How does Proverbs 31:13 relate to the women's actions in Exodus 35:25? Introducing the Two Verses • Proverbs 31:13: “She selects wool and flax and works with willing hands.” • Exodus 35:25: “Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.” Common Threads—Literally and Spiritually • Same raw materials – Wool and flax in Proverbs 31 – Linen (from flax) and colored yarns in Exodus 35 • Same tool: their own hands • Same heart attitude: willingness and skill offered to serve Diligence and Industry • Proverbs 31 highlights constant initiative—“works with willing hands.” • Exodus 35 shows that initiative expressed corporately—women “spun with their hands” for the tabernacle. • Both passages underline hard work as honorable (cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:10–12; Colossians 3:23). Service Directed Toward God • The virtuous woman’s labor benefits her household (Proverbs 31:15, 21). • The Exodus women’s spinning directly supports worship by furnishing God’s dwelling place. • Together they reveal that everyday skills become sacred when offered to the Lord (Romans 12:1). Willing Hearts, Willing Hands • Proverbs 31 woman “works with willing hands.” • Exodus 35:29 describes “every willing man and woman whose heart moved them.” • Skill plus willingness equals acceptable worship (1 Chronicles 28:9). Skill as God-Given and God-Used • Exodus 35:35 notes that God “has filled them with skill.” • Proverbs 31 implies cultivated excellence; verse 18: “Her lamp does not go out at night.” • God supplies ability; His people cultivate and deploy it (1 Peter 4:10). Generosity and Community Impact • The Proverbs woman “extends her hand to the poor” (v. 20). • The Exodus women donate their handiwork freely for the tabernacle. • Both models show generosity fueled by diligence (Acts 20:34–35). An Example for Every Generation • Use your gifts—domestic, professional, artistic—for God’s purposes. • Cultivate skill; then volunteer it for the work of Christ’s body (Ephesians 4:16). • Let willingness govern every task, big or small, because the Lord sees (Hebrews 6:10). |
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