Proverbs 31: Week Forty-Nine | The Wolfe Notes

Welcome to week forty-nine of our Proverbs 31 journey. This week includes topics of deception, vanity, and humankind's intended purpose. If you'd like to return to one of our previous stops, let our "Wolfe Notes" guide you. 

• In January we examined our value with the help of Proverbs 31 verses 10 and 29.
• In February we learned what uplifting means by looking at Proverbs 31:11 and 23.
• In March, we considered the virtue of respect by studying Proverbs 31:12 and 28.
• In April, we trained to be hardworking with Proverbs 31:13 and 19 as our instructors.
• In May, we saw what it takes to be resourceful by examining Proverbs 31:14 and 21. 
• In June, we developed our caring muscle by exercising Proverbs 31:15 and 22.
• In July, we practiced being savvy with help from Proverbs 31:16 and 27.
• In August, we witnessed exemplary behavior outlined in Proverbs 31:18 and 31.
• In September, we found what being necessary looks like from Proverbs 31:20 and 24.
• In October, we exercised strength in Jesus from Proverbs 31:17 and 25.
• In November, we rehearsed being well-spoken by looking to Proverbs 31:26 and 28.
• In December, we reflect on becoming godly by looking to Proverbs 31:30 and the entire poem.

If you're ready to travel with us, welcome! Grab your December calendar with daily activities, the lamp for your feet (the Bible), and let's get going! We're journeying through the concluding poem of Proverbs and we're so glad you decided to walk along this road with us! Imagine that as we walk, we're talking about the daily activities. Our side of the discussion is outlined below. What would you add? How would you challenge us? (Ideas that are our thoughts alone are designated with an *.)

Contents:

*Initial Interpretation of Proverbs 31:30.
What is Weird? Research something you find odd about the verse.

About Deception from various sources.

About Vanity from various sources.
Other Versions of Proverbs 31:30 and writing your own.
Commentaries of Proverbs 31:30.
Cross References of Proverbs 31:30

*Initial Interpretation

Of Proverbs 31:30.

Don't seek what is useless and worldly. The desire to be liked by others invites manipulation, and fretting over appearances distracts you from what really matters. Instead, grow in respect and knowledge of God, then your efforts will return faithfulness and truth.

What is Weird?

Research something you find odd about the verse.

It doesn't match what is true in the world. The world prizes popularity, favor, and attractiveness, but faithful discipleship to Jesus - not so much. Would a mother today advise her son similarly?

"Top 10 Traits Men Want in a Wife" 2008, by Jenna Goudreau Forbes

• Mutual attraction
• Dependable Character (faithfulness)
• Emotionally Stable 
• Education and Intelligence 
• Pleasing Disposition

"Americans see different expectations for men and women" 2017, by Parker et al. at Pew Research Center

• Valued in Men: Honesty/Morality 33%; Professional/Financial Success; Ambition/Leadership
• Valued in Women: Physical Attractiveness 35%; Empathy/Nurturing/Kindness 30%; Intelligence 22%

"Women and men still choose partners like they used to" 2020 by Steinar Brandslet at Norwegian SciTech News

• Men Want: Attractive, younger women.
• Women Want: Security from good financial prospects and older, healthy men.
• Both Want: Intelligence and friendliness.

"Dating Statistics in 2023" 2023 by Jessica Booth at Forbes

• More than half: Prioritize self-care while dating 80%; Expect emotional maturity from their partner 63%
• Less than half: Seek a good work/life balance 49%; Are open to dating someone who is not their ideal type 38%; Want an open relationship 34%

*Conclusions: Religion, or fearing God doesn't surface at all but beauty and favor still do. The age of the articles suggest that we're not as concerned in finding a partner as we used to be but instead are more focused on fulfilling personal goals. Today's verse might read: "Success is deceitful and riches are vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."

About Deception

From various sources.

Hebrew from Bible Hub

• sheqer: deception, disappointment, falsehood (*None of us are truly favored by another as God favors us)
• Other uses: lying, wrongfully, treacherously
• In Proverbs 31:30: deception through the grace of a person

