Proverbs 31
A Preview of Proverbs 31:10-31
Bathsheba did her best to set her son on the right path in marriage by giving him an acrostic on the subject.
In an acrostic, each verse begins with a Hebrew letter, following in Hebrew alphabetical order. There are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and everyone of the twenty-two verses in Proverbs 31:10-31 begins with a Hebrew letter. For example, verse 10 begins with aleph, verse 11 with beth, verse 12 with giymel and so on.
Furthermore, each one of the Hebrew letters is a depiction of its meaning, adding even greater depth to our understanding of the verse. Psalms 25, Psalms 27, and Psalms 119, and the entire book of lamentations are all acrostics.
In writing this as an acrostic, I believe, Bathsheba is making the Word of God simple for her inattentive, scatter-brained teenager. It is simple to remember and simple to understand.
The Proverbs 31:10-31 acrostic begins and ends with the man, while the virtuous woman is spoken of in between. This is symbolic of how the wife’s life begins and ends with her husband, just as the Church’s life begins and ends with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:25-2725 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (ESV)
Notice that verse 25 is past tense, verse 26 is present tense and verse 27 is future tense. The Church began after Jesus, the aggressor and initiator, gave Himself for her and was resurrected. Now He is continuously maturing her and cleansing her as she responds to His Word. In the future He will present her to Himself in perfection, the Bride of Christ.
Bathsheba’s acrostic in Proverbs 31 is laid out in the same manner, with the husband in the beginning and final verses and the wife in the middle.
