"She makes coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple"
God continues His discussion of the virtuous wife with a further discussion of her coverings and clothing. He has just pointed out that she handles even her remote fears with action. She dresses her family in scarlet which was the symbol of well-being – even luxury – in that day.
Now God wants to tell us about how she dresses herself. A person's coverings or clothing says a lot about how they view themselves. This woman is proud of who she is and carries herself with significance and importance.
fine linen
This is the Hebrew word shesh, which means fine linen. Fine linen was the clothing of the rich and important. This woman saw herself as worthy of fine linen. She lavished some attention and significance on herself.
This is very important because many Christian women have the idea that the best way to be a virtuous wife is to let themselves go physically and wear dowdy, unattractive clothing as they give themselves in ceaseless labor for their children and husband. This is not the picture of this woman here. She takes care of herself and wants to look her best because she is important.
purple
This is the Hebrew word argaman, which means purple or red-purple. Purple was symbolically the color of royalty or nobility. This woman carried herself with significance and importance.
In the previous verse, the virtuous wife clothes her family in scarlet – a symbolic way of saying that she makes sure that they have the best. The use of the fine linen and purple both says that she has the best for herself. She carries herself as a princess or one of significant importance.
Do you dress as though the people who will meet you will be meeting someone important? There is an old saying that the clothes make the man. While this may not be literally true, there is some truth to the idea that how you dress says things to others and to yourself about who you are. It says good things about a woman when she takes the time to dress nicely and wear clothing that says that she has class and bearing.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz