Beloved, I am glad to share with you today on the next window of this temple, namely the sacred marriage. The Lord teaches us here about the sacredness of marriage. It is an institution established and consecrated by the Eternal Almighty God.
The Bible dedicates the marriage in Matthew 5.31-32: “It has been said: He who divorces his wife give him a letter of divorce. 32 But I say to you, He who divorces his wife, except for unfaithfulness, exposes her to adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
I. CHARACTERISTICS OF MARRIAGE
- God honors marriage:
-instituted from the beginning: Gen 2.18, 21-22 “The LORD God said, It is not good for man to be alone; I will help him like him. 21 And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, who fell asleep; he took one of his ribs, and closed the flesh in its place. 22 And the LORD God made a woman from the ribs he took from the man, and brought him to the man..”
-is a repeated institution in the New Testament: Matt 19.5: “And he said, Wherefore the man shall leave his father and his mother, and bind himself to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?” ; Eph 5.31 “Wherefore the man shall leave his father and his mother, and bind himself to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh.”
-Jesus is invited to a wedding ceremony: Jn 2.1-2 “Three days later, there was a wedding in Cana in the Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, 2 and Jesus was also invited to the wedding with his disciples.”
Please note :
* in the Old Testament: Judges 16: 4-5. “After that, he loved a woman in the Sorek Valley. She was named Delila. 5 And the princes of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Flatten him, to know where his great strength comes from him, and how we should make him masters of him; we will bind him to subdue him, and we will give you one thousand and one hundred shekels of silver each.”
* in the New Testament: 1 Cor 7.12-14 “To others, it is not the Lord, it is I who say: If a brother has a non-believing wife, and she consents to live with him, that he does not repudiate her; 13 And if a woman have an unbelieving husband, and he consent to dwell with her, let her not put away her husband. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the woman, and the unbelieving woman is sanctified by the brother; otherwise, your children would be impure, while now they are holy.”
- Marriage is for life Mat 19: 3-6, 9 “The Pharisees approached it, and said, to test it: Is it permissible for a man to divorce his wife for any reason? 4 And he said, Have you not read that the creator in the beginning made the man and the woman 5 and said, Wherefore the man shall leave his father and his mother, and to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? 6 So they are no longer two, but they are one flesh. Let no man separate what God has joined. 9 But I say to you, He who divorces his wife, except for unfaithfulness, and marries another, commits adultery.” 1 Cor 7.39 “A woman is bound as long as her husband is alive; but if the husband dies, she is free to marry whom she wishes; only, be it in the Lord.”
Mark 10.2 “The Pharisees came up against him; and, to test him, they asked him whether it is permissible for a man to divorced his wife.” ; 1 Cor 7:10 “To those who are married, I command, not me, but the Lord, that a wife should not be separated from her husband.”
II. OBSTACLES TO THE OPERATION OF MARRIAGE
The main causes of family problems:
Gen 27.41 “And Esau hated Jacob, because of the blessing with which his father blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, My father’s days of mourning are near, and I will kill Jacob my brother.”
-sterility: Gen 30.11 “Leah said, What happiness! And she called him Gad.” ;
1 Sam 1,6-7 “6 And his rival lavished mortifications on him, to provoke him to anger, because the LORD rendered him barren. 7 And all the years it was so. Whenever Anne went up to the house of the Lord, Peninna mortified her in the same way. So she cried and did not eat.”
-Envy: Gen 37.11 “And his brethren had envy against him, but his father kept the remembrance of these things.”
– ungrateful children: Deut 21:20 “They will say to the elders of his city, “Behold our son, who is rebellious and rebellious, who does not listen to our voice, and who indulges in excesses and drunkenness”; 2 Sam 15.6 “And Absalom did so with all the men of Israel, who went to the king to ask for justice. And Absalom won the hearts of the people of Israel.”
-unworthy husband: 1 Sam 25.25 “Let not my lord take heed of this wicked man, Nabal, for he is as his name is; Nabal is his name, and there is folly in him. And I, your servant, did not see the people my lord sent.”
-greed : Pro 15:27 “He who is greedy for gain troubles his house, but he who hates the gifts shall live.”
-laziness Ecc 10.8 “Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and he who overthrows a wall will be bitten by a serpent.”
-divorce: Mat 19: 7-8 “Why, then, did they say to him, did Moses command to give the woman a letter of divorce and to divorce her? 8 And he said to them, Because of the hardness of your heart, Moses allowed you to put away your wives; in the beginning it was not so.”
Luke 16.18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries a woman divorced by her husband commits adultery.” ; 1 Cor 7.27 “Are you bound to a woman, do not seek to break that bond; are you not tied to a woman, do not look for a woman.”
