Nothing Between
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well… Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. ~Proverbs 5:15, 18
Of all the relationships we have in life, the one that we need to give the highest regard to is marriage. Marriage is the sacred and legal union of a man and woman with each other for a lifetime. There are privileges and priorities associated with marriage that are to borne by the man as husband and the woman as the wife. Thus, marriage is a relationship that demands wisdom. How most people conduct themselves in marriage is a function of the kind of home they grew up in, or what influence our secular society has on their decisions. This morning, the devotion centers on the wisdom needed in marriage. It centers on the necessity of “nothing between.”
We see the intelligence in marriage.
As Solomon writes Proverbs 5, it is presumed that the reader understands the concept that God established in Genesis 2:24, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” We see divine intelligence in marriage. The goals in marriage include companionship, consolidation, compatibility, cohabitation, and closeness. God did not design marriage with the intention of the couple getting out of the relationship and divorcing. God designed marriage for the purpose of a lifetime love. The design in marriage bears divine intelligence.
We see the intention in marriage.
The intention in marriage is that the two become one flesh. It is where two become one, and two are better than one. It is where the married couple strives for bonding, bliss, burden sharing, and blessing. In marriage, the husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. The wife submits herself to her husband as unto the Lord. It is where their strengths compliment and complete one another. It is where they compensate for each other’s weaknesses. It is where they represent their marriage as a good testimony to an unsaved world. The Lord Jesus compared the ideal marriage to His love for the church and the submission of the church to Christ.
We see an invasion against marriage.
When sin entered into this world, the curse of sin fell upon all of creation. Satan has as his agenda the defilement and destruction of every marriage. Every marriage faces an invasive attack by Satan. One of these areas of attack is against the marital intimacy shared between married couples. The invasion occurs through lust, covetousness, and the crossing of forbidden boundaries. Every marriage must be on guard against these attacks. Men and women should never let down their guard when they are around members of the opposite gender who are not their spouses. Guard your desires, thoughts, and associations carefully.
We see the invulnerability through marriage.
Solomon tells us that the best wisdom to safeguard our marriages is to be sure that husbands and wives are 100% focused on their spouse. Drink waters out of thine own cistern. Rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Be satisfied only with your spouse. Spend more time together and not less. Fulfill your marital responsibilities to the extreme with each other. The best protection occurs when the goal is closeness resulting in oneness.
The goal in marriage is nothing between. Pray for your marriage. Pray for the marriages of your parents, your friends, and the people in our church. Pray that your children will marry right and within the will of God for their lives.
Have a fulfilling God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Genesis 19-21