Deuteronomy 24:5
“When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year, and bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.”
Moses is reminding the people of the laws of God. These were the standards which would govern individuals and the nation. If they followed His precepts, they would be blessed by God, and would be attractive to the world around them. Like a light in the darkness, Israel would draw men to the Lord. Tucked away in this list of regulations is a principle, that if heeded, will lead to a blessed and happy marriage. Certainly, a happy and healthy family life will serve as a strong witness in a world. A world where so many marriages are falling apart, and children are the victims of a fallen and sin-filled world.
The principle here is very simple. For the first year of marriage, nothing was to matter more to the man than making his wife happy. Business trips, and even the protection of the nation against invasion, was to take a back seat to the happiness of his wife. God is not suggesting the husband have a calendar, marking off each day, as if it was a prison sentence to be completed. Instead, the early years of the relationship is where the foundation is laid. If a man can convince his wife that nothing matters more to him than she, he will be well on his way to having a happy, married life. Paul put it like this,
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, . . .” Ephesians 5:25
Psychologists tell us, the greatest need a woman has is to know that she is loved. A wife who knows the love of her husband can handle just about anything.
Whether you are a husband or a wife, perhaps it is time to make an effort to invest in the happiness of your spouse. Instead of thinking of all the ways you’ve been disappointed, why not spend time thinking of ways to pour love into your spouse, and see if the God who parts the seas, is able to put life into your relationship. Remember, there is more at stake than your personal happiness, the whole world is watching.
Pastor Jim
In the closing chapters of the book of Acts, we read of a ship that set sail late in the season, en route to Rome. The voyage proved extremely difficult and costly. Because of a severe storm that brought strong headwinds, driving rain, navigation was almost impossible; the sun, moon and stars were hidden by the clouds. It was not long before that ship was slammed into a shallow reef.
Living in Israel at the time of Christ, it was impossible to walk the streets of Jerusalem without getting dirty. Open-toed sandals in a desert climate made for dirty streets and dirty feet. One solution was the custom of foot washing. Whenever a guest entered a home, the host was responsible for ensuring that the feet of the guest were washed. When Jesus gathered with the disciples for the Passover meal, he took on the role of the host, and began to wash their feet. As expected, Peter had something to say about the actions of Jesus. First he resisted, to which Jesus explained,
Life is a lot like a journey on a road we have never traveled before. We often face forks in the road without clear signage, and are left to do our best to make a good decision. If there is one thing we need in life, it is wisdom. Webster’s dictionary defines wisdom as “the ability to discern” and “good sense.” We might best understand it as, “knowing what to do.” In life, we often face challenges we do not have answers for, and we need wisdom.
Jesus was magnetic! People from all walks of life were drawn to Him. Lepers, paralytics, rich men, beggars, fishermen, and even Pharisees were drawn to Jesus; to meet Him, hear Him speak, and be touched by Him. At times, we read of massive crowds that gave up all other pursuits, to listen for hours as He spoke about the Kingdom of God. What was it that drew people to Him? John tells us that His life was like a light in the darkness.
About 600 years after these events somebody got it into his head that it would be a great idea to take the Ark of the Covenant into battle. He had lost sight of who God was and thought the Ark of the Covenant was the presence of God. So, seizing the Ark, the army marched into battle, assuming it would ensure victory. They were defeated. The Philistines captured the Ark and took it into their camp. As a result, God began to plague the Philistines, so they put the Ark on a cart hitched to oxen, and sent the cart back to the nation of Israel where it remained in the house of Abinadab until the time of David.
Israel needed to learn a very important lesson if they were going to be successful in walking with the Lord. That lesson: the Word of God is counter-cultural in every culture. They were being called to live by a different, and higher standard than the nation they came out of, and the one they were entering into. The same is true of the Christian today. It should not be shocking to us that the world has a different view of what is holy, acceptable, right or wrong, than we do. Instead of looking to the culture around us, we need to look into the Word of God to learn what is holy and what is sinful.
A paradox is a statement that seems contradictory or opposed to common sense, but is true. The statement Jesus reveals is one of life’s greatest paradoxes. Man was created to know God. Jesus said that He came to “give us life and that more abundantly.” When our lives are lived in complete obedience to the Lord, we experience the height of living. When we hold back, unwilling to give ourselves, our time, or some sinful activity; we think we are gaining, we think we are better off. That very thing we are holding onto, is the very thing keeping us from the abundant life Jesus created for us.
Egypt has already played an interesting role in the narrative of Genesis. It was to Egypt that Abraham fled when famine arose, and it was to Egypt, Isaac looked, when famine struck in his day. I find it interesting that the same God who warned Isaac not to go to Egypt, sends Jacob there. We might say, Jacob was given a great commission to go to Egypt, and to further his kingdom. Later in this chapter, we read that seventy people left for Egypt, however, when Exodus begins, that number is probably well over two million.
Jim Gallagher 