I'm going to do something that
I don't know if I've done in this series in Proverbs. I want you to turn back to Proverbs
18, verse 22. I've told you many times, the
Proverbs are written such that there is a natural understanding
always setting forth the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I want to take this passage
of scripture, 1822, And what I'd like to do is I
would like to go over that verse again, and I want to give, by
God's grace, some practical instruction concerning finding a mate. As I said, marriage is a wonderful,
wonderful union. It is a glorious picture of the
Lord Jesus Christ and His bride. So when we look at marriage,
I'll tell you what a believer wants. He wants to know what
does God have to say. Whoso findeth a wife, findeth
a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord. Now we're looking
at two words right here in particular, findeth and obtaineth. The word findeth, it means first
to find someone or something that is lost or misplaced. The word refers to something
being found as a result of a purposeful search, diligent search, looking,
looking, seeking. You know when the sodomites,
when Lott was in Sodom and the Lord sent those two angels into
Sodom and they went to Lott's house and the men of the city,
they wanted the two men that came in and Lott told them, he
said, don't do this, don't do this. Let me give you my daughters,
don't do that. And they said, no, we want the
youth Give us those two men, we're coming in after you. And
those two angels blinded the eyes of the men. And the scripture
says they couldn't find the door. They couldn't find the door.
They were looking for it, but they couldn't find it. That's
the same word. Whoso findeth. It means something associated
with a diligent search. But it also means this. It means
something found that one did not initiate. Here's the meaning. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. So the word there, findeth, it
refers to something that is received. Received. Whether you was seeking
for it or whether the Lord graciously gave it to you. It has to do
with something being received. Obtaineth means to bring forth
or to secure or to succeed. Obtaineth. It was profitable. Knowing that the scriptures are
written to God's people for instruction, I want us to consider this issue
of a spouse, the practical, spiritual application of God's word to
God's people. This is something that is so
needful. You want, I want my kids and
grandkids, I want them to know this. I want them to know. What
does God have to say? What does God have to say? For
a believer, find a wife or a husband, number one, where should I look? Where should I look? Turn to 1 Corinthians 7.39. 1
Corinthians 7.39 1st Corinthians 739 the scripture
says the wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth
but if her husband be dead she is at liberty to be married to
whom she will but now listen to this last part only in the
Lord only in the Lord a believer is to be looking for a mate among
those that know God. Know God. Mr. Spurgeon said this,
I thought this was awfully good. He said, how careful ought young
people to be in the choosing of their partners for life. When
two horses pull together, how smoothly the chariot runs. But if one horse pulls one way,
the other horse pulls the opposite direction, what trouble there
is sure to be. I was married for almost 29 years. And the Lord was pleased to remove
my wife and to take her to her heavenly home. And that was the
Lord's will. And for that, I bow in thanksgiving
unto our Lord for his good pleasure. Brother Henry Mahan, dear friend,
told me one day, he told me, he said, Marvin, he said, I don't
understand all things that happen. He said, I don't understand anything
that happens hardly in my life, but he said, much less anybody
else's. But he said, Lord was pleased
to take your wife, according to his good pleasure, and we're
thankful unto our Lord for that. But he said, I'm going to give
you some advice. He said, I know this. He said, Lord, I'm sure
I'll give you a wife. He said, but I'm going to give
you this advice. Don't, and I wrote this down exactly the way he
said it, don't consider any woman unless she has confessed faithfully,
faithfully, consistently. The Lord Jesus Christ, he said
for at least five years, he said don't even go, don't even do
it. He said if she has not proven
herself to be a faithful, consistent woman, profess Christ, he said
don't do it, don't do it. To find a wife or husband, look
among those who confess Christ, faith in Christ, believe the
gospel of God's grace. A wife, a husband wants to marry
a believer. I'm going to read out of Genesis
24 where we just were. I'm just going to read this.
And this is what Abraham told his servant to do. He told him,
he said, I'm going to make you swear, 24 verse 3, by the Lord
God of heaven, God of earth, thou shalt not take a wife unto
my son of the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell,
but thou shalt go unto my country, to my kindred, take a wife unto
my son Isaac. So I will give you If somebody
were to come and ask me, say, give me some advice on this,
this is going to be my advice, that's what I'm going to say
right here. I would look for a believer among those that know
the Lord, that are believers. Secondly, I would seek the Lord's
direction. prayer, seeking out God's direction,
asking the Lord to bless the search, waiting on the Lord. 2 Thessalonians 5.17 says this,
pray without ceasing. Luke 18.1, he spake a parable
unto them to this end that men ought always to pray and not
to faint. The servant that was sent by
Abraham to search out a wife for Isaac, what he did was this
very thing. He went to the place where the
women were going to come and draw the water for the camels.
And this is what he said, verse 24-12. He said, O Lord God of
my master Abraham, I pray thee. send me good speed this day and
show kindness unto my master, Abraham. He sought the Lord in
asking God's direction. Lord, what would you have me to do?
Lord, you sin. Just as Abraham told this servant,
the angel of the Lord will go before you and will bless Ask
God's blessing. Ask the Lord's direction. Seek
God's face. And thirdly, and in closing,
here's my third point. Be patient. Be patient and wait
on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. Psalm 37 7,
rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Back in Genesis 24, verse 15,
the scripture sets forth, it came to pass before he had done
speaking, behold, Rebecca came out, who was born of Bethuel,
son of Milcah, wife of Nahar, Abraham's brother. And her picture
was upon his head. And he asked her if she could
give him some water. We just read it. She said yes. And then he waited to see what
else she was going to do. She didn't say anything else.
And when she had done drinking, verse 19, giving him drink, she
said, I'll draw water for your camels also until they've done
drinking. And she hasted and emptied her
pitcher into the trough and ran again under the well to draw
water and drew for all his camels. Here's the point. and the man
wondering that her held his peace to wit whether the Lord had made
his journey prosperous or not. My advice, scripture I'm dealing
with today was Proverbs 18.22. He that findeth a wife findeth
a good thing. He that findeth a wife findeth
a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord. That's what the
Spirit of God has put in the Scriptures. Then let's ask ourselves
this, what does God have to say about this? Seek a mate for a
believer, seek a mate among believers. Ask the Lord for direction. Ask
the Lord for direction. Lord, bless, bless this. And wait on the Lord. Wait on
the Lord. He'll bless His Word. Lord, help
us this day for Christ's sake.