296 Marriage is a partnership | nazareneisrael2house

Marriage is a partnership.

Marriage was instituted by Elohim and has great purpose in the life of true believers. We read accordingly from Genesis 1: 26 & 27: ‘Then Elohim said, “let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing, that creeps on the earth. (27) And Elohim created man in His own image, in the image of Elohim He created him; male and female He created them.”Then after creating Adam, Elohim said in Genesis 2: 18: “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”Yahshua our Messiah confirmed in Mark 10: 6, saying: “But from the beginning of creation, Elohim MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE.” I am aware that there are ladies who believe their husbands were created in the image of Elohim and that they were made from the ribs of their husbands to purely help them reach their goals in life. On the contrary, some husbands believe their wives to be their servants and to be at their beg and call whenever they so require. Nevertheless,the Hebrew interpretation of this verse does not say that, but that the female part of the image of Elohim was separated from the male part so that when they join together in marriage they again become like Elohim spiritually and physically. Most misinterpreted this without realizing that a marriage is not there to fulfill their lusts, but instead it is a set-apart union similar to a business partnership in which they have to work together to make it succeed. The one is definitely not superior to the other and each brings different skills and knowledge to the table and it is through co-operation, not competition that the partnership will survive.

Marriage requires that you leave your parents and cleave to your wife. The whole purpose of our lives is to build character and to become totally like YHVH our Elohim. We already ‘look’ like the image of Elohim, Yahshua, physically (He being the image of the invisible Elohim according to Colossians 1: 15), – however, the purpose of life is to also become like Him spiritually.Elohim’s purpose for marriage is twofold for us; firstly to recreate Himself through us and our children and secondly, to develop a character, like His.Once a young adult in the assembly decides to get married, he/she is required to leave their parents and cleave to one another.It is important to understand that Scriptures are clear: A man shall cleave to his wife (a woman) and not another man. Marriage is a relationship between a male and a female and not between two males or two females.In our marriage ceremony both partners promise to stay loyal to their original partners, until death do them part? The choice of marriage is therefore a very important one. The Scriptures being our manual, tells us how to live with our partner. There are numerous scriptures telling us what to do and what not to do in marriage. In the Ten Commandments for instance, we are told, not to commit adultery. In Colossians 3: 18 & 19 it tells wives to be subject to their husbands and husbands to love their wives. The first woman was taken from her husband’s side, not his foot – so she is an equal partner, not a carpet to walk over. The point of marriage is that it is not only a two way street; it is not only between a husband and his wife, it is much, much more. It is a relationship in which we learn to live according to Elohim’s rules – or put differently, according to the Torah teachings of YHVH the only Elohim.

The first five commandments are aimed at our relationship with YHVH our Elohim. By obeying them, we show YHVH that we love Him with our hearts (belief sytem) and souls (the way we live our lives) and by keeping the last six commandments, we show love to our neighbors but also ourselves.In marriage we show love to our wives and husbands, but also to our Creator. We must never forget that whatever we do – we should do it as if doing it for YHVH our Elohim. It must not only be to please men, but with sincerity of heart fearing YHVH always, as Rav Shaul concluded in Colossians 3: 23 – 25, saying: “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Master rather than for men; (24) knowing that from the Master you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Master Yahshua whom you serve. (25) For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”Brethren, with that in mind, it will be to our advantage if we remember, next time when we want to shout at our partner – we are doing it as unto the Master Yahshua!!!! Ask yourself; do you love yourself? If you truly love yourself, you will not do things that will harm your body or mind in any way; meaning that you will not use harmful substances and eventually get so addicted to it that you will do anything to obtain it, such as stealing from or killing a neighbor who are in the image of Elohim. It is important to understand that without loving yourself, it is impossible to love your neighbor.

