The Virtuous Woman and Truth

Blog #38 August 13, 2022
In our studies we have touched on a few Hebrew symbols. The use of the temporal to emphasize the spiritual is a teaching technique used throughout the scriptures the most notable being the parables of Christ's ministry. His disciples questioned the use of these parables that seemed to hide the truth rather than offer it freely. 

Matthew 13:8-12 
13:8 Then the disciples came and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
13:9 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
13:10 For whosoever receiveth, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance;
13:11 But whosoever continueth not to receive, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13:12 Therefore speak I to them in parables; because they, seeing, see not; and hearing, they hear not; neither do they understand.

Christ was trying to explain to His students that use of parables enticed the student to look beyond the temporal and in that effort find the spiritual. Belief in God is about more than just gathering knowledge. Gaining knowledge is the mechanical act of gathering and possessing. It satisfies a need but does little to cause growth and change. To grasp the truth knowledge can bring, one must reach beyond what they can already know and assimilate into their lives the positive aspects within the knowledge gathered. Understanding requires both growth and change. The fullness of this technique and the application of it to the Kingdom were later revealed to Christ's disciples.  

Matthew 16:14-19 
16:14 And when Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?
16:15 And they said, Some say John the Baptist; some Elias; and others Jeremias; or one of the prophets.
16:16 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16:17 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
16:18 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven.
16:19 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Truth and understanding in its fullness is an authority that belongs to God only. For us to understand truth in its fullness, we must go to God through His Spirit and allow our hearts to be open and intimate with Him. This act causes both growth and change. Faith and hope are as much about the diligence we apply to the effort of reaching out to God as it is about possessing the knowledge we seek. We can be told that Christ is our savior and have that knowledge in our minds without changing a thing about our lives. When we seek to reach out beyond our temporal selves and allow God to open our hearts to a full understanding of all Christ's sacrifice means, growth happens and we change. The difference in ourselves mirrors the difference we see in a gathering of believers who rely on ritual and tradition to define their belief and those whose belief defines the life they live and the way that they live it. 

Such is the way of the woman/church we seek. Her teachings prompt the people to open their hearts to God and in that effort they gain understanding, growth, change, and the security of knowing that this process will repeat itself many, many times. 

Proverbs 31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

The symbols we seek to define in this verse are color. Both those used directly and those implied. Snow is a good example and the first one offered.
 
Snow: From Strong's Concordance H7949 sheleg, {sheh'-leg;} from ; snow (probably from its whiteness):—snow(-y).

Snow presents us with an implied color, white. White implies purity, but we must remember that the soul racked with the weight of sin can possess the same level of purity as that of a heart healthy in the Lord and overflowing with the joy of righteousness. We are all familiar with the color white as it portrays the purity of righteousness. 

Mark 9:1-2 
9:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, and James, and John, who asked him many questions concerning his sayings; and Jesus leadeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them.
9:2 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white, as snow; so white as no fuller on earth could whiten them.

On the mount of transfiguration, the righteousness of Christ is displayed as whiteness beyond anything man can achieve. Standing in God's presence Peter, James, and John were allowed to see Christ as God sees Him. This same ability to see as God sees was offered up to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam at a time when Aaron and Miriam were questioning Moses ability to lead the Hebrew nation in the wilderness.  

Numbers 12:1-10 
12:1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
12:2 And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it.
12:3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
12:4 And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
12:5 And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forth.
12:6 And he said, Hear now my words; If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
12:7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
12:8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold; wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
12:9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.
12:10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow; and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

Does this teach that leprosy is a judgment of God? No, it shows that the purpose within our heart defines the purity we are capable of achieving. The sickness of leprosy kills the body in the same way that pride and rebellion kills the soul. In Miriam the white of leprosy signified the purity of rebellion. Because of the strength afforded by the presence of God, the woman/church we seek is aware that purity in and of itself is not holy. She defines the purity she seeks for her family symbolized by the color scarlet. 

Proverbs 31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

Scarlet has always been known as a color significant of earthly authority. Rulers both temporal and spiritual, from tribes of Native America, to the Emperors of Rome and China used scarlet to denote their authority in the world of man. In fact, it has been used to describe and define the sins of mortal man and their lust for this authority.

