Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 18:22

by David Chadwick

“He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.”

Proverbs 18:22

Today’s proverb is found in Proverbs 18:22. It says finding a good wife finds favor from the Lord.

First, take note how God calls marriage “a good thing” in his Word! As the Creator of the universe, God has intentionally woven his goodness throughout all of creation, marriage being one of those things.

Secondly, in today’s verse, notice that it’s one man who finds “a wife.” One wife. It does not say multiple wives. Do you think Solomon may have learned his lesson on how hard it was to have multiple wives? This verse certainly makes you wonder.

The emphasis on “one wife” refers back to the beauty of Genesis 2:24 and God’s original intent. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

Since the beginning of time, God’s design for marriage has been two people in a long-term, committed, forever, heterosexual union. Not only is this God’s will, but when marriage is done his way, it becomes something over which God rejoices. And is beautiful beyond words.

This kind of lasting marriage brings God’s favor. It brings his blessing. It invokes miracles. It is a union in which God’s power and presence reside.

Now, after almost 50 years of faithful marriage to one woman, I see this truth more than ever. I can look back over my life with Marilynn and see God’s presence and providence in so many different areas. I see where his guiding hand blessed us in so many different ways because of our faithfulness to him and to one another.

We chose to forgive when we were angry. We kept moving forward in our callings when we wanted to give up. We have seen his divine power flow to and through us as we have sought to reach a broken world with the gospel of Jesus. Our marriage truly is a “good thing.”

If you are married, I pray that your marriage experiences the goodness of God and shows his goodness to others for generations to come.

Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 12:4

by David Chadwick

“An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.”

Proverbs 12:4

Excellent is defined as “something possessing outstanding quality, superior merit, or being remarkably good.” Shame, on the other hand, is “a painful emotion driven by the belief that you are fundamentally flawed or unworthy.”

In this verse, God lays out two options of the kind of wife someone can find. Almost like a fork in the road, this verse clearly shows what happens if you go one direction versus another. One direction leads to honor. The other leads to death.

If he chooses poorly, a shameful wife brings rot to a man’s bones. This woman is not just shameful with her words, but also her actions. She does not think before she speaks or acts. She lives solely for herself and makes decisions for her own benefit.

A shameful wife makes decisions through the lens of selfishness and sin.

On the other hand, however, think about what a crown represents. Royalty. Glory. Honor. Prestige. Influence. So a man who marries an excellent wife will be marked by her excellence.

A wife of good character will make her husband feel like a king. She will not only lift him up and make him feel important both to her and the home, but she also has good character herself, which means she will represent him and the family well in the public eye. All of this brings tremendous honor to his name.

An excellent wife doesn’t bring shame to her husband in any way, especially with her words. She also knows how her words can bring him down and deeply hurt their relationship and therefore uses words of affirmation to build up her husband. The same principle holds true for a husband’s words to his wife! Words themselves either encourage excellence or shame.

This is what the Bible calls an “excellent wife.” She is beyond reproach. The kind of wife a husband is so proud to be married to. I have such a wife and am indeed a very blessed man.

Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 5:18

by David Chadwick

“Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth.”

Proverbs 5:18

This week, as we continue to look at some of the many proverbs that teach us how to live a righteous, godly, and successful life, we are going to focus specifically on some of the qualities of a godly wife.

Proverbs 5:18 says, “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth.”

There seem to be two major directives here. Let’s take a look at them together.

First, “Let your fountain be blessed.” This implies that the love that a husband has for his wife is worthy of blessing. There is an overwhelming, almost intoxicating love that a husband is to have for a godly wife. It can also imply the fountain of love that produces children is a large blessing as well.

There is nothing better than a home where deep love exists between husband and wife, one that increases year to year. This kind of love produces an environment of grace, which allows kids to grow up in a healthy home and be raised as Christ followers.

If a man’s life is a fountain, finding a Godly wife makes that fountain blessed and fruitful in every possible way.

Secondly, this verse seems to imply that husbands should regularly rejoice in the wife of their youth. This immediately speaks to the gift of a long-term marriage! One that lasts for decades. Where in old age, a man can reflect and rejoice in the wife of his youth. Where memories are shared and make each other laugh. Where love only grows with each passing year.

I most certainly have such a wife. I have such a marriage. And I celebrate with her an almost half-decade-long marriage, with a “fountain” of three kids and 12 grandkids; I am truly a blessed man. I am so thankful to be married to this kind of woman!

For you women out there, seek to be this kind of wife. And for you men out there, seek to be the kind of man who finds a wife in whom you can rejoice. Study God’s Word and follow along with me this week as we learn about five attributes of a godly wife found in the book of Proverbs.