MARRIAGE

Genesis 29:1 Jacob and Rachel

 

11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.

 

 

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In today’s lesson, we talk about marriage. It is true Marriage comes with the label, “Much assembly required!” Ephesians 5:22 notes “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Keep reading - you will find the husband is to present himself to the wife where she wants to submit unto him.  1st Corinthians 7: 3 notes “Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise, also the wife unto the husband.  4 The wife hath not the power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise, also the husband hath not the power of his own body, but the wife.

 

Marriages CAN work (through prayer and supplication) if roles are clearly defined and accepted through the love of Jesus Christ.  Proverbs 4 notes “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. There are powerful messages to the husband in these passages also.  Let us examine one true bible love story – Jacob and Rachel.

 

When we last saw Jacob he was running from Beersheba for his life, fleeing the vengeance of his brother Esau. He did not get very far before he learned that God was going with him. The message came in the form of a dream about a ladder that stretched from heaven to earth. The Lord stood above the ladder and said to Jacob, “Behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Gen. 28:15). Jacob called the name of the place Bethel, meaning “house of God.”

Jacob headed for Haran, the land of his mother’s family. He spotted a well and stopped to rest. There were some shepherds sitting around the well, so Jacob started a conversation with them: They were from Haran.  Jacob inquired of Laban the son of Nahor. “We know him,” they said.   And they replied, “It is well, and behold, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep” (Gen. 29:4-6).

 

Jacob turned his head, took one fateful look, and it was without a doubt love at first sight. She was a lovely girl, “beautiful of form and face” (Gen. 29:17).  Jacob never got over Rachel. At 147 years of age, he called his sons together in Egypt to bless them, and he was still thinking about her. “Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died, to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)” (Gen. 48:7). He loved her to the end of his life. 

 

 

RELATED SCRIPTURES FOR MARRIAGE

Genesis 1:27-28: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' " Genesis 2:24: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?" 4:12: “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

 

Song of Solomon 8:6-7: “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised."

 

Isaiah 54:5: “For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called."

 

Malachi 2:14-15: “But you say, 'Why does he not?' Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant."

 

Ephesians 4:2-3: “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Ephesians 5:25: “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her."

 

Colossians 3:14: “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

Mark 10:9: “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."

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Bishop George Lockhart, Pastor 

Bishop Meharry H. Lewis, Ph.D., Chief Overseer Tuskegee, AL 

Bishop Luke D. Lewis, District Bishop Riviera Beach, FL

The Church of the Living God, the Pillar, and Ground of the Truth, Inc.