Once we are married, we must remember that we are past the point of having boyfriends and girlfriends; we are past the point of dating someone. Some newly-weds sometimes forget this – and when their marriage partners offend them – they want to get their own (dignity) back, by making their partners jealous with a boyor girlfriend. This is extremely childish and does not belong in a marriage relationship. If you truly love your neighbor you will not harm your relationship with him or her. By staying with your married partner, you show YHVH your Elohim that once you agreed to follow Him (after He has called you); you will remain loyal to Him until you die one day or when Messiah comes to rule the world from Jerusalem. So if and when someone like our husbands or wives offend us, by saying something hurtful, we must think twicebefore making them jealous with someone else, or before we spite them by not talking to them for a day or longer. Think about your own character development, before you make these ridiculous decisions to spite your partner.Do not be easily offended – be more forgiving – more lenient to your partner and others in the assembly. Remember in the model prayer that Yahshua taught His disciples in Matthew 6: 12 He said: “And forgive us our trespasses as we also have forgiven those who trespass against us.”Continuing in verse 14, He said: “For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” YHVH forgives past sins – divorce and sins before your calling and conversion are forgiven. From that point on, we start our relationship with our partners as well as with Elohim. Marriage was specifically instituted to help us to build character, like Elohim’s – which will last into eternity. Let us therefore use it for that very purpose and at the same time make our partners happy. We need to understand that righteousness (obedience of Torah) and justice is mercy to show us how the world is run.The Scriptural definition of judgment entails positive explanation and correction of what we have done wrong (not damnation as many came to believe), after which YHVH will determine what we have done with the information given us before making a decision. No one will ever be doomed without being given knowledge of the truth.

Yes, Yahshua is the Judge and none of us can condemn anybody who lived before us, or at this time, or who will be alive after us, as Rav Yaa’cov wrote in James 4: 12, saying: ‘There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?’ A second witness comes from Romans 14: 10 - 13 as follows: ‘But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Elohim. (11) For it is written, “AS I LIVE, SAYS YHVH, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, and EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO ELOHIM.” (12) So then each one of us shall give account of himself to Elohim. (13)Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this – not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.’ We, the elect are bowing the knee before Yahshua the King at this time, by being totally obedient to what He taught and did whilst He was on earth. We also need to continually evaluate our daily conduct and judge ourselves against the perfect example that YHVH gave us, namely Yahshua, as we also read from 1 Corinthians 11: 31 & 32, in this way: ‘But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. (32) But when we were judged, we are disciplind by the Master in order that we may not be condemned with the world.’ If we continue to judge ourselves properly, we will keep our bodies under subjection and fight the good fight, then we will be in the first resurrection, raised up as spiritual kings and priests at Messiah’s return. We need to understand that it is because we have to contend with the influences of Satan and His many human agents in this life, that we will be resurrected as first-born children of Elohim to become rulers with Messiah in the kingdom of Elohim. No one will ever be judged without knowing the truth as witnessed from Hebrew 10: 26 & 27, as follows: ”For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, (27) but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.”We read in agreement to this from Isaiah 25: 7 - 9, that even those people who died without ever hearing the truth during their lifetime on earth, will ultimately be given a chance after the second resurrection, in this way: ‘And on this mountain (or government) He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. (8) He will swallow up death for all time, and YHVH Elohim will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for YHVH has spoken. (9) And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our Elohim for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is YHVH for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation (transliterated as yeshuati).’

With this in mind we need to understand that same-sex relationships were never ordained by Elohim and are by no means as legitimate as opposite-sex ones. In fact YHVH finds sex relationships as detestable, as may be read from Leviticus 20: 13, as follows: ‘If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their blood guiltiness is upon them.’ YHVH intended men and women to be together from the very beginning. YHVH intended marriages to last until one of the partners die. Marriage is ordained by our Father and He hates divorce. He ordained marriage and sex – in that order. Adultery is a violation of the marriage covenant by willfully participating in sex with someone who is not your spouse. YHVH created sex, because He wants us to enjoy a stable sexual relationship within marriage. Broken homes are very costly to human society. The majority of economically disadvantaged people are from broken homes. Homes headed by single parents are a leading factor in subsequent criminal activity. To this must be added the cost of legal fees, the reduction in productivity and income of divorced parents. It also results in the frequent loss of homes and other belongings. Divorce often results in long custody battles with devastating effects on the children. Society suffers because we have neglected to treat our partners the way that YHVH intended from the beginning. Most human beings desire and need the benefits that come from a stable marriage. We need to return to the way that Elohim intended and give marriage the respect that it deserves. Children whose parents are happily married are blessed with the ideal environment to grow up in and produce emotionally stable leaders for future generations. How serious is divorce to YHVH? We see from Malachi 2: 16 that YHVH hates divorce, as follows: “For I hate divorce,” says YHVH, the Elohim of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says YHVH of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.” Adultery is considered such a serious sin by YHVH, that He devoted two out of the Ten Commandments to it. We read from Exodus 20: 14 & 17, “You shall not commit adultery.” (17) “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” We see from Leviticus 20: 10 that adultery is punishable by death, as follows: ‘If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.’ Whereas there are many people who view sexual activity short of intercourse, not as sin, the Scriptures shows that anything which involves ‘uncovered nakedness’ for the purpose of sexual misconduct, to be sin (as may be read in Leviticus 18 and 20). In fact Yahshua our Messiah plainly stated in Matthew 5: 27 & 28, “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTARY’; (28) but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

