Proverbs 18:22 suggests that “he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.” In Hebrew, the wording of Proverbs 18:22 is strikingly similar to that of Proverbs 8:35: “For those who find me find life and receive favor from the LORD.” Me in this verse refers to wisdom, suggesting that, after wisdom itself, the finest of God’s blessings is an excellent wife. We linger for a moment on the notion of obtaining favor through the choice of a marital partner. Then, we contrast the blessing of a good wife with this warning from Proverbs 12:4, “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.” We then pose the question: What kind of wife brings shame? In response, we identify wives who are dismissive, undependable, disrespectful, overly dependent or independent, and those who are discouraging.
Additional scriptures referenced include Proverbs 31:10-31; Proverbs 8:11; Proverbs 19:14; Ecclesiastes 7:26; 1 Kings 11:4; Proverbs 14:1; James 1:17; Philippians 2:4; Ephesians 5:33; and Ephesians 4:29.
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