Corona Devo 2067

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. (2) And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.  ~Daniel 1:1-2

Nebuchadnezzar didn't know or understand the significance of the articles from the temple of God, but somehow...inherently, he knew that they were valuable, and he desired them.

~~~

I think the world looks at a lasting/enduring/faithful marriage of two believers and their heart (made in God's image) wants to take a God-honoring and enduring marriage back to their land of Babylonia (a land that does not know God) and place it in the treasure-house of (their) god.   


The "gods" of this world have their own patterns for marriage and the "rules" are...that there are basically no rules.  It is: Choose-your-own-adventure, have the adventure, please-yourself through the adventure, and then (often) move on to your next adventure.  

The world tries to create their own gender roles and marital truths, and then proclaim validity and success to them, but the truth (of God) is that true (God-ordained) marriage is (only) between one man and one woman.  And the only way that marriage succeeds is when we (1) Place God first in the marriage, and (2) Follow God's hallmarks for the marriage, which include wives respecting their husbands and husbands loving their wives.  

  • “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ (7) ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, (8) and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. (9) Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  ~Mark 10:6-9   
  • Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. (23) For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior...  (25) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her... (28) In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  ~Ephesians 5:22-23, 25, 28
Oh my goodness--how archaic and limiting these verses are!  (People say.)
Many (most?) people of today do not want to entertain the idea (or work and compromise) that these (God-founded) views and establishments of marriage require.  
And yet...
Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.  ~Daniel 1:2

And yet--who doesn't love to see an elderly couple holding hands and sitting contentedly in
 silence, or chattering together even though they've had thousands of conversations over the decades?  

And yet--when a wife respects and submits to her husband and a husband loves his wife and gives himself up for her...the combination and mutual-encouragement of this (God defined) dynamic is powerful.  It's an idol that non-believers want to carry back to their own temples and put on display.  

We want that.  We want to take the idea (and beauty) of that back to our land of Babylonia and place it in our treasure-house (Daniel 1:2).

~~~
Marriage (God's way) is just one proof-of-concept that comes from the Bible but it is one that we can remember afresh the importance of, and the faith-reflecting virtue and purpose of. 

  • Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.  ~Genesis 2:24  

  • And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.  ~Genesis 2:18
I just love the language of the King James Version of the Bible.  But here is the NIV translation:
 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”  ~Genesis 2:18

 ~~~

For those of us who are called to marriage, it is a beautiful institution.  Each of us can think of couples that we admire, and it is not because they fight/argue/belittle each other well.  I can guarantee that we like/seek-to-learn-from/admire couples with strong marriages because we see/sense/experience something authentically different between them and their love for one another.  

We want that.

These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.  ~Daniel 1:1-2

Devoted love, mutual respect, and God-led treatment of each other within marriage are not foreign articles from the temple of God that we must admire from afar or steal without permission. 

God gives us these precious articles from His temple.  

Good/strong/lasting/God-honoring marriage is defined by God, and it is available to all who follow His outlines regarding this covenant.

God's blessings of marriage are not off-limits to us, they are fully available and clearly stated.  And the Bible shows us (and defines) the way.  

Following God's Word and ways...submitting to His (all-knowing) roles and giftings within a marriage--these are the parts that are fully up to us.

And for those married couples that have learned how to love and serve each other well, they become examples to us.  

And even for those who don't know or understand the significance of marriage as God defines it, somehow...inherently, they know that these Biblical-definition-of-marriage adhering couples have tapped into something valuable, and it is desirable.  They seek to find alternative truths and imitations of marriage.  They keep trying to carry a sliver of God's definition and treasure of marriage off to the temple of their "gods", but all that occurs is a distorted version and a cheapened sense of what God ordained for holiness.

And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.  ~Daniel 1:2

God's plan and steps toward marriage are clearly stated within the Bible, and these articles from the temple of God are to be kept holy.  

Anything less, and anything redefined is not of God: it is of man.  And thus God's potential can never be fully reached in efforts that are not founded in Him.

Seek God today, and (if married), seek God in our marriages today.  A strong marital union is not something that we must catch-glimpses-of through other couples.  A strong marriage is an article from the temple of God that He gives us full access to through His Word.  

So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  ~Matthew 19:6

Blessings,  

sarah  

Https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com



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