This is Spoken Gospel.

We are dedicated to seeing 
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s 
happening in a Biblical text  

and how it sheds light on
Jesus and His Gospel.

Let’s jump in.

In the last chapter of Proverbs, 
we hear from King Lemuel.

More specifically, we hear the 
wisdom of King Lemuel’s mother.

She taught Lemuel what
it means to be a noble king

and shaped his understanding 
of what makes a valiant wife.

While kings often use their power
selfishly, Lemuel’s mother taught him 

that a king should not
be ruled by his passions.

Kings are not meant for either women or
wine but for service.

Kings advocate for those who have no voice
and provide justice for those who are oppressed.

Noble kings also look for noble wives.

It’s not insignificant that Proverbs 
begins by depicting Wisdom as a woman  

and then ends with the wisdom of a 
wise queen describing a wise woman.

Moving from an allegorical woman to 
a flesh-and-blood wife shows us that

wisdom is not simply a mental 
pursuit, but a concrete virtue.

This valiant wife is a role model.

Women should want to be like her, men should want to
marry her, and all seekers of wisdom should want
to incarnate her wisdom in their own life.

This woman is a hero to her husband, 
her community, and her children.

Unlike so much ancient and modern literature, there’s
no preoccupation with her body or her curves. 

There’s no fencing a wife’s 
responsibilities to silence and domesticity.

Instead, she’s an entrepreneur, 
a teacher, and a philanthropist.

Scholars point out that Proverbs 31 has more in common
with Israel’s heroic hymns than any other genre.

While hidden to us in English, the poem is filled with
words and images normally reserved for military campaigns.

This woman “stretches out her 
arm to the … spindle” just like  

we’re told God’s outstretched 
arms saved Israel from Egypt.

This valiant queen in the everyday tasks 
of providing clothes and making money  

is God’s instrument for good 
and justice in the world.

Lemuel’s mother hoped that her 
son would be a selfless king,  

and that he would marry the 
valiant queen she described.

If we are single, we can worry we’re not 
the “marriage material” described by Lemuel.

If we are married, we have lots of evidence that
shows how we fall short of Proverbs 31’s standards.

But the apostle Paul tells us that both Lemuel’s mother’s
wish and our feelings of inadequacy are best 
resolved in Jesus’ relationship to his Church.

Paul tells husbands that the purpose of 
marriage is to depict and symbolize Jesus’  

love and pursuit of his
valiant wife, the Church.

Like the king described by Lemuel’s mother,
Jesus did not come to be served with wine or women, 
but to serve and give his life for his bride.

And Jesus serves his bride by transforming 
her into the bride she is meant to be.

Jesus erases the evidence of how she
falls short and makes her valiant and wise.

When we say “I do” to Jesus, he presents us
as strong, wise, honest, compassionate, and pure.

He transforms us to consider not
just our own family, but also the poor.

Jesus strengthens us to stretch 
out our hand to the hard work of  

justice and mercy until
his Kingdom comes again.

While we often fall short, like a good 
husband Jesus is forgiving of what we’ve done.

And he is devoted to making us wise 
kings and queens in his Kingdom.

May the Holy Spirit open your eyes
to see the God who is a selfless King.

And may you see Jesus as the faithful husband 
who pursues and makes his bride wise and strong.