Proverbs 18:22, Marriage: One Man + One Woman

December 5, Proverbs 18:22

1 Cor. 7:1-11; 29-39 “Choose thou mine inheritance for me” (Ps. 47:4).

Marriage: One Man + One Woman

How profaned and disregarded is the “holy institution” of marriage! It is God’s creation ordinance, and honoured by Him, but most vilely dishonoured by man. “There is no estate to which Satan is more opposed as to marriage” (Luther). Is it too much to say that the judgments falling on nations, and the deadness that lies on churches, are the results of our “defiling that which God desires to keep holy as a fitting emblem of Christ’s union with the saved”? (Arnot)

1. What a Boon (v.22)! It was not good for man to be alone in Paradise, how much less since the Fall! Sadly, much of city nightlife is nothing but “a cesspool” destructive of marriage and the stability of the home. Some put good with wife here, for only he who finds a good wife finds a good [thing] (Pr. 31:10). This is quite true, and there are proverbs dealing with that (Pr. 14:1; 19:13). Our proverb simply makes a general statement that “a wife is an asset” to man, affirming the blessings of a “God sanctioned” marriage. Here the wisdom of God is seen. Woman, from the hand of God, is the meetest, the most suitable helpmate for man. Man is a vacuum that woman alone can fill. There is an old marriage service in which the officiant says, “The servant of God marries the handmaid of God.” One is a gift to and completion of the other, a companion not a competitor. “A pledge to take a woman for his wife commits a man to sharing life in its entirety” (W. Chantry). Why do divorce statistics seem to belie this? Is it not because most marriages today are neither devoutly sought nor divinely acknowledged?

2. What a Blessing! It was Heaven’s first and best gift to man! A good wife is a gift from God and good for man. Such obtain favour, pleasure, from God. Are not all good gifts from God, why not this one also? Monogamy is the true marriage! “Solomon does not say ‘he that findeth wives,’ but he that findeth a wife. Though he himself had many wives, he nowhere justifies a plurality” (Thomas). Read also what the wise man said in Pr. 5:15-23 and Eccl. 9:9 for further confirmation. From the beginning God made them male and female. Same sex marriages are not part of God’s creation ordinance, nor can they be blessed by any human ceremony! The cry of every Bible believer must be for the revival of the purity of the marriage bond. “A good husband makes a good wife, and the reverse is also true, but the woman has harder material to work upon! A gracious disposition in the one influences the other” (CHS). Let the wife be honoured for what she is, this person whom God chose for this man. True marriage is in the man and the woman, what they are, not their gifts, beauty or wealth. “A man’s children are pieces of himself, but the wife is himself” (Henry), but never be yoked to one who refuses the yoke of Christ (2 Cor. 6:14). Hear this word of warning from a wise but anonymous source, “Don’t look around for a life partner; look up. Any other choice than God’s will mean disaster.”

Thought: “God witnesses every marriage and every violation of its vows.”

Prayer: Lord, may my marriage here be a preparation for Heaven.