‘And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.”’ Acts of the Apostles 5:9(NLT)
‘At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick. So Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise yourself so that no one will recognize you as my wife. Then go to the prophet Ahijah at Shiloh—the man who told me I would become king. Take him a gift of ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and ask him what will happen to the boy.” So Jeroboam’s wife went to Ahijah’s home at Shiloh. He was an old man now and could no longer see. But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife will come here, pretending to be someone else. She will ask you about her son, for he is very sick. Give her the answer I give you.” So when Ahijah heard her footsteps at the door, he called out, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else?” Then he told her, “I have bad news for you. Give your husband, Jeroboam, this message from the Lord , the God of Israel: ‘I promoted you from the ranks of the common people and made you ruler over my people Israel. I ripped the kingdom away from the family of David and gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David, who obeyed my commands and followed me with all his heart and always did whatever I wanted. You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made other gods for yourself and have made me furious with your gold calves. And since you have turned your back on me, I will bring disaster on your dynasty and will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel. I will burn up your royal dynasty as one burns up trash until it is all gone. The members of Jeroboam’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures. I, the Lord , have spoken.’” Then Ahijah said to Jeroboam’s wife, “Go on home, and when you enter the city, the child will die. All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only member of your family who will have a proper burial, for this child is the only good thing that the Lord , the God of Israel, sees in the entire family of Jeroboam. “In addition, the Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will destroy the family of Jeroboam. This will happen today, even now! Then the Lord will shake Israel like a reed whipped about in a stream. He will uproot the people of Israel from this good land that he gave their ancestors and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, for they have angered the Lord with the Asherah poles they have set up for worship. He will abandon Israel because Jeroboam sinned and made Israel sin along with him.” So Jeroboam’s wife returned to Tirzah, and the child died just as she walked through the door of her home. ‘ 1 Kings 14:1-17(NLT)
‘Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. ‘ Ecclesiastes 4:9-10(NLT)
‘Then I said to her, “You must live in my house for many days and stop your prostitution. During this time, you will not have sexual relations with anyone, not even with me. ”’ Hosea 3:3(NLT)
Why did God create marriage? To Facilitate MOLDING OF CHARACTER
There were areas in which Moses was very stubborn. He apparently refused to circumcise his son. This may be because he wanted to please his father-in-law who was a Medianite priest. The Medianites only circumcised men who were about to be married.
They did not circumcise babies like the Jews did. So Moses perhaps wanted to wait till his son grew up so that he could be circumcised. But his wife Zipporah had all along told him that it was not necessary for Moses to please her dad (I presume). But Moses would not listen to the soundly Scriptural advice of his wife.
So when God was about to kill Moses, Zipporah his wife, instantly knew why God was taking that seemingly extreme step. She quickly swung into action. She took a sharp stone knife and circumcised her baby son and threw the removed foreskin at Moses. Zipporah stepped in between God and Moses. Otherwise, Moses would have been executed. Thank God for wives who don’t give up on their husbands, even during the times when it appears that God has given up on their husbands.
Zipporah, through her efforts, thus molded the character of Moses. She would have even told Moses this: “Moses, you wrote about circumcision as God revealed it to you, way back in Genesis 17. Now we have reached the point of history which Exodus 4 is talking about. Many years have passed, yet you have not circumcised our own son. He must have been circumcised on the eighth day as per the laws of God, you yourself recorded! You wrote about circumcision, but you have not practiced it in your own life! Change this stubborn behavior, my hubby dear!”
This loving advice may have fallen in deaf ears for many years, before God deciding to finally kill Moses, deciding enough was enough. But even at that time, it was Moses’ wife, Zipporah, who rescued him! Every man needs a wife like Zipporah in his life to mold his character into the image of Christ!
Just as Zipporah molded the character of Moses, wives should mold their husband’s character and make room for their husbands also to mold them. Where Zipporah was successful, Sapphira failed. She failed to stop her husband from cheating Pastor Peter. She ‘conspired with her husband to test the Spirit of the Lord!’ (Acts 5:9).
As Sapphira failed in her God-given duty of molding her husband, Ananias, he lost his life! She too lost hers! Failure to make an attempt to chisel the character of your life partner, whose moral values are going down the drain as you can see with your own eyes from close quarters, can be very dangerous, you see!
Prophet Hosea saw his wife, Gomer, go back to the red light area, the area he picked her from, to get married to her in the first place. He could have chosen to ignore this expected behavior from his wife but he did not. He passionately told her, “Stop your prostitution!” (Hos 3:3). Husbands and wives are not called to share their skin, but in each other, point out sin!
King Jeroboam was the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He went away from the Lord. He backslid. At this time his son Abijah became sick. He asked his wife to disguise herself and go meet prophet Ahijah with cake and honey.
Now, this prophet could not see that much. This woman could have told her husband, “It is time you repent! It’s time to come back to God! What is the use of all this disguise before the prophet of God who knows and sees all things? I will not play-act before a man of God!” But she did not. She put on her disguise and went to meet the Prophet Ahijah complying with her husband’s sinful demands.
The prophet recognized her instantly and further denounced King Jeroboam and predicted the death of his already sick son. And that happened! (I Ki 14:1-17). When a man and his wife join together to commit sin, there could be an absolute disaster waiting to happen as this narrative warns.
The Bible teaches, “Two are better than one…if one falls down, the other will pick him up!” (Eccl 4:9-10). Marriage is the God-ordained union where two become one and ultimately become mutually accountable. Marriage is a school where ‘iron sharpens iron’ (Pro 27:17).
Do you see your husband smoking? Boozing? Watching porn? Don’t ignore these things. Lovingly confront him. Let the Lord use you to mold his character. Woo him back to his Creator.
That’s why you got married in the first place. Do you see your wife sipping gossip? Using foul words? Displaying blatant envy? Lovingly confront her. Let the Lord use you to mold her character. Woo her back to her Creator. That’s why you got married in the first place.
from The Wedding Knot – For What? by Duke Jeyaraj