Tonight I opened my Bible (something I haven't done at ALL like I should be...) and started to read in Deuteronomy. I was reading through chapter 23 then moved on to chapter 24. As I was reading chapter 24 a particular verse caught my eye and really stuck out to me.
Verse 5 of Deuteronomy chapter 24 reads, "When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year, and bring happiness to the wife whom he has taken."
How AWESOME is that!? Did you catch it? Go and look again. One year. God said that when a couple gets married the husband's sole purpose is to bring happiness to his wife for the entire first year of marriage.
It really touched me because that is just more and more living proof of how God "gets" women. He understands. He knows that women need to be loved on and have quality time. Can you imagine how much stronger marriages would be today if every couple that got married devoted their first year of marriage to each other? No other outside distractions, just them. Can you imagine the potential pain that was eased when God told the Israelites that they were going to be heading into battle and those young brides knew that they would not have to bid their loved one goodbye?
Marriage and kids are my two heart desires. Sometimes I ache because of having to wait.People tell me that, "You're still young", "You have time", "Don't rush things." I understand all of that, I really do, but having my heart comprehend that just doesn't happen. I think about the women that lived during the Old Testament, who may not have had to finish school before getting married, but maybe they didn't know their future husband either. Can you imagine marrying someone that your family chose for you? What a blessing it would be to have a whole year to get to know this man whom you would spend the rest of your life with. Or maybe there were mutual feelings, and then, can you imagine the bliss?
It is very hard for me to think about having to wait YEARS more until I can marry my beloved. We have been dating for over two years now but because we are both young and neither is done with college marriage is not an option. Oh, but to know that God sees that want and that long. To know that if He cared enough about old testament women and their needs enough to put a law in the book of Deuteronomy charging the Israelites to keep that entire first year of marriage set apart, how much does He in turn care about me? It brings tears to my eyes to think that God would take the time to be so personnel and so intimate with us who are so sinful and unholy.
What a wonderful God who knew that man needed a companion comparable to himself and then created Eve. What a wonderful Father who knew that marriage needed to be special and create strong ties and in turn provided human kind with the act of marriage. What an extraordinary God I serve who knew that on this Monday night I would have an aching in my soul and as I read the book of Deuteronomy He would comfort me with these assurances, "I know you are hurting, but look, I cared for these woman so many years ago, and I will care and provide for you too. Take heart my daughter. I love you. I'm your Daddy and I have the best of plans for you."
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