Definition from Merriam Webster

1. getting someone to accept a falsehood as truth
2. a trick

"3 Brands of Deception Satan Uses to Blind Us" by Colin Smith at Open the Bible

• The "god of this world" - Satan - works to bring blindness to human minds (2 Corinthians 4:4)
• All lies ultimately originate from him (John 8:44)
• Their purpose is to prevent us from seeing the Light of the World, Jesus (John 8:12)
• Brand 1: Vanity Psalm 12:2 Everyone utters lies (emptiness, literally) to his neighbor
• Talk about God is avoided because it feels too heavy.
• Satan's aim: to keep you from ever thinking about what really matters - Jesus. These lies, or vanities, serve as distractions.
• Brand 2: Flattery Psalm 12:2 With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
• Flattery is saying only what people want to hear and hearing only what you want other people to say.
• Result: You miss the truth because the truth isn't comfortable. The truth: we are not holy.
• Isaiah 30:10 reflects the desire of a human enticed by flattery: "Do not prophesy to us what is right, speak to us smooth things."
• The truth: the work of the Holy Spirit begins when you are convinced of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Flattery blocks the light by providing desired comfort or ease from the truth
• The only place we should be looking for praise, is from God: "But, how can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from God." John 5:44
• Brand 3: Blasphemy Psalm 12:4 With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?
• Defined:
• Generally - in defiance we assign power and authority to ourselves instead of to God
• Formally: 
1. the act of insulting or showing contempt for God
2. the act of claiming the attributes of deity
• *Conclusions: Favor is a distraction, it keeps you comfortable and gives you power - but it is a lie because only God's favor, words, comfort, and power are true.

Scripture from Open Bible

• John 8:44 NASB: You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speak from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
• Proverbs 12:22 NIV: The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.
• Galatians 6:7-8 NIV: Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
• Proverbs 10:9 ESV:  Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.
• Romans 12:2 NASB: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
• James 1:22 NASB: But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves.
• Galatians 5:16 ESV: But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

About Vanity

From various sources.

Hebrew from Bible Hub

• hebel: vapor, breath
• Other Uses: delusion, emptiness, fleeting, fraud, futility, idols, worthless
• In Proverbs 31:30: figurative of what is evanescent, unsubstantial, worthless, vanity, as of idols

Definition from Merriam Webster

1. inflated pride in oneself or one's appearance: CONCEIT
2. empty, useless

"'How You Look is Who You Are': The Lie Mirrors Often Tell" by Tanner Swanson at Desiring God

• WORLDVIEW: We treat beauty as a means to self-worth. To be beautiful is to be as attractive to as many eyes as possible. But, beauty is fleeting - a breath. We fight to hold onto as much of it as we can
• GOD'S VIEW: 
• True beauty is found in the heart. (Samuel 16:7) 
• True beauty comes from pursuing Jesus. 
• It is not a beauty of appearance (Isaiah 53:2-3: [Jesus] had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.)
• It is a beauty that comes from loving and self-sacrificing for the good of others (Isaiah 53:5 He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.)
• It does not fade because we are:
• Possessed forever (Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.)
• Eternally clothed in Christ's love (Galatians 2:20  ...I no longer live, but Christ lives in me....)
• Hidden in the eternal beauty of Christ (Colossians 3:3 ...your life is now hidden with Christ in God.)
• Striving to become more like-hearted to God's Son (2 Corinthians 3:18...we all...are being transformed into his image...)
• PHYSICAL BEAUTY: Can be used to enjoy and exalt God rather than self
• *Conclusion: Seek beauty that lasts: the beauty of being transformed into Christ's likeness.

Scripture from Open Bible

• Ecclesiastes 1:2 KJV: Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
• Psalm 39:5 NLT: You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at beast, each of us is but a breath.
• Ecclesiastes 2:11 ESV: Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. 
• Psalm 119:37 NASB: Turn my eyes away from looking at what is worthless, And revive me in Your ways.
• I Samuel 16:7 MEV: But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 

*Conclusions: Physical beauty is empty, meaningless, and fleeting. Pursuing it is a form of idolatry because our only pursuit should be God.

Other Versions 

Of Proverbs 31:30 and writing your own.

Phrase-by-Phrase

• Favor (grace, charm) is deceitful (deceptive, a lie, can fool you, can mislead): pleasing ways lie; deceivable grace; the grace is false. Hebrew - charm, graciousness, subjective, objective, favor, grace, also adornment, pleases. In Proverbs 31:30 of form and appearance - favor, grace, elegance: also Proverbs 11:16, Nahum 3:4, Proverbs 5:19.
• And beauty (fairness) is vain (will not last, fleeting, comes to nothing, is passing, fades, can trick you, evaporates, doesn't last, disappears, vapor that vanishes, will not be forever): 
• But a woman that feareth [reverently worshipping, obeying, serving & trusting Him with awe-filled respect, honors, dreadeth] the Lord,: 
• she shall be praised.: she may boast herself / should be praised above all others / is to be / will be greatly / she makes herself praiseworthy / the woman to be admired & praised / will receive honor / deserves to be

Significantly Different Versions

• NET: Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting. A woman who fears the LORD - she makes herself praiseworthy.
• YLT: The grace [is] false, and the beauty [is] vain, A woman fearing Jehovah, she may boast herself.
• EASY: A woman may seem to be beautiful, but that can deceive people. Her body will not be beautiful for ever. But a woman who respects the Lord with fear will receive honor.
• NLV: Pleasing ways lie and beauty comes to nothing, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.
• WYC: Fairness is deceivable grace, and vain; that woman, that dreadeth the Lord, [she] shall be praised. 

