Wise-Hearted Women
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Proverbs 1: 7
King James Version
EXPLORATION
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"Wise-Hearted Women"
"Should it be said that the Greeks discovered philosophy by human wisdom, I reply that I find the Scriptures declare all wisdom to be a divine gift."
Clement
What does it mean to be called a "Wise-Hearted" woman?
"True wisdom is gazing at God."
Isaac the Syrian
INSPIRATION
"And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen."
Exodus 35: 25
King James Version
During the last several weeks we have journeyed with the children of Israel as they were released from bondage in Egypt and made their way through the desert to the land promised by God, Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey.
We began our Exodus study with two women I called "life-givers," Shiphrah and Puah, midwives who defied the decree of Pharaoh by protecting the lives of newborn babies. Then we met Pharaoh's daughter, herself a life-giver, who disobeyed her own father's directive to murder babies. Her act of bravery in rescuing Moses, opened our eyes to the affect a Godly mother, Jochebed, had on the life of her child, even though she didn't have many years to train her son, "in the way he should go." We also met Moses' sister, Miriam, the first woman in the Bible to be called a prophet and what a prophet she was. We called her the, "prophet of praise." And then we became acquainted with Zipporah, Moses' wife, who as a priest of Midian's daughter, made a choice to believe the word of the "One" God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
I have taken time to remind us of these six special daughters of God because their lives apply directly to our study on "Worship-Hearted," "Willing-Hearted," and "Wise-Hearted" women. Every one of these women had these three distinct characteristics prominent in their lives.
First, they all made a commitment to put God first. They chose to "worship" God over the decrees of men. This was the first element in their lives and because they put God above everything else, when He came to them and asked for their help, they were "Willing-Hearted" and were immediate in saying, "Yes," when God needed them most.
So let's put these God-given qualities in the order that God did. First, we commit to worship Him. God is supreme in our lives. Second, because God is the ruler of our lives, our "will" is in agreement with Him. We "will" do what He asks us to do. And finally, we will have the heaven-infused wisdom to make the decisions we should.
In Exodus 35: 25, the text for today, we are told that the "wise-hearted" women did spin with their hands and made fine, beautiful cloth for the house of God. Now girls, before we let anyone try to tell us that this was women's work, I'd like to share with you what I believe is the "big-picture" in this verse. The wise-hearted women had special skills that God needed. They could have said, "I will use my skills to make something for myself. I will use my skills to make money so I can gain wealth." Let me be the first to say, none of these reasons would have been wrong. We all need clothes and we all need money to pay our bills.
But the wise-hearted women recognized that if they wanted the "work of their hands" to be truly blessed, they would give their service first to God and then to other endeavors. Isn't this a beautiful lesson for God's daughters, for even the most common daily tasks, when given to God for His honor and His glory become the gifts of a "wise-hearted" woman. And please note, if someone ever "puts down" the work of your hands, as a "wise-hearted" daughter of God, who has God's supremacy at the forefront of her life, no task is ever "menial." "Wise-hearted" women know who is Lord of their lives.
In the very first chapter of Proverbs, Solomon gives us the insight that the "fear of the Lord" or as the Hebrew translation reads: "exceeding reverence and worship of the Lord," is the beginning of knowledge, a "true awareness." Isn't this what we as wise-hearted women want – an awareness of the presence of God in our lives. This is the gift we receive when God is the pre-eminent power of our lives. In the words of Jim Elliot, "Oh, the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on Earth!"
"Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life's problems fall into place of their own accord."
J. I. Packer
AFFIRMATION
"Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord."
Psalm 107: 43
K.J.V.
"O come, O come, thou wisdom
strange from deep within
God's womb to range
The earth at midnight's hours
of fears to make us wise
beyond our years.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Our God shall
leap with light that rouses
us from sleep."
Jim Cotter
Your friend
Dorothy Valcárcel, Author
When A Woman Meets Jesus
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