MARRIAGE, MUSIC,
AND
THE CURSE OF 1920
At Passover, 2006, a couple and I discussed the matter of godly music. Afterwards, they wrote and commented on this, prompting my response to some matters that had been very close to me at the time that relate to marriage, music, and the Curse of 1920. Following is my reply.
Rob and Linda,
What you said here is quite important - “Concerning our conversations about church music, we have been wondering this past year about what were our real experiences with Yahweh and what were counterfeit church experiences over the last 10 years, so we found your comments about what you have seen in the church very interesting.”
That which I shared about music contains within it the very crux of the problem concerning man. To understand the problem we face in this life of doing the will of Yahweh versus following our own desires and creations, we have to look at our makeup as mere men, and compare it with that of God. We will do this, but let us first start with comparing music and God.
God is a trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As noted in our conversation concerning music, it too is a trinity – melody, harmony, and rhythm. This like trinity that music shares with God, tells us what is godly music. The Father occupies the ultimate place in the trinity, while the Son does nothing but the will of the Father (John 4:34, 5:30, 6:38, 8:28, etc. in John), and equally the Holy Spirit does nothing of His own initiative (John 16:13-15). In like regard, godly music is music that directs attention to and serves the melody, which is likewise supported and carried out by the other two parts of this trinity – harmony and rhythm.
To better understand music and the operation of trinities, let us take an initial look at the trinity of man. Man is likewise a trinity, and per the perfect nature of God would be spirit, soul, and body. This is man’s order as it relates directly to God’s order. Thus, in godly order man should equally operate out of his spirit, supported by his soul, and carried out by his body. Therefore, we can better understand the operation, evidence, and even effects of music, insomuch that melody correlates with man’s spirit, harmony correlates with man’s soul, and rhythm correlates with man’s body, his flesh.
Music that has a clear and distinct melody exhibits the order of godly music. Music that emphasizes harmony is soulish music. And, music that is heavy on rhythm is fleshly music. Consider how music that is heavy on rhythm stimulates the body with accompanying gyrations (and fleshly desires), and you will see this definite correlation between rhythm and the body/flesh. Various forms of music that have come out of jazz (a part of the Curse of 1920), including rock and roll and all of its derivatives up through rap (which blossoms fully into entirely rhythm), are clearly carnal/fleshly music. Thereby, the test of this music, or any music, is revealed by its comparison with the standard of the trinity of God.
All of this relates specifically to what you pointed out per where you are today – “wondering … what were our real experiences with Yahweh and what were counterfeit church experiences.” Let us further consider man and the dilemma he is in.
One would expect that man should operate in the perfect order that we see in the trinity of God – spirit, soul, and body. However, as addressed in The Soul, man is actually a mirror image of God. What is a mirror image? It is an image in reverse. While God is Father, Son, and Spirit, we as man are created as a mirror image of that order, which makes us a soul, spirit, and body creation, the first two parts being reversed. Just as we read in Genesis 2:7, God created man to be “a living soul,” and that we are – a soul-being.
Not having the designed order of our spirit in preeminence, offers us some very real problems; but we are created this way for a specific governmental purpose and are afforded protection in our weakness. Let us see what that protection is.
By being created in this order as a mirror image of God, we thereby occupy the weaker created feminine role, while God occupies the masculine Creator Lord role. We see this role/place of man, the created, in Genesis 3:16 – “Yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Just as the woman was created from the man, so man was created from God. This position of being the created, the definitely weaker vessel, places man in the governmental position of being the “woman” in relation to God. Thus, as instructed here, our desire is to be for God, and He will rule over us. We are to seek Him and do His will, and not our own. Even as it is written regarding the wife (Ephesians 5:22, 24), so it is true with man in relation to God:
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, and
Wives are to be subject to their husbands in everything.
Therefore, in like manner:
Man, be subject to your own Creator, and
Man is to be subject to his Creator in everything.
This weakness of man in his inability to know what to do and what is right, and who is so easily deceived, places us in the position and necessity of being subject to Yahweh in everything. Herein is our protection. We, as the created, cannot trust ourselves. We are mirror/reverse images of God, and thus do not have the prevailing “spirit” position we need, necessitating in this weakness that we look to our Husband, from whom we came, to instruct and direct us. As Peter instructed concerning wives, so are we to be in our dependence upon God – “just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, … you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear (1 Peter 3:6).” Even as the wife is to call her husband lord, so we are to call Yahweh God Lord.
This place of having the design as soul-beings and not spirit-beings, affords us the weakness we so readily evidence. Let us look at this problem a little deeper yet.
The first part of created man, that being his soul, is likewise a trinity – mind, will, and emotions. Right away one should recognize the proper order of the soul – the mind is to prevail, and is to be supported by the will and the emotions. The problem we have as created beings is that we often operate out of our third-part emotions, even as we tend to operate out of our third-part flesh. Herein we have the potential for double trouble. As Yahweh instructed Cain, per these two third-parts of man, sin is always “crouching at the door; and its desire is for (us), but (we) must master it” (Genesis 4:7).
