Proverbs 31:10-31
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This is one of the best loved pieces of wisdom literature in the entire Bible. The virtuous woman or excellent wife is a woman of great capacity. Depending on the context, this word can refer to great wealth, strength, or ability. David’s mighty men of valor were heroes of great capacity/excellence/virtue—same word used here.

No one can read this passage without wondering whether it describes some legendary super woman. “This exalted portrait . . . belongs in an art gallery, not in a house. ‘Who measures up to the ideal?’” ~Powell.

It is an ideal, a composite, a portrait of a strong and gifted woman whose rank and station in life give her opportunity to manifest her extraordinary capacity. I’ve heard more than one godly woman express some sense of failure at ever coming close to measuring up.

The last thing I want to do today is to make our sisters in Christ feel depressed. That would divert the passage from its purpose—to display what godly women are capable of as they are given opportunity and to call all of us to value their worth as we should. We do not want to rob the passage of its robust character, nor reduce the praise that women of such capacity deserve.

Not every woman is part of the wealthy class—this woman is. Not every woman is married to a community leader—this woman is. Our opportunities and our abilities vary, but there is much here that will manifest itself in every woman who really loves the Lord.

Matthew 21:33-46

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Jesus shifts to the consequences of fruitlessness and exposes the rebellion of it.

I. Rebellion Expressed (33-39)

Fruitlessness has at its root the poison of rebellion. God owns the vineyard, nation, religion, heavens, and earth. God rightly expects fruitfulness from what He owns, that is their created purpose. Humans are ever renting, using God’s land, dependent on God’s kindness. Rebellion manifests itself by the tenants treatment of the Master’s servants sent to gather his fruit—the prophets.

How do you respond to those who speak the Word of God to you—a parent, a pastor, a brother, a friend? Those who speak God’s Word are often belittled, resisted, slandered, ignored, critiqued by those whose hearts are not really right with God. (Consider the Beatitudes—Matthew 5:11-12, 23:37a)

God’s preachers have their flaws and idiosyncrasies. But that is not the real issue—are they speaking from God or not? What people do with God’s messengers exposes what they would do with God’s Son.

Jesus came unto his own things and his own people received him not. Surely they will honor my son, says the owner of the vineyard. Surely they will receive my Son, says God the Father. But they didn’t!! They had a form of religion but no power. They trafficked in worship, but resented God’s intrusion. They longed for a Messiah of their own making, and hated the Messiah God sent to save them.

Christless Christianity is a belief that is caught in religion’s forms and norms, but proud and resistant to the spiritual power of Christ that transforms people from the inside out.

Like the tenants in the vineyard, like the religious leaders Christ addressed, Christ has been thrown out in order to lay claim to what belongs to God, not man. Man’s plans, man’s ideas, man’s rules, man’s appetites, man’s glory—these dominate the lives of religious and irreligious people alike—though made in God’s image to glorify Him.

II. Privilege Removed (40-43)

When God grants spiritual privilege to a people, over time they come to think of it as what they deserve, what is theirs forever by right, rather than by grace.

The history of the world is history of spiritual privilege squandered and lost by one people, only to be passed on by the mercy of God to another. Do you realize that the seven churches of Asia (modern-day Turkey) were once the “Bible-belt” of the ancient world and now it is considered an unreached people? Consider the amazing history of England—translating the Word of God, great preachers, missionary heart. Look at our own America—see pockets of awakening and revival, but most in our country have never seen a major movement of God’s Spirit through a city ever in their lives. I have seen it in the Yucatan, I have seen it in Cambodia, I have heard of it in African nations, and now among Muslim people.

The Spirit moves where He wants to. Do not hold cheap His power and grace. If you do not seize your opportunity when it comes, you have no guarantee you will ever have another chance, even if you live to be a hundred. Just as in the days before the great flood, His Spirit will not always strive with man.

