ExodusMagMay2020

" B E I N G R U T H "
THE JOY
OF A
WOMAN
Hosea 2:16, “And it shall be, in that day,”
Says the Lord,
“That you will call Me ‘Ishi [My Husband],’
And no longer call Me ‘Baali [My Master],’
The beginning of an error is when we exalt human
culture by infusing the word of God into it to make it
legit. Colossians 2:8 says, Be careful not to allow
anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful
philosophy that is according to human traditions and
the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to
Christ. As the children of God, our culture, our
tradition and our philosophy is defined by the word of
God.
Some of the problems we experience as women are
due to us having exalted culture and human traditions
above the word of God. Culture might say, 'if you have
a child together and stay together you are married'. In
law this is not even regarded as customary marriage, it
is cohabiting. Customary marriage requires that there
be dowry negotiations and payment thereof as well as
a handover of the bride. Therefore, when a woman has
not been given over by her family to the other family,
there is no marriage there. It is not about how you
wed, but about the handing over of the bride
that constitutes a relationship a marriage. When the
cohabiting partners split, there are no legal
implications except those relating to children.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 speaks a clear distinction
between marriage and celibacy. In his own authority he
tells the widows and the unmarried that it is
good to remain as is. However, if they cannot contain
themselves to celibacy, they should rather marry. In
other words, be celibate or marry. This message
leaves no room for in between. It is either you marry or
stay celibate, you cannot be with anyone outside of
marriage, that is fornication. This is in the bible,
therefore, is a word of God.
There are also spiritual disadvantages that apply. An
official marriage, God has ordained and in His sight it
is a union. Therefore, there is a spiritual covering on
this marriage. Paul continues to say in vs 13-16. If you
are married, even if the other is an unbeliever, while
the other is a believer the unbeliever is covered by the
sanctification of the believer, therefore they should
not divorce if they are happy. There is a spiritual
marital covering on this one, hence usually it is
officiated by an ordained priest.
36 | EQUIPPING OF THE SAINTS exoduscm | may 2020