Proverbs 31 Woman vs. Titus 2 Woman - Part 1: "But SHE worked..."

I have edited this post this morning, after receiving a question that needed to be answered IN the post.



In yesterday's post, I mentioned a young woman who said, "[The Bible] doesn't say we CAN'T have a job."  In the Far Above Rubies community, the majority of you liked the post, loved it, and agreed with what I shared from my heart.  Some did not, as expected.

I also got an email from a gentleman asking me, "What about the Proverbs 31 woman?  She worked."  And the same young lady who made the statement from yesterday's post also said the following:

"You keep talking about the 'Titus 2 woman'.  Well, I'm not trying to BE a 'Titus 2 woman', I am pursuing being the 'Proverbs 31 woman', and SHE worked."


So, today, I want to look at this comparison.  Let's start with the obvious.

Proverbs 31 Woman:                                            Titus 2 Woman:

Old Testament Example                                     New Testament Example

Jewish                                                                 Christian

With only those two details, why do we go to the Proverbs 31 woman as THE text on which we base our decision to work or not.  We follow the New Testament for understanding the covenant we have with the Lord--that we are not under Law, but under grace.  We go to the New Testament to find truth about other areas of life such as marriage, parenting, how to do church, etc.  But we go back to the OLD Testament as the Scripture behind choosing differently than Paul told Pastor Titus to teach as sound doctrine?


I heard pastor David Platt say that the text from the chapter of Proverbs 31 is primarily a text for young, single men to study!  The passage in Proverbs 31 was originally an acrostic a mother told to her son.  It comes from the Hebrew alphabet, and was written for a young man to be able to remember the description of what he should be looking for in a woman before considering her as his wife.


I am in NO way discrediting the text from Proverbs 31, for we know that "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."  


This is just the place to begin as we look at how the text from Proverbs 31 comes into play in the life of a Christian woman, when compared to the text from Titus 2:4-5 in the New Testament.  I will be digging deep to share how this text, and the text that the name of this blog came from, applies to our lives today! 


My first question to answer in another post is "Are they describing the same woman?"  Tell me what you think in the comments!


More to come on this subject as I study further how the Proverbs 31 woman is similar and/or different than the Titus 2 woman...Stay tuned!