The wise woman builds her house,
but the foolish tears it down
with her own hands.

Proverbs 14:1

It is interesting to note that the word “house” used in today’s verse, in Hebrew is bayit, and is used interchangeably in the Old Testament with the English word “home” as well as several other English words, such as; household, family, within or inside, place, temple, dungeon and prison. Quite the variety, I think! 

We can rule out that King Solomon is talking about the physical structure of a dwelling/house because women in ancient Israel did not physically build their own dwelling nor did they tear the physical dwelling down with “her own hands.” However, we have seen and will see in these 31 Days, that a woman’s impact within the walls of her dwelling, her house, can very well affect the physical condition of that dwelling. 

What we can rule in is that a woman’s influence within her house is controlled by only one of two choices: to be wise or to be foolish. Sure, a wise woman can sometimes make a foolish choice and a foolish woman can sometimes behave wisely. What is being stressed in this verse is the foundational mindset each woman must choose. What drives her? What directs her thinking and emotions? Where does she turn when life gets tough? Does she seek wisdom in a world of chaos? Or does she just foolishly plow stubbornly ahead with her own selfish desires no matter what warning signs swirl around her house? 

Another truth we must rule in is that ancient women, and our not so ancient ancestors, did have considerable influence with what went on inside their houses and not just the building. In the Bible “house” can refer to the physical dwelling of someone. But, often, it is referring to a group of people. Let’s look at one example.

Genesis 46:27b

…all the persons of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy. 

This is referencing the time when Joseph was second in command in Egypt and after he was reunited with his brothers and how Joseph then made arrangements for his whole family, Jacob’s whole family, to come live in Egypt because of the seven-year drought. It was the beginning of the Nation of Israel promised to Abraham. These 70 people were the “house of Jacob” but they certainly did not all physically dwell in one building; well, actually it would have had to be one enormous tent! They were all within a single family or house of immediate influence by both the brothers, the twelve sons, and the women in that house. 

Today we call it our circle of influence and it often includes more than just blood relatives thanks to our world being much more mobile. And, just a side thought, it is pretty arrogant of us 21^st Century women to think our female ancestors were too stupid or trodden down to figure out how to infuse influence within their house…within their circle.

Each of us, as a woman, is responsible for our own personal influence within our circle or house no matter how small or how big that circle may be. 

It has been that way since Eve exerted her influence within her circle…within her house, namely, Adam. And we know just how well that turned out! Her error or foolishness was that she left God out of her house, out of her circle, and instead let in The Liar. With great influence comes great responsibility as Eve learned, but too late.

And still, for her and for us…God’s Grace!

If you don’t think these women who lived during the time period of Genesis had any influence, think again! For the good, or the bad or the ugly, the women who lived through Genesis exerted world altering influence! Whether they understood the extent of their influence, I don’t think we know; except for Eve. God told her just how far reaching her exertion of influence would affect every future woman! 

And God tells us, as women, just how far reaching our influence is now and for future generations.

“The wise woman builds up within her circle of influence, but the foolish woman tears down within her circle of influence and does it with her own hands!”

[Elaine’s personal paraphrase of Proverbs 14:1]