WORD STUDY – GOOD

Proverbs 18:22 “Whoso finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor of the Lord.”

Good – Hebrew: Tov

Sounds like finding a wife is like finding a decent used car.  Good in Hebrew is much more than just something being decent or on the low end of the good, better , best progression we find in English.  The word “good” in Hebrew is “Tov” and it is spell Teth – personal insight, Vav – a connection between heaven and earth and Beth – one’s heart.  In other words  Tov calls us to examine ourselves so that our hearts are pure and we can make a connection with God.   Ancient rabbis called this “being in harmony with God.”  When God created the world and saw it was “good” or “tov” he saw that it was in harmony with Him. When Mozart, Bach and the other masters composed music, rabbis pointed to their composition where different musical  instruments all played a different musical sound yet they were in complete harmony with each as an example of “tov.”  Radio waves show us an example of “tov.”  When a radio wave is set out it is
picked up by the waves of a receiver.  As the two waves gradually come together there is static until they are totally matched match and then you have a clear sound.  They are in harmony.  When our wavelength matches that of God we are in harmony with Him and can hear his voice clearly.  If our wavelengths do not match His, there is static and his voice is not clear, we are out of harmony with Him.

The only thing God did not declare as Tov in creation was man.  He did not declare man to be “good”  (tov) or in harmony with Him until he created the woman.  The woman was created to be a “helper” for man in the sense of “helping” man understand His love relationship with God.  The love a man feels for his wife and she for Him is a picture of man’s love for God and God’s love for man.  Men have died  to protect their wives, women have died to protect  their children and God’s son has died to protect us for eternal death.   A woman was created to help a man understand the love that God has for us.  They are a gateway to bringing men into harmony with God.  Whoever finds a wife finds someone to bring him into harmony with God and thus obtains the favor of God.