There are many warnings against adultery in the Scriptures. One such warning appears in Proverbs 6: 32, as follows: ‘The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; he who would destroy himself does it.’ We who are called should also be mindful of what Rav Shaul said about immoral sexual relationships in 1 Corinthians 6: 9 – 20, as follows: ‘Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of Elohim? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, (10) nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of Elohim. (11) And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Master Yahshua Messiah, and in the Spirit of our Elohim. (12) All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. (Example: We may drink wine and even whiskey, but we should never get drunk) (13) Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food; but Elohim will do away with both of them. (We should also not be gluttons – even during the Feast) Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Master; and the Master is for the body. (14) Now Elohim has not only raised the Master, but will also raise us up through His power. (15) Do you not know that your bodies are members of Messiah? Shall I then take away the members of Messiah and make them members of a harlot? May it never be! (16) Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her? For He says, “THE TWO WILL BECOME ONE FLESH.” (17) But the one who joins himself to the Master is one spirit with Him. (18) Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.(19) Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Set-apart Spirit who is in you, whom you have from Elohim, and that you are not your own? (20) For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify Elohim in your body.’Rav Shaul continued teaching about marriage in 1 Corinthians 7: 1 – 6, saying: ‘Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. (2) But because of immoralities, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. (3) Let the husband fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. (4) The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. (5) Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again lest Satan tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (6)But this I say by way of concession, not of command.’

When we consider the Ten Commandments more fully, we come to see that committing adultery does not only involve the breaking of the seventh commandment. As I mentioned before marriage helps us build righteous character; therefore breaking the seventh command is also a character matter. To begin with, those guilty of committing adultery, breaks the marriage vow with their partners as well as with Elohim and secondly, such an act shows disrespect towards the parents of the husband and the wife, thereby also breaking the fifth commandment (as per Exodus 20: 12). The eight commandments are also involved in that the adulterer has stolen someone else’s spouse for sexual use. In addition the ninth commandment was also broken, in that the perpetrators had to deceive their legal partners, parents and their children. But most of all the act of adultery allows another person to come before Elohim; so we see that at least six commandments are broken by such a foolish act. The overriding problem of adultery is that it has consequences that can last for many generations. Also be mindful of the fact that even if you are able to change and repent; what happens if you are in an accident or die before you could repent? When studying Torah we read from Deuteronomy 28 why the Israelite nations are presently cursed and why we should wake up and repent from our evil pasts or die. Through the giving of Torah YHVH placed eternal life in our midst and we need to grasp it with both hands whilst there is still time, as Rav Shaul warns us aptly in Hebrews 3: 12 -4: 6, saying: ‘Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living Elohim. (13) But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (14) For we have become partakers of Messiah, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end; (15) while it is said, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME.” (16) For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? (17) And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?(18) And to whom did He swear that they should not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? (19) And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. (4: 1) Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest (in the Promised Land eternally – meaning the Kingdom of Elohim), any one of you should seem to have come short of it. (2) For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. (3) For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, “AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. (4) For he has thus said somewhere concerning the seventh day, “AND ELOHIM RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAYFROM ALL HIS WORKS”; (5) and again in this passage, “THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.” (6) Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience.’

