You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
39 He who finds his life will lose it, and<br />
he who loses his life for My sake will<br />
find it.”<br />
It can be difficult to accept that YHWH would approve<br />
of voluntary abstention from either sex or marriage, for<br />
it is clearly not good for most men to be alone.<br />
B’reisheet (Genesis) 2:18<br />
18 And YHWH Elohim said, "It is not<br />
good that man should be alone; I will<br />
make him a helper corresponding to<br />
him."<br />
Further, YHWH gave the first man and his wife the urge<br />
(and many say the commandment) to reproduce.<br />
B’reisheet (Genesis) 1:28<br />
28 Then Elohim (G-d) blessed them,<br />
and Elohim said to them, "Be fruitful<br />
and multiply; fill the earth and subdue<br />
it….”<br />
Scripture also shows us that it is a good thing for men<br />
and women to marry and raise families, for Psalm 127<br />
tells us that children are a reward from YHWH.<br />
Tehillim (Psalms) 127:3-5<br />
3 Behold, children are a heritage from<br />
YHWH, the fruit of the womb is a<br />
reward.<br />
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,<br />
So are the children of one's youth.<br />
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver<br />
full of them; they shall not be<br />
ashamed, but shall speak with their<br />
enemies in the gate.<br />
79<br />
Most Israelites are called to get married and raise up<br />
children in the way they should go.<br />
80<br />
Mishle (Proverbs) 22:6<br />
6 Train up a child in the way he should<br />
go, and when he is old he will not<br />
depart from it.<br />
For most, matrimony and parenthood are not just great<br />
and wonderful blessings, but they are also highly<br />
challenging paths of spiritual refinement.<br />
Yehezqel (Ezekiel) 16:44-45<br />
44 "Indeed everyone who quotes<br />
proverbs will use this proverb against<br />
you: 'Like mother, like daughter!'”<br />
By giving us children who are similar to us, YHWH asks<br />
us to deal with our issues in an adult sort of a way.<br />
Yet there are two other paths of refinement: the<br />
Nazirite vow and the abstinent/celibate vow. While<br />
Nazirites (such as Samson) commonly marry, others<br />
are additionally celibate (never marry, such as Yeshua<br />
and Shaul/Paul) or abstinent (marry, but restrain from<br />
indulging in sexual relations when they are to be setapart,<br />
such as Moses). This takes their refinement to<br />
yet another level.<br />
Again, the Nazirite vow and the abstinent/celibate vow<br />
are entirely separate vows. One can be<br />
abstinent/celibate without being a Nazirite, and one can<br />
be a Nazirite without being abstinent/celibate; it all<br />
depends on how YHWH leads. However, because the<br />
abstinent/celibate vow and the Nazirite vow call for a<br />
departure from the usual pattern of daily life within a
Change language