Back to basics for marriage
Scripture reading for May 2nd: Matthew 19, Psalm 87, Proverbs 25
Matthew 19: 3-9 “And Pharisees came up to Him and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that He Who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.””
Marriage and divorce issues have been a part of mankind since the fall. There has been enmity and violence sown by Satan against those called to love one another and live together in harmony. Even in the law of Moses, God made an allowance for divorce because of the hardness of heart that develops in these situations of strife. Jesus carefully explained God’s original design. God made male and female, man and woman, to live together in a holy relationship of marriage. Their union was blessed and ordained by God to become ‘one flesh’ and produce children made in God’s image. God loves children and designed a loving home with father and mother as a place to instruct the children, protect them, and provide for them until they would also marry and pass it on. Sacred marriage produces sacred children because it models Christ Jesus and His Bride.
Psalm 87:5-6 “And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High Himself will establish her. The Lord records as He registers the peoples, “This one was born there.”
Prayer: Father God, thank You for this clear and simple instruction about marriage and divorce. Have mercy on our nation for ignoring and twisting this instruction to mean something else. Forgive us for our own hardness of heart, broken families and hurt children. Heal our people of their rebellion against Your simple design and use Your people to model loving and sacred marriages and raise children to know You.
Proverbs 25:24 “It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in house shared with a quarrelsome wife.”
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