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Topic: Wrong Marriages!
[DCLM Daily Manna 29 July 2019 Daily Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]
Text: Ezra 10:9-11 (KJV)
9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain.
10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.
11 Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives.
Key Verse: “And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel” (Ezra 10:10).
MESSAGE:
Nothing punctures and deflates society and its civilizations more drastically than wrong attitude towards women and faulty marriages. The collapse of the Roman Empire as a result of flagrant abuse of womanhood and marriage quickly comes to mind. History had it that Roman artists and painters debased their women folk and indeed society by painting women and parts of their body on all imaginable objects. The consequences of those action were too far reaching for that society. Their supremacy as a world power then could not be sustained because of moral lapses.
In our text, Ezra the priest knew that the nobles and the commoners in Israel were deeply involved in violating divine injunctions on marriage for Israelites. He knew vividly the severe consequences of their action and as such called the people of Israel to a solemn assembly to review and correct their missteps. The response of these offenders who felt embarrassingly guilty is commendable. It was recorded that “they gave their hands that they should put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram… for their trespass” (Ezra 10:19).
If we hope to have a stable and more peaceful society, then we must go back to uphold God’s standard on marriage and family life. We must oppose every attempt of the devil to corrupt this standard through the various marriage perversions such as multiple marriages, same-sex marriage, divorce or the cohabitation of partners without the marriage vow. As Christians, our marriages and family life should be worthy examples for others to follow. We must learn to appease God by completely turning away from our misdeeds and making amends for a clean and clear conscience before God and all men.
Thought For The Day: When Christ is your Pillar and Guide, you can never go wrong in marriage.
The Bible In One Year: 1 Thessalonians 1–5
