A GOOD THING!

A GOOD THING!

Prov 18:22

22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.

Gen 2:18

18 And the Lord  God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

          Solomon, who wrote these proverbs, had 700 wives and 300 concubines! In spite of his evident difficulty, he certainly was right when he said “whoso findeth a [true] wife findeth a good thing.” It is hard to imagine the home life of this man!

          The word thing is not actually part of the original Hebrew. It was added to make things more readable to the English reader. Literally it reads: “findeth a good…” Our mind says, “a good what?” So the translators added the word “thing” to help us out. I suppose it has offended a few ladies. Well let me put those ladies’ minds at ease.

          The word good is the Hebrew word towb (tobe) and means, among other things, “beautiful, bountiful, cheerful, fair, gracious, joyful, kindly, loving, merry, pleasant, pleasure, precious, sweet, well-favored.” My wife is all those things.

          Several things come to mind as I think of what is meant by finding this “good thing.” I think we must begin with a good woman with chaste morals, incorruptible virtues and a tender heart. A good woman, however, would not necessarily be a good wife to all men. In Genesis the word “meet” means “a part opposite; a counterpart!” This speaks of a perfect fit. The idea is compatible temperaments, tastes, habits, culture and goals. This lady is hard to find and so Solomon gets it right when he says that the man who finally finds her has obtained favor from the Lord.

          I have found her! She said yes! Forty-six years ago today a beautiful and talented young lady became my wife. My first sight of her literally caused me to tremble. I had found a treasure. I knew immediately that my search was over but I was sure that God would have to cloud her vision against my ugliness and darken her mind to my faults. Oh, dear God, could it be? She said yes!

Prov 19:14

14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers and a prudent wife is from the Lord.

Dear Lord, thank you for the rich treasure you have given me in my wife. AMEN