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How To Find A Good Christian Wife, And Keep Her! |
Chapter 13: Biblical Narratives For Our
Instruction
2 Tim 3:16 all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: Gen 39:1-20 now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in Everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care Everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on Everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph’s care Everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "come to bed with me!" But he refused. "with me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; Everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or Even be with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, "come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants. "look," she said to them, "this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house." She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: "that Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house." When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "this is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger. Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, Although sold into slavery by his brothers, and then falsely accused by a woman for a crime he did not commit, God used these events for Joseph’s and all of the Mideast’s good by preparing Joseph to be a leader. Joseph had ruled Potiphar’s household, then in prison God caused Joseph to be in charge of the jail. This was all training, to prepare him for the day when God would cause Pharaoh to place Joseph in command of the land of Egypt, and rescue the people frm famine. Gen 39:21-23 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in Whatever he did. Joseph while in prison gave interpretation of some of the other inmates dreams, and then God gave Pharaoh a dream and gave only Joseph the interpretation so that Pharaoh would have to summon Joseph from the prison. Gen 41:1 & 8 when two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: in the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him. Gen 41:14-16 so Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." "I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." God gave Pharaoh the answer to his dream through Joseph, and Pharaoh seeing wisdom God had given Joseph promoted him directly from a prison inmate to second in command of all Egypt. And also gave him a wife, the daughter of a priest. Gen 41:38-46 So Pharaoh asked them, "can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?" Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you." So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, "make way !" Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt." Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt. Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh's presence and traveled throughout Egypt. The Adventures Of Samson
Deu 7:1-6 when the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations--the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you--and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other Gods, and the Lord's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. This is what you are to do to them: break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. Judg 14:1-20 Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young philistine woman. When he returned, he said to his father and mother, "I have seen a philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife." His father and mother replied, "isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised philistines to get a wife?" But Samson said to his father, "get her for me. She's the right one for me." (his parents did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.) Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The spirit of the Lord came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her. Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion's carcass. In it was a swarm of bees and some honey, which he scooped out with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion's carcass. Now his father went down to see the woman. And Samson made a feast there, as was customary for bridegrooms. When he appeared, he was given thirty companions. "let me tell you a riddle," Samson said to them. "if you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. If you can't tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes." "tell us your riddle," they said. "let's hear it." He replied, "out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet." For three days they could not give the answer. On the fourth day, they said to Samson’s wife, "coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father's household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?" Then Samson’s wife threw herself on him, sobbing, "you hate me! You don't really love me. You've given my people a riddle, but you haven't told me the answer." "I haven't Even explained it to my father or mother," he replied, "so why should I explain it to you?" She cried the whole Seven days of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people. Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said to him, "what is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?" Samson said to them, "if you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle." Then the spirit of the Lord came upon him in power. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of their belongings and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he went up to his father's house. And Samson’s wife was given to the friend who had attended him at his wedding. Like many of us, Samson’s first marriage didn’t work out too well. Samson married the first time because he was attracted to her beauty, but took no thought for her character or the cultural differences between them. His wife was more loyal to her own people than to her new husband, and this is common. Samson made a bad first marriage choice. Although the Lord used Samson’s actions to work out his purposes, it was Samson’s own desires and disobedience of God’s command not to intermarry with the Philistines that caused him much misery in his life in his relationships. Judg 16:1-3 one day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. The people of Gaza were told, "Samson is here!" So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, "at dawn we'll kill him." But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron. Samson was doing like the country song says, “looking for love in all the wrong places.” Judg 16:4-31 some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. The rulers of the