Proverbs 31:23

23Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
-Proverbs 31:23

In Hebraic poetry, there is a literary tool that is employed throughout various places in the Bible known as a chiasm. A chiasm in Hebrew poetry seeks to emphasize a central point by narrowing in on a central figure. The section we have been studying of the Proverbs 31 woman is one of the more prominent chiasms in Scripture. The pattern that will be followed is like a mirror wherein one theme that is introduced will be repeated after the central theme is highlighted. It looks a little like this:

A
B
C
B'
A'

To give an example, it may look something like this:

(A) Dogs are really fun
(B) Cats are really silly
(C) Animals are cool
(B') Cats do ridiculous things
(A') Dogs are excitable creatures.

While the vast majority of the chiastic structure is talking about dogs and cats, the central theme highlights that it is about more than just dogs and cats. It is about how animals are cool.

The reason I bring all of this up now is because the verse listed above is the central theme of the Proverbs 31 chiasm. While everything seems to be about this woman, the central, unspoken figure, is her husband. While there is a lot for us as the Bride of Christ to live up to, the reason we delight in living up to this and pursue to walk worthy of Him is because of how great He is! He is risen above! He is the One who is well known in the gates and sits among the elders of the land. He is the center of our love and admiration. We do not live our lives in pursuit of Him the way that we do because we just want to be a good spouse to Him. We do this because He is worthy of all our admiration and love.