SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/6/2023 9:02 AM
My Worship Time
Focus: Intro to Matthew 19:1-12
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matt.
19:1-12
Message of the verses: “1 And it came
about that when Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee, and
came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; 2 and great multitudes followed Him, and He
healed them there.
3 And some
Pharisees came to Him, testing Him, and saying, "Is it lawful for a man
to divorce his wife for any cause at all?" 4 And He answered and said,
"Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning
MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, 5 and said,
‘FOR THIS CAUSE A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND SHALL CLEAVE TO
HIS WIFE; AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? 6 “Consequently they are no
longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man
separate." 7 They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to GIVE
HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?" 8 He said to them,
"Because of your hardness of heart, Moses permitted you to divorce your
wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9 “And I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman
commits adultery." 10 The disciples said to Him, "If the relationship
of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry." 11 But
He said to them, "Not all men can accept this statement, but only
those to whom it has been given. 12 “For there are eunuchs who were born that
way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by
men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake
of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.’”
We
begin with a quotation from John MacArthur in today’s SD. “Even when Christians go to Scripture for
guidance concerning divorce and remarriage, they often do so with
preconceptions and predispositions that make responsible interpretation
impossible. Some people consult
Scripture solely to find justification for views they already hold. Others fall into the trap either of adding to
or taking from what it teaches. To
justify divorce, some people lower the biblical standard in the name of
love. To try to stem the tide of divorce
and promote spirituality, others raise the standard higher than the Bible
teaches. But that which is contrary to
Scripture can never be either loving or spiritual. A human standard may be for more lenient or more
restrictive than Scripture, but it can never be better. When God’s Word is ignored or perverted in
any area, tragedy is always the consequence.
The matter of marriage and divorce standards is no exception.
“The
first sin of mankind was not marital, but was committed within the framework of
marriage. God created man and woman
equal in many ways, but He gave them clearly different roles. Man was to be the provider and leader and
woman his helper in perfect, balanced, and majestic coherency over all the
earth (Gen. 1:27-28). The man’s headship
and the woman’s submission were blended in a loving interdependence that
allowed them to multiply and fill the earth together, subdue the earth
together, and rule the earth together.
But because Eve did not consult Adam, her head and protector, when
temptation came she easily succumbed to Satan’s wiles. And when Adam forfeited his role of headship
and willingly followed her lead, he also succumbed so sin.
“As
a consequence of that sin, God cursed Eve and all other women to pain in
childbirth and cursed Adam and all other men to the hardship of laboring for
their food and sustenance (Gen. 3:16b). In
addition to that, because the God-given harmony between man and woman had been
broken, God also placed a curse upon their relationship to each other. Because they reversed their roles, with Eve
usurping the place of leadership and Adam submitting to the place of follower,
God destined them to continual conflict.
“God
declared to Eve, ‘Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over
you’ (Gen. 3:16b). The desire spoken of
here does not refer to her original God-given desire for loving submission and
companionship, which she already had before the Fall. Here desire would no longer be to submit to
his rule but to usurp it. The use of the
Hebrew word translated ‘desire’ in this text relates to seeking control and
dominance. It is the same term used in
the next chapter in the same way to describe sin’s personified desire to
corrupt and gain control over Cain (4:7).
“Just
as the fallen woman’s role of submission was subverted, so was the fallen man’s
role of headship. His rule over her
would no longer be benevolent and selfless but overbearing and selfish. It was at the Fall that both feminism and
male chauvinism was born, when women
began to seek supremacy and men began to be suppressive.
“Because
men are naturally stronger, male chauvinism has been the dominant of those two
perversions throughout history. In many
ancient cultures, including Jewish, women were frequently treated more like
animals that human beings, and wives were treated more like possessions to be
bought and traded than partners to be loved and cherished.
“But
God did not change His standard because men changed theirs. ‘I, the Lord, do not change,’ He declared
(Mal. 3:6). Just prior to that declaration
God had given a stinging rebuke to Jewish men who ‘dealt treacherously’ with
their wives. He Himself was witness
between husband and wife when they made their marital covenant, as the One who
ordains all marriage and every marriage.
Therefore ‘I hate divorce,’ says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘and him
who covers his garment with wrong’’ (Mal. 2:14-16).”
Lord
willing we will finish up with this introduction in our next SD and then begin
to breakdown the verses that speak of divorce from what our Lord said in this
chapter. Once again I have to say that
this will take us a very long time to get through these verses as there is much
to discuss in them.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I have to say that I have learned some things
about what happened at the fall that seem to me are different as what I had
learned before and for that I am thankful.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the Lord
to be the Head of our family.
2/6/2023 9:48 AM
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