God's Desire for Marriage

God’s Desire For Your Marriage/ Family

What Is God’s Desire For Marriage and Home?
by Dr. Edward Watke, Jr.

Malachi 2:11-16

• Beginning in verse 11 of Malachi, chapter two, the Lord speaks of a problem with Judah concerning the marriage relationship. READ it carefully.

• This has to do with Judah’s spiritual adultery. The worshiping of false gods and disobeying God.

• The real issue here has to do with the breakdown of marriage in Judah.

• In verse 12 it was this matter of profaning the holiness of the Lord which was the act of leaving the wife of his youth.

• In verse 13 we read “And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.” The weeping and crying is a combination of tears and crying of wives that have been left and false weeping and crying of the crocodile tears of false repentance.

• Vs 14 “Yet, ye say, Wherefore?”

I. GOD KNOWS ALL ABOUT YOUR MARRIAGE!
vs. 14; He observes how you deal with your wife. Is it Treacherously??

1. We do that by being unforgiving, caustic, cutting,

2. We do that by being unrelenting, harsh, cruel, demanding, unkind,.... holding out against the other person.

3. We do that by our anger, bitterness, divisiveness, harshness, resentments, scorning, etc.

II. GOD’S DESIRE FROM... MARRIAGE: A godly seed! vss. 15, 16

1. God joined two people together that they might be become one... one flesh.

a. God deals with you as one;
b. God does not see two but one. Two people joined together according to God’s law of matrimony becoming one flesh; that is biblical.
c. These men had corrupted their marriages, they had run off with strange women, and He is bringing them back to this matter of the home. Did not God make you and your wife one flesh?

2. Not two wills, two people going two different directions,

3. Should not be a problem with careers or allow things that cause division, strife, etc.,

4. Did not God make you to be ONE, and WHY ONE?

a. That he might from that union have godly seed.
b. God desires godly offspring from your union!
c. Did you know the primary reason for the institution of the home is GODLY SEED? Not just having children -- but godly children!
d. Certainly there are other purposes for marriage, for this binding and established relationship God has given. It has the primary purpose as a result of this union -------- > godly children!
e. God wants these two people... to create the proper atmosphere for the bringing up of a godly seed.

f. “Therefore take heed to yourselves... that ye deal not treacherously....(vs. 16) There can be no fighting of wills, or pulling against one another to make this possible.
g. What kind of atmosphere have you been building?
h. We talk about saving America! How? Only by saving the home... for families to lay the foundation of Scriptural truth-- this is the foundation!
i. We need to raise up this foundation in our churches and homes so young people will follow these instructions and become godly seed.

III. GOD SETS FORTH OUR RESPONSIBILITY:
Matt. 18:5 -- 14 What is the responsibility of the home?

1. To Receive the Children: 18:5

a. As God’s gift, given of God; Psa. 127
b. As God’s property... we are merely stewards of our children.
c. As a God-given responsibility!

2. Not to Offend One of These Little Ones: 18:6-7

a. We offend them when we do not pray with them.
b. We offend them when we do not live for Christ in from of them.
c. We offend them when we allow -- carnality, strife, lukewarmness toward spiritual things, ill-will, bitterness, fussing, fighting, anger, hostilities, worldliness in our lives as parents.
d. We offend them and cause them to stumble by the way we live.
e. We cause them to stumble by our lack of guidance, godly direction, and neglecting a family devotional time.
f. We cause them to stumble by our indifference, our lack of giving them love, by our failure to give ourselves.
g. We cause them to stumble by our failure to mold their lives.
h. We cause them to stumble by what we allow them to watch on TV, and by what we watch.

3. Do Not Despise One of These Little Ones: 18:10

a. We show we despise them -- by the way we speak to them -- by our conduct

• by our criticalness; our abusive words,
• by our degrading them, belittling them,
• by our selfishness; living for self, too busy;
Call them dummy, stupid, ignorant, etc.

b. What do they need?

• They need security,
• they need acceptance,
• they need our praise, appreciation
• unconditional love,
• they need our respect, sense of significance,

4. To Bring Them to Salvation: 18:11-14

a. Give them to the Lord before they are born,
b. Dedicate the home of the baby, the child,
c. by your prayer life, your intercession, bring them to Christ.... help them understand their need of Him and how to accept Jesus as the Savior.
d. keep them under the systematic influence of the Word of God, help them to understand their lost condition, their need of Salvation, of Jesus.