Great women are not born – they are made. A great woman chooses to be great. She has the right priorities for her life; she is wise and disciplined; her family and estate prosper. On the other hand, many women are foolish and rebellious; they are distracted and lazy; their families and estates fall into ruin during their lives and afterwards. What a waste! Here is encouragement and a warning to women. You have a tremendous opportunity to build a family and estate that will be to the glory of God and profit of others well into the future. It is your choice to be wise and to build. Forsake the foolish and prosper (Pr 9:6). Learn the proverb. You have never seen a woman literally tearing shingles and siding from her house by hand. Solomon used a metaphor, where one thing represents something else, to contrast a woman either improving or destroying her family and estate. The word “house” in Proverbs and the rest of Scripture is often much more than the building you live in. It is broader than that. It describes a family and/or estate. Consider: House. The persons living in one dwelling; the inmates of a house collectively; a household, family. A family including ancestors and descendants; a lineage, a race: esp. one having continuity of residence, of exalted rank, or high renown. [OED]. Consider use of “house” elsewhere (Ge 7:1; Deut 25:9; Ruth 4:11; I Sam 2:30,35; II Sam 7:11) and in Proverbs (Pr 11:29; 12:7; 14:11; 15:25,27; 24:3-4). Of course, taking care of the residence is also her job, but it is not the emphasis (Eccl 10:18). The house you must build is your marriage, family, husband’s estate, and family tree (Pr 24:3-4; Tit 2:3-5). A wise woman can greatly improve a marriage, family, home, and estate, even into future generations. A foolish woman can ruin all of this and destroy her legacy. The opportunity is very great for every woman that will appreciate this encouragement and warning from God and Solomon. For any woman that wants to be great, read on and learn. There are few better modern examples than Sarah Pierpont, the wife of Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards. She was a great wife to an exceptional man and public figure, trained eleven children in the fear and love of God, kept a model home in holiness and warmth, and established a legacy through her descendants unmatched in American history. A woman is either a crown to her husband or rottenness in his bones (Pr 12:4). This difference cannot be hid from the eyes of others, for his shame comes from them witnessing his curse (Pr 27:15-16). A husband’s flattery is of little value when others can easily witness a wife’s neglect of him, the children, the house, or the estate (Pr 24:30-34). The virtuous woman had great influence over her family and husband’s estate. She directed the care of the children and household and engaged in commercial real estate development and manufacturing and sales. Her husband’s importance in the city was greatly due to her superb management of these matters. Read it carefully (Pr 31:10-31). Houses were built up by Hannah, Lois, Eunice, and Bathsheba; all of whom invested in their children and grandchildren to the glory of God. Houses were torn down by Michal, Jezebel, and other odious and lazy women. The only widows to be financially supported by the church are those who build up houses well (I Tim 5:3-10). Others will be rejected. How can you identify a wise woman? Look first at her husband. He will be successful in his vocation, for she will have relieved him of most or all the household duties (Pr 31:13-27). He will be confident, happy, and content, for she will have been a great lover and companion (Pr 5:19; 19:13; 31:11-12). He will apply himself well to the larger matters of family and estate, for his wise wife will have taken care of the lesser ones herself.