THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN
[p. 314] THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN
Proverbs 31:10 - 31; Genesis 2:18 - 24
I desire to say a word in regard of headship, and to seek to show how Christ is reflected here in her to whom He stands in the relationship of Head. The idea of headship is not limited, as most of us know, to the church; it has a wider bearing. A man may be head of his business, head of his family, and head of his wife; each connection suggests a different idea, and it is evident the last is the most intimate. I venture to read from the book of Proverbs because I think it suggests that which underlies the relationship that has been formed between Christ and the assembly; that is, family affection. The book of Proverbs, as many of us have observed, is set in connection with the family; and it was a primary thought with God that He should surround Himself with an order of beings who should stand in relationship with Him as a family. That order of being is man. That is, Wisdom, personifying itself in the early part of the book, intimates that the order of being it had set its mind upon was man. So intensely engaged was Wisdom with that order of being that it rejoiced in the sphere in which man should be placed, “in the habitable part of his earth”, Proverbs 8:31. And then we find, when it comes to the order of being itself, that it is intimated that it would delight in the character of sons; “my delights were with the sons of men”, Proverbs 8:31.
Now I think that gives an idea of the point of view which is taken in the book of Proverbs, and it is remarkable that the writer of the book specially speaks of himself as in that peculiar relationship. He was in the relationship of a son, he tells us, to a father, “tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother”, Proverbs 4:3. Solomon is seen in many connections in the Scriptures, and is a type of Christ in many relations but in this respect he is a type of Christ as having a unique place with God as Man. So that whilst we are related to Christ as His brethren and as His companions, we must ever bear in mind that He has always His distinctive place. In whatever relation the Lord is presented in Scripture you will find that there is always in regard to Him that which distinguishes Him from all others.
Now, if you consider the Lord in regard to sonship, it is perfectly clear that it was in the mind of God to have a company of sons. And in that company He would find continuous sympathy. Hence we are told that when the foundations of the earth were laid the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy, Job 38. We thus have the clear intimation that God intended to have a company near Him, observant of all that He was doing, and being all that they should be in the relation of sons. You will find that the idea of sons is carried all through the Old Testament. I cannot dwell upon it, but it is alluded to, for instance, in the book of Job. In the early operations of God the sons were sympathetic with Him, and upon the earth they present themselves before Him, and they have God before them.
Well now, the Lord stands in relation to the sons, but you will find that the Spirit of God in the Old Testament carefully guards His personal distinctness. In Genesis we find an allusion to it in Isaac’s relationship with Abraham. God says to Abraham, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest”, Genesis 22:2. That is a type of Christ in the unique place in which He stands in relationship with God as an “only one”. It is in that character that He comes out from God and unfolds to us what is in [p. 316] the heart of God; that is, that He will have a company like Himself. And so the book of Proverbs anticipates Christ, for it is only in Christ that you find in a spiritual way the relationships which are contemplated in the setting of the book.
Now in the closing chapters you have two prophecies. Chapter 30 is a distinct prophecy by itself and chapter 31 is another. After the light unfolded by Wisdom has taken effect, the spirit of the prophet looks on to a set of conditions that should prevail. If you look at chapter 30 you will find, as has often been noticed, six sets of four things each, and these conditions arise consequent upon the unfolding of Wisdom. I need not say that the unfolding of Wisdom was in the ministry of Christ. The ministry of Christ involved the preaching of Wisdom, the teaching of Wisdom, and, furthermore, a full unfolding of the history of Wisdom itself. The ministry of Christ brought into evidence the children of Wisdom. According to the point of view presented by the gospel of Luke, “Wisdom is justified of all her children”, Luke 7:35. What you find is that the children of Wisdom are set up here in the midst of those adverse conditions, and that without any alteration of the conditions they fully justify Wisdom.
In chapter 30 we find these different acts of four each. I only refer to it as pointing out the conditions in which the children of Wisdom are placed in this world. The prophet speaks of four evil things, four insatiable things, four inscrutable things, four odious things, four weak but wise things, and lastly, four stately things. I take it that the things that are weak, but wise, refer to christianity. So that chapter 30 announces prophetically the conditions in which we are placed here as illuminated by the ministry of Wisdom. The conditions in which we are found are left as they were, but Wisdom is justified in all her children. Although the early [p. 317] christians were outwardly extremely weak, they were exceedingly wise, they looked to the future, and they were “comely” in their going.
