She Rises also while it is still night, and gives food to her household. Proverbs 31:15
If ever a passage has been mistranslated, Proverbs 31:15 would be on the list. May I say, translation work is difficult and subject to the opinion of uneducated people like myself. Still, I am fairly shocked when I see what the passage means instead of how it was translated.
This Week
- The Hebrew letter of the week; Vav (or Waw)
- Hebrew word of the week; WaTaaQUWM
- Review of lesson 5
- She takes a stand against darkness
- Conclusion
Vav is the sixth letter. Six represents man who was created on the sixth day. According to Alan Horvath, the basic meaning of Vav is "pitching your tent with Elohim" That sounds about as good as any other teaching I have read.
Here is my Vav lesson if you want a little bit more.
Hebrew word of the week QUWM Did you know that Strong's lists 627 uses of this word? It is usually translated "arise" or "rise up". At first glance it seems to just mean, stop sitting down, but look a little closer.
The vav connects QUWM with the word that comes just before QUWM (pronounced koom) and the tav tells us that the person who is making the stand is a woman.... "and she..." The phrase could easily be, "And she stands" but I do not think that phrase gives a clear picture of what is being communicated. While I did not hit all 625 uses of the word in the Hebrew Scriptures, I looked at a lot of them. I am very comfortable saying that the word means, "take a stand." The word 'AMEN means to "stand firm" meaning that when you have taken a stand do not wimp out or give up on your stand. QUWM is the word used to take that stand in the first place.
Review of Lesson 5 She is like merchant ships; she brings her food from afar. The Warrior of YHVH is not someone who shops the import section of the grocery store. Being like a merchant ship simply means that the wind of the Spirit powers her movement. The food from afar is the bread of life, which Y'shua (Jesus) said that he was. For a full review of lesson 5 click on the underlined phrase "Review of Lesson 5
She stands against the darkness.
As a woman, I want to say that I have nothing against anyone, man or woman, getting up early to fix breakfast for the household. However I do not believe that this is what the Warrior is called to do.Vav, And. The first letter of the verse is Vav which connects this verse to the verse that came before. Verse 15 is going to have something to do with being filled with the Ruwach, the Spirit of the Almighty and the Bread of life (the food from afar).
The next letter, Tav, tells us that it is a woman who accomplishes the verb we are going to look at.
The verb that "she" is doing is QUWM. "And she takes a stand" Getting up early is an option, not a requirement. The Warrior is not getting up while it is still dark, she is taking a stand against the darkness! Often that involves getting up while it is still dark out.
What does it mean to "take a stand against the darkness? Very simply, it is to oppose something. Cain opposed Abel (Genesis 4:8 and the first use of the verb) Baalam "took a stand" when he chose to saddle his ass and go with the princes of Moab (Numbers 22:21). Phinehas (the grandson of Aaron the first Priest) took a stand when he made a decision to pick up his javelin and drive it through the Israelite man and the Midianite woman instead of sitting at the door of his tent weeping about that horrid sin. Each of these uses of the Hebrew word QUWM has been translated "arise" or "rise up" but they mean so much more then no longer sitting down. In point of fact, understanding the meaning of QUEM to be more then merely standing up helps to clarify why the Almighty was so unhappy with Baalam after Numbers 22:20. The Almighty did not tell Baalam to stand up and go with the princes of Moab, but to Make a Stand for Israel and the Almighty. God dd not change his mind, cash changed Baalam's determination.
When the Almighty chose Noah and his three sons to save out of the world, He "took a stand" against the darkness of men. Genesis 6:18 reads, He established a covenant, but the word is QUWM, take a stand,and has been translated "Establish" I'm pretty sure that the Almighty asked men to enter into covenant with Him if they were his. That covenant is how we "take our stand" for the Almighty.
The Apostle John made the concept of light and darkness easy to understand. In John 3:19 he said, "...the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
and again,
John 12:46 "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness
How do we "take a stand" as a warrior? First we must be born again, then we must live for Y'shua -Jesus. And the bread that we feed our household? Y'shua said that HE is the bread of life. Read John 6:27-35. Y'shua said that the bread of heaven gives life to the world, and that HE is that bread. The Valiant Warrior Takes her stand on the Word of God, being born again and living according to the Word of God. And providing bread for her household? I suspect it has something to do with Proverbs 14:12
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
Conclusion: Years ago, in a school chapel, a guest speaker, Pastor Grady Kringen, was trying to explain to an assembly of children from Kindergarten to high school, what it means to take our stand on the Word of the Almighty. He may not have put it quite that way, but it is what he was teaching.
He told us about a woman who had come to him after her husband did some very stupid things. What did he think she should do?
Pastor told her that if she was asking him, he thought that her brothers and pastor should take the man to the wood shed and slap some sense into her fool of a husband. There was a long pause before he said, but that is just what I would do, let's look at the Word of God and find out what the Almighty would want us to do. The wisdom of a believer in one simple paragraph. We want our revenge, but what would the Almighty do?
"But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also;
and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.
Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.
Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."Love your enemies, love them as if they are your own precious child instead of someone you are looking to exact revenge from. A mother loves her child by holding him to a higher standard then other children are held to, AND by knowing his heart and showing mercy even in the midst of discipline. That is how we are to love our enemies! THAT is the stand we are to take against the darkness; That is the bread of life that we are to prepare for those who are with us.
Luke 6:27-38
Take a stand against the darkness beloved, and stand firm!
Mrs. Hagerty, October 20,2014
Updated by MsH December 23, 2015
