Is Your Wife Married To A Man Or A Manikin Series

Next-door is Bobby’s friend, Johnny. He too comes home from school that winter afternoon and asks his mother, "What’s for dinner, Mom?" She speaks in bitter tones, “Oh, the ox your father has been feeding special grains is ready to be butchered. We’re finally going to have prime rib with all the trimmings.” The little boy responds, “But Mom, are you going to talk with Dad at the table at supper? Or are you and Dad going to argue with each other? Are you going to tell me, “Pass the potatoes to that man!’” That is when little Johnny asked, “Mom, can I go over to Bobby’s house for supper tonight?”

In the kingdom of God, circumstances should make no difference to your “peace of mind.” That is because we share a secret together

Key 4: A Man tries to HOLD his wife till “DEATH do us part.”

A Manikin tries to HARM his wife when “DIVORCE do us part.”

A family man accepts full responsibility for his wedding vows. When did you last visit the vows you made on your wedding day? You may be able to remember all the words, but you know what you meant. You looked your partner in the eye and vowed, “I promise you that this new relationship with will always be the most important relationship behind my relationship to God. End of story.” Does your time and attention to your wife reflect that?

Turn in your Bibles to, the last book in the Old Testament, to Malachi chapter 2:14. God is decrying divorce among His people. Things were not going well for them. The prophet speaks God’s heart and details why the blessings of God were being withheld,

“It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.”

The KJV reads,

“Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.”

The problem is relationship with the wife. God calls her your “partner” or “companion.” That word describes a fellow traveler, someone who has promised to walk with you along the way. It describes pictures two people who help each other, arm in arm, as long as God gives them breath.

Malachi is speaking against, “treachery” or “breaking faith.” Do you know what treachery is? It is when a husband is acting the part as a friend but is secretly working the destruction of their wife by seeking a younger or another wife. God calls that treachery. Some of you in the house have experienced this treachery first hand. And it hurts real bad.

It hurts because promise has been broken. And we all construct our hopes around promises that are made. When a man promises to love a woman until death, he gives her security to become a woman of God. Marriage is designed by God to begin at the altar and end at the graveside. It is not designed to end in divorce court. Between the altar and the grave, we knew that there will be times of conflict and anger and heartbreak and boredom and monotony. That is why we singed a marriage license. We said, “For better or worse, till death us do part.”