Now chapter 31 is, I think, a prophetic view of the assembly seen in relationship with Christ; and it is of that I wish to speak. I read the passage in Genesis 2 to show how the relationship is formed. Nothing can be greater for our souls to apprehend than the wonderful place that we have as viewed in the light of Christ’s resurrection, for it is in that light that we are suited to be united to Him. To make my thought clear, I would seek to point out that what we are here as individuals in this world is one thought, and what we are in relation to God’s purpose as united to Christ is another point entirely. In regard to the first, we may look upon christians here in this world as God’s family. Nothing can be more precious to the soul of the christian down here than the consciousness that he is a member of God’s family.
I take the family of Bethany; that is, Mary, Martha and Lazarus, as representing in type the family of God. What you will observe in that family, beloved friends, is that they were, as presented to us in Scripture, parentless. Nothing is said about their parents, and this aptly describes our own actual condition here. The Lord severs His connection with His natural relations in John 2. He says to His mother, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?”, John 2:4. He was engaged in His divine ministry with that which was spiritual, not with that which is natural; He was there in regard to a spiritual order of things, forming links between souls and God in a spiritual way. “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24) and if souls are to be set in relationship with God it must be in a spiritual way. Hence His mother had no title to make suggestions to Christ in regard of what He was doing spiritually. He would introduce the new wine, but He would [p. 318] introduce it of Himself, and He did. But whilst He refuses the natural relatives, John, in the development of his gospel, brings to light another family, which the Lord takes up, and we are told that He loved them all. He “loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus”, John 11:5. The Spirit of God is careful to emphasise that He loved each and all.
Now, what I wish to point out is, that as God’s family here in an adverse world the Lord knows our name; He knows every member of the family by name. If one of His family goes into death, as is possible, Christ will abolish death because it has touched that family. It was in the presence of death, as having broken in upon the family at Bethany, in the person of Lazarus, that He was moved in His spirit. He was deeply moved in His spirit; a member of that family had gone into death, and the heart of Jesus was moved because of the presence of death as holding a member of that family which He loved. So if death touches us, and it does touch us, what do we find? You find that the Lord knows your name even there. Be the circumstances ever so dark, be Satan’s power ever so great, the Lord knows your name, just there, and He calls you by name. He says, “Lazarus, come forth!”, John 11:43. Now, that is the Lord’s attitude to God’s family. He takes you up as He finds you. He takes you up according to your identity as born into this world. You are known in this world as born into it, and the Lord takes you up just there, so that in all His dealings with you He makes you to know His divine interest in you. He calls you by name.
Now I want to show you also that each has another name. The names that prevail in this world under the government of God do not prevail in the spiritual world, which world must be ordered by Christ. He has come out of heaven, a new order of Man; “the second man, out of heaven”, 1 Corinthians 15:47. He is God’s Son, who has come out of heaven in a new and spiritual order, and what comes to light is that He gives names to all His own. The conditions that prevail under the government of God here, whilst they become the way of the expression of divine love to us, cannot prevail in the world of God’s counsels. That world must be ordered and dominated by Christ.
Hence you find in John’s gospel that the Lord gives a name to Simon. It is not a question of what he is; it is a question of the Lord having authority to give him a name, and He does so; he is to be called Cephas (Peter), because it is Christ’s will that he should be called Peter. If there is anything that we should maintain clearly in our souls, it is the sovereignty of divine Persons. You should never think of divine Persons acting automatically. They act sovereignly, and hence we see in John’s gospel that if the Lord gives a name, He gives it sovereignly; He has title to give it.
Now, I want to show you how it is that the name the Lord gives in the spiritual world, whilst it is given sovereignly and unalterably, expresses what the thing is. We see this in the case of Adam; whatever name he gave a creature, that was its name. That is a point, the name; that has to be considered. As I have said, He took account of Mary, and Martha, and Lazarus, as they were, and He called them by name; but when you come to the spiritual side, what comes to light is that He gives them a name with divine intelligence. That leads me to the passage I read in Genesis 2. The Spirit tells us, that among all the lower creatures there was not a helpmeet found for Adam. In all the host of God’s creatures there was no helpmeet, no one suited for Adam. Yet there Adam was, head of the creation, acting with the intelligence suited to it;
[p. 320] as each creature was brought to him his intelligence shone in the name he imparted to it, but then the Spirit tells us that he was without a helpmeet.
