Proverbs 19:14 Commentary and Bible Study

By contrast, there is another family which is blessed by God, and though his hand is often unseen, the members of the household see him by faith in the harmony and happiness of the family and all its workings. This is not about the inheritance which comes to fathers, but that which comes from father to their sons. The blessing in the first half of the verse is expressed in terms of material wealth, because that was how God had specifically promised to bless Israel under the national covenant. The law said a great deal about property and its inheritance, and it ensured that the land belonging to a tribe could not change hands through the inheritance process (Numbers 36:12). Whether a son inherited much or little depended on the industry of the previous generation. To inherit land or wealth from a father was a blessing and a responsibility, for the son was expected to make good use of it and have something to pass on to his children in turn.Does the verse contain a contrast within it between the first and second halves, or are the two to be added together? Does the contrast in fact exist not within the verse but with the previous verse? If the translation is ‘but a prudent wife’, then the main point of the proverb is the outstanding importance of the wife above any amount of inheritance. Inheritance comes from men, but a prudent wife comes only from the Lord. If however the translation is ‘and a prudent wife’, then the verse lists two blessings on a family, and the contrast is with the previous verse’s dysfunctional family. Maybe both contrasts should be considered. We should note that the son in the previous verse also receives an inheritance, so the difference between the two verses is not that one son receives an inheritance and the other receives noting, but is more to do with how the inheritance is handled.Again, the verse does not simply say that the lot falls differently to different people and there is little we can do about it. A prudent wife is from the Lord, but the Lord rewards those who love and obey him with such a wife. The husband bears some responsibility for the wife he chooses to marry. He must exercise discernment with modesty, for he must read the character of his prospective wife and must do his utmost to ensure that she desires to serve the Lord sincerely, but he must also be aware that the heart of another human being is deep water and he cannot understand everything from the beginning, if ever, and that he is reliant on the Lord for providing him with a prudent wife.