The Sticky Woman - Proverbs 14

Proverbs 14 is filled with an array of wisdom for life and godliness. The first verse states "the wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down."

The Word for father in the OT, pronounced AV or transliterated AB or in Hebrew ba…without going into a lesson in Hebrew, this is where the word Abraham comes from…he was the “father” of all nations. His ancestor EVR or EBER means “to cross over.” The Hebrew line were the ones that God chose to “cross over” from death to life. The word AV (short vowel sound for the ‘a’) ba, shows the first letter (reading right to left) as a picture of a bull with horns. The father was the bull—the strong one. The b show a picture of a blueprint for a house with a pole in the center. The pole in the center would have a sharpened point that allowed the center stake to be driven into the ground; it was also used as a weapon where it could be used quickly in case of attack. Thus the father of the house is the strong leader and protector of his house. The mother, ma is also the strong one, but the letter m conveys a picture of water. According to Jeff Benner in the Ancient Hebrew Language and Alphabet, the mother was one who boiled the hides of animals in the water to make glue. The sticky substance that would rise to the surface during this process was extracted and used for glue. The mother therefore is the strong one who holds the family together.

In Proverbs 14, the wisest of women builds her house. In Titus we learn that the aged women were to be in behavior that becomes holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the Word of God be not blasphemed.

We live in a day where fathers and husbands are no longer the strong leader protector of their home and mother wives are no longer the strong glue that holds everything together (men cannot hold the family together like a woman!). When we focus on our roles and diligently pursue what is important to God, the family flourishes. Husbands, we are to dwell with our wives according to knowledge, giving honor to them, as the weaker vessel…it is not their role to be provider and protector, it is ours. This doesn’t mean that a mother and wife cannot be gainfully employed as was the woman in Proverbs 31. It does mean that she should not be gainfully employed at the expense of her first priority, that of being the strong glue that holds her family together…so that the Word of God be not blasphemed. The world needs what we have…let’s attract them to our redeeming God through the beautiful display of our proper God-given roles.