Daily Devotional
               Betty Miller shares her daily devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.   

  The Wisdom of God

Verses for the Day:

Proverbs 19:13-14(KJV):
13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.

Proverbs 19:13-14(NIV):
13 A foolish son is his father's ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
14 Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

Thoughts for the Day:

Throughout Proverbs we not only find wise sayings, but observations about life in general are pointed out as well. In verse 13 we are told that a father who has a foolish son will suffer calamity and ruin because of the son's rebellion that will produce these things. There is an excellent definition of the word "foolish" recorded in Wilson's Old Testament Word Studies. It aptly describes why a foolish son is his father's ruin.

       The definition of the words fool, foolishness, and folly:  A fool is one who is not prudent or provident, he is without aim or counsel. Regardless of the means or instruments he should use; he is most ready to form rash hopes, one who carelessly commits everything to an uncertain issue; as opposed to one who walks uprightly, or straight forward. He is easily provoked; one who acts without counsel, and whose will is too hard for his understanding. He has no reason for what he does, but because he has a mind to do it, he just does it. A fool is one who is not delighted with understanding. He is one who trusts in his own heart or mind, to whom confidence and a fond expectation of some good are so peculiar, that from it, he receives his especial designation; as opposed to a prudent or wise man. Foolishness involves the charge of impiety and folly. It is to act stupidly, absurdly, inconsistently; to be sottish, infatuated; it denotes any deviation of the mind from what is good and right, wise and prudent. A fool is a silly, careless, ignorant, weak person, who is easily imposed upon.

A son who takes a path of rebellion and selfishness will bring much heartache to his father.  If the father is also most unfortunate to not have a good wife, but rather has one who is contentious and nags continually, he is then doubly cursed.  A woman who nags all the time and complains all the time, is just like listening to dripping water.  We all know listening to the sound of something going "drip, drip drip drip, drip" is quite unsettling and gets on your nerves after a time.  Nagging wives can cause the same reaction as a dripping sound that does not cease.   If we are guilty of this kind of behavior, we need to ask the Lord to forgive us and give us a sweet spirit that brings joy to those around us.

Verse 14 tells us that a man can inherit houses and riches; however, a good, prudent wife is a gift of the Lord.  The value of a godly woman is spoken of in Proverbs 31:10-11: " Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.  She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life." What husband would not love a woman like that?  He may have houses and riches, but money cannot buy a virtuous woman. She truly is a gift from God, as it takes God in her life to be the kind of woman that is lovely and good.

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Father, Thank you for your love and kindness in giving me a good husband. Lord, help me to be a good wife to my husband in every way. Let our marriage bring glory to you. Lord, I pray for those who are having problems in their marriages. Heal them and give them Your love and patience for each other.  Father, as Christians may our families reflect Your love and goodness to all around us.  Restore the broken families that are seeking You.  Touch the children and heal them also.  I ask this in the name our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.