philistines went to her and said, "see if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver." So Delilah said to Samson, "tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued." Samson answered her, "if anyone ties me with seven fresh thongs that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man." Then the rulers of the philistines brought her Seven fresh thongs that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. With men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the thongs as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered. Then Delilah said to Samson, "you have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied." He said, "if anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man." So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads. Delilah then said to Samson, "until now, you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied." He replied, "if you weave the Seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man." So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the Seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric and tightened it with the pin. Again she called to him, "Samson, the philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric. Then she said to him, "how can you say, 'I love you,' when you won't confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven't told me the secret of your great strength." With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death. So he told her Everything. "no razor has Ever been used on my head," he said, "because I have been a nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man." When Delilah saw that he had told her Everything, she sent word to the rulers of the philistines, "come back once more; he has told me Everything." So the rulers of the philistines returned with the silver in their hands. Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the Seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. Then she called, "Samson, the philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I’ll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the Lord had left him. Then the philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison. But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved. Now the rulers of the philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their God and to celebrate, saying, "our God has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands." When the people saw him, they praised their God, saying, "our God has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain." While they were in high spirits, they shouted, "bring out Samson to entertain us." So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them. When they stood him among the pillars, Samson said to the servant who held his hand, "put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them." Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. Then Samson prayed to the Lord, "o sovereign Lord, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the philistines for my two eyes." Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, "let me die with the philistines!" Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived. Then his brothers and his father's whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel twenty years. Samson lost his sight and his life due to his desire for Philistine women. A comparison to that today would be a Christian marrying a non Christian. While it may not result in such extreme things as happened to Samson, after the infatuation wears off it could very well be the start of a very miserable life for the person whose real desire is to please God, and not much happier for the unbelieving partner. The Story Of Ruth
The entire story of Ruth should also be read from the scriptures to get the whole story. We will only highlight some of the key thoughts here. Ruth, although she was a Moabitess, a descendant of lot, the Lord blessed her marriage to Boaz because she was a woman of noble character and served the Lord. Ruth 1:1-14 in the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. Now Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. When she heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the Lord show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them and they wept aloud and said to her, "we will go back with you to your people." But Naomi said, "return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me--Even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons--would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord's hand has gone out against me!" At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her. Ruth 1:15-17 "look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her Gods. Go back with her." But Ruth replied, "don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it Ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." Ruth 1:18-21 when Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "can this be Naomi?" "don't call me Naomi, " she told them. "call me Mara, because the almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the almighty has brought misfortune upon me." The story has a happy ending though. Ruth meets and marries Boaz, a kinsman of Naomi’s and becomes more than a daughter in law to Naomi. Ruth 3:11 NIV and now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. Ruth 4:11-12 NIV then the elders and all those at the gate said, "we are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah." Ruth 4:13-17 so Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi: "praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth." Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Things worked out well for both Ruth and Naomi, Even though they went through some very difficult times. Ruth through Boaz became the great grandmother of king David and through David of course runs the lineage of Jesus Christ. Mat 1:5-6 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of king David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, David And Bathsheba
