Genesis 2:24
“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.”
INSIGHT
-Wife in Hebrew is written as ishshah & it means helper, helpmate & can be described as a married woman considered in a relation with her spouse. Ishashah comes from the word ish which means man in Hebrew; intimating that a woman was originally created from a man’s rib.
-In the beginning God created everything & saw that it was good. Then God said “it is not good for a man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him” (Gen 2:18). Eve was then created from the Adams rib; close to his heart for him to offer her love, care & protection. The above scripture is duplicated in Eph 5:31-33, “a man will leave his father & mother & be united to his wife, & the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery but I am talking about Christ & the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, & the wife must respect her husband”. A man therefore cleaves to his wife in a permanent relationship for they become one flesh in Christ just like Christ & the church. Jesus tells us in Mat 19:6, that what God has put together let not man put ascender, in the notion that a man & his wife become one flesh in a permanent union cemented in Christ & only separable by death. Marriages are living illustrations of Gods’ goodness in building up beautiful relationships worth giving honor to Him. Just like Christ loved the church so a husband should love her wife & a wife respect her husband in fulfillment of Gods’ word. In doing this we become witnesses of Christ in our lives, marriages & families to others; so that they may also honor God in their different capacities.
PRAYER
Jesus our Father, You are at the centre of our lives, families, marriages, churches & nation, have mercy on us. Draw to Yourself Lord, those who do not know You & direct them according to Your word. We humbly ask You Lord to be gracious to all those who are unmarried & give them good spouses. Guide all those who are married to remain united in bonds of love & mutual respect, that they may be Your true witnesses Lord. You satisfy us with Your love Father, we thank You & glorify Your holy name. Amen
Genesis 25:21
“Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.”
INSIGHT
-Isaac just like his father Abraham took his position in prayer & prayed for his wife & the Lord heard him. Probably Rebekah had lost hope & given up praying for a child in her barren state but the Lord was merciful unto them. The function of prayer is most often dedicated as an obligation of wives & some men assume that all is well. This scripture encourages all men to take their position in leadership & pray for their spouses & families, & our God of grace will most definitely hear us. We also note that childlessness is a common challenge in marriages & this scripture gives all couples hope, that through faith in God, fruitfulness ensues. Barrenness is also symbolic to lack of productivity in marriage. These may include :- lack of spiritual growth, poor communication in families, unwillingness to forgive, financial crisis, disagreements in career & work, lack of support, disrespect, emotional infidelity etc. One of the main goals of a marriage is for couples to become fruitful & not just to look fruitful. We know that through prayer all things are possible & the Lord will over-turn any unfavorable situation in our marriages & families.
PRAYER
Dear Lord; You instituted the institution of marriage right from the time of Adam & Eve, unite all married couples with bonds of love that cannot be broken. Help all married couples to hold fast forgiveness & to support one another even in prayer Lord. We humbly implore You Father to hear the cry of all couples who do not have children & remove any form of barrenness that families experience; Lord full of grace. You heard Isaac’s prayer Father, hear all our prayers & fight for us; for Your love for us endures forever. Bless us Oh Lord that we may bear much fruit in our different capacities for without You Lord we are without favor. We praise You & glorify You now & forever. Amen
Proverbs 19:14
“Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.”
INSIGHT
-The function of finding a prudent wife should be dedicated to the Lord in prayer & one finds favor from Him. Therefore, a prudent or virtuous wife from the Lord is more valuable than houses & wealth; passed down to children by their parents for a wasteful wife can squander all of it. A prudent wife normally has an intelligent knowledge of reason, noble in character thus her husband safely trusts her & lacks no gain. She does not walk in the dark but in light knowing who God created her to be as a wife & mother, & walks in her role with dignity & diligence. She also comes to her marriage instructed by the Holy Spirit, God’s Word & other people like godly elder women who are walking in truth. She trains her mouth & guards her tongue in speech which only edifies the other & remain silent when it’s the best option, knowing that her words may either build up or tear down her marriage, family & relationships. Most of all she takes heed to love God & walks according to His word; taking heed not to wrong those around her.
PRAYER
We thank you Father for this beautiful day, we rejoice & are glad in it. We humbly ask You Lord to mould all ladies to be prudent wives for Your name sake. Father Your word says that a prudent wife comes from You, help all the unmarried men to find them & all unmarried women to get married according to Your will, Lord full of mercy. We yield ourselves to your instructions Father, direct us in Your ways of wisdom, understanding & truth. We place all our confidence in You Father bless our families so that we may prosper in all good things & strengthen us in our walk of faith. Amen
1 Corinthians 7:2-3
“But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.”
INSIGHT
-Apostle Paul gives a statement of acknowledgement that sexual immorality was prevalent in Corinth as it is today in our various societies. It is proper therefore for married couples to only have intimate relations with their spouses & the unmarried to marry lest they continue to burn with passions (1 Cor 7:9). Deprivation of ones conjugal rights has been cautioned against in marriage which might occur as a punitive measure to the other partner & end up to be disastrous but should not be an excuse for the deprived to sin. Hebrews 13:4 also tells us that marriage should be honored by all & the marriage bed kept pure for God will judge the adulterer & all the sexually immoral. We have hope in our merciful God for He helps us in every weakness, forgives us our sins & delivers us from all evil; so that we may remain guided by His word.
PRAYER
Jesus our Lord You are the head of our marriages, may Your love take over our family bonds so that we may only do that which is pleasing to Your eyes. Help us to harbor forgiveness in all marriages & relationships; in the realization the You forgive those who forgive others, & reunite all broken unions according to Your will. Forgive us all our sins Father; full of mercy & deliver us from all evil. Be gracious to all the unmarried ladies & gentlemen Lord; that they may be united as one in Your divine purposes for each of us. Direct us & walk with us Father; in all things. Amen
Matthew 19:9-10
“I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
INSIGHT
-Jesus was coming from Galilee to Judea where He had talked about the forgiveness formula, that forgiveness should not be seven times but seventy times seven. The disciples then enquired about divorce but Jesus taught about marriage intimating that there is no excuse for divorce. Though the question occurred that; Moses allowed divorce; because of the people’s hardness of heart, & probably also instituting laws in marriage & divorce. Jesus talks about sexual immorality which attempts to disjoint the marriage union from one flesh. Thus forgiveness as a symbol of love should be highly upheld in any marriage; for it is designed for unity & not division, & God in His sovereignty has made marriage permanent from the beginning. Further, what God has joined together no one should separate & through His mercy, He is able to make every crooked paths straight.
SUMMARY
-Wife in Hebrew is written as ishshah & it means helper, helpmate or companion & can be described as a married woman considered in a relation with her spouse. Ishashah comes from the word ish which means man in Hebrew; intimating that a woman was originally created from a man’s rib.
-In the beginning God created everything & saw that it was good. Then God said “it is not good for a man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him” (Gen 2:18). Eve was then created from the Adams rib; close to his heart for him to offer her love, care, protection & for her to offer companionship to him in family unity. Then God made a decree that man shall leave his father & mother & unite with his wife, & they become one flesh (Gen 2:24 ). In Ephesians 5:31-33 this scripture has been duplicated & additionally stipulates that this is a great mystery about Christ & the church, & that each man must love his wife as himself, & each wife respect her husband. A man therefore cleaves to his wife in a permanent relationship for they become one flesh in Christ just like Christ & the church. Jesus tells us in Mat 19:6, that what God has put together let not man put ascender, in the notion that a man & his wife become one flesh in a permanent union cemented by Christ, separable by physical death & at the same time reunited eternal in the marriage between Christ & the church. Marriages are therefore living illustrations of Gods’ goodness in building up beautiful relationships worth giving honor to Him. Just like Christ loved the church so a husband should love her wife & a wife respect her husband in fulfillment of Gods’ word & avoid conflict. In doing this we become witnesses of Christ in our lives, marriages, families & to others; so that they may also honor God in their different capacities. Isaac just like his father Abraham took his position in prayer & prayed for his wife, & the Lord heard him. Probably Rebekah had lost hope & given up praying for a child in her barren state but the Lord was merciful unto them & blessed them with children (Gen 25:21). Childlessness is a common challenge in marriages & this scripture gives all couples hope, that through faith in God, fruitfulness ensues. Barrenness may also be symbolic to lack of productivity in marriage. These may include :- lack of spiritual growth, poor communication in the family, unwillingness to forgive, financial crisis, disagreements in career & work, lack of support, disrespect, emotional infidelity, lack of love & intimacy etc. One of the main goals of a marriage is for couples to become fruitful & not just to look fruitful. We know that through prayer all things are possible & the Lord will over-turn any unfavorable situation in our marriages & families for He is faithful. Men are also encouraged to take their position in leadership & pray for their spouses & families, & our God of grace will most definitely answer us. Prayer should also be prioritized by the unmarried for only God can give a good spouse for in Proverbs 19:14 it is written, “Houses & wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.” A prudent wife normally has an intelligent knowledge of reason, noble in character thus her husband safely trusts her & lacks no gain. She does not walk in the dark but in light knowing who God created her to be as a wife & mother, & does her role with dignity & diligence. She also comes to her marriage instructed by the Holy Spirit, God’s Word & other people like godly elder women who are walking in truth. She trains her mouth & guards her tongue in speech which only edifies the other & remain silent when it’s the best option, knowing that her words may either build up or tear down her marriage, family & relationships. Most of all she takes heed to love God & her husband, & walks according to Gods’ word & often careful not to wrong those around her.
Apostle Paul notes that sexual immorality was prevalent in Corinth as it is today in our various societies & advices both the wife & husband to only have sexual relations with their own fulfilling their marital duties & remain as one flesh (1 Cor 7:2-3). It is proper therefore for married couples to only have intimate relations with their spouses & the unmarried to marry lest they continue to burn with passions (1 Cor 7:9). Deprivation of ones conjugal rights has been cautioned against in marriage which might occur as a punitive measure to the other partner & end up to be disastrous but should not be an excuse for the deprived to sin. Hebrews 13:4 also tells us that marriage should be honored by all & the marriage bed kept pure for God will judge the adulterer & all the sexually immoral. Our God of mercy is gracious to us in all situations & can overturn any unfavorable circumstance. He helps us in every weakness, forgives us our sins & delivers us from all evil; so that we may remain guided by His word. God also advises us that with love for Him & one another; we remain in Him & Him in us, & calls us to forgiveness regardless of how bad the situation might be; just like He forgives us all the time.
PRAYER
You have been gracious & kind to us Lord we thank You for this far. You are full of mercy & love Father, have mercy on all the married to remain united in love, separated to be filled with grace, the unmarried to find good spouses, celibate to continue in good works & widows to be joyful in Your strength. Father; fulfill all the desires of our hearts & make every crooked paths straight according to Your grace. Help us to grow in Your wisdom & knowledge Father so that we may always have the heart to forgive without seeking forgiveness from others; merciful Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. Bind our families together Lord with bonds that cannot be broken. To You Lord be the glory now & forever. Amen