A prudent wife is from the Lord
Proverbs 19:14 - Every man with a prudent, wise wife should give thanks to the Lord.
“Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.”
Proverbs 19:14 NIV
More timely and relevant wisdom from Solomon today, in the form of a proverb that deals with how we can gain riches in our lives.
For some people, an inheritance from parents is a form of blessing. When one’s parents pass on, they may leave behind property and belongings that have worth to their offspring, and those can provide both a financial and familial boon to those who receive the inheritance. When I settled my parent’s estate, my sister really needed a temporary financial transfusion due to a stroke and the death of her husband, and it was a very timely blessing from our folks. That estate also provided Barb and I with additional retirement funds, truly a lasting gift from the two loving parents who did such a wonderful job of raising their kids.
I received another lasting gift in my life that was a gift from God — Barb, who is a prudent wife. David Guzik of Enduring Word says this about a prudent wife in his commentary on this proverb:
A wife of wisdom, self-control, and appropriate living is a greater gift than houses and riches. A wife who is not prudent may waste whatever wealth a man has. Every man with a prudent, wise wife should give thanks to the Lord.
i. From the Lord: “Nature makes a woman, election a wife; but to be prudent, wise, and virtuous is of the Lord. A good wife was one of the first real and royal gifts bestowed on Adam.” (Trapp)
ii. “Thus the proverb instructs the disciple to look to God (Proverbs 15:8, 29; 16:3; cf. Genesis 24:14) and find his favor through wisdom to obtain from him a competent wife (Proverbs 8:35; 18:22)…. As a result, when a man has a competent wife, he praises God, not himself.” (Waltke)
iii. “The verse does not answer questions about unhappy marriages or bad wives; rather, it simply affirms that when a marriage turns out well, one should credit God.” (Ross)
And I do credit God with our almost 46 years of wedded happiness! The Hebrew word for prudent is שָׂכַל (śāḵal), defined in Strong’s as “to be (causatively, make or act) circumspect and hence, intelligent:—consider, expert, instruct, prosper, (deal) prudent(-ly), (give) skill(-ful), have good success, teach, (have, make to) understand(-ing), wisdom, (be, behave self, consider, make) wise(-ly), guide wittingly.”
Barb is intelligent (anyone who can try to make sense out of the Book of Daniel has more intelligence than I do!), she is still an expert in her field (she’s now the historian for the Lockheed Martin retirees group and has done incredible work in documenting spaceflight history), she had good success in her life’s work, instructed others, and so on.
I thank God every day for this wonderful woman, the fact that we’ve been married so long, and that we both came back to the Lord after years of drifting aimlessly. She is truly a gift from God.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I thank You for blessing me with a wise and prudent wife. She is a gift from You, a partner who has walked with me in all aspects of my life for many years, and hopefully many more years to come. Thank You for Your faithfulness and love, Lord! I also pray for those who may not have someone as a life partner, that they will still feel wanted and loved by You! AMEN.