2 Samuel 11:2-5 one Evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (she had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant." David, when he found out that the woman was pregnant tried to cover up his sin by sending for her husband who was a soldier at war. 2 Samuel 11:6-13 NIV so David sent this word to Joab: "send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, "go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house. When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?" Uriah said to David, "the ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my Lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!" Then David said to him, "stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the Evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home. Uriah, the husband by the design of God refused to sleep with his wife while he was home on leave. When David saw that this ploy had failed devised a plan to kill Uriah. 2 Samuel 11:14-27 NIV in the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it he wrote, "put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die." So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. Joab sent David a full account of the battle. The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David Everything Joab had sent him to say. The messenger said to David, "the men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead." David told the messenger, "say this to Joab: 'don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.' say this to encourage Joab." When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord. David killed Uriah and then took his wife and she became David’s wife. The Lord was angry with David and sent Nathan the prophet to confront David with his sin. Notice how Nathan first tells David a parable concerning what David had done, and when David became irate over the parable, Nathan told him that he was the man who had done this thing. 2 Samuel 12:1-13 NIV the Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "there were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and Even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. "now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him." David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "as surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity." Then Nathan said to David, "you are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you Even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the ammonites. Now therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.' "this is what the Lord says: 'out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.'" then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan replied, "the Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. God did punish David with this that he told David he would do. David's son Absalom later rebelled against his father, tried to usurp the throne from David, and drove him out of the palace. Absalom then took some of David’s wives on the roof of the palace and lay with them in broad daylight in front of all the people. David's son Absalom was then killed by David’s army and David returned to the palace. God made the punishment fit the crime. Psa 51:1-17 to the chief musician, a psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, o God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is Ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, o God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, o God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, o God, thou wilt not despise. God immediately forgave David of his sin when he acknowledged it, as far as salvation was concerned. But the earthly penalty for his crime still had to be paid. David would reap what he sowed. God also told David that the child he had conceived in sin would die. This was also part of Bathsheba’s punishment. David already had many sons and daughters. She apparently had none, or if she did they are not mentioned in the bible. 2 Samuel 12:14-18 NIV but because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die." After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "while the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate." David's servants were afraid that he might commit suicide, or go on a rampage when he found out the child had died. David looked at things differently than they did, he understood the ways of God. 2 Samuel 12:19-23 NIV David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "is the child dead?" He asked. "yes," they replied, "he is dead." Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. His servants asked him, "why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!" He answered, "while the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.' but now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." Notice that David said that he would go to the child someday. This indicates that those who die at an early age or are aborted will be saved. Abortion is wrong, but it is very possible that the aborted babies will spend eternity with God, while those who wee responsible for aborting them, both parents and medical participants, will spend eternity apart from God, except they repent before they die. David looked on things as if he were viewing them from above, like God views them, when he was walking in the spirit of God. How could David fall into sin then? The answer to this is that when a person is "born again," they now have two personalities, the old nature, and the new nature. The Affair Of Amnon
Although David’s sin was forgiven in the incident with Bathsheba, his bad example led his sons to be as unstable as he was in the things of love. 2 Sam 13:1-20 in the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David. Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her. Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. He asked Amnon, "why do you, the king's son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won't you tell me?" Amnon said to him, "I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister." "go to bed and pretend to be ill," Jonadab said. "when your father comes to see you, say to him, 'I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.'" so Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, "I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand." David sent word to Tamar at the palace: "go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him." So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat. "send Everyone out of here," Amnon said. So Everyone left him. Then Amnon said to Tamar, "bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand." And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, "come to bed with me, my sister." "don't, my brother!" She said to him. "don't force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don't do this wicked thing. What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you." But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her. Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, "get up and get out!" "no!" She said to him. "sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me." But he refused to listen to her. He called his personal servant and said, "get this woman out of here and bolt the door after her." So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing a richly ornamented robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went. Her brother Absalom said to her, "has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart." And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman. 2 Sam 13:21-39 when king David heard all this, he was furious. Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar. Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king's sons to come there. Absalom went to the king and said, "your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his officials please join me?" "no, my son," the king replied. "all of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you." Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go, but gave him his blessing. Then Absalom said, "if not, please let my brother Amnon come with us." The king asked him, "why should he go with you?" But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king's sons. Absalom ordered his men, "listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, 'strike Amnon down,' then kill him. Don't be afraid. Have not I given you this order? Be strong and brave." So Absalom’s men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king's sons got up, mounted their mules and fled. While they were on their way, the report came to David: "Absalom has struck down all the king's sons; not one of them is left." The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn. But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said, "my Lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom’s expressed intention Ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. My Lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the king's sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead." Meanwhile, Absalom had fled. Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, "I see men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill." Jonadab said to the king, "see, the king's sons are here; it has happened just as your servant said." As he finished speaking, the king's sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his servants wept very bitterly. Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But king David mourned for his son Every day. After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. Our children follow our examples, whether good or bad. David’s son’s dealt with some of their problems in the same way that David had in the past when he was not being led by the Spirit of God. Let us be careful in the models we set for our children by our behavior. Its not so much what we say that counts, but what we do. The Prophet Hosea
The prophet Hosea also had some bad times in his marriage, but in this case it was by the Lord’s command as a sign for Israel. When it is the Lord’s doing the ending will turn out well, even if the beginning is bad. Hosea 1:2-4 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, "go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord." So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. Then the Lord said to Hosea, "call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. Hosea 1:6-11 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, "call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them. Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them--not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the Lord their God." After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. Then the Lord said, "call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God. "yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'you are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.' the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel. Hosea’s wife had been unfaithful, and her children were conceived in adultery, they were not his biological children, yet for all this the Lord did not command Hosea to divorce her, he was using this example of a bad relationship as an object lesson for the nation of Israel. God was using Hosea’s marriage as “a good example of a bad example .” Hosea 2:1-13 "Say of your brothers, 'my people,' and of your sisters, 'my loved one.' "rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adulterous look from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts. Otherwise I will strip her naked and make her as bare as on the day she was born; I will make her like a desert, turn her into a parched land, and slay her with thirst. I will not show my love to her children, because they are the children of adultery. Their mother has been unfaithful and has conceived them in disgrace. She said, 'I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.' therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, 'I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.' she has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold-- which they used for Baal. "therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens, and my new wine when it is ready. I will take back my wool and my linen, intended to cover her nakedness. So now I will expose her lewdness before the eyes of her lovers; no one will take her out of my hands. I will stop all her celebrations: her yearly festivals, her new moons, her Sabbath days--all her appointed feasts. I will ruin her vines and her fig trees, which she said were her pay from her lovers; I will make them a thicket, and wild animals will devour them. I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the baals; she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but me she forgot," declares the Lord. Hosea 2:14-23 "therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. "in that day," declares the Lord, "you will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master.' I will remove the names of the baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord. "in that day I will respond," declares the Lord-- "I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel. I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called 'not my loved one. ' I will say to those called 'not my people, ' 'you are my people'; and they will say, 'you are my God.'" Hosea 3:1-5 the Lord said to me, "go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other Gods and love the sacred raisin cakes." So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, "you are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you." For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days. Now, the chances that God would want someone today to do something like this unless they were a prophet like Hosea are very slim indeed, unless you are a famous preacher or man of God of some type. I included it in this section just to show some of the strange things down through biblical history that have been God’s will to further his kingdom, and that the end result after following God’s commands always had a happy ending for the one who followed God’s will. Joseph and Hosea are two examples of this. So, if you find yourself in a very unusual situation be sure to consult the Lord before making any rash decisions, especially concerning divorce, and always be willing to forgive as God has forgiven you. One note on the last verse in the scripture above. The Israelites are returning to their land (Israel) in our present era and someday in the future will recognize Jesus Christ as their king and messiah and fulfill this prophecy. Verses From The Catholic And Greek Bibles Not