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

With the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, attitudes and definitions changed greatly. Christ's blood was shed that all mankind might choose to recognize this sanctifying act as sufficient for the cleansing of sin from their life. Scarlet now becomes the color of salvation. The authority of Christ's sacrifice through the repentance it affords us can save us from a life of sin as well as redeem us from thoughtless acts of unrighteousness and a rebellious heart. It is still a color that speaks of authority, but in Christ that authority is not of man. It is in God and of God. 

Alma 3:49 That your garments have been cleansed and made white, through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?

It has come to represent the authority of God's purpose of redemption of humanity. The Hebrew children gave us a glimpse of this in the time of Joshua as they sought to occupy God's promised land. In Jericho, Rehab the prostitute offered sanctuary to the Hebrew spies. In return she received the protection of God in the coming destruction.

Joshua 2:18-19 
2:18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by; and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.
2:19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless; and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.

Proverbs 31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

The woman/church we seek will never fear the living death of worldly lust within her people, because her efforts have clothed them in the authority of God's redemptive purpose. Though they will face the challenge of both the temptation of man and the justice of God, the mercy of the Father through the sacrifice of Christ will seek out the hearts of the fallen and through the purity of a repentant heart, they will be saved.

Psalms 34:18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Proverbs 31:22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

Tapestry: From Strong's concordance H7234 marbad, {mar-bad'}; from ; a coverlet:—covering of tapestry.

Tapestry: From the Marion-Webster Dictionary, a heavy hand-woven reversible textile used for hangings, curtains, and upholstery and characterized by complicated pictorial designs

More than anything, tapestries or coverings were used as a testimony of intent and purpose. 

Exodus 26:1 Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet; with cherubim of cunning work shalt thou make them.

Proverbs 7:16-19 
7:16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
7:17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
7:18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning; let us solace ourselves with loves.
7:19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey;

In the Tabernacle of God the tapestries portrayed for the people the presence of God. For the strange woman of Proverbs the tapestries and coverings told of lust and sinful love. Both testified of intent and purpose. 

Exodus 26:1 Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet; with cherubim of cunning work shalt thou make them.

Examine if you will the makeup of the tapestries of the Tabernacle and denote the symbols used. The picture woven into the coverings was that of cherubim. They are God's guarding angels. They forever stand between the sinful world of man and the righteous perfection of God's Kingdom.

Genesis 3:31 So I drove out the man, and I placed at the east of the garden of Eden, cherubim, and a flaming sword, which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Once again we are face with the symbols of color.

Proverbs 31:22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

On the color wheel purple is a secondary color made by combining the primary colors of red and blue. We have just discussed the color red. What does blue bring to the table?

Blue: This color was used by God to denote His presence in the life of His children. It gives testimony to man's awareness of the justice of God and the mercy of remembrance and repentance.

Numbers 15:38-40 
15:38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments, throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue;
15:39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring;
15:40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.

Scarlet: We have determined that scarlet is a color representing the authority of God's redemptive purpose. Christ's blood shed at Calvary was given by God the authority to cleanse and redeem all those who would allow themselves to be sanctified by Christ's labor. 

Purple: The color purple is the product of a mixture of blue and red. It testifies of the justice of God, which is death from sin, and His mercy, which is the redemptive power of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 

Proverbs31:22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

By understanding the symbols used we can see that the church/woman we seek embodies the testimony of Christ, and God's willingness to redeem and protect His children from the scourge of sin and the death it brings. She covers both herself and her household in this witness and causes them to be a living testimony to the world of God's love, His power, and His wish for all that will accept His everlasting covenant and His sanctifying love.

Romans 4:7 Saying, Blessed are they through faith whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

The word God takes on many different forms and in covenant through His Spirit we become privy to understandings that are beyond the ability of the natural man. It is the labor of the woman/church to work within God's design to open our minds to all the wonderful ways God has of filling the hearts of His children with the many truths of His Kingdom. Let your heart be filled with His Spirit and understand His design to its fullness.

Grow in Him.

FRED