The cornerstone sets the correct angles for the building. It also identifies its owner and purpose, often containing official documents and treasures. For the builders to reject the cornerstone is contrary to what the builders’ job is. It shows they cannot properly evaluate what is valuable. Many rejected Jesus as the Righteous One who rightly rules. God established Him as Savior and King—Psalm 2, despite the rebel raging of nations and kings.

The Lord’s doing—cannot trace the covenant promises and the lineage of Jesus, nor study all the elements that came together in his life, death, and resurrection without coming away with the conviction that Jesus is God’s choice. Marvelous—amazing, astonishing because miraculous

III. Destruction Assured (41, 44)

A Righteous Verdict (41)

Jesus’ hearers pronounce their own sentence. That reminds us of David’s response to Nathan.

A Devastating Payback (44)

To attack Jesus is to destroy oneself irreparably—if you reject the only One who can save you, if you will not use Him as your Guide for life, setting your purpose, you will trip over him and be crushed. In Daniel 2—the stone cut out without hands smashes the colossal idol of man’s kingdoms to dust that the wind carries away and grows into a mountain that fills the earth.

In their hearts, their desire is to arrest/destroy Him and would if they could.

Yet, they delay because of the risk from the people who hold Jesus to be a prophet.

 Losing face with people is more real to them than being judged by God. Despite all the evidence, despite the healings, despite the authority of Jesus’ teaching, despite His consistent appeal to the Scriptures that testify of Him, their only solution to the guilt they feel is to destroy the Messenger—just like the miserable wretches who leased the vineyard.

What have you done with the spiritual privileges God has granted you?

If you breathe His air, walk His earth, use His resources of every kind—will you hear His warnings?

You cannot escape Him. You cannot shut Him out and take Him down. He is the heavenly King, God’s Son, the immovable Cornerstone that crushes all who reject and try to get rid of Him.

Genesis 49:1-12

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Our passage today is commonly referred to as Jacob’s blessing.

Ten of the 25 verses focus on Judah and on Joseph—through the descendants of these men all Israel—and all mankind—would be blessed. Joseph’s history displays God’s appointed leader to rescue all Israel, the land of Egypt—and eventually the world. Judah, whose later speeches convey a willingness to take the blame for the sins of others, will be the ancestor of another God-appointed ruler, who like Joseph will be humbled and mistreated, yet be exalted to the place of Savior and Ruler.

Jacob’s introduction to what he’s about to say stresses his certainty about what will happen in the future. For that reason, his sons are to gather and listen. Two times he is told to pay attention to what Israel (his God-given name) has to say. The supplanter by birth became a prince with God. He has pronounced blessings on Pharaoh—who prospered greatly through Jacob’s son Joseph. When he blessed Ephraim and Mannaseh, and now his twelve sons, he becomes a prophet of God. The suitability of each pronouncement is rooted in the past history of each of these men, but it reaches far into the future with divine certainty. As such, his words call for careful attention. His sons—and we—are to learn from the future he predicts.

Although Jacob addresses all of his sons, Judah dominates this first section, Joseph the second. Nonetheless there are lessons to learn from the less prominent brothers.

I. The Dishonor of Abused Privilege (3-4): Reuben

Verse 3 piles up the privilege and giftedness of this firstborn son—as firstborn, entitled to a preeminent position: Dignity and Power. But his behavior when he went in to his father’s concubine revealed not dignity, but smallness; not power, but weakness. Verse 4 cites the abuse of his firstborn privilege and thus the loss of it. He was unstable as water—let his impatience and his lust take control of his mind and actions, ruining his future as leader of the clan.

The tribe of Reuben practically disappears from history once the they settle in the trans-Jordan region. The only leadership that manifests itself is the rebel leadership of Dathan and Abiram in Numbers 16. Privilege, talent, skill, opportunity cannot make up for flaws of character.

Many a favored son has become a failure because he took his privilege for granted, let his pride and passion direct his decisions, and gave in to doing what should never be done.

The human race fell for the same reason: Adam and Eve—great privilege; impatience to “become like God”—lost the privilege, dishonored, ruined. God sent His Son to rescue rebel sinners whose passion for sin is inborn, we would have no hope. All mankind has abused its God-given privilege as made in God’s image for God’s glory, yet rebels to His will and enemies to His Person.

