365 Reflections

Marriage cannot last when it's about what you GET out of it. Because you will get into it to get and it's not meant for two people to get, it's meant for two people to give. Song of Solomon opens that reality to us in every chapter. The Woman must give her body to her husband. The man must give his love to his wife in physical ways (verbal or otherwise). There has to be this foundation or the house cannot stand.  Coming to the end of chapter seven we see how the woman responds when the man gives her compliments and verbally praises her.  Song of Solomon 7:11–12 (ESV) Come, my beloved, let us go out into the fields and lodge in the villages; 12 let us go out early to the vineyards and see whether the vines have budded, whether the grape blossoms have opened and the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love. What is her response when he gives her the verbal affirmation she needs? She gives him sex.  It's amazing to see this play out in chapter-by-chapter de...

Having talked about how important sex is for a man in the last post you may think the Bible is misogynistic. This is the accusation of many. It is not true. Of course, there were many misogynistic men in the Bible, but the moral truth of the Bible clearly elevates the status and value of women to equal regard with men.  In Song of Solomon 6, Solomon describes the importance of sex for a man and how his wife's giving this to him opens her up to passion as well. But now in chapter 7, he shows us the great gift a man can give his wife in exchange.  What is that gift? Compliments.  But what does he compliment? Song of Solomon 7:1 (ESV) How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O noble daughter! Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a master hand. He starts with her feet! The ugliest part of a person is typically found here. But to the husband of this love story, they were beautiful. He works his way up to the legs. And then things get spicy.  Song of Solomon 7:2...

Hey readers! My book is finally out!  Get a copy and tell me what you think! On to today's post: Please pick another sin. I'm talking to the Christians who are considering marrying a non-believer because they are convinced they can "save them" or they can "work it out" or it "won't be that bad because we love each other so much." Please, pick another sin to commit. I beg you. Why? Because every instance of a believer married to a non-believer that I've seen was met with the disastrous effects of light having no fellowship with darkness (see 2 Corinthians 6:14).  Jehoram was a forgettable king and his son Ahaziah was even worse. But what was the root of all these issues? Jehoram married the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel: 2 Chronicles 22:2–3 (ESV) Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah , the granddaughter of Omri . 3 He also walked in the ways of the hou...

For the better portion of 1 and 2 Kings, we have looked at the troubles sin and national apostasy has brought on the Northern kingdom of Israel while Judah in the South has remained in the background. We remember that Judah and Benjamin stayed loyal to the house of David while the 10 northern tribes of Israel followed the detestable ways of the nations around them, barely staying in existence at times and being constantly saved by God's prophets.  Now in 2 Kings 9, the southern kingdom will have to be saved from the northern kingdom's evil ways. God does this, not because they deserve it but because He is faithful to His promises. And that matters for you and me. But let's look at what happens first. 2 Kings 8:16–17 (ESV) In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. We a...

Deuteronomy 24:1–4 (ESV) 1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, 2 and if she goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, 4 then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord . And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. This is one of the few laws that Jesus directly addresses for us in the New Testament. A question is brought to Him about divorce and Moses' allowance for a certificate to be written in the case of a man desiring t...

Christianity is about life. That's one thing the scriptures make patently clear. God brings life, God raise to life, Christ defeats death, Christ is the light of life. Christ has come that we may have abundant life. "Let the dead bury their dead" Jesus says. Our mission is a mission of life. It is in this perspective that we turn to Leviticus 21. This can be a confusing chapter. God gives words of instructions through Moses to His priests. Here's what He says: Leviticus 21:1–4 (ESV) And the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, 2 except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). 4 He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. There will be no going to funerals ...

Genesis 29:20 (ESV)   So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. One thing the three major Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) have in common is their love for their wives. This was the ancient world where sincere love was rare and marriage was often an issue of property rights. But the Bible paints a common thread in the origination of God's house. The men in His house love their wives from the heart. Yes, Abraham had his other women and notoriously slept with Hagar, and yes, Jacob slept with all the women in his house, but for all of these men, only ONE woman would truly switch them on. Abraham wept bitterly over Sarah's death, and Jacob, toward the end of his life recounts the pain he felt at losing Rachel as he blesses his grandsons in Genesis 48: Genesis 48:7 (ESV)  As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some di...

Psalm 128 is all about blessing. Psalm 128:1–6 (ESV) 1 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord , who walks in his ways! 2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.        3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.        4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord .        5 The Lord bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! 6 May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel! The man who fears the Lord is blessed. There's no doubt about it. The Psalms are songs sung by the congregation. Weekly reminders of the blessing of doing life God's way. Notice the outward thrust of blessing from the man to his legacy. Those who fear the Lord are blessed with their own efforts and labor. Life will be good for them ...

I appreciate how the Bible gives us a very down to "Earth" picture of marriage. Marriage is of this age and ends with this age. Jesus said it and Paul backed the sentiment up in 1 Corinthians 7. 1 Corinthians 7:32–35 (ESV) I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. Paul makes clear the best and freest way to serve the Lord is apart from the responsibilities and duties of marriage. Now, I'm married and it is very easy for me to say this but m...