Now, what I wish you to dwell upon is the antitype, not the type; but after the deep sleep of Adam is past, and the woman is builded, God brings her to him, and he is put to the test. Eve is brought to him; she is a most wonderful creature, and in no instance does Adam’s intelligence shine so brightly as in the name he gives her and in his explanation of the name. He says to Jehovah; “This time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”. That is, referring to each creature as it had been brought to him, he says to Jehovah: “This time” all is changed; This “is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man”.
Thus viewed in the light of Christ’s death and resurrection, we receive a new name. I am not now speaking of what we may receive individually, but of what the assembly is as the counterpart of Christ. He deliberately considers her. When Mary Magdalene came to the Lord in resurrection, she would have renewed the old associations; she would have renewed, as it were, the connection with Bethany. I do not say she was of Bethany, but she represented the family that had affection for Christ whilst He was here upon earth. The Lord says to her, “Touch me not”, John 20:17. The earthly associations must give place to the heavenly. “Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren”, John 20:17. There is the name — “my brethren”. That is the name that the Lord gives us. It expresses what we are to Him in virtue of His resurrection — the brethren of Christ. Now what are the brethren of Christ? What marks them? The sons of God are marked by dignity and liberty. What marks the brethren of Christ? What was Christ down here?
[p. 321] He was a new order of Man; a heavenly Man amongst men, and what marked Him was the tenderest solicitude and care for the welfare of His own. This shone out in chapter 13. It shone at the Supper. That was the spirit of Christ, and it was by that spirit fully set forth in His death, that the love of God was expressed. It is in the light of that that the brethren of Christ are formed. The thought of brethren is that of mutual affection. We stand in relation to Christ, and in relation to one another, beloved friends, in mutual affection, and the Lord views us as being wholly derived from Himself. We have our origin in Christ with no history prior to that. In this connection we stand related to Him, but not in earthly associations. Mount Olivet is in type the scene of heavenly associations. Hence when all was over, after the Supper, they sang a hymn and went to the mount of Olives. He had been accustomed to go there before; in John 8 we are told that He went there; the disciples went to their own homes; “Jesus went to the mount of Olives”, John 8:1. It was His own retreat, and now He leads His disciples there. As His brethren in resurrection we have heavenly links and associations. Our origin is from Him, and He gives us a name that describes what we are. “This time”, says Adam, “it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: this shall be called Woman, because this was taken out of a man”.
Well, it is to that company that Christ is Head, and His headship is known in a spiritual way. I refer to that just for a moment, because upon it depends what is intimated here in Proverbs 31, in the “woman of worth”, the “virtuous woman”. If the assembly is not set up in heavenly relationship with Christ she cannot fully set Him forth here. Her testimony is peculiar to herself, and it depends on her knowledge of Him as her Head, as having [p. 322] given to her a name. I would ask you, Have you any idea of having received a name from Christ? It is well that He knows us by name here, where, under the government of God, we all have names, but it is an entirely different thought to be conscious of having a name from Christ in a spiritual way, to be conscious that the name He has given you is a name that involves your qualification to be united to Him. Adam says, “This time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: this shall be called Woman, because this was taken out of a man”. That, I believe, sets forth the Lord Jesus, giving a name to His assembly, and the form the testimony has taken during the interval of His absence is of a feminine character. The testimony has taken form in the Woman; the Man is out of sight. He is in heaven, and if the Man is not in evidence here, what does that bring to light? It brings to light the character of the Woman. The absence of Christ has become the occasion of the testing of the character of the assembly.
In Proverbs 7 the wicked woman’s husband is away; she says, “the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: he hath taken a bag of money with him”, Proverbs 7:19,20. She has no regard as to how long he is going to stay away, and she is utterly unfaithful to him. She represents that which had a place in relation to Christ, but has proved to be utterly unfaithful to Him and a corruptress of the world.
But what is found in the “woman of worth” is that she thinks of her husband, and what is more precious still, he has full confidence in her. “The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her”. Now, if you consider the assembly’s position here in regard of Christ in this light, it opens up a wonderful field for instruction. As I have been saying, chapter 30 gives us a prophetic outline of the [p. 323] conditions that prevail in the world, while chapter 31 gives us an outline prophetically of the history of the assembly viewed as in relationship with Christ. Therefore we have described in it the true features of the assembly while the Lord is away.
Now, the question arises as to where we are while Christ is absent, where we are in regard of our hearts, our labours, our testimony and our walk. What is it that controls us? Well, I can conceive of nothing that maintains christian testimony at its proper standard, but the light in our souls of our heavenly association with Christ. We are called to that. We have the first place with Christ. We are that family that has the first place in His affections, and, as thus privileged, we have the honour of maintaining for Him whilst He is away.
