks with
God and lives according to hisbest way in the face of

(01:05:28):
adversity, when the going getstough.
This is how you keep going,like Lady Wisdom, the woman of
valor uses her voice to pointher community and her family to
the Lord with strength and power, using both his word married to

(01:05:48):
practical advice to point themwhere they need to go.
That is so beautiful.
So then, what can we learnabout how God values women from
this passage?
There are a bunch we can learnfrom the verses we've looked at
today.

(01:06:08):
One, not in any particularorder, just kind of the way we
went through.
God loves it when women withresources and power use their
privilege and ability to carefor others.
The kingdom of God values thosewho serve others.
In the Old Testament law we seeGod continually showing that he

(01:06:31):
desires His people to care forthe poor, needy, widows, orphans
, sojourners, disabled, refugees, immigrants, etc.
In the New Testament, theapostles write often about
caring for the poor and theneedy, which indicates, in that
culture, the disabled and theimmigrants and the refugees.

(01:06:52):
Those are the ones they have inmind.
Secondly, god values thecontributions of women both
inside and outside motherhood.
He loves it when women areloving wives and mothers, but he
never limits women to motheringor nurturing roles.

(01:07:12):
God likes it when women workhard for their communities and
God likes it when women arehonored for their good works.
God loves beauty in women.
He offers us something beyondphysical attractiveness.

(01:07:36):
Proverbs 31 is a beautiful,fearless, wise, winsome,
merciful and kind old woman, andthere's a beauty there that
can't be matched by a youngwoman.
The way God's word takes andshapes a heart and forms her
further into his image,sanctifying every part of her

(01:07:59):
soul, creates a stunning beautythat young women can't hold a
candle to.
God loves it when women teachAmen.
A woman's voice is not anathemato men's ears.
A woman's voice is notdangerous.

(01:08:20):
A woman's voice is notinherently going to lead someone
to sin.
God calls women to share hisworld and his gospel boldly in
their communities.
Share his world and his gospelboldly in their communities.
We should not be silent becauseof our gender and people should
not stop listening to usbecause of our gender.

(01:08:41):
As with any other activity, wemay need to limit when and how
we teach to appropriate time andplace, but God loves it when
women use their voices to teachscripture and practical
knowledge, especially weddedtogether for the good of the
hearer.
God loves women.

(01:09:04):
Proverbs 31 is not a passagetalking about what a woman
should be or what she should do.
Proverbs 31 is not a passagethat is a checklist for what a
woman should do.
Proverbs 31 is a passage Ibelieve is divinely inspired by

(01:09:31):
God to showcase specific thingsGod delights in, as seen in a
representational culture andtime period.
If Proverbs 31 was writtenabout a woman today, it would
look very different.
But God loves women, he valueswomen and Proverbs 31 showcases

(01:09:56):
that beautifully to the world.

Elice Kilko (01:10:00):
So I think that we've learned so much and I
think that from here we can goout and love our families and
love our community and listen tothe stories not only of those
in our community but even in ourhome, loving our kids with
patience and approaching themwith kindness, the kindness that

(01:10:23):
God shows us.
Go out and be, then, therepresentation of God in our
families, as somebody who wantsto be like Jesus and wants to
reflect him and aspire then tobe this awesome Proverbs 31

(01:10:45):
woman when we are old and gray.

Jessica LM Jenkins (01:10:50):
I love that.
Well, thank you, Elise, fordoing this Proverbs 31 series
with me.
I have so appreciated it.
Thank you to everyone in theaudience who has listened and
taken time to walk through thispassage with us.
May the Lord bless you and keepyou.
May his face shine upon you andgive you peace.
We will see you next time.