An interesting biblical concept is that of the five Divine Institutions. These five institutions were created by God, and apply to all mankind whether believer or unbeliever. These basic social structures were made by God. When these five divine institutions aren’t followed, the result is individual confusion, social turmoil, and the destruction of a society.
The first three came into existence with Adam and Eve, while the last two came later. We’ll talk about the first three in a moment. The last two protect mankind after the fall from destroying themselves through world-wide rebellion against God and total control by Satan. They are:
#4 Human Government (or authority) - Genesis 8:15-9:17; Romans 13:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-4; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13-
17. Should we be surprised as we move toward the end times that we see an increase in our society of people thinking it is right to rebel against authority and accuse law enforcement of being the enemy of the people?
#5 Nations - Genesis 9:25-10:32, 11:1-9. Deuteronomy 32:8 and Acts 17:26. Should we be surprised as we move toward the end times that we see an increase toward a globalist mindset and a one world government? A push to have no borders? This will eventually give rise to the anti-Christ.
The first three are the most basic of all social structures. They are:
# 1 Responsible Dominion Mandate - Genesis. 1:26-30; 2:15-17; Psalm 8:3-8; Hebrews 2:5-8; 1 Corinthians 6:2-3. The assignment from God to mankind to make the world better through productive labor still remains in effect. We shouldn’t be surprised, that as we move closer to the end times, man’s unique position as authority over God’s creation is being attacked. Primarily through the teachings of evolution, which says man is just another animal and nothing special.
#3 Family - Genesis 1:28; 4:1-2, 9:1, 7; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 1:8, 6:20; Ephesians 6:1-4. Part of the way man fulfills the mandate to have dominion over the earth is by marrying and having children to “fill the earth.” If physically possible, believers should have children and then raise them under the authority of God’s Word, leading them to faith in Christ and become disciples who make other disciples. Again, we shouldn’t be surprised that as we move toward the end times, Satan attacks the institution of family viciously.
Consider these terrible statistics:
• It’s estimated that world-wide there are 42-50 million children killed through abortion every year. 136,986 a day at 50 million.
• In America alone there are about 3,300 children murdered through abortion every day!
• Some 93% are for reasons of inconvenience.
Increasingly, we also see parents “excused” from the responsibility of educating children and this being seen more and more as the job of the state of in the case of spiritual education, the church.
#2 Marriage - Genesis 2:18-24; Matthew 19:6; 1 Corinthians 7:2-4; Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18-20; Titus 2:3-6; Hebrews; 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7. Again, we shouldn’t be surprised that as we move toward the end times that marriage is coming under increasing attack. This is why, as believers, we need to strongly uphold God’s ideal for marriage - one man and one woman together for life. We need to stand for the biblical view of marriage and celebrate the idea of marriage.
Last time, we made the point that Proverbs teaches us that the time to factor God into the equation of my marriage is before the ceremony, as we talked about selecting a good spouse. Today, I want us to focus on what we learn from Proverbs about being a good spouse.
1. The virtuous wife . . .
A. Is reliable.
“Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.” - Proverbs 31:11 (NIV)
B. Is caring.
“She comforts, encourages, and does him only good and not evil all the days of her life.” - Proverbs 31:12 (Amplified)
C. Is resourceful.
“She is always gathering wool and flax and enjoys making things with her hands. She is like a ship from a faraway place. She brings home food from everywhere. She wakes up early in the morning, cooks food for her family, and gives the servants their share. She does not worry about her family when it snows. She has given them all good, warm clothes. She makes sheets and spreads for the beds, and she wears clothes of fine linen.” - Proverbs 31:13-15, 21-22 (Easy to Read)
D. Is industrious.
“She considers a field before she buys or accepts it [expanding her business prudently]; With her profits she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard. She makes [fine] linen garments and sells them; And supplies sashes to the merchants.” - Proverbs 31:16, 24 (Amplified)
E. Is compassionate.
“She is generous to the poor and needy.” - Proverbs 31:20 (GN)
F. Is spiritually strong.
“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” - Proverbs 31:25 (NLT)
G. Is encouraging.
“When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly.” - Proverbs 31:26 (The Message)
H. Walks with God.
“Charm and grace are deceptive, and [superficial] beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD [reverently worshiping, obeying, serving, and trusting Him with awe-filled respect], she shall be praised.” - Proverbs 31:30 (Amplified)
A person once sent a question to Billy Graham in which they asked, “Do you really think it’s possible for people to change? Some just seem to be naturally selfish, and no matter what you try to teach them, they never really change.” Dr. Graham answered, “When we first meet Peter in the Gospels, he’s brash, emotional, boastful and given to outbursts lacking wisdom and judgment. Peter said he would never deny Jesus, and yet three times after Jesus’ arrest he told bystanders he didn’t even know Jesus. Was that the end? Not at all. After Jesus’ resurrection, he preached that Jesus was sent from God to save us from our sins. And in his letters, written toward the end of his life, we discover a man who’s no longer brash or lacking wisdom, but mature, wise and stable. What made the difference? It came from Peter’s walk with Christ - learning from Him, changed by Him, obedient to Him. And the same can happen to us, as we yield ourselves to Christ and learn to follow Him every day.”
2. The virtuous husband.
Now, where is the passage in Proverbs describing the virtuous man? Keep in mind that Proverbs is primarily addressed to men.
So, while there is half a chapter describing the virtuous woman, there are thirty plus chapters describing the virtuous man! Which goes to show how much work is needed to get men to shape up and mature!
A. Values his wife highly.
“The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the LORD.” - Proverbs 18:22 (NLT)
B. Praises his wife privately.
“Her husband brags about her and says, ‘There are many good women, but you are the best.’” - Proverbs 31:28b-29 (Easy to Read)
C. Rewards his wife publicly.
“Give her the reward she deserves. Praise her in public for what she has done.” - Proverbs 31:31 (Easy to Read)
D. Loves his wife exclusively.
“Drink water from your own well - share your love only with your wife.” - Proverbs 5:15 (NLT)
Conclusion: As we conclude the service today, I’ve asked for the song, “The Treasure of You” be sung. This is a song about how a husband and wife should treasure each other as God’s gift to them.
As the song is sung, I want to encourage husbands and wives to take time to express their appreciation for each other and to pray for each other. You once stood before an altar and said vows before God.
Perhaps today, you would kneel at an altar and pray to God.Let today be a day of expressing appreciation and of committing yourselves to growing into tat virtuous husband or wife God is calling you to be - to not only be a good partner, but a good friend to you mate.
Speaking of friendship, ladies, you might want to also take this chance to express appreciation to a virtuous woman God has brought into you life who has blessed you; or men, to express appreciation to a virtuous man God has brought into you life to bless you.
Let them know how much you treasure your relationship today.