Wolfe Stew Versions:

• Actions lie and bodily physique fades, WISDOM alone is to be praised (sought-out, pursued).
• Good deeds can be misleading and even well-constructed buildings deteriorate, it is only GOD'S PEOPLE who will be honored.
• As a GODLY WIFE: Living to please others is a distraction and working to be considered attractive is hollow. But, reverently seeking the praise of God is worthy of your relentless pursuit.
• PERSONALLY: Don't dwell on acceptance by or attractiveness to others. Set your mind on God alone - that's where true praise is found.
• RELATIONALLY: Feelings lie, attraction fades, but a union forged in God, that will be praised.
• INTELLECTUALLY: Opinions falter, passions ebb and flow, but a mind committed to learning The Truth will end with treasures untold.
• SPIRITUALLY: Emotions are fickle, passions flicker, but a steady companionship spent in dutiful worship to your King will return unspeakable JOY

Commentaries

Of Proverbs 31:30 from Bible Hub.

• Favor is deceitful,
• Grace of a personal manner - Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
• Or beauty, because that's how women commonly attain favor - Poole
• He who estimates the works of a wife merely by the loveliness of her external appearance has been deceived by it. - Keil & Delitzsch
• Likely meant beauty here. Mere gracefulness, if considered a token of a wife's work and usefulness, is misleading. - Pulpit
• Is deceitful because it is a false representation of the person - a cover to a deformed soul - too many hateful and evil qualities, does not give the satisfaction that was desired. - Poole
• and beauty is vain,
• transitory - Keil & Delitzsch; Pulpit
• but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
• value is only measured by that which endures - morality, piety - Keil and Delitzsch
• returns us to the maxim at the beginning of Proverbs 1:7 (The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.) also the conclusion of Ecclesiastes 12:13 (Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.) - Pulpit
• taken notice of and highly valued by the Lord - Gill
• I Peter 3:3-4: Your beauty should not come from outward adornment...Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. - Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
• and out of regard for Him perform the duties of life as the "virtuous woman" here described - Ellicott

*Conclusions: None of the commentators interpret beauty and favor differently. Instead they couple them to represent outward appearances. But, I think grace, or favor, can refer to a facade you raise to get people to like you which may or may not include your physical appearances. Interesting that this verse at the end of Proverbs reflects back to Proverb's beginning. To me, that's more support that this poem is meant for all - not women exclusively.  All in all, fearing God, and Him alone, is what is praiseworthy. Which may be a continuation of our husband's (Jesus Christ's) thoughts to us (His church) starting in 29 (...her husband also and he praiseth her) and ending in 31 (Give her of the work of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.)

Cross References

Of Proverbs 31:30

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man

• Initial Interpretation: The only concern of ours, our only aim: fear God. Keep His commandments. That's it. Don't overcomplicate it.
• Hebrew: When everything has been intelligently considered, the end - the conclusion of what matters in life is this: Fear God and keep [guard, protect] His commandments because this is the whole of man [*what makes man complete].
• Commentaries:
• It's almost as if here Solomon is anticipating the teaching of Romans 3:29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles. Yes, of the Gentiles also: - Ellicott
• The entire book of Ecclesiastes was an investigation into man's works and what matters, the conclusion being "all is vanity" (*like beauty, falsehoods, distractions) apart from God. - MacLaren
• The full ideal of man, as originally contemplated, revealed wholly by Jesus Christ alone - although Him by saints, now in part, hereafter perfectly. (I John 3:22-24; Revelation 22:14) - Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
• *Conclusion: Ecclesiastes 12:13 mirrors the conclusion of Proverbs 31 which lists examples of things we think are important - favor & beauty - and ends by telling us the only thing that really matters: Fearing God.

Romans 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

• Initial Interpretation: Now, because of Christ, we don't perform for men but for God. We cut away things of this world - vanities like beauty and favor - and receive praise from God, not from men. We labor for God's praise, not man's. 
• *Conclusion: Beauty and favor are acts that seek praise from men; our true labor is to fear God and seek praise from Him.

Final Thoughts

My mind settles on the Ecclesiastes 12:13 verse, which essentially says, "I've thought deeply and investigated thoroughly to find life's significance. In the end, it all comes down to this: Fear God; follow His commandments." That's it. I must learn to keep it simple, to shove all invading thoughts aside. If it's not about God, if it's not in line with His way, I must discard it. 

Father God, fear of You is intricately woven into the very fabric of who I am and is as essential as the breath in my lungs. You are my existence. Teach me discernment, the process of identifying that which is good for me. And as I come to recognize what is of You and what is not, help me discard each contrary thought, word, action, and interaction while faithfully guarding that which is good.

Growing with You,

Ready for Week 50?

Sample these related posts:

To review last week's notes about choosing God's wisdom and instruction.

To reflect on being godly with us.

To practice simplicity.

To celebrate inner beauty.

To consider how God values you.

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