Birthday Girl

Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future. Proverbs 31:25 NASB

Smiles at the future – The valiant woman (not “virtuous” or “excellent,” although these characteristics are included) is rare and precious. A man who finds one is blessed indeed for she is a hidden gem in a world of diversions. One of the attributes of this ‘eshet hayil is her attitude and actions about what is to come. The NASB translation isn’t quite strong enough. The Hebrew is attishaq leyom ‘ahron, literally, “she laughs at a day behind.” Several idioms are in play here. First, of course, is the interesting verb tsahaq (to laugh, to mock, to play), a verb that is the basis of the name yitshaq (Isaac) and reminds us of the word play involving his name in the story about the king’s observation of Yitzhak’s “playing” with Rebecca. So “smiles” isn’t enough. This action is intimate, personal and purposeful. The warrior woman of the poem doesn’t “smile” at what is to come. She laughs at it. She plays with it. It brings her no anxiety or angst. She knows the God of her life and trusts Him. She knows her capabilities and trusts them. While others worry about the future, she exhibits confidence and reliance. The future is her personal toy.

Of course, the “future” isn’t quite right either. The root is ‘ahar from which Hebrew derives ‘aharit and ‘aharon. The picture is “what is behind, what tarries, what is delayed.” In Hebrew thought, human beings do not face “ahead” toward the future but rather “behind” toward what has already occurred, and because the orientation is toward what is clearly known from past experience, the future (what cannot be seen) is of little concern. God knows where we are going. The fact that we do not know doesn’t matter since we have a clear and unambiguous record of His care in the past. The warrior woman laughs at the threat of tomorrow because she knows the God of yesterday and today. Her confidence faces backwards, looking at all that God delayed and deferred on behalf of His people. She trusts history and therefore, she need not fear what is as yet only supposition. Time will tell. It’s an adventure, not fate.

The poem points us to a woman who knows who she is, where she belongs and who she belongs to. The poem is found on the lips of Ruth. Your people, your place, your God—will be mine. Find a woman like that and you have treasure indeed.

Ask any woman where she comes from and where she is going. The angel of the Lord asked these questions to Hagar. The warrior woman will point to her birth, the day she started the journey from Moab to Bethlehem. The warrior woman will call her birth day the beginning of discovery—the day the God of Israel began instructing her in His ways and His deeds. She was born to “laugh behind,” a great sign of God’s delight in her.

Topical Index: laugh, tsahaq, ahar, future, ‘eshet hayil, Proverbs 31:25