Incontinence : 1 Cor. 5.1 “It is generally said that there is among you fornication, and fornication such as it does not occur even among the Gentiles; it is to the point that one of you has the wife of his father.” ; 1 Cor 6.18 “Flee fornication. Whatever other sin a man commits, this sin is out of the body; but he who indulges in immorality sins against his own body.” 1 Th 4.3 “What God wants is your sanctification; it is that you abstain from fornication”; 2 P 2.14 “They have eyes full of adultery and insatiable with sin; they initiate unstable souls; they have the heart exercised to greed; they are children of curse.”
* The solemn obligations of the marriage Rom 7.2 “Thus, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he is alive; but if the husband dies, she is released from the law which bound her to her husband.” ; Mark 10.7, 9 “Therefore the man will leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife, 9 and let not man separate what God has joined.”
Eph 5.25 “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church, and gave himself up for her”; 1 P 3.7 “Husbands, show wisdom in your dealings with your wives, as with a weaker sex; honor them, as also to inherit with you the grace of life. May it be so, so that nothing can stand in the way of your prayers.” 1 Cor 7:10 “To those who are married, I command, not me, but the Lord, that a wife should not be separated from her husband; Col 3:18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as it is right in the Lord.”
1 P 3.1 “Women, be likewise subject to your husbands, so that if a few do not obey the word, they may be won without words by the conduct of their wives”,
-Adultery is forbidden in all cases Exo 20.14 “You shall not commit adultery. Lev 18.20 Thou shalt not trade with thy neighbor’s wife, to defile thee with her.”
-Adulteries are excluded from the kingdom of God : Gal 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, they are fornication, impurity, dissolution, idolatry, magic, enmities, quarrels, jealousies, animosities, disputes, divisions, sects, envy, drunkenness, overeating, and the like. I tell you beforehand, as I have already said, that those who commit such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
-God hates divorce: Malachi 2.16 “For I hate repudiation, saith the LORD God of Israel, and he that covers his garment with violence, saith the LORD of hosts. Take care therefore in your mind, and do not be unfaithful!”
– polygamy is practiced in the Old Testament: Gen 29.16-20 “16 Now, Laban had two daughters: the eldest was Leah, and the younger Rachel. Lea looked with delicate eyes; but Rachel was handsome and beautiful in appearance. Jacob loved Rachel, and he said, I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your youngest daughter. 19 And Laban said, I would rather give it to you than to give it to another man. Stay home! 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they were like a few days before him because he loved her.”
1 Sam 1.1-2 “There was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of mount Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Thuhu, the son of Tsuph, the Ephrathite. 2 And he had two wives, one of whom was called Hannah, and the other Peninna; Peninna had children, but Anne had none.”
– polygamy produces friction: Gen 30.1 “When Rachel saw that she did not give children to Jacob, she made her sister anxious, and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I die!”
Lev 18.18 “Thou shalt not take thy wife’s sister to provoke a rivalry, but discover her nakedness beside thy wife in her days.” ;
III. BIBLICAL COMPARISONS OF MARRIAGE
Let’s recall what we read of the Word of God on marriage as an image:
-God is the husband of Israel Es 54.5 “For your creator is your husband: The LORD of hosts is his name; And your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel: He is called the God of all the earth;” ; Jer 3.14 “Return, rebellious children, says the LORD; Because I am your master. I will take you one of a city, two of a family, and I will bring you back to Zion.”
-Christ, betrothed to the Church : 2 Cor 11.2 “For I am jealous of you with a jealousy of God, because I have betrothed you to one husband, to present you to Christ as a pure virgin”. ;
-The Church, Bride of Christ : Eph 5.22-24 “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord; 23 For the husband is the head of the woman, as Christ is the head of the church, which is his body, and of which he is the Savior. 24 Now, just as the Church is subject to Christ, so must women be to their husbands in all things.”
-The wedding in heaven : Mat 22: 9-10 “9 Go therefore to the crossroads, and call to the wedding every one that you find. 10 And these servants went out into the ways, and gathered together all that were found, wicked and good, and the wedding hall was full of guests”.
Rev 19.7,9 “7 Let us rejoice and rejoice, and give him glory; for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride is prepared, 9 And the angel saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb; And he said to me, These words are the true words of God.”
From what precedes, let’s note that God honored and instituted marriage so that it devotes the married life and ensures the descendants. This’s why divorce is prohibited with one exception, in case of adultery. However, while monogamy is ideal, polygamy rather is a source of frustration, friction and idolatry. It’s therefore recommended to preserve the couple from adultery. And we have seen the main causes of family problems that need to be removed. Finally, the wedding in heaven remains a truth that we hope to see all, by the grace of our God, having a holy life that He exhorts us to live every day. This is our prayer for you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite anyone who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me as follows :
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I acknowledge that I have sinned against you and ask forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as my Lord and personal Savior. I acknowledge that you died on the cross of Calvary and that you rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me each day to eternal life you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal to me and strengthen my heart and my faith so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me in your divine family so that I too can contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
To you all worship, power, and glory, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be glad to respond to your queries and comments as necessary, before sharing with you next week on the control of speech.
May the Almighty God bless you profusely.
David Feze, Servant of the Lord Almighty.
The latest web news in real time