We each have our own struggles with the flesh and with emotions. Some are overt, yet some, as you question here concerning the spiritual, are less discernable, even religious. The latter are sometimes the hardest to discern, but nevertheless are equally errors.
To put this into perspective, we find that operating out of our emotions is equal to listening to rap music. While someone might regard rap music as lunacy and offensive, the truth is that when they operate out of emotions, in outbursts of anger or misplaced affections and desires or personal offenses or jealousy or biases or even the euphoria of “worship,” they are operating from the third part of a trinity, violating the trinity standard of God. Thus, listening to rap music and letting our emotions control or direct us, are identical in origin and error – the corruption of a trinity.
We see then that when we operate out of or are ruled by our emotions, we are once again in the like third-part fleshly lower nature. The purpose of emotions is to support our mind, not to rule. The Holy Spirit does not dictate to the Father what He wants to do, and neither can our emotions dictate to our minds what they want to do. In fact it is scientifically evidenced that when our emotions significantly increase, chemicals are produced in the brain that actually inhibit logic. This is why people do things they would normally never do through anger, jealousy, or even love, and why a decision or action should never be made while in an emotionally elevated state.
The qualities of both rhythm and emotions are evidenced in Charismatic-type “worship,” which you are now questioning. These gatherings freely profess that the purpose of their music is to bring them into a state of “worship,” when in fact it brings them into a state of operating in the lower elements of emotions and rhythm. The reality is, these songs are sung in order to have an emotional experience. Many religions practice this use of music to enter into a state of euphoria, and is of course the product of most contemporary music and concerts. The reason people go to music concerts and get worked up into a state of euphoria, is the same reason people go to church for its music – for the feeling of euphoria or bliss. This is especially true when the music does not follow the godly trinity of first melody, then harmony, and finally rhythm. It is quite striking that during the three-and-a-half years of Yahshua’s ministry, the only time He sang a song was just before being turned over to Satan for His testing and death (Matthew 26:30, Mark 14:26).
Some would say – But David danced before Yahweh (2 Samuel 6:14-16), and on other occasions in the Old Testament people danced and sang. But they did not do it every week at a certain time and with a planned experience, and that is the difference. Rejoicing is not wrong, even with dancing, but when it is habitually practiced for a regular state of euphoria, it should be questioned. What it does is trains one to be led by emotions and feelings, which lays a trap for our soul.
It has been proven that melodious music indeed performs the very function that the third part of the trinity of the soul is supposed to perform – it serves the mind. Tests have repeatedly demonstrated that by listening to Baroque or like melodious music, learning skills and test scores increase. On the other hand, rock music has the opposite effect of mental and emotional degradation. Frankly, it dumbs people down. Music should have the purpose of enhancing people’s lives; but, when music is not godly in its construction or origin, it is a Pied Pieper that leads them astray from true godliness, order, peace, productivity, contentment, and understanding, causing them to be ensnared by the enemy. This ensnaring by the enemy can even include a false and misleading form of “worship” and “service.”
In the book, The Curse of 1920, we find a clear testimony to the ills of music that have been destructive to society since 1920 when jazz made its public debut. This corruption that music affords was forewarned when the father of faith, Abraham, married a cursed Canaanite woman, Keturah. Thereby, the righteousness of God was united with the cursed and brought forth offspring. We already know the outcome of Abraham’s union with Sarah, bringing forth the son of promise; but what is the message when this same godly seed was united with the cursed?
Keturah brought forth six sons – Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah (Genesis 25:2). In order of their births, here are the meanings of their names.
Music
Adversary
Contentious
Contentious
Forsake
Sink down into the mud
You will note that the first-born son in this line of corruption and degradation is music. The testimony here is obvious when one takes the righteousness of God and unites it with the cursed, which is the case with contemporary music. Beginning with jazz, to the latest popular trend of the day: Music yields one to the Adversary, causing them to become doubly Contentious and Forsake that which is right and good and to Sink down into the mud, in other words, yielding to the flesh and coming to death!
Just look at the equally corrupt and cursed birth of jazz – spawned in sexual promiscuity, drunkenness, and Voodoo! Look at what 50’s rock and roll produced in the 60’s – free love, rebellion, and drugs! And look at where we are today and tell me that this Music is harmless. It is wholly destructive and continues to corrupt and destroy people’s lives, the home, and society.
A Seventh Day Adventist Christian, Samuele Bacchiocchi, put together a book that is the best I have seen yet on rock and roll. It is titled The Christian and Rock Music, and can be read by clicking here. Another helpful writing is by a Catholic named Basil Nortz titled The Moral Power of Music, and can be read by clicking here.
