THE POWER OF AGREEMENT
Gen 2:21-25
1Pet 3:1-7
If we understand the full import of marriage we will not trivialize it and we will not do anything to tamper with it. One of the popular pronouncements that is made in a wedding ceremony is that the marital union is governed by God and no one should do anything to tamper with the union. We also say that what God has joined together let no man put asunder. Matt 19:3 Pharisees came to Jesus tempting him, and saying unto him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? Jesus referred them to Gen 1:27 saying have ye not read that he which made man made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife and they twain shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
But we know that the devil has consistently put the institution of marriage under siege such that even when people live together the same roof as husband and wife, there is so much division that they cannot take advantage of the spiritual provision for matrimony. Right from bible time, the institution of marriage had been under so much attack. As soon as the first marriage was put together by God, the devil stepped in and tried to destroy the union. Gen 3:1 says that the serpent was more subtle than any beast in the field and he immediately came to the woman to deceive her. He said, has God said ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? It is the devil that comes with the message of scarcity and lack, meanwhile God has created us with the me taketh of abundance. God had said that man may partake of all the trees. Gen 2:16 says God commanded man saying of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat, for in the day that thou eat thereof, thou shalt surely die. Of course, the serpent deceived her to eat of the tree and she gave her husband and he did eat of it. The challenge here is that the reason why the husband are of the fruit was because at this stage they were both walking in unity and it would appear that it was not the right thing to do.
But God created man perfect and man ought to have known that in everything in life there must be process. That was why God created the man first, then created the woman out of the man, so that man would take headship over his wife and provide leadership and guidance to her. In order to resolve this, when God was prescribing the punishment to the wife, which in fact is the path of restoration, he said in Gen 3:16 I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow thou shall bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee. Another interpretation says, you shall be subject to thy husband and he shall rule over thee. In response to this role, look at what Adam does which brings the first family back to the place of blessing. As soon as the pronouncements are made against him, he ceases the initiative in verse 20 and called his wife's name Eve saying she is the mother of all living. He did not start trading blames with her. Rather what he does is to take responsibility for the future and the unity of the home. As soon as he does this, God steps out and makes a coat of skins for the first family and clothes them. By doing this he had to shed blood in remission and as a covering for the sin of Adam and his wife thereby bringing them back to the place of blessing. He had an understanding that without unity, the family will not be able to withstand the pitfalls of life and the attacks of the enemy.
However, the devil had laid a foundation for his strategy against the family union and matrimony. The subsequent years saw the introduction of polygamy which is one of man's contraptions against marriage. It was in the wicked lineage of Cain through Lamech that polygamy was introduced. You will see that all through the bible where there was polygamy, there was deep division in the family which has great challenges to the future of that family. We see it in the family of Abraham when Hagar was introduced to give birth to Ishmael. You will see that at a stage, Ishmael became a threat to Isaac such that God had to ask Abraham to request Hagar to leave with Ishmael.
We also see the polygamy in the life of Jacob and the division in the family that nearly led to the death of Joseph. The reason why Joseph was so bent on making his brothers bring Benjamin to him in Egypt was because he was must have been worried about what his brothers from other women would have done to Benjamin who was the only other son of his mother Rachel. Can we also speak about the case of Hannah and Peninah the wives of Elkanah and how Peninah kept taunting Hannah because she had no children of her own.
The truth is that polygamy, adultery and fornication are all spiritual illegalities which have serious implications and devastating effect to the spiritual condition of a family. It was an introduction of the devil through paganic and ungodly practices and is intended to prevent the power of agreement in marriage. If you are presently in a polygamous union either as a husband, wife or a child, The Lord will need to make a way for you. Rather than condemn them, you should have compassion for them, especially wives and children.
Marriage is a union between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others. That is why they both have to leave their fathers and mothers and create a separate and distinct family union, because remaining with them will hinder the possibility of cleaving or coming together of spirits. That is why as soon as you get married, you must begin the process of effecting the leaving of your parents in order to bring about the cleaving. Most times your family want to keep holding on to their children and hinder the marriage.
Bible tells us in Ps 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is the precious ointment upon the head that ran down the beard, even Aaron's beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments. As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there The Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore.
