Hmm... I'm just glad I didn't have the misfortune to get stuck with a wife like David's wife Michal.
.. or a father-in-law like Saul!
"Boaz" and the "Proverbs 31 Woman"
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.. or a father-in-law like Saul!
This is not intended as a personal response, just a general observation...
I find this comment enlightening. When a single man is looking for a potential bride, whether she has children is, for some, a big issue. He knows that they will never be "his" children, and that their mom will always have the final word on their upbringing. Further, most guys aren't looking for a family to love, they are looking for a woman to love (mutually). They can be open to children as part of a "package deal" (I've seen that phrase more than once!), but few actively look for a woman with children.
Knowing that most commonly, a mom will put her kids ahead of her husband, a man understandably might be hesitant to consider a single mom as a potential mate. This gets more complicated among Christians, for whom the spouse really should be the first priority after Christ. Many moms wouldn't even consider this, let alone embrace it.
This all goes for single dads as well....
Yes, I know... off topic rant.
I've been wanting to write a thread for some time about "What Number in Line Are You?"
I dated a single father who told me right off the bat: "My children are the most important thing in my life and they come first."
He had 3 children. So I guess that made me 4th in line.
When two single parents marry... let's say they have 4 children together... Where, in the line, does that put them?
These are the kinds of things I wonder about when it comes to blended families.
Z
Zi
Guest
I have one.. I don't have children. I meant it as in kids together. Some men I know in churches make stupid selfish choices. Years of bondage for the children are the results. Care about who comes over, conversations they hear, deeds done.i don't want to populate the earth with a grown adolescent adult. This comes from where I am located and my experience. I do not speak for everyone
Some may not be aware that you can have kids from taking part in marital relations
Some may not be aware that you can have kids from taking part in marital relations
Well if we're picking biblical people, I'd much rather marry Rachel than the prov 31 lady. I just want a simple woman who is kind, compassionate and caring..... A prov 31 woman would probably be on my case all day long about one thing or another....
Well if we're picking biblical people, I'd much rather marry Rachel than the prov 31 lady. I just want a simple woman who is kind, compassionate and caring..... A prov 31 woman would probably be on my case all day long about one thing or another....
I agree. A Proverb 31 woman would probably be domineering and high maintenance.
I think I'll keep holding out for the man that reads his Bible lives according to what he reads...and doesn't want to go a day without me!
Eight of David's wives are named in Scripture, and it is also noted that he married others.
Michal, Abigail, Bathsheba, Ahinoam, Maacah, Haggith, Abital, and Eglah.
(2 Samuel 3:2–5; 1 Chronicles 3:1–3). According to 2 Samuel 5:13, David
married more wives in Jerusalem, but how many is unknown.
It took me a while to come to terms with that too. I had to pray and ask God how that was possible considering all the people hurt by David's sin - adultery, murder, deception and poor parenting.
God reminded me that David was repentant, and that's huge. Countless people have committed sins that caused their families incredible pain and hardship, yet they never acknowledge their sin or make any effort to turn away from that sin. They just keep lying and repeating the same transgressions over and over again with little to no regard for who they hurt. Although he had to be prodded, David acknowledged his sin and turned away from it. For the rest of his life, David stopped stealing wives and murdering husbands. David repented. A lot of men (and women) never do. I'm reminded of disgraced Gov.Bentley.
Like David, Gov. Bentley was in a position of authority. It came to light that Bentley was having an affair with his much younger, married campaign manager after his wife of 50 yrs secretly recorded and leaked a sexually explicit conversation between Bentley and his mistress. Bentley continued to deny having the affair even after being caught on tape. He also misappropriated gov funds and used them to facilitate his affair. I said all that to say, unlike David, Bentley was unrepentant. As a result, Bentley's wife of 50 yrs divorced him. He also lost his job as governor.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cn...ma-governor-robert-bentley-meeting/index.html
With that being said, I truly believe that David's willingness to repent is ONE of the key reasons that he was a man after God's own heart. It takes a faithful man (or woman) to repent.
I have a theory that King David was the first real rock star...Eight of David's wives are named in Scripture, and it is also noted that he married others.
Michal, Abigail, Bathsheba, Ahinoam, Maacah, Haggith, Abital, and Eglah.
(2 Samuel 3:2–5; 1 Chronicles 3:1–3). According to 2 Samuel 5:13, David
married more wives in Jerusalem, but how many is unknown.
(he wrote songs, sang them, and he loved hundreds of women...)
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R
renewed_hope
Guest
One thing I've noticed among Christian singles is that women are looking for their "Boaz" while the men are looking for their "Proverbs 31 woman". What I also find interesting is that for the women, it's a specific man from the Bible, and for the men, it's a description of what a Godly wife should be (like an archetype).
