Today’s proverb is somewhat humorous in the portrait it paints, but only if you are not living out its reality! Solomon proposes a truth in Proverbs 21:9 that was most likely drawn upon by his own life experience!
Proverbs 21:9 – “It is better [good; best; pleasing] to dwell [sit; inhabit; remain; tarry] in a corner [tower] of the housetop [roof; flat rooftop], than with a brawling [contentious; striving] woman in a wide [company; shared] house [family; household].”
More than a few men may read Proverbs 21:9 and agree with Solomon [if only under your breath, assuming wisdom might dictate holding one’s tongue]! Solomon expresses what many men know is true—a man married to a contentious woman cannot find joy or peace! In fact, there is not a house big enough for a man to escape a quarrelsome woman! Abiding under the same roof as a cantankerous wife makes the seclusion offered by the corner of a housetop on a hot summer day seem like paradise!
Solomon stated that same sentiment in an earlier proverb:
Proverbs 19:13b – “…the contentions[brawling; strife] of a wife are a continual [follow close; drive on; pursue; chase] dropping[drips; leaks].”
A quarrelsome wife is as disruptive to life as rain dripping through a roof—she is a continual source of frustration and sorrow…drip…drip…drip.
I close with an observation attributed to the late radio preacher J. Vernon McGee: Some men did not “know what true happiness was until [they] got married—and then it was too late!”
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