We have just considered one of three parts of the Curse of 1920 – music. It could be said that the Curse of 1920 has its own evil trinity – the woman wanting to be equal to the man, music, and euthanasia. I know this is not related to your e-mail, but please allow me to examine a second part of this curse – the woman rejecting her place and wanting to be equal to the man. I address this here because, once again, it is in examining the standard of the trinity of God that we can judge what is right and what is wrong in both of these matters. Again, we cannot leave ourselves to unchecked emotions or affections and expect to do what is right, especially when they are associated with this world and worldliness, or even worldly Christianity.
Per the standard of the trinity of God, we can know that we are violating the ways of God when emphasis is given to the flesh, including its adornment, attraction, or in serving its desires. Women, who have the greatest problem with adorning the flesh (called vanity), are instructed “to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness” (1 Timothy 2:9-10). They are equally instructed – “Let not your behavior be the external braiding of the hair and putting on gold jewelry or putting on worldly garments, but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God” (1 Peter 3:3-4).
Here again, it is critical that women follow this instruction, rather than the ways and fashions of the world, for women are doubly weak – as created man (from God) and as created woman (from the man). More than ever, women need to see their propensity to error due to this weakness, and rely upon and follow their C(c)reator’s instructions.
It is not without purpose that in the New Testament women are given more than twice the instruction as men – as wives and as women. When you put the words “wives” and “husbands” in a search of the New Testament, here are the verse-by-verse results. Be sure and read each of these so as to see specifically what are Yahweh’s instructions.
Wives:
(1.) Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord (Ephesians 5:22).
(2.) But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything (Ephesians 5:24).
(3.) … and the wife must see to it that she fears her husband (Ephesians 5:33).
(4.) Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord (Colossians 3:18).
(5.) Wives must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things (1 Timothy 3:11).
(6.) … so that (older women) may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children (Titus 2:4),
(7.) to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored (Titus 2:5).
(8.) In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives (1 Peter 3:1),
(9.) as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior (1 Peter 3:2).
(10.) For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands (1 Peter 3:5);
(11.) just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear (1 Peter 3:6).
Husbands:
(1.) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25).
(2.) So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself (Ephesians 5:28).
(3.) Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself (Ephesians 5:33).
(4.) Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them (Colossians 3:19).
(5.) You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered (1 Peter 3:7).
Women:
(1.) The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says (1 Corinthians 14:34).
(2.) If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church (1 Corinthians 14:35).
(3.) Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments (1 Timothy 2:9),
(4.) but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness (1 Timothy 2:10).
(5.) A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness (1 Timothy 2:11).
(6.) But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet (1 Timothy 2:12).
(7.) But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint (1 Timothy 2:15).
(8.) Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach (1 Timothy 5:14).
(9.) Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good (Titus 2:3).
(10.) Let not your behavior be the external braiding of the hair and putting on gold jewelry or putting on worldly garments (1 Peter 3:3),
(11.) but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God (1 Peter 3:4).
Men:
(1.) Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension (1 Timothy 2:8).
(2.) Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance (Titus 2:2).
(3.) Likewise urge the young men to be sensible (Titus 2:6);
(4.) in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified (Titus 2:7),
(5.) sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us (Titus 2:8).
There is another passage standing out in the Scriptures that repeatedly talks about the “man” and the “woman” and their differences. (We just looked at references to “men” and “women.”) It is not included in what we just examined, but will be quoted here in its entirety as we fully consider what the Scriptures say per this comparison. Here is 1 Corinthians 11:3-16.
3. But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
4. Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.
5. But every woman who has her head uncovered (un + katakalupto – to cover wholly) while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.
6. For if a woman does not cover (katakalupto) her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover (katakalupto) her head.
7. For a man ought not to have his head covered (katakalupto), since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
8. For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;
9. for indeed man was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for the man's sake.
10. Therefore the woman ought to have authority on her head, because of the angels.
11. However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
12. For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.
13. Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered (un + katakalupto)?
14. Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him,
15. but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering (Note the different word here, not the same as the head covering: peribolaion – a wrap-around).
16. But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.
As you can see, there is more than twice the instruction to “wives” and “women” (22 verses), as there is to “husbands” and “men” (10 verses). You can be well assured that in today’s environment, if we had laid out this list and found that the results were opposite, it would be said that since the husband is instructed more than twice as much regarding his responsibilities in his marital relations, the greater weight of responsibility in marriage lies with the husband. It would be said that since the man is instructed more than twice as much in his role as husband, clearly he bears the greater responsibility in his role to love his wife and to give his life for her.
But this is not the case, but rather the opposite is true. While the responsibility of the husband cannot be diminished nor can he be held less accountable, it is quite significant that the greater weight of instruction in the marriage for the husband and the wife, is over twice as much for the wife! Why is this so? Because the woman is the weaker vessel, the created, possessing a greater tendency to error, and is thereby of necessity urged the strongest to not forsake her place as a wife, even as man is not to forsake his Creator.
