SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/7/2023 9:18 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 “Intro to Matt. 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 today by talking about the prophet Hosea,
as he pictures the epitome of God-ordained and God-empowered marital love. Not sure how many know the story of the
prophet Hosea, but it is, to say the least, very interesting indeed, as God
called Hosea’s life to be a picture of the nation of His people Israel. God was in a spiritual sense married to
Israel as seen in the Old Testament, and yet Israel was very unfaithful to God,
and so God called Hosea to picture his relationship with his wife Gomer, as God’s relationship with Israel.
God told him to be married to a prostitute and in that relationship they
had children, but the children were fathered by other men, and that we really
don’t know for sure, but many commentators do believe this. The second child’s name means “no mercy” and
the third child means “not mine.” The
first child was named Jezreel: “4 And the LORD said to him, "Name him Jezreel; for yet
a little while, and I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed of
Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.” All the
children’s names meant something. The
point of the story is that God will remain true to Israel even though they
prostituted against Him. Hosea would
eventually have to buy Gomer from an auction and he treated her with love and
respect just as God will do to Israel.
MacArthur
writes “By the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, God expects His redeemed
people in Christ to exemplify the original beauty and mutuality of the marriage
relationship as well as the grace of forgiveness. ‘Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as
to the Lord,’ Paul declares. ‘For the
husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He
Himself being the Savior of the body.
But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to
their husbands in everything.’ The
divinely ordained and exemplified responsibility of the husband is just as
clear ‘Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave
Himself up for her’ (Eph. 5:18, 22-25).”
“The
two key attitudes in a successful marriage are self-denial and self-giving, both
of which are contrary to human nature but made possible to Christians through
the Holy Spirit. The husband and wife
who are walking in the Spirit will be walking in unselfish humility and
forgiving, restoring love that always puts the others first.
“In
Matthew 19:1-12 Jesus gives a clear discourse on God’s relationship about
marriage and divorce.”
When
we see the word discourse in the book of Matthew we see that Jesus is preaching
a sermon, and there are more “sermons” in the book of Matthew than any of the
four gospels. I have to say that I
really love a good sermon.
2/7/2023 9:49 AM
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