In Jesus, our privilege is restored. He was made a little lower than the angels when he became a human being, but now is highly exalted because of His redemptive work. All in Christ are also exalted to live and reign with Him—joint-heirs of his kingdom.

II. The Curse of Violent Revenge (5-7): Simeon and Levi

Took out their anger against the folly of one individual—Shechem’s son—to slaughter a whole city.

Proverbs will echo Jacob’s warning about being joined to violent people who harm people and destroy property for no just cause (History—continual cycle of resentment-revenge-retaliation; pre-flood world characterized by violence—judged).

Contrary to Scriptural mandates seen in Leviticus 19:17-18—no hatred, grudge, slander, but love neighbor as self; (Good Samaritan; greatest commands; Colossians 3). Both tribes were scattered throughout Israel and neither given a portion of land. But God used their scattering to bless them: Levi becomes the priestly line and is spread throughout the tribes to function in that role, rather than being given land. Simeon’s line practically disappears, but shows up as part of the land of Judah later. Because of Simeon’s association with Judah, the tribe enjoys future blessing.

III. The Success of the Coming King (8-10): Judah

After the sobering predictions for Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, Judah must have been churning inside regarding his future. Who could forget his part in selling Joseph off and his immorality with Tamar his daughter-in-law.

But there has also been a subsequent history of repentance, starting with his declaration to Tamar—you are more righteous than I, and his sparing of her life. He emerges as the leader as he tries to convince his father to let them go back down to Egypt with Benjamin, pledging to bear the blame forever if Benjamin does not return. He pleads for Benjamin with Joseph when Joseph’s silver cup is found in Benjamin’s sack.

What Jacob prophesies, however, is clearly marked by grace and by the determined plan of God contrary to what we would expect.

Praise (8a)

Judah means praise—to confess publicly what is true about God. The first king of Israel was from Benjamin—Saul, whose desire for pleasing people caused him to disobey God. David, the man after God’s own heart, began the dynasty of Judean kings, and became the king to which all subsequent kings were compared. The Messiah is known as the Son of David, because He was the perfect embodiment of God’s appointed King.

Power (9-10)

Victory over all his enemies—Psalm 110:1. Aggressive, explosive power of a lion ready to spring—you don’t stir him up unless you want to get hurt (Psalm 2:10-12). The Lion of the tribe of Judah—Revelation 5—has the right to lay claim to the title deed of the earth—to seize the universal power that is rightfully his

Preeminence (8b, 10)

Judah’s offspring will be the one to whom all Israel bows down. This is a prediction that the royal line would continue through Judah. “Until tribute comes to him”—can be translated, until he comes to whom it belongs. Not only a line of kings from the dynasty of Judah, but an ultimate and supreme King who has full claim to the scepter (Micah 5:2, 4-5). His rule will extend beyond Israel to all people groups—to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. In the Abrahamic Covenant all the families of the earth be blessed (Colossians 1:15-20).

Prosperity (11-12)

Binding a foal and a donkey’s colt to your vine puts the vine at risk of being eaten. But this is a picture of such prosperity that no one worries if the animals graze in the vineyard. Further, washing garments in wine was equal to saying—super abundance and eyes darker than wine, teeth whiter than milk—physical health. “Vines as hitching posts—wine as wash water.” ~Hughes. “It bids adieu to the pinched regime of thorns and sweat for the ‘shout of them that triumph the song of that feast.’” ~Kidner

It is striking that Jesus’ first miracle was turning water for washing into the finest wine at a wedding feast. It was a sign that Messiah had come. His disciples saw his glory—and believed. Clothing dipped in the blood of grapes reminds us of Revelation 19. The price of this prosperity, this rollback of the curse was the price of his own blood. That precious ransom price made us doubly His—by creation and redemption. This ultimate praise, preeminence, power, and prosperity belong to Jesus Christ alone (Matthew 28:18; Philippians 2).