In reality though, things are more complex than that.
What do you guys think? All opinions are welcome!
I disagree with the fact you stated that it today's world things are much more complex and please take what I say with a grain of salt. In today's society we have things to make our lives easier....technology, so to speak. We also need to remember, back in those days everything had to be done by hand. Doing laundry, taking care of the home, mending, and sewing clothes, cooking, and the kids and husband took up the whole day and would often carry into the next. She would also help her neighbors and ensure everyone was taken care of on top of her daily duties even if it meant she only got two hours of sleep only to get up and do it again. If you were to go back and ask these women if they had any grudges of all the work they had to do, I bet you 99% of them would say they loved every minute of taking care of their home and families. Not once would she complain to her husband and say she had too much to do and she was always patient and kind to everyone she would come into contact with.
In today's world we have technology to help. We have a washer and dryer that takes a lot of the hard work out of doing laundry, we have home appliances to vacuum, sweep, and mop rather than using a broom and hoping that would get up a lot of the dust. We now have sewing machines that help sew and mend clothes so that it was no longer needed to do by hand and small kitchen appliances along with a stove, microwave, and oven that make the cooking process be cut by nearly 75% of the time it took back then. With all this technology it helps the woman by allowing her to do more of Godly duties around her community.
Well if we're picking biblical people, I'd much rather marry Rachel than the prov 31 lady. I just want a simple woman who is kind, compassionate and caring..... A prov 31 woman would probably be on my case all day long about one thing or another....
I disagree, if we look at the scripture (Proverbs 31:10-31) in detail:
10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.15 She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:29 “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.31 Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
Nowhere in here speaks of a controlling, domineering woman in fact this scripture and what depicts a Proverbs 31 woman is purely the opposite
I admire the Josephs too. I'm also impressed by Job. Job was known in the gates and sat among the elders of the land (Job 29:7) Job was known for his good deeds. He assisted the poor and orphans. He helped those without hope. Everything he did was honest. He served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame. He was a father to the poor. He broke the jaws of godless oppressors. People listened to his advice. Unfortunately, Job's wife was not a virtuous woman, yet that had no bearing on Job's actions because he was a man of integrity. Unlike Adam, Job didn't sin and blame it on his wife. "I listened to my wife when she told me to curse God and die. It's her fault that I sinned." Nah - Job didn't sin, and he didn't use his wife as a scapegoat. He had integrity.
Job was a man before his time. He respected women in a time period when that was virtually unheard of. Job gave his daughters an inheritance ALONG with his sons.
Job 42:15 . That's important because later in scripture, we see that women were only permitted to inherit property if they didn't have living brothers.
Z
Zi
Guest
The Proverbs 31 that I have says her husband can trust in her and that she does him good and not evil all the days of HER life..
Well if we're picking biblical people, I'd much rather marry Rachel than the prov 31 lady. I just want a simple woman who is kind, compassionate and caring..... A prov 31 woman would probably be on my case all day long about one thing or another....
Eight of David's wives are named in Scripture, and it is also noted that he married others.
Michal, Abigail, Bathsheba, Ahinoam, Maacah, Haggith, Abital, and Eglah.
(2 Samuel 3:2–5; 1 Chronicles 3:1–3). According to 2 Samuel 5:13, David
married more wives in Jerusalem, but how many is unknown.
Many thanks to Lady Magenta for having my back.
I had no idea that 8 of David's wives were named (I only remembered the first 3.)
I just copied this down and have added it to my Bible study notes.
Either way... that's just way too many cooks in the kitchen for me.
Many thanks to Lady Magenta for having my back.
I had no idea that 8 of David's wives were named (I only remembered the first 3.)
I just copied this down and have added it to my Bible study notes.
Either way... that's just way too many cooks in the kitchen for me.
I don't think that any of his wives cooked meatloaf for dinner either.
Any decent wife would have many aspects of a Proverbs 31 woman. Basically, this type of woman loves and trusts in God and this love is given to her husband. She takes caring for her family very seriously but this is not to say that she doesn't have affection to give or can be playful and amusing at the appropriate times.
Z
Zi
Guest
I don't believe that very many of Proverbial 31 women exist and to remain alone until one is found that meets all of the qualities outlined would probably be fruitless. Even so, if such an exact match existed the relationship would not have a chance unless the man was like Boaz.
I believe that if one desires a lifelong partner in marriage it is best to simply pray for God to search and find a mate of one's heart's desire. Also, if an opportunity arose one must be prepared to act and to not start making excuses out of fear of rejection or commitment.
There will never be a perfect time to marry, if you wait for someone who is perfect and act excessively cautious waiting for all the 't's to be crossed, the 'i's dotted and all green lights you will most likely waste the precious years of the prime of life and will be alone for the rest of your life.
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