Found In The King James Version
Sir 7:26 Hast thou a wife after thy mind? Forsake her not: but give not thyself over to a light woman. Sir 25:1 In three things I was beautified, and stood up beautiful both before God and men: the unity of brethren, the love of Neighbours, a man and a wife that agree together. Sir 25:8 Well is him that dwelleth with a wife of understanding, and that hath not slipped with his tongue, and that hath not served a man more unworthy than himself: Sir 25:20 As the climbing up a sandy way is to the feet of the aged, so is a wife full of words to a quiet man. Sir 26:1 Blessed is the man that hath a virtuous wife, for the number of his days shall be double. Sir 26:2 A virtuous woman rejoiceth her husband, and he shall fulfil the years of his life in peace Sir 26:3 A good wife is a good portion, which shall be given in the portion of them that fear the Lord. Sir 26:4 Whether a man be rich or poor, if he have a good heart toward the Lord, he shall at all times rejoice with a cheerful countenance Sir 26:7 An evil wife is a yoke shaken to and fro: he that hath hold of her is as though he held a scorpion. Sir 26:13 The grace of a wife delighteth her husband, and her discretion will fatten his bones. Sir 26:14 A silent and loving woman is a gift of the Lord; and there is nothing so much worth as a mind well instructed. Sir 26:15 A shamefaced and faithful woman is a double grace, and her continent mind cannot be valued. Sir 26:16 As the sun when it ariseth in the high heaven; so is the beauty of a good wife in the ordering of her house. Sir 26:17 As the clear light is upon the holy candlestick; so is the beauty of the face in ripe age. Sir 33:19 Give not thy son and wife, thy brother and friend, power over thee while thou livest, and give not thy goods to another: lest it repent thee, and thou intreat for the same again. Sir 36:24 He that getteth a wife beginneth a possession, a help like unto himself, and a pillar of rest. Sir 36:25 Where no hedge is, there the possession is spoiled: and he that hath no wife will wander up and down mourning. Sir 40:19 Children and the building of a city continue a man's name: but a blameless wife is counted above them both. Sir 40:23 A friend and companion never meet amiss: but above both is a wife with her husband. Sir 40:24 Brethren and help are against time of trouble: but alms shall deliver more than them both Sir 22:4 A wise daughter shall bring an inheritance to her husband: But she that liveth dishonestly is her father's heaviness. She that is bold dishonoureth both her father and her Husband, but they both shall despise her. Sir 25:22 A woman, if she maintain her husband, is full of anger, Impudence, and much reproach. Sir 25:23 A wicked woman abateth the courage, maketh an heavy countenance and a wounded heart: a woman that will not comfort Her husband in distress maketh weak hands and feeble knees. Sir 26:2 A virtuous woman rejoiceth her husband, and he shall fulfil The years of his life in peace. Sir 26:14 A silent and loving woman is a gift of the Lord; and there is Nothing so much worth as a mind well instructed. Sir 26:15 A shamefaced and faithful woman is a double grace, and her continent mind cannot be valued. An harlot shall be accounted as spittle; but a married woman Is a tower against death to her husband. Sir 26:23 A wicked woman is given as a portion to a wicked man: but a Godly woman is given to him that feareth the Lord. Sir 26:24 A dishonest woman contemneth shame: but an honest woman will reverence her husband. Sir 26:25 A shameless woman shall be counted as a dog; but she that is shamefaced (humble) will fear the Lord. Sir 26:26 A woman that honoureth her husband shall be judged wise of all; but she that dishonoureth him in her pride shall be counted ungodly of all. Sir 26:27 A loud crying woman and a scold shall be sought out to drive Away the enemies. Sir 36:22 The beauty of a woman cheereth the countenance, and a man Loveth nothing better. Sir 36:23 If there be kindness, meekness, and comfort, in her tongue, then is not her husband like other men. Sir 7:19 Forego not a wise and good woman: for her grace is above gold. Sir 9:2 Give not thy soul unto a woman to set her foot upon thy substance. Sir 9:3 Meet not with an harlot, lest thou fall into her snares. Sir 9:4 Use not much the company of a woman that is a singer, lest thou be taken with her attempts. Sir 9:5 Gaze not on a maid, that thou fall not by those things that Are precious in her. Sir 9:6 Give not thy soul unto harlots, that thou lose not thine Inheritance. Sir 9:7 Look not round about thee in the streets of the city, neither Wander thou in the solitary place thereof. Sir 9:8 Turn away thine eye from a beautiful woman, and look not upon another's beauty; for many have been deceived by the beauty of a Woman; for herewith love is kindled as a fire. Sir 9:9 Sit not at all with another man's wife, nor sit down with her In thine arms, and spend not thy money with her at the wine; Lest thine heart incline unto her, and so through thy desire thou fall into destruction Sir 25:13 [give me] any plague, but the plague of the heart: and any wickedness, but the wickedness of a woman: Sir 25:16 I had rather dwell with a lion and a dragon, than to keep house with a wicked woman. Sir 25:17 The wickedness of a woman changeth her face, and darkeneth her countenance like sackcloth. Sir 25:18 Her husband shall sit among his neighbours; and when he heareth it shall sigh bitterly. Sir 25:19 All wickedness is but little to the wickedness of a woman: let the portion of a sinner fall upon her. Sir 25:20 As the climbing up a sandy way is to the feet of the aged, so is a wife full of words to a quiet man. Sir 25:21 Stumble not at the beauty of a woman, and desire her not for pleasure. Sir 26:26 A woman that honoureth her husband shall be judged wise of all; but she that dishonoureth him in her pride shall be counted ungodly of all. Chapter 14: > 14. The Goal: A Biblical Marriage |