I want to talk about husband/wife relationships. I think a lot of people think that marriage is just two single people living together...that's wrong. There are even people that are uncertain how the husband should treat his wife. This is where I talk about how a lot of bible translators might have done a good job when they moved the bible from the language it was written in to English, but the English language is transforming rapidly. So when we read those words today it may not mean the same thing as when it was written.
The bible verse that I am talking about is Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." That word rule makes us think of slavery, but the verse is not saying that wives should be the slaves of there husbands. In Ephesians we find out that husbands are to cherish there wives like CHRIST LOVES the church.
We should not think that the phrase "rule over" means that we should be ruthless...rather we should understand the phrase "rule over" to mean that GOD wants the guys to be the team captain. (and it would be silly for the team captains to think that the wife does not have an important role)
Actually what I wanted to talk about was a warning message to guys. Genesis 3:16 has more than 1 phrase that I think is sometimes misunderstood. -- To the woman he said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."-- Because people sinned GOD said that certain things would be cursed. (I guess before mankind sinned farming would have been totally different)
but GOD said to the woman that she would need to bear at least two curses (the meaning of that word is burdens) one of these burdens that would be a lot more difficult is child birth, and the second is the one that I wanted to mention. -Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you-
Plainly said a lot of ladies want to be the boss, (most women probley feel this is true for other ladies but not for them...I am going to guess that its true for about 95% of ladies.) Ladies like to do this thing that I call leading from the back. They tend to be like cattle dogs, cattle dogs create situations where the cow goes exactly where the dog wants it to go.
And most men want to keep the peace so they do not say anything. They do not provide any direction...it would be like riding in a stage coach and throwing the reigns up into the air.
Guys don't do that! I am not wanting to offend people but think of a wife like a prize horse (after all the wife is often called a help mate) You should not push that horse to the point of exhaustion, because she is a member of you team.
What I am talking about is once married the wife might want to "wear the pants" but GOD has given that responsibility to the husband.
I think that society is in the shape that it is currently in because "men" will not accept the responsibility that GOD has given them. (you might think that your being a "nice, easygoing" guy because you "know what the bible says" but you do not want to force your thoughts onto your wife or kids...well you are wrong again! GOD has designed for the man to be the priest in the house (yep us guys need to know the scriptures as well as we can) Why because: 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
So the husband and wife need to take the bible, and they all need to discuss what is the best thing to do, and if the wife interprets the bible in one way and the man interprets another way, in that case scripture tells us that the husband should have more of a say. (I think I see a problem...society is teaching men to be less than what the bible tells us that we should be.) So stop playing so many games on the computer, turn off your Xbox, unplug your PlayStation, (or however else we occupy our time) and start searching what the scriptures mean (maby GOD has yet to bless us with spouses because we are not prepared to lead a family in a biblical way?
I never understood why the law was called a curse. Can someone explain?
There are 2 commandments which all the other commandments came from, and Jesus gave both of them, love God and then love your neighbor. All the others stem from these. And they all lead to life and prosperity.
I don't see how that is a curse. Unless he simply meant that it was a pain to have to keep sacrificing animals to atone for sins all the time. In which case I understand.
Kev the law is not a curse. It's like a guideline. Like the signs when we drive. We follow them to avoid problems, to keep us safe. It's the manifestation of God's live for us
Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole."
Before JESUS covered our sins with HIS blood, all of us were living under a curse (because GOD already told us that if we sinned we would be eternally separated from GOD.) The law could not bring salvation to anyone. In fact all the law could do was show us how much we needed a savior. (Romans 8:3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh...)
Its silly for anyone to claim "I do good" because all flesh is corrupt. Even on our best behavior our actions are still nauseating to GOD (Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.)
Paul the apostle spoke of this very thing in Philippians 3:4-11 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ�the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ�yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.)
The big word that is used to describe what we are talking about is propitiation...the word means that there was a switch that was made, and the "new guy" took the "old guys" punishment.
I was once told a story about a man that fought a fire breathing dragon. The man would have lost the battle, but the man was caring a special shield and the man was saved from becoming burnt, because the shield deflected the dragons fiery breath.
JESUS is like that shield for us, and unless we are covered in the blood of JESUS, then we are headed to hell! (Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--)
GOD is holy, and GOD will not tolerate our sin. (Hebrews 12:29 for our "God is a consuming fire.")
When JESUS died on the cross, He did not just decided to come to earth and die just because HE thought that it would be fun. JESUS knew that because of mankinds fallen condition, we had just bought a one way ticket to hell (Because my sin makes GOD sick, I was not allowed to go to heaven) And JESUS knew that mankind needed to be redeemed. JESUS knew that because GOD is holy and mankind is not, therefore the punishment for the unholy lifestyle that we live was eternal separation from GOD.
That is why JESUS choose to come down to earth. I believe that is what JESUS meant when HE said "MY GOD MY GOD why have you forsaken ME" (Mathew 27:46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, �Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?� {which means �My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?�})
GOD is holy and HE can not/will not tolerate sin. My sins are stuck on me and there was no way that anything good could happen when I died...until JESUS became sin for me. That law could not do that, all the law could do was remind me that I needed a solution to my sin problem.
I agree, man and woman are co-workers, for God had created woman to be a help meet, but it was only after sin came into the world that God told "Eve", not Adam, but "Eve" that Adam would now have "rule over her as one who is now is responsible for any of her wrong doing when Adam is aware of them and fails to correct the issue. Yes, man and woman co-workers, and woman is man's equal in every way except in authority and chain of command once married to man. Before a woman is married her authority and accountability is directly to God, afterward, as the scripture describes, a woman should pray with her head covered, implying under the respect for , and authority of and in complete serenity of her husband that both their prayers and relationship with God will not be hindered. Men, man up and take your responsible leadership that God has imposed, yes, "imposed" on you, aggressively protecting and cherishing the gift God, Himself has given you, for man is not without the woman, and the woman is not without the man, but to be with a contentious woman or have a life without loving wife, truly is misery, for God, Himself said, "It is not good for man to be alone".