You will also note from this list that, quite revealingly, Yahweh did not have to instruct men how to dress and to be modest. The reason for this is evident, for it is not the man who has this weakness to vanity, but clearly the woman. And once again, the woman should note this weakness and heed Yahweh’s repeated and clear instruction. Women, you cannot trust your feelings, and certainly not the world, including the worldly church; for the Scriptures give clear instruction on how women should dress – modestly, discreetly, not with costly outward adornment or jewelry or worldly garments, not with man’s clothing (pants, etc.), and with your head covered when you pray or prophesy. And because of the Curse of 1920, women today need all the more to rely upon and take heed to the Scripture’s instructions. This point cannot be minimized!
For example, where in 1 Timothy 5:14 does it say that a young widow should get a job? “Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach.” Or in 1 Timothy 2:15, once again the woman is directed to find her place in the home – “But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.” Annie Whittenmyer, the first president of the largest women’s organization in the nineteenth century, was 100% correct when around 1879 she warned that the women’s rights movement would “strike a fatal blow at the home!” Part of the Curse of 1920 is the abandonment of the home by the mother.
Six times in the New Testament the woman is told to submit to her husband! How many times must Yahweh repeat something in order to make His point clear? And even so today people still choose to ignore and disregard this. Even a book titled God’s Instructions For Dummies, could not have made this more clear.
(1.) Wives, be subject to your own husbands (Ephesians 5:22)
(2.) The wives ought to be (subject) to their husbands in everything (Ephesians 5:24)
(3.) Wives, be subject to your husbands (Colossians 3:18)
(4.) Encourage the young women be subject to their own husbands (Titus 2:5)
(5.) Wives, be submissive to your own husbands (1 Peter 3:1)
(6.) Being submissive to their own husbands, just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord (1 Peter 3:5-6)
It is incredible how something can be so clear and straight forward, yet people still outright deny or refute it. Instead of accepting what is written, in a continuing demonstration of their weakness, women want to be equal to their husbands, calling marriage a “joint partnership,” or even desiring to rule over their husbands. Despite these six clear and direct statements, I have even had Christians quote Ephesians 5:21 and say that in marriage we are to “be subject to one another in the fear of Christ,” as though that is our instruction about marriage. So, I guess God and I are to be subject to one another as well? This is a good example of people simply doing their own will, operating out of their feelings, for their error here is very obvious! The woman is clearly instructed to be submissive to her husband; this is God’s governmental order, and they choose to outright ignore it.
What these who hold this idea of “equality” end up doing is not only committing the error of the wife failing to submit to her husband, but they fail to submit to Yahweh as well, the head of man in this established governmental order. They rebel against Him and do their own will, yielding to the ways of the world and Satan, clearly succumbing to the Curse of 1920. Remember, what people call women’s rights today, God calls sin and rebellion!
This established order of headship is equally clearly laid out in 1 Corinthians 11:3. Here we read that the Father is the head of the Son, the Son is the head of the man, and the man is the head of the wife. So why is it that we so readily accept the reality that the Father is the head of the Son, and then reject the equal truth that the man is the head of the wife? It tells us once again the source of those latter conclusions, for neither are they from logic of from godliness, but from the lower elements of the flesh and emotions (augmented by Satan, of course).
What is the repeated instruction to the husband? To love his wife.
(1.) Husbands, love your wives (Ephesians 5:25)
(2.) So husbands ought also to love their own wives (Ephesians 5:28)
(3.) Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself (Ephesians 5:33).
(4.) Husbands, love your wives (Colossians 3:19)
To this we as men are to be committed, laying down our lives for our wives.
Marriage is like the common wheelbarrow. Have you ever tried to push a wheelbarrow with one hand? You don’t get very far. No, a wheelbarrow must be lifted from both handles, the amount of effort exerted on each handle determined by the balance of the weight or the direction you need to go. One handle of marriage is that the wife is to submit to her husband, and the other handle is that the husband is to love his wife. (And clearly, the weight of Scripture’s instructions is more than twice on the wife.) When the woman does not submit to her husband, or when the man does not love his wife, the marriage suffers, placing a greater strain on the other spouse and limiting the effectiveness and progress of the marriage. But even if one or the other fails completely in bearing their load, the one with their hand remaining cannot abandon the wheelbarrow. Two wrongs do not make a right. According to Yahshua’s own words, marriage is an immutable contract for life (except for the case of sexual immorality or death) – Matthew 19:1-9. More on this later.
Thus, both roles must be fulfilled for a healthy and useful marriage. The wife must submit to her husband “in everything,” calling him lord, and the husband must love his wife, laying his life down for her. Each is accountable to fulfill their responsibility and bear their load in order for a marriage to work.
What then is the error within the Curse of 1920 wherein the woman seeks to be equal to the man? A woman who desires to be equal with the man, in the way she dresses or grooms herself or in family government or in society, follows in the same sin wherein Satan desired to be equal with God (Daniel 8:11, Isaiah 14:13-14). If it is true that “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20), then it is equally true that if a woman says she is subject to God, and seeks to be equal to her husband and will not submit to him, she too is a liar; for the wife who does not submit to her husband whom she has seen, cannot submit to God whom she has not seen. How can the Scriptures say, “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22), if there is not indeed a direct correlation between a wife’s submission to her husband, and her submission to Yahshua?
