Proverbs 19:13 commentary

13 ¶ A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

Now, here’s two items of unpleasantness for a husband and a father. He has a son who acts foolish and that is a grief to him.

Job 6:2 Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!

In fact, a foolish son is a disaster.

Deuteronomy 32:35 To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

A contentious wife reminds me of the water torture where drop upon drop falls on your head until you are driven insane. She is a scorner, she is strife, and she is full of reproaches against him.

Proverbs 22:10 Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.

I think we’ve all known someone like this, whose family life is an absolute misery. Christian men are called to a certain standard which can be difficult at times.

Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

Because it can get really bad.

Proverbs 21:9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

From a prophetic point of view, we have to understand God’s position. He called Israel his firstborn in Exodus 4:22. And there is no one who has acted more foolishly toward their Father than Israel. What a grief they have been. Just read the major and minor prophets to see His lamentation. Again, the church is the bride of Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 21:9, among others). Christians ignore God’s word, corrupt it, change it, delete it, and argue with it. Can you imagine a more disappointing scene for God, to have His son (lowercase ‘s’), the people He created from nasty, idol worshipping Gentiles act like an idiot and His bride whom He brought out from all the wretched of the nations of the earth act like a jerk?

What a merciful God we have. What a patient, longsuffering Creator. On this Easter morning while we observe the joy and celebration of Christ's resurrection, let's also remember God's mercy. Without His mercy, He would not have come to earth to live as one of us, to die, and to be resurrected. God's mercy is wonderful, anyone should agree.