“He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.”
– Proverbs 18:22
Hi James and Ellen,
What would you say is the most significant gift of hope that God has for a guy, gal or kid to unmeritedly claim during the life tenure that God immaculately designed for him or her on planet Earth? What would you say would be the most revolting thing that God has for a guy, gal or kid to foolishly use during the life tenure that God exclusively designed for him or her on planet Earth? What would you say would be the most useless thing that God has for a guy, gal or kid to selfishly use during the life tenure that God impeccably designed for him or her on planet Earth? What would you say would be the most important gift of help that God has for a guy during the guy’s life tenure that God perfectly designed for him on planet Earth? These questions are answered by Solomon in Proverbs 18.
The answer to the greatest hope – per Solomon, that you can undeservedly claim on planet Earth is the Lord’s name. The name of the Lord – per Solomon, is like a strong tower or an impenetrable fort where absolute safety is assured for himself and for every guy, gal and kid who God – as God the Father, chose or elected to imbed the gift of hope. In the personalized life plan that God designed for Solomon was to have Solomon use the knowledge gift that He intentionally gave to Solomon to expose some of sin spirit’s favorite mediums that it uses to get a guy, gal or kid to compromise God-given moral and ethical life values. An answer to the most odious thing – per Solomon, that you will exploit on planet Earth is your tongue. Solomon – through the life tenure that God uniquely designed for him on planet Earth, had gotten it as to the kinds of adverse influences and repugnant impacts that the sin spirit uses through the tongue to enact. God had Solomon reveal that the tongue had become one of sin spirit’s favorite tools to wrack havoc in the life of a guy, gal or kid. God led Solomon to determine that opinionated words are self-serving, that unwholesome words will uncover and undo a fool, that strife originates from spoken words and that gossip will snare the soul. The answer to the most unproductive thing – per Solomon, that you will chase after during your life tenure on planet Earth is money. Solomon found out through the life tenure that God had inimitably fabricated for him – which had Him having Solomon inherit a massive amount of amassed wealth when his dad – who was David, died, that his dad had accrued during his life tenure on planet Earth, that having a large stockpile of wealth acts as a primer to pursue accumulating even more wealth. God had Solomon construe that guys and gals who have all kinds of wealth will hide behind their hoard of wealth. God had Solomon conclude that foolish guys and gals believe that having a lot of wealth will protect them equally as well as living in a fortified city that has unscalable walls.
The answer to the most important gift – per Solomon, that God blesses a guy with during the guy’s life tenure on planet Earth is found in verse 22, “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.” Solomon is saying here that God is Who favors a guy when He brings a gal into the guy’s life to become the guy’s wife. God has hardwired a gal with an intrinsic longing to be a helpmate and a companion to the guy who God in His sovereign way or purpose has her ‘long’ to marry. A guy and gal become a single entity at the moment that they consummate their ‘marriage’ relationship with each other. A wife is a treasured gift to her husband. A husband to his wife is his wife’s security. If God is incontrovertibly understood to be the author of everything that takes place on planet Earth – including the wedding ceremony between a guy and a gal, there should never ever come a time when a husband concludes that he has made a mistake – as God never makes a mistake, marrying the gal who he married. Even though your grandmaa and grandpaa knew each other for about two and a half years before they were married on February 14, 1964, your grandpaa knows today that on the afternoon that your grandpaa married your grandmaa, that your grandpaa had absolutely no hint at all as to what a special lifetime blessing that your grandmaa was going to be to him throughout their life as one together. Your grandpaa knew that he was marrying a gal who was really beautiful, who was very witty, who was sincerely amiable and who was genuinely liked by everyone, but . . . your grandpaa had no clue as to the depth of your grandmaa’s heart desire to be a secure and a faithful Christ-follower, her unwavering commitment to fulfill her marriage vows, her patient tolerance of your grandpaa’s at times random decisions and her submissive willingness to listen to God’s voice speaking through your grandpaa. How many kids do you know who has a grandmaa who has lived for over two and a half years in a funeral home, who has slept for weeks at a time in a sleeping bag on an air mattress that has been placed between a couple of church benches that are facing each other, who has helped deliver babies, who will spend hours listening to gals unpack their life gunk, who knows what it is like to have full blown typhoid, breakbone or dengue fever, hepatitis, hip replacement, who knows the ends and outs of doing bookkeeping, who . . . your grandpaa knows that he is being wise when he listens to your grandmaa as to what she sees taking place. Your grandpaa knows that God holds him responsible for your grandmaa and accountable for whatever she does. Because your grandmaa innately knows that it is God’s will that she is to be always your grandpaa’s helpmate, friend and the mother of his kids, your grandpaa knows that he has a ‘good wife’.
Proverbs 18 (1173)