When a woman refuses to follow the Scripture’s abundantly clear instruction regarding her obedience to her husband “in everything,” then by her actions she follows in the way of Satan and attests to and agrees with man’s rejection of God as his head. A woman has been given the privilege and responsibility of attesting to man’s reliance upon God as his Creator; but more than ever, today women witness to man’s rebellion and rejection of his Head.
It is profoundly true that every person is to have the same attitude toward God, that a wife is to have toward her husband. And every woman is to have the same attitude toward her husband, that man is to have toward God. Men, by your complete submission to Yahweh God, you have the opportunity and responsibility to demonstrate to your wife what is a godly submissive wife. And wives, by your complete submission to your husband, you have the opportunity and responsibility to demonstrate to your husband what is a godly submissive man (1 Peter 3:1-2).
In 1 Timothy 2:12 we read – “But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.” And then Paul adds the very point we have been making about the C(c)reator and the created – “For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve” (vs. 13). Precisely the point! This is very noteworthy! The point here is that the created is the weaker vessel, and can never rule over or instruct the C(c)reator. Women should no more be teaching and ruling over men, than man should be teaching and ruling over God. Once again the governmental pattern is identical.
And this is the pattern drawn upon in 1 Corinthians 11:7-10, where we read – “For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God (the Creator); but the woman is the glory of man (the created). For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; for indeed man was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for the man's sake. Therefore the woman ought to have authority on her head, because of the angels.” The issue of the woman coming from the man is once again a critical and decisive matter in the governmental plan and design of Yahweh.
Additionally, there are those who would say that the man ruling over the woman as ordered in Genesis 3:16 is a curse. But if that is true, then one must likewise conclude that God ruling over man is a curse. No, in like manner both are established to protect the weaker creation.
What people fail to realize is that Yahweh has placed all authority here on earth as protection, including the husband ruling over the wife. In like regard to the home, Paul stated concerning civil authority:
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves (Romans 13:1-2).
Or as it is written in Hebrews 13:17, we find the same message concerning the church:
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”
Whether it be parents or the husband or church leaders or civil government, Yahweh has established each of these roles of authority as protection. And when we reject or despise this authority, as Paul said, we oppose the very ordinance of God. And it is important to note that Paul was thrown into jail and beaten many times, but he refused to deny the just authority that government had over him. As you will see, this should be true with the wife as it relates to her husband as well, though he too cannot transgress civil authority.
In like regard, when Pilate said to Yahshua, just before he turned Him over to be crucified – “Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?," Yahshua acknowledged him and answered – "You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin" (John 19:10-11).
So when a husband is not being the kind of exemplary or even satisfactory or acceptable leader that the wife wants, by what right does she have to usurp the authority that Yahweh has placed over her? When Yahshua said this, acknowledging Pilate’s authority over Him, his response was that he wanted to pardon Yahshua. What better example and even hope do we see here for the wife who is being judged, even unjustly, by her husband? Let the wife likewise find her place in acknowledging her husband’s God-ordained authority – “You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given you from above.”
In like manner and relevant testimony, we find additional instruction and example regarding serving a master. In Colossians 3:22-25 we read:
Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.
And in 1 Peter 2:18-20 we read the same message, adding more insight and relevant instruction.
Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
One might say that it is demeaning to compare a wife and a servant. From the standpoint of authority, the two are in the same place. Even in our relationship to Yahweh, we are to be “bond-servants,” so what is the difference between a husband and wife? Is it not written that the wife is to call her husband “lord”? And if she does, she is honored to be called the daughter of Sarah. How many daughters of Sarah will stand in the day of judgment? From this generation, undoubtedly very few. No, they are “liberated” women. And from what have they been liberated? From bondage and oppression? No, they have been “liberated” from being daughters of Sarah, who when her husband, on two separate occasions, sent her into the house of another man under the deception of being his sister, she obeyed him.
This is why it is written that women of Sarah’s quality and reward submit to their husbands “without being frightened by any fear.” As it is written in Ephesians 5:33, the only fear the wife is scripturally to have, is to fear her husband (not because of wrath, but because of his place of God-established authority). The woman who thinks she can despise that authority without eternal consequences, will come to find out her error. God is not slack concerning His established authority and how we respond to it, for it is His ordinance. A wife should no less regard herself a servant to her husband, than we should regard ourselves as servants to our Creator.
Thus, this verse could just as well read:
Wives, be submissive to your husbands with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a wife bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly (a daughter of Sarah). For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
But few people live for this kind of reward, for in today’s pleasure society they want their satisfaction NOW. I want it NOW! Forget the future, I want my fulfillment NOW! So, if they don’t get treated the way they want to be treated, just throw away the marriage and get another one. Everything is disposable today anyway, right? If it breaks, get another one. If it wears out, get another one. If you find a better model somewhere else, get it. It will provide more pleasure and satisfaction, right? If this one is causing you troubles and is not providing the kind of satisfaction you “deserve” or desire, get another one, or at least get out of this one.
