The Proverbial Woman Vs. 30

Proverbs 31:30  Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Sin (sheen) is our next to last letter.  Sin is represented by a pictograph of a molar tooth, known for it's ability to crush or destroy.  It is a letter said to represent God (El Shaddai) and may be found on the cover of many mezuzahs.  Mezuzah are small boxes nailed to the doorposts of homes and contain a small scroll of scripture.

Because of it's shape it is said to represent a three fold cord: husband, wife, God.

Our word in this verse is Sheker and it means deceit or falsehood, lie.

Overall the verse and word seem very straightforward.  Looking further at the letter Sin and it's meanings however, I noted that one author wrote that the three prongs of the letter denoted man's attempts to bring God down to their own level by idolatry, just as the men in Moses camp demanded that Aaron make them a god to worship when Moses was gone more days than they thought he might be.  They did not understand the enormity of the God they were called to be the people of and so they attempted to create a god, rather than acknowledge that the Creator of All was indeed more than anything they might fashion on their own!


Taken in that sense, it is clear that the things of this earth mean little, most especially the sorts of things that man deems as worthy of attention.  Haven't we all  seen how figure and face are lauded, with people going so far as to have themselves surgically altered in order to be more attractive, while all the while within is unaltered and unchanged and often less than admirable?

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.  Matthew 23:25-26

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul...Deuteronomy 10:12

So we find our woman at the end stands before God with the final praise upon her that indeed she has lived Torah, not just read it, nor given it lip service but lived it...

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The Long Quiet: Day 21