Proverbs 31:11
“The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.”
Trust– to hie for refuge but not precipitately
Need– lack, fail, want, less
Spoil– goods taken from an enemy in war, or anything taken by force or other injurious means
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her…
When I read the definition for “trust” in my go-to Bible study tool, the Strong’s Dictionary, I actually did not know what “hie” or “precipitately” meant, so I researched the definitions for both of those words as well. Hie means “to go quickly”. Precipitately means “to act in a very sudden or quick manner, usually without enough care or thought”. So, this definition is saying “to go quickly to for refuge, but not without thought”. Her husband’s heart trusts in her and finds refuge in her, but not in such a hastily and thoughtless way that he will regret it in the future. He can run to her without thought or worry because he has found her faithful time and time again.
I am not ashamed to say that my husband is a great source of refuge for me. I go to him when I am stressed or overwhelmed, when I am hurt or discouraged, when I am anxious or afraid, and he is there to comfort me and encourage me in just the way that I need. Now don’t get me wrong, there are times when my soul needs help and my husband cannot help me and, in those times, I need to go to my Heavenly Father. But God chose to give us the gift of a husband, an earthly companion who can be there for us in a special way.
In the same way that I need that type of companion, so does my husband. He also has times when he feels stressed, overwhelmed, hurt, discourages, anxious, afraid, and what an honor it is that I can be a refuge for him in return. In most cases, the husband has to go out of the home each day to make a living for his family and let’s be honest, the world out there can be brutal. As his wife, we are his “home” in a sense. Houses come and go but we will forever be the one that he comes “home” to. May we be there with open arms that he can fall into, with open ears that he can confide in, and open hearts that he can rely on to love him through all of life’s ups and downs.
He shall have no need of spoil
When I tried to look up the definition of “spoil” in my Strong’s Dictionary, there was no further explanation for this word. The definition was just “spoil”. So, I decided to do some more research and I found the above definition in a Bible study article. You can find that article here. In other words, “spoil” is substance that is obtained in violent and/or unlawful ways. He will have no need to go out and bring in provisions for his family in an ungodly or immoral way because, when he makes an honest living, his wife is careful to appreciate and use those goods wisely.
As a stay at home wife and mother, I cannot imagine the pressure of financially providing for an entire family. Especially in the day that we live in and the economy that we are dealing with, many families find themselves needing two incomes in order to make ends meet. I am very thankful and I do not take for granted the fact that God has blessed our family and allows me to stay home and raise our children and tend to our home full time. With that being said, my husband carries the full financial weight of our family. In addition to my many other blessings, God has blessed me with an honest and hardworking man who leaves the comfort of our home each day to work and earn money to provide for our family.
In this verse, Proverbs 31:11, we are shown that the duty of a Godly wife is to take the money that her husband earns and distribute it wisely and carefully in order to make it go as far as possible. If a woman is careless and wasteful with the provisions that her husband brings in, he can feel pressure to bring in more and more and, if his “honest work” isn’t bringing in enough to compensate for her spending, he may be tempted to resort to unlawful and ungodly measures to fill in the gaps.
There are many ways that we can live out this responsibility given to use by God. Check out the rest of our Proverbs 31 Series to find practical applications. As always, you are welcome to reach out to me at brannigan@fromonebeggartoanother.com with any questions or comments that you may have.
