Proverbs 14:1, On Womanly Wisdom

July 26, Proverbs 14:1

2 Tim. 1:1-7; 3:8-16 “A woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised” (Pr. 31:30).

On Womanly Wisdom

History proves that a wife can be a blessing or a curse to her husband. This has given rise to that old saying, “A good wife and health are a man’s best wealth.” The Hebrew reads: The wisdoms of women but the verb is singular. This may be a reference to the plural of excellency. Thus it is applied to every wise woman. Can anyone estimate the worth of a godly mother, a Hannah, a Ruth, and a Eunice? Mothers make men, because they have the formation of their boys’ characters. “From the mother, rather than the father, the members of the family will take their character.” A foolish woman, by contrast, can destroy an empire. Such was Jezebel (1 Kg. 16:31)! Such was Athaliah (2 Kg.1 1:1)!

1. The Happy Designer: House and home in Hebrew are the same word, but the home is the main thrust of today’s proverb. We all know a house is not necessarily a home. The word home speaks of the knitting-together of a family, not mere bricks and mortar and costly furniture! “A fortune in a wife is better than a fortune with a wife.” This woman engages in the daily building of a happy, healthy environment for all her family. It involves meeting both the material and spiritual needs. It is as important to her to pay her debts as to say her prayers. She combines industry and worship as she builds up her husband and children into noble characters. It is her great concern to create comfort within the home and credit without it. A godly mother’s love is the cream of love. It is most pure, holy, and unselfish, for “a mother’s heart is always with her children.” It is said of her, “She rules as a queen over her little empire, but has no quarrel with her husband’s responsibility, under God, to bear rule.” She builds it up, and she keeps it up.

A godly woman sure should be
A Sarah to her Lord,
A Martha to her company,
A Mary to the Word.

2. The Horrid Destroyer: It is bad enough when an enemy does this treacherous work, but it was this foolish woman herself. Add to this the even sadder fact that she convinces herself that she is building her house, when all the time she is actually tearing it down with her own hands. She didn’t set out to do this, but she did it just the same. Is not this the all too frequent picture we are seeing in our family disoriented society? How many homes are being broken up by the very folly described here centuries ago! A plain marble stone, in a churchyard, bears this brief inscription: “She always made home happy.” A grieving husband penned this epitaph after sixty years of wedded life. He might have said of his departed wife, she was beautiful, and accomplished, and an ornament to society, and yet not have said she made home happy. Alas, he might also have added, she was a Christian, and not have been able to say, “She always made home happy.”

Thought: It takes applied wisdom to build a home, but any fool can tear down.

Prayer: Lord, give me the wisdom to be a builder for eternity.