My Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 16:6
“Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord” (Proverb 19:14)
Because we are finally assembling again this Sunday for worship, and because these little articles were begun to sort of bridge the gap and keep us in the Word until we could assemble, this is the final Boost. Thank you for considering some of my favorite passages.
A “prudent” wife is one, according to the Hebrew word, who plans carefully ahead of time. She is sensible, discreet, characterized by good judgment or management (Strong’s*). God’s deliberate design of the man creature left the need for a companion, and nothing else in creation comes close to filling that need than a woman. She is exactly what he needs for fulfillment and to help him meet his potential in life. Yet, obviously not all women are prudent and good. I remember a good man who had recently married saying to me, “Good marriage is a close to heaven as you can get on earth; bad marriage is as close to hell as you can get.” Perhaps he was right.
It may have been because the Spirit knew Solomon had 300 wives and 700 concubines, and thus presumably was well-familiar with the gentler sex that He had Solomon to write so many wise proverbs about them. Here’s a sampling:
“He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD.” (18:22).
“Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her…” (31:10-11)
“Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman.” (21:9)
“Better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and angry woman.” (21:19)
“A continual dripping on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike; Whoever restrains her restrains the wind, and grasps oil with his right hand.” (27:15-16)
When Cindy and I began writing these Boosts each week day, I rather thought it would last a week or so. Now we’ve written forty-five, involving about two and a half months. I’ve chosen this proverb for today because I happen to have married a “prudent” woman several years ago. She is simply everything this Hebrew word means. Through her days she works diligently and incessantly, and seldom at anything that isn’t for someone else. Truly, besides the Lord, she is the greatest blessing in my life and I’m so very thankful to be her husband.
While I know that marital happiness in life isn’t in just finding the right kind of person, but being the right kind of person, today’s proverb is specifically about a good wife. If you are blessed with such a wife, don’t just write her parents a thank-you note. Thank Heaven, because according to wise old Solomon, she came from Him.
And, be sure that sometime today you tell her how valuable she is to you.
Family Bible Time with Glenn and Cindy
This final edition is in video form here:
I hope you can watch. It’s nothing extraordinary. In fact, it’s just sort of the routine. At the end of the “Picking Melons and Mates” book featured here, there are 21 family Bible time guides similar to the ones you’ve read in these daily Boosts. When added to the Boosts, that’s 66 total Family Bible times already mapped out for you. Now, I know that many are far better than I could be at planning Family Bible Time. But for anyone who’s really wanting to start the habit, 66 guided sessions completed, will have developed a habit in your home. The dividends are eternal.
*Strong, James. 1890. Strong’s exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Abingdon Press.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