Eccl 4:9 Two are better than one, because they have a good report for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat. But how can one be warm alone. And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not easily broken.
The implication of this is that when two are together in unity, God compliments them and they automatically become a threefold cord. This is what the devil is against and from the onset of the marriage, even at the stage of customary marriage, he begins to sow seed of discord in the heart of the couple. That is where you begin to see the parents and siblings of both sides trying to tear them apart. This is something that every couple must watch out about and begin to pray against from the time of their courtship. Even in the course of marriage, the society has put in place all types of pitfalls to bring about disaffection and discord in home which you must resist.
Matt 18:19 Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Deut 32:30 says that one will chase a thousand and two will put ten thousand to flight because The Lord will help them.
So, in the Old Testament, the devil dealt a devastating blow on the institution of marriage which is the foundation of society and which is what enables the people to begin to establish their victory over the adversary. When you raise a godly home, you are able to raise godly children who will do damage to the kingdom of the enemy. Ps 127 tells us the as arrow are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of our youth. Happy is the man who shall have his quiver full of them, he shall contend wi the enemies at the gate.
As we started to approach the coming of Jesus the prophets of old started to look again into the subject of marriage as a point of restoration and a key aspect of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Two key scriptures in the book of Malachi are of note here. Mal 2:13-16. God is angry with Israel because they dealt treacherously against the wife of their youth who should be their companion and the wife of their covenant. Verse 15 says, did he not make you one? The reason being that he might seek a godly seed. Verse 16 says that The Lord hates putting away which is most time put up after you have dealt treacherously against your wife. God is here holding the man responsible for ensuring that their us unity in the home and the home is strong against the devastation of the enemy.
The next scripture is Mal 4:5 says, behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of The Lord. And he shall turn the hart of the father to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. This scripture forms the basis of my teaching if fatherhood. It is true of the minstry of John the Baptist which came to prepare for the coming of Christ and it is also the same for the present era which is the forerunner to the second coming of Christ. We have come again to the days of Elijah and we are the Intercessory who should birth the coming of Christ. One of our assignments as a church is to restore the institution of marriage and to ensure that the people are well taught on what it takes to have a good Christian marriage.
So, of course when Jesus came he had to preach the message of the restoration of the of the time valued principles of marriage. He starts in the beatitudes to tells us the values of meekness, mercy, humility, peace and the reality of persecution and challenges in the life of a believer. Then also teaches us on the importance of forgiveness and tells us that the sin of adultery like any other sin begins from the heart and the way to guard against it is from the heart. He now tells us in Matt 5:31-32 that you can only divorce your wife by reason of adultery in a bid to reiterate the law of Moses.
Probably the most important teaching that we receive from Jesus Christ on marriage is given in Matt 19 when the Pharisees come to enquire about the issue of divorce and Jesus tells them categorically that divorce is a spiritual impossibility. They now asked in verse 7 why did Moses permit divorce by a writ of divorcement. Jesus said, it was by the reason of the hardness of your heart. But in the beginning, it was not so.
But the teachings of Paul and Peter are more detailed on the issues of marriage and all of them are actively focused of the need to engender unity in the homes which is where the real value of marriage exists. Once there is no unity in the home, there is actually no marriage. What you have are two separate people living under the same roof and giving people the impression that they are married. That house can easily be devastated by the devil and all types of evil, sickness and affliction will creep into such a home and the people will not be able to resist it.
But there are three key things that I can tell you that you must do concerning your marriage to achieve the benefit of unity.
Firstly, you must build your home in accordance with the principles of the word of God. The husband must take responsibility for the peace and joy of the home, and the wife must be submissive to her husband. Submission is not slavery and is not enforced. It is earned by the action of the husband.
Secondly, there must be communication and physical interaction between the couple. Decisions must be taken in most occasions by agreement of all parties. You must make out time for yourselves and be committed to be attracted to each other. Ensure that there is healthy physical relationship which will ensure regular sexual relationship. Sex has serious spiritual connotations as it is an act which practicalities the actual joining of the spirits of the man and his wife. That is why physical interaction between people who are not married is a spiritual illegality and allows for the transfer of demons.
Finally, there must be regular prayer. Do not play with the importance of the family altar.