As to the type set forth here, the first thing noted is that this “woman of worth” is very rare, and then that her husband safely trusts in her. I think it ought to appeal to us in a direct way as to whether the Lord can commit anything to us. Now it seems to me the Lord has graciously committed something to us, and when I say ‘us’ I mean the assembly. I would never use the collective expression in regard of christians in any other light than that of the whole assembly. The Lord committed a great deal to the apostles. Nothing can exceed the beauty of the early chapters of the Acts. There was a company gazing up as Christ went into heaven; they loved Him, and when the cloud received Him out of their sight they were marked by respect for the authority of the Scriptures. For the moment the Scriptures were the sole authority recognised by the apostles. And besides this, they were united in affection and they were all together in one place; they were all of one accord, for they loved Him and loved one another; and it is to that company that the Lord [p. 324] Jesus commits His interests. How much He committed to them! All the vast interests that belong to Christ were committed to that company. Think of the weight of responsibility laid upon them, but, beloved brethren, they were true to it. The Spirit of God shows us that at least for a moment there was a complete answer to the trust and confidence of Christ; they maintained in affection what He had committed to them.
It seems to me that the Lord has committed something to us. I have no doubt that in speaking to Sardis the Lord alluded to the great light of the Reformation. Great light had been vouchsafed, and they were to remember what they had received and heard. But when He comes to Philadelphia He can address the church and say, “thou hast kept the word of my patience”, Revelation 3:10. There was the answer to His confidence; it was not misplaced. The Lord had committed something to her and His confidence was not betrayed. His commendation is this: “thou ... hast kept my word and hast not denied my name”, Revelation 3:8. There is the “virtuous woman”, the “woman of worth”. After Ephesus there is no real answer to Christ in the assembly until you come to Philadelphia, and there there is complete evidence of an answer to the confidence of Christ as to that which He had committed to her.
Surely it is a matter of great concern what we are going to do with what the Lord has committed to us. What are we going to do with it? I am not assuming to lay a burden upon any one. It is a question of what we are going to do with what the Lord has committed to us. I doubt not that the traits of the “virtuous woman” will continue to the end, notwithstanding the ruin. She goes on, and what marks here is that she is true to what has been committed to her, and she makes the most of it. She is active to promote the interests of her [p. 325] husband. She knows her head, so that everything she does is done in order. If it be a question of the order of her house, she looks well to it. There are those who make light of order in the assembly, but be assured of this, that the “virtuous woman” is seen in the order of the house, and she looks well to the ways of her household. Whatever feebleness there may be, there is nothing tolerated that would bring discredit on Him to whom the house belongs.
I cannot dwell upon the detail only to point out one other thing, and that is, in result, that He who has been, as it were, out of sight is known. The headship of Christ is a practical thing. Now the woman is in evidence, and the great result is that when the time comes for Him to sit “among the elders of the land” to take a public place, He is well known. He is known through His wife. “Her husband is known in the gates”. In the future Christ will be identified by that which is of Himself which the assembly sets forth.
What that means for us is, that the spiritual order of things which is to prevail in the assembly publicly is already established there now. Every feature of the order of things that God has in His mind is to find its answer in the assembly, so that “the world to come, whereof we speak” (Hebrews 2:5) is already witnessed to. It is known in testimony now through the “virtuous woman”. Hence the great importance of virtue. What I understand by virtue is ability to refuse what is evil and to maintain what is good. If you have those two things you have what Christ has confidence in; and hence you have testimony. So that when the Lord arrives He has not to announce Himself again, He is known in the assembly; “Her husband is known in the gates”.
Well, it is evident, as I have been saying, that it is of immense importance that we should apprehend our calling. The wonderful place that we have as [p. 326] viewed in relation to Christ risen from the dead, and having a name received from His own lips (Remember that!), involves that we are in every way suited to be His companions in heavenly glory. But in the meantime we are placed down here where all is adverse and our virtue is put to the test, and wherever the test is answered to there is witness for Christ. So that in the future He requires not to announce Himself again; He is known already, and when He takes His place “among the elders of the land” (that is, publicly) he is “known in the gates”.
The Lord grant that our hearts may be true to Him for the little while. You may depend upon it that the enemy is doing all he can to take away from us what God has committed to us, and our responsibility is to maintain tenaciously every interest of Christ until He returns.