People today have perpetual Alzheimer’s. Life for them is just a quarter of an inch thick, and all they are concerned about is NOW! And what’s the difference between the throw-away marriage and a throw-away baby? Don’t both actions have the same objective? Don’t they both want their pleasure and fulfillment NOW? Is it not most appropriate that the abortion movement is called NOW (National Organization of Women)? So wives or husbands, if you’re going to divorce, be honest with your sin and sinfulness and go join NOW and kill another inconvenience. You are brother to an abortionist when you divorce your spouse, because you want your fulfillment NOW! You’re not willing to pay the price for the future reward. You want it NOW!
The real problem is that people get so absorbed in what the world says today with all its materialism and instant self-gratification and the pleasures of their own lusts, that they totally ignore or disregard what the Son of God and Scriptures instruct. They fail to live their lives by the Scriptures, but by their passions, their desires for ease and pleasure, and by their worldly affections.
If you think the passages about servants are not relevant to wives, then read this exemplary account very closely. Right after Peter wrote verses 18-20 about servants, he next wrote:
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls (vss. 21-25).
Many people who want to defend a woman’s sinful actions of rejecting her husband, point to the husband and challenge him to lay his life down for his wife as Christ laid His life down for the church (Ephesians 5:25-33). Fair enough! That is an appropriate and clear requirement for the husband. Let him obey. But, let’s also be honest that the wife is to suffer in exactly the same fashion for her husband, for after Peter wrote what he did about the suffering servant (vss. 18-20), and more specifically this extensive description about the sufferings of Christ (vss. 21-25), in the very next passage he then adds in intentional comparison:
In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior (1 Peter 3:1-2).
What did Peter have in mind when he wrote this about the sufferings of Christ? He had the suffering servant in mind, and he had the submissive wife in mind. As has already been stated, both have the same responsibility to unjust authority that God has placed over them – to bear up under it for the sake of our identification with Yahshua and for the reward that awaits us, and in order to accept God’s established authority. What could be clearer? And, what could be more challenging and contrary to our throw-away society today?
People don’t want Yahshua as their example, who suffered in His body. No, they don’t want to suffer. They theologically think that Christ suffered for them so they don’t have to suffer, entirely missing the reality that He suffered unjustly as the example for them. That is exactly what this passage is telling us. And that is what the martyrs of old tell us. But when we today suffer unjustly, we want our “rights,” our satisfaction. Would that we see Yahshua as our example and submit to authority, receiving our reward for a later time wherein there is “an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
And in final analysis, while the husband is told four times to love his wife, and the wife is told six times to submit to her husband, not once is the husband told to submit to his wife, but wives are likewise told in Titus 2:4 to love their husbands.
Before closing this matter, let’s say something about divorce. Herein we will find a baseline that every marriage must acknowledge and come to grips with. This is the baseline for every marital problem.
Should a person ever divorce? There is only one authority we need to refer to on this question – the One who will judge and recompense every man according to their deeds (Matthew 16:27), and will require every man to give an account for every idle commitment (Matthew 12:36-37), including the commitment of marriage. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” He is the One who will recompense those who do wrong with the consequences of the wrong, “and that without partiality” (Colossians 3:25).
In Matthew 19:1-9 and 5:31-32, Yahshua’s words regarding marriage are very straightforward and clear – when a man and a woman unite in marriage, the two become one and nothing but sexual unfaithfulness or death can separate them. As Yahshua said to the Pharisees per their claim to the right to divorce by the law of Moses, from the beginning marriage has been a union between two who become one, and adds – “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” And He told the Pharisees that the reason Moses gave them divorce was “because of your hardness of heart.”
Thus, when a man and a woman are married, even if a civil government grants a divorce, that divorce is not recognized in the government of God. They are not divorced! Therefore, as Yahshua forthrightly explained, if a man divorces his wife and marries another, he commits adultery, for he is still married to his wife. And if his wife marries another, he causes her to commit adultery as well. Thus, if any man or woman divorces their spouse, and the spouse marries, the one who filed the divorce will be held accountable on the day of judgment for causing that spouse to commit adultery.
Let’s talk frankly. If a man or woman divorce and remarry, except in the case of sexual immorality, they commit adultery, just as though they had had an affair while married. There is no difference.
The disciples understood exactly what Yahshua was saying, and their answer proved it. Their frank reply to this was – “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry” (Matthew 19:10). That is exactly the conclusion one needs to consider when facing marriage – it’s a one-time decision, and are you willing to stick it out no matter what? Divorce is not even an option, it is not even legal, unless sexual immorality is committed. Again, you might get a divorce on earth, but it is overruled and annulled in the courts of heaven. And if you remarry, it will be the same as if you committed adultery while married. Marriage is a covenant for life, and “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”
What then in the baseline in a marriage? It is the reality that no matter what cause there may be to try to justify a divorce (other than for sexual infidelity), divorce is not an option! Accepting this fact, we then have to seek a way to resolve the issues troubling the marriage. But, divorce is not an option!
