Who can find a virtuous woman? …. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. – Proverbs 31:10 – 11
Why did Achsah’s name come to mind as I reflected on Proverbs 31:11?
Achsah had married Othniel who was also a leader and a warrior, just like her father. As a warrior, her husband was acquainted with “spoil”. This word “spoil” was translated from the Hebrew word shalal which means prey, plunder (of war), spoil, booty, gain. It speaks of valuable goods obtained, gained, or won as a result of a war. It is associated with goods obtained or gained by force.
I find it interesting that when God decided to make a companion for the man, He made him an ‘ezer – a military ally. Now Othniel wins Achsah as his bride, and also wins a military ally, one in whom his heart can safely trust when it comes to his acquisition of spoil (valuable goods).
Let us read how the Amplified Bible Classic Edition translates what the poet says of the virtuous woman (wife) in Proverbs 31:11: The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her securely, so that he has no lack of [honest] gain or need of [dishonest] spoil.
Now let’s take a look at Achsah’s story in light of what Proverbs 31:11 advises.
Joshua 15: 13-19 (CEV) – Joshua gave Caleb some land among the people of Judah, as God had told him to do. Caleb’s share was Hebron, which at that time was known as Arba’s Town, because Arba was the famous ancestor of the Anakim.
Caleb attacked Hebron and forced the three Anakim clans of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai to leave. Next, Caleb started a war with the town of Debir, which at that time was called Kiriath-Sepher.He told his men, “The man who captures Kiriath-Sepher can marry my daughter Achsah.”
Caleb’s nephew Othniel captured Kiriath-Sepher, and Caleb let him marry Achsah. Right after the wedding, (1) Achsah started telling Othniel that heought to ask her father for a field. (2) She went to see her father, and while she was getting down from her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What’s bothering you?”
(3) She answered, “I need your help. The land you gave me is in the Southern Desert, so I really need some spring-fed ponds for a water supply.” Caleb gave her a couple of small ponds, named Higher Pond and Lower Pond.
Based on the language of verse 18 – the land you gave me – we realize that the land to which Achsah was referring was a gift from her father to her, maybe a part of her dowry. The people of Israel lived in an agrarian society. They depended on their land to support vegetation and to provide grazing ground for their livestock. Without water, this gift of land would be unprofitable.
Here we see Achsah’s efficiency: her ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. She approaches her husband and begins to discuss with him the resource they have and its limitations to bring them gain. She advises that he approach her father with a request for better resources.
The potential for lack associated with this piece of land weighed so heavily upon her that, the next time she visited her father, he was able to discern that something was wrong. Notice her valor, her courage and forthrightness. Her father inquires as to what is wrong with her, and she seizes the opportunity to get rid of that which would bring her husband into a place of lack.
Jesus taught in Luke 11:9, “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” James admonished the brethren in James 4:3, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
Sisters, let us keep at the forefront of our mind that we were originally designed as `ezer – military allies for our spouses. We are innately equipped for protection, rescue, and deliverance. Let us not be the women who ask so that we may spend it on our pleasures. Let us not take a backseat to the matters that come our husbands’ way, leaving them to battle it alone. Let us be forthright and intentional in our prayers, with the aim of securing their “spoil”.
Remember who we are! Remember who God anointed us to be: virtuous women; women who have spiritual insight into the dealings that our husbands are about to undertake. This sight comes as we consistently seek out the Father in persistent prayer.
God has not only anointed us with spiritual sight on our husbands’ behalf, but he has graced us with the valor, force, and efficiency needed to ask and keep on asking until we receive that which secures honest gain in our husband’s ventures.
Let us be as Achsah, military allies to our husbands; the ones of whom it is said –“Her husband has entrusted his heart to her, for she brings him the rich spoils of victory” (Proverbs 31:11 – TPT).
DIG DEEPER:
1. Blog Post – Achsah: Virtuous Woman
2. Bible Study – ACHSAH: Daughter, Wife, Mother