We, who are called by YHVH to become kings and priests under Yahshua during the millennium should not continue to practice sin, thinking it is always possible to repent. We should desist from tempting YHVH our Elohim, as Yahshua warned in Matthew 7: 19 – 23, as follows: “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (20) So then, you will know them by their fruits. (21) Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. (22) Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Master, Master, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ (23) And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’” This obviously has to do with all law-breaking and not only with adultery.Those who have been involved in adulterous relationships should repent and cease from doing so immediately. Those who repent and return to full Torah observance should remember that Yahshua paid the penalty for all our sins – upon repentance it is forgiven, if we cease from doing so completely. Every cause has an effect, so even though we might be forgiven, if we picked up aids or another sexual decease because of our act, we will suffer the effects. So will the relatives of those who committed adultery suffer from the effects of our sins – be it depression, or any other psychological effect, of which we might not even be aware of.We need to be mindful of the fact that marriage is a divine institution designed by Elohim as a lifelong relationship between a man and a woman. So let’s wear our tzitzit as a reminder not to break Elohim’s commandments as we read from Numbers 15: 38 – 41, as follows: “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. (39) And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of YHVH, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, (40) in order that you may remember to do all My commandments, and be holy (Set-apart) to your Elohim. (41) I am YHVH your Elohim who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your Elohim; I am YHVH your Elohim.” Let’s resolve to do only the things which will build a righteous character in us. We should continue to study the Scriptures so that we may attain wisdom, knowledge and understanding, since that is the only way in which to become faithful to the end, as Solomon the son of David king of Israel wrote in the book of proverbs and specifically in Proverbs 1: 7 – 19, saying: ‘The fear of YHVH is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (8) Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching; (9) indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head, and ornaments about your neck. (10) My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. (11) If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause; (12) Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, even whole, as those who go down to the pit; (13) we shall find all kinds of precious wealth, we shall fill our houses with spoil; (14) throw in your lot with us, we shall all have one purse,” (15) my son do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, (16) For their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed blood. (17) Indeed, it is useless to spread the net in the eyes of any bird; (18) But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives. (19) So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; it takes away the life of its possessors.’

Continuing verses 29 – 33, we read how to escape the dread of evil, as follows: ‘Because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of YHVH. (30) They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof. (31) So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be satiated with their own devices. (32) For the waywardness of the naïve shall kill them, and the complacency of fools shall destroy them. (33)But he who listens to me shall live securely, and shall be at ease from the dread of evil.”We see further from Proverbs 2: 10 – 22 how wisdom protects one from the strange woman (an adulteress, but also the false church started by Esau to keep the bride – the commonwealth of Israel away from the Groom), in this way:‘For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; (11) discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you. (12) To deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things; (13) from those who leave the paths of righteousness, to walk in the ways of darkness; (14) who delight in doing evil, and rejoice in the perversity of evil; (15) Whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways; (16) to deliver you from the strange woman, from the adulteress who flatters with her words; (17) that leaves the companion of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her Elohim; (18) for her house sinks down to death, and her tracks lead to the dead; (19) none who go to her return again, nor do they reach the paths of life. (20) So you will walk in the way of good men, and keep to the paths of the righteous. (21) For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; (22) but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted from it.’ Some of us called by YHVH to come out of Churchianity have serious flaws in our personalities and need to repent urgently whilst there is still time. The time has arrived for returnees to confess all our past sins to YHVH and start worshiping Him the way He describes in Torah as Jeremiah admonished in Jeremiah 16: 19, saying: ‘O YHVH, my strength and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of distress, to Thee the nations (specifically referring to those of the ten tribes scattered into the world because of idolatry) will come from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood, futility and things of no profit.’ People, we are being offered eternal life by our heavenly Father at this end time, as He confirmed in Deuteronomy 4: 25 – 31, saying: “When you become the father of children and children’s children and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of YHVH your Elohim so as to provoke Him to anger, (26) I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you shall surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it, You shall not live long on it, but shall be utterly destroyed. (27) And YHVH will scatter you among the people, and you shall be left few in number among the nations, where YHVH shall drive you. (28) And there you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. (29) But from there you will seek YHVH your Elohim, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. (30) When you are in distress and all these things come upon you, in the latter days, you will return to YHVH your Elohim and listen to His voice. (31) For YHVH your Elohim is a compassionate Elohim; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.”Are we going to make use of the tremendous opportunity being offered to us at this time, or are we going to be the ones who will be resurrected with the rich man in the second resurrection facing eternal death? Think about it!