This same truth is clearly repeated by Paul – “But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave [i.e., her husband sends her away], she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife” (1 Corinthians 7:10-11). He goes on in verses 12-17 to address the responsibility of the believer to remain with the unbelieving spouse. However, if the unbeliever leaves, they are not to feel guilty. But note, there is no justification or mention that the separation is a divorce, which we know from Yahshua’s clear instruction would lead to adultery. What Paul said here is not and cannot be in conflict with that which Yahshua clearly stated, and actually Paul supported in verses 10-11 where he reiterated that the wife “must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband,” and “that the husband should not divorce his wife.” (For an examination of 1 Corinthians 7:28 where Paul states, “But if you marry, you have not sinned,” click here. This passage is often taken out of context so as to falsely justify divorce and remarriage.)
In closing this matter regarding women, it needs to be noted that there are indeed provisions in which governing authority cannot be submitted to, even as we see in this matter concerning divorce and civil government. These are addressed in the writing, Response to Authority. While this must be acknowledged, I have a greater concern that people will use this as a justification to do their own will. Let it never be! But justly so, the governmental provision of not obeying an authority is present, and is consistent with Yahweh’s governmental order.
As we come to an end, let us take this Creator/created truth one step further, confirming and expanding what we have already been seeing. Yahshua said – “He (the Holy Spirit) will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you” (John 16:14-15). Very significantly, Yahshua came as a man, the Son of Man. As such, He stepped into the position of being like us “in all things,” the created (Hebrews 2:14-18). We read here the statement – “All things that the Father has are Mine.” What does that mean? It means that for the first time Yahweh entrusted everything He had to a created, like us! This is incredibly important, giving hope that this is in fact Yahweh’s plan for man, the created, evidenced by Yahshua coming as a created. He will likewise give man everything He has, even as He did so for His Son, who will “bring many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10)!
But let’s take this even one step further. What is heaven and what is earth? Yahshua prayed – “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Isn’t this precisely what we have been seeing?
“Your will be done, in man as it is with Yahweh God.”
“Your will be done, with the wife as it is with the husband.”
We see here the hope that the created will fully express and carry out the will of the C(c)reator. Thus, we find here once again that per this pattern we have been noting – heaven occupies the place of the Creator, and earth the created. All three of these male/female works are the same thing.
And wonderfully, even as Yahweh’s will and design is for man to be given “all things that the Father has,” so it is His will and design that all that is in heaven will be given to earth – “on earth as it is in heaven”! This is indeed quite exciting! For it gives great hope and reveals to us the ways of Yahweh in establishing and bringing to completeness the weaker vessel, the created, which we and the earth woefully are at this time. Man is a weaker vessel, Yahshua even came as a weaker vessel, the woman is a weaker vessel, and the earth is a weaker vessel. But we have the hope and the promise that each will in time receive all that the Father has, evidenced by Yahshua, the Son of God, the Son of Man, who did nothing but the will of the Father. Therein lies our hope!
In this reply, we have seen the standard whereby we can begin to judge what is of Yahweh God and what is not, that standard being His eternal and replicable trinity. When we know the good of how His trinity functions, to the extent that the three even become one, being in complete harmony with the Head, the Father, then we can see how and where the corruption of other trinities leads to disorder and destruction. We must have standards whereby we can judge matters, and we have seen how this is possible with the government of the trinity.
In like regard, we have seen how the three Creator/created pairs evidence a consistent testimony as well. It is most helpful to see these consistent ways of Yahweh, so that we can understand what is good and right and true, especially when the world and our flesh and emotions want to direct us otherwise. Man is the created, the weaker, and it is crucial that we seek Yahweh’s standards revealed in the Scriptures to give us direction. The wife is the weaker, and it is vital that she, in like regard, submit to her husband. And the earth is the weaker, and needs to submit to the kingdom of heaven. “Yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Praise Yahweh for this promise and hope, for by it Yahweh will rule over man, the man will rule over his wife, and the Son of God will come to this earth and reign as King of kings! In each case, this is good!
As weaker soul-beings, we have to have standards outside of ourselves in which we can trust. That standard is Yahweh and His word and His ways. We can either conform ourselves to His word by our own will, or His word will conform us to it, the latter we would not want to come under. As I told my children when they were young – you either change yourself, or I will change you. The former was far better than the latter, for the former developed self-control.
In equal regard, Yahshua warned – “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust" (Matthew 21:44). Or as Paul warned – “if we judge ourselves rightly, we will not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31). It is far better that we judge ourselves today, or even that we are judged today, than to come into judgment later.
