I began this study on the Proverbs 31 woman by taking an in-depth look at verse 10. Verses 11 & 12 continue with the wife aspect of The Excellent Woman…
The Excellent Wife
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain,
12 She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life. (NASB)
I love going back to the Hebrew when studying scripture. Sometimes (well, probably most of the time) our words and translations just cannot convey the same meaning. So bear with me, as I share with you some key words and their original meanings.
The Hebrew for the word “heart” is leb meaning “center” and is used figuratively for “inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.” This is also a Hebrew idiom for “care for” or “comfortably.”
The way he trusts her (batach), is the way we trust in the Lord. We can have a confident expectation.
Her husband trusts in her with full confidence, with every part of his
being…his inner man, his mind, his will, his heart, his
understanding. She gives him no reason not to trust her this way.
He is confident that he will have no lack of gain or “spoil” As we will see in verses 13-25, she is a diligent worker. Everything she does only creates increase in their life.
How many husbands today can trust their wives in this same way? I see women on television talking about how much money they spend shopping or debt they have racked up on a credit card, all behind their husband’s back. Not only is this not acting in agreement with her husband but she cannot be fully trusted. She is not thinking of him, she is only thinking of herself and what she desires. What the excellent woman desires above all that is doing her best to make her husband succeed in everything he does.
Just a sidenote…How can we, as wives, strive toward this today? Well…if you have lingered around my blog before, then you should know what I’m going to say! 
Budget! Spend wisely! Save wisely! (and most importantly Give to God what is His and be generous to others!) Ok that is a blog for another time…
She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. (verse 12)
I find it interesting that the word do here (gamEal) is a form of “do” that is specifically for doing good. It also means “requite”, “reward” and “serve”. She is intentional about serving her husband for the good of him. She will continue to do good day after day. ALL the days of HER life … this goes without saying but note that this does NOT say, “All the days of her marriage” …her life!
Lord, please bless each and every woman who reads this. Give them a special, personal revelation unique to their situation about how she can become more like the woman of Proverbs 31. Lord, none of us are perfect; let us learn to be a blessing to our husbands. Show us how to do good and not harm all the days of our life. Remind us daily, Holy Spirit. Speak to our hearts how to make our husbands feel special and loved. Help us to become a wife worthy of this kind of trust…that our husbands can have a confident expectation in us. Thank you Father for this passage you have given us. Thank you for grace. I pray this in the Holy and precious name of Jesus, Amen.
