In Proverbs it is said, “whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of The LORD.” [Prov 18:22] Those who are given a wife of God are given a very good thing; they are given an inheritance and a gift. It says again in Proverbs, “house and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from The LORD.” [Prov 19:14] Here, a wife is compared to an inheritance, a thing of great value given to us from our Father; and indeed, a wife is a very valuable and precious thing, for again we are told in Proverbs, “who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.” [Prov 31:10] A wife from The LORD is “a good thing” priced “far above rubies:” a wonderful gift from God to a man, which is shown to us in Adam’s reaction to Eve when he exclaimed, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh;” [Gen 2:23] and also in Jacobs attitude who for Rachel, “served seven years for [her]; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.” [Gen 29:20]
It is clear from scripture, that God esteems wives as precious and good things, a unique gift to man which is to be prized and cherished. We also see this in God’s attitude toward His bride. The LORD says in Isaiah, “as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” [Isa 62:5b] And again, in Jesus’ parable, which is a picture of Him, The Son of Man purchasing His bride, it is written of the man that “when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” [Mt 13:46] We were to Christ so precious a treasure that He sold what He had as it were to purchase us; yes, our Lord and Groom “emptied Himself” and purchased us with His “precious blood,” [Phil 2:7, 1 Pe 1:19] so that we might be His. His love for us is “surpassing understanding,” [Eph 3:19] and in Songs we see His glorious language, which says to us His bride, “Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.” [Song 4:9]
Marriage being mainly a picture of the love of Christ Jesus for His bride, the church, we clearly see a response which should naturally arise from out of the husband: mainly, joy. Yes, as a husband we are to rejoice over our bride just as God rejoices over us; regardless of if our wives please us very well or not, if we are to picture Christ properly we must choose joy and delight. Even as God “will rejoice over [us] with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over [us] with singing” [Zeph 3:17] so too should we rejoice over our wives. We are told by Solomon in Proverbs, “let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth;” [Prov 5:18] and again in Ecclesiastes, in the blunt fashion of that particular book, “live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of thy life of vanity…” [Ecc 9:9a]
Now, it will come to pass that we will have tribulation in the midst of marriage, and it very well may be because of marriage. However, if we are to take any example from Jesus our Lord, we may endure such things with Joy; for it is written of Christ that “for the joy that was set before him [He] endured the cross.” [Heb 12:2] Moreover, He tells us “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” [Jn 16:33b] And so let us take comfort in our God and Friend for again He encourages us that though trials are present now, soon life shall arise and joy shall be had. “A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.” [Jn 16:21] And, “…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” [Psa 30:5] So whether in pleasant times or not, let us have that glorious attitude of Jacob who though he toiled seven years for Rachel his wife, “they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.” [Gen 29:20b]