And don’t be falsely confident that you can go ahead and sin, and “Jesus will forgive you.” For the testimony of His sacrifice for sin revealed in the types that He fulfills, is that the sacrifice Lamb (as well as the cities of refuge) is for those sins committed unintentionally (Leviticus 4:2, 22, 27; 5:17-18; Numbers 15:24, 27-31; 35:11, 15). Warning – Yahshua is not a license to sin!
Our opportunity to garner rewards is now, to prove ourselves under the hand of God; and this, by His grace, we will do, and walk in His ways. We have one opportunity to do it right, and that opportunity is today. “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22).
I urge you to periodically read this, to remind yourself of this important and timely truth, for James continues by saying something that is far too true. As has been noted by the masses – we have a very short-term memory. “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was” (vss. 23 and 24). Remind yourself of these things by looking at this mirror of truth from time to time.
Blessings,
Gary
PS:
Upon closing this, another matter came up that reminded me of an account in the Scriptures that is very apropos to what we have just seen.
Yahshua was very clear when He said that from the beginning, the way and will of God has been – “What God has joined together, let no man separate,” and went on to explain that the reason for this is that when two are married, the two become one flesh, one body (Matthew 19:1-9). This is repeated in Ephesians 5:28-33, and is equally true for wives.
28. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;
29. for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,
30. because we are members of His body.
31. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
32. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
33. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she fears her husband.
Admittedly, some men can be real jerks; but in a marriage, rejecting them is not the right response. Thus, I want to encourage and exhort these wives, not only with what the Scriptures directly say, but with what they say in testimony and example concerning a difficult marriage.
In 1 Samuel 25, we read the story of Nabal and Abigail. This story speaks very clearly about a marriage in which the husband is being a jerk.
Abigail was married to Nabal, a man who was “such a worthless man that no one (could) speak to him.” This may very well have included his relationship with his own children, and most certainly included his wife, for Abigail related to David that her husband was indeed a “worthless man,” and added – “for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name and folly is with him.” But let’s consider why the wife of this “worthless man” was even talking to David.
David had come to kill Nabal, for he had spurned David’s men by refusing to help them. But though her husband was worthless in the eyes of others and even herself, when she heard that David was coming, she immediately made plans to intercede for him. Abigail could have been quiet and let matters alone, weary of her husband’s ways and thinking that he deserved this for not only what he did to David, but undoubtedly for a whole list of unjust actions. She even could have said that God was finally carrying out judgment on him. But she did not hold this against him, but instead hurriedly gathered gifts and provisions for David and his men and went out to beg mercy for her worthless husband.
David’s response to this was great gratitude, and he declared to her – “Blessed be Yahweh God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand. … Go up to your house in peace.”
And where was Nabal when Abigail was interceding for her worthless husband? Consistent with his name, he was drunk!
Because of Nabal’s worthless character, ten days later Yahweh struck him and took his life. When David found out what happened, he sent a proposal to Abigail and took her as his wife.
In this story, we see a wife who was faithful to her husband, interceding for him, even though he was a worthless man. And as a result of her faithfulness, when her husband was judged by Yahweh, she was taken into David’s house and became his wife. What does this say for women?
The throne that David sat upon as king, is reserved for the only One who is truly worthy to sit upon it, and that is Yahshua. The Scriptures tell us that He will sit on the throne of David. For you wives who are married to “Nabals,” if you want to likewise be taken into the house of Yahshua and be joined to Him as your husband, you need to do as Abigail and intercede for your earthly husband as well. Even as women are urged in 1 Peter 3:1-6 to be daughters of Sarah, who obeyed her husband, calling him lord, so you need to be a daughter of Abigail and intercede for the good of your husband. Your reward will be great in heaven, and you will be a testimony to your children and to others as to what a godly wife truly is – one who loves her husband, obeys him, and honors him for the place wherein Yahweh has established him in the home. As we read in Ephesians 5:33, you are to even fear (reverence) your husband for the position of authority wherein Yahweh God has placed him. Your godly behavior is the hope that will change your husband, even as it is equally written in 1 Peter 3 for the wife – “be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.”
And what would have been the outcome if Abigail had not interceded for Nabal? Certainly, David would not have married her. But, it was her good deeds that brought her before the one who would be king and won his favor; and it will be our like good deeds that will bring us before the King to receive His favor as well. Remember, faith without works is dead/useless (James 2:17-26). Thus, “You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.”
“Abigails” are not influenced by worldly examples and counsel, or by emotions, but their actions are determined by godliness, God’s government for the home, and how the Scriptures instruct us to live. Yes, your husband may be very difficult to live with; but even so, women should be daughters of Sarah and daughters of Abigail and bear up under this difficulty and forgive, lest you not be forgiven. If you will do good and obey Yahweh’s word, your reward will be great and you will have the opportunity to give to your children and to others a godly example of how a wife should respond to and endure under ungodly behavior. You are conscripted by the Scriptures to not reject your husband, but to submit to him and to stay united with him, even as Paul wrote – “But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband.” This Abigail most certainly ascribed to, and even more; and for it she was abundantly rewarded. And this is what you can and should do today as well.
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