Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, (Proverbs 1: 8, ESV).

The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him: (Proverbs 31: 1, ESV).

Introduction

We live in a world where Supreme Court Justices cannot identify a woman unless they are a biologist; however, they believe that women have the right to murder her baby in and out of the womb, and men can get pregnant. The world defines personhood however they want. Yet, they cannot determine if an unborn child is a human or not. Many people on the left want to even take away the role of a mother and call her a birthing person. In tumultuous times like these, there needs to be a rising up of godly mothers who train their children in the wisdom and fear of the Lord.

Biblical Personhood and Mothers

The first verse in the Bible where mankind is introduced is Genesis 1:26-28,

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (ESV).

Both men and women were created to rule over all living creatures as God’s representatives. Mankind was created with inherent worth, dignity, and purpose to steward God’s creation. Yet, mankind was also created to have families and raise up stewards of God’s creation (Genesis 2:24). Women were created to bear children, though pain was added after the fall, and men were designed to work and provide for the family, though made harder by the fall (Genesis 3:16-19).

Training Children and Mothers

Both parents are called to train children in the law/instruction of the LORD and the covenant (Deuteronomy 6:4-18, Proverbs 1:8). While male leadership is clearly taught in scripture, women have a clear role in training children and other women (1 Timothy 3, Titus 2:1-8, Proverbs 1:8, 31:1). The teaching of mothers and fathers in the Law of the Lord is vital for one to live the blessed life of wisdom.

In the opening chapter of Proverbs, the obedience to the father’s and mother’s teaching in the Law of the Lord provides honor and regality for one’s person (Proverbs 1:8). The descriptive action shows when one listens to the teaching of a mother, they avoid falling into criminal groups such as gangs, and their own destruction (vv. 9-19). This kind of wisdom practically helps the children in everyday life. One scholar says,

This is a far cry from the not uncommon ancient idea of a wife as chattel and childbearer but no companion. Far from being a cypher, the woman is the making or the undoing of her husband (a God-given ‘boon’, 18:22; 19:14; indeed his ‘crown’; or else ‘rottenness in his bones’, 12:4). On her constructive womanly wisdom chiefly depends the family’s stability (14:1), and if she happens to possess exceptional gifts she will have ample scope for them: the capable wife in 31:10ff. is administrator, trader, craftswoman, philanthropist and guide, whose influence spreads far beyond her home, though it is centred there and though her achievements are (as she would wish) valued most of all for their contribution to her husband’s fortune and good standing (31:11, 23).[1]

A godly woman is a woman who blesses her husband and children in such a way that their life is enriched by her.

A godly woman’s advice for her child can set them up for life. The Proverbs 31 woman is a woman who helps her son in practical everyday living (vv.1-9). She seeks the good of her husband and family in all the practical everyday affairs from selling, gardening, and clothing (vv. 10-29). She seeks and speaks wisdom, and her first desire is to honor the Lord (v. 30).

Conclusion

You don’t have to be a biologist to tell what a woman is. A quick definition of a woman is a human female with xx chromosomes and is created in the image of God. While the culture is stripping women of their womanhood, the church needs to be encouraging women to be who God created them to be. Instead of ripping mothers from their homes and families, women should be honored by the church and community for their roles as image bearers, wives, and mothers. God created women with the wonderful calling of co-stewarding creation, being the more sensitive and softer sex, and being makers of the home and families.

If you want to dive deeper in your knowledge of biblical interpretation, please check you the biblical resources at the store section at strivingforeternity.org/store. There are tons of great resources on biblical interpretation. Keep striving to know and love Jesus more with your life. Lord bless you.

[1] Derek Kidner, Proverbs: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 17, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1964), 46.