Marriage #1

And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Genesis 2:18, 21-25, www.solascriptura.com

Father, these Scriptures mark the beginning of "marriage". You tell us of Your perfect plan for a man and a woman. Father, each of us will read these verses from a different perspective but here we see Your perspective. O' Father, if we could always simply follow Your expectations, life for us would be as You expect.

You have taught us that we should seek to be obedient and seek to know Your Holy word and to follow it. Yet, You told us that every man has sinned and fallen short of Your glory. We look back at some of our past sins, sins which You have blotted out, and we wish we had never sinned. We know, Father, that it is not Your will that we dwell on the past but that we truly put it behind us, just as You have, and that we look to new possibilities, new levels of faith and obedience, made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

Thank You Jesus for being the enabling power that we never had before we committed our lives to You. Help us, today, to commit our lives to Your service, meeting Your expectations, in all that we do, say and think. Your grace and mercy exceed anything we could reasonably hope for. Lead us as we seek to treat others the way you have treated us. In Jesus' Holy name, we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell

Marriage #2

Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands. She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar. She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants. She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle. She extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies sashes for the merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all." Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.



Proverbs 31:10-31, www.solascriptura.com



Father, now we know why Solomon had so many concubines. His wife was exhausted! (only joking)Your word tells us that "she shall rejoice in time to come." In our world today few women live in households where doing such things as Solomon cites here is even possible. A woman doing all these things would indeed rejoice... in a time to come.

You say, "Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her." Father, our wives and daughters are a wonderful blessing to us but less because of the work of their hands than the convictions of their hearts. We praise You and thank You for our wives and daughters. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.



Bruce Caldwell

Marriage #3

And this ...you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and crying; so He does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, "For what reason?" Because the LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. "For the LORD God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one's garment with violence," says the LORD of hosts. "Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously."

Malachi 2:13-17, www.solascriptura.com

Father, these words teach us of Your perfect will for our lives. In today's world, so few of us live in perfection. As good as these words would make life be, we face, in many cases, a different reality. The question is, will You forgive us for the times that Your perfect will has not been followed? The answer, from Your Holy word, is very clear. There is only one sin that Jesus taught us that is unforgivable. Strangely, in this case, it is about marriage. Not marriage between a husband and a wife but the union that happens between us and You as we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

You teach us that if a person falls in love with You and has tasted of the powers and presence of the Holy Spirit and then blasphemes Your Holy name, seeking to annul the marriage of themselves to You, that a sin of that gravity is unforgivable.

Even though the marriage between a man and woman is intended to be forever, when we fail, you forgive. We have a much harder time, Father, forgiving each other, than You do in forgiving us. Where we are able, by Your strength, to retain perfect fidelity to one another, encourage us as we seek to do so. We know it is critical Father that if we have accepted an invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb that we maintain perfect fidelity. Help us we pray in these difficult matters. In Jesus' Holy name, we pray, amen.

Bruce Caldwell