Proverbs 18:22
Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
The idea in ‘good wife’ in this text does not refer to a ‘well disposed’ or ‘good natured’ woman, but rather to a ‘favored’, as in ‘favored by God’. Our author speaks of a woman who is part of, or found within the covenanted people.
Marriage in the eyes of the Almighty is a very serious thing. God asked Abraham to send away Hagar and her (his) son. After the return from Babylon, the people of Jerusalem who had married women from the land had to put away their wives and offspring (Ezra 9 and 10). This may sound cruel, but disobedience is a serious thing, and we should not take God’s instructions lightly, especially about Marriage.
While the patriarchs went far and wide to find their wives, waited long in order to find the right one and were blessed, both Ishmael and Esau married the inhabitants of the land. This is one of the reasons why they were not fit for God’s Covenant. I guess God knows that the heart of a man cleaves to that of his wife, so if she is not a covenanted woman, he will stray from God. Yeshua rightly said that we cannot ‘serve two masters’. A woman can definitely make or break a man, so God wants to teach us to take these things seriously.
This principle mostly teaches us about our attitude towards sin. The Scriptures tell us of a man who is ‘bound’ to his sin and iniquity in the way that a man is bound to his wife.
The idea in ‘good wife’ in this text does not refer to a ‘well disposed’ or ‘good natured’ woman, but rather to a ‘favored’, as in ‘favored by God’. Our author speaks of a woman who is part of, or found within the covenanted people.
Marriage in the eyes of the Almighty is a very serious thing. God asked Abraham to send away Hagar and her (his) son. After the return from Babylon, the people of Jerusalem who had married women from the land had to put away their wives and offspring (Ezra 9 and 10). This may sound cruel, but disobedience is a serious thing, and we should not take God’s instructions lightly, especially about Marriage.
While the patriarchs went far and wide to find their wives, waited long in order to find the right one and were blessed, both Ishmael and Esau married the inhabitants of the land. This is one of the reasons why they were not fit for God’s Covenant. I guess God knows that the heart of a man cleaves to that of his wife, so if she is not a covenanted woman, he will stray from God. Yeshua rightly said that we cannot ‘serve two masters’. A woman can definitely make or break a man, so God wants to teach us to take these things seriously.
This principle mostly teaches us about our attitude towards sin. The Scriptures tell us of a man who is ‘bound’ to his sin and iniquity in the way that a man is bound to his wife.
Like Abraham with Hagar, we have to learn to put our sin away from us.
Like Jacob with Laban, we have to have to withstand it and refuse to be bound to it.
Like Joseph and Potiphar’s wife, we have to flee from it even leaving our coat in its clasp as we run away in disgust.
Like King David, we have to hate even the sights and sounds of it.
So shall we be a ‘favored’ wife, fit for our Master.
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