UNDERSTANDING THE MARRIAGE YOKE
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| Yoked In Marriage |
Many have flawed in the decision making process of who to marry, and had themselves subjected to the woes of being unequally yoked together with the wrong partner for a lifetime. Youths are hereby encouraged to embrace certain spiritual measures to which will serve as a guide to being adequately developed, as well as fish out the most suitable and adequately developed partner from among the multitude of the good, the bad and the ugly, for this lifelong commitment called marriage. So before proposing, and before agreeing to a proposal, make sure to have the under listed in place.
Develop your Spiritual Muscles
Develop your Intellectual Muscles. Intelligence is not equal to Book or Certifications.
Develop your Economic muscles.
The marital union requires as much training as does any other of life’s course that demands excellence. Bachelors and spinsters must be well trained to handle the marriage covenant, as a shortfall in that area can result in marital catastrophe. According to Mark 10:6-7, one must understand that the first man and woman were made male and female for A COURSE. The course in this context signifies the God ordained purpose for which a man glues himself to a woman in holy matrimony. If intending couples happen to be void of the understanding of the course for which God made them male and female for marriage’s sake, they shouldn’t proceed to tie the nuts. Male and female doesn’t basically speak of gender for productivity. So marriage should not be thought of, as a platform for human reproduction; though that is not absent from the intended purpose for the marriage union. You must have a rich understanding of why God made you either a female or male before getting into marriage.
Exodus 2:1-2 – Note in this scripture that a man of Levi married a woman of Levi. This explains their level of preparation consequent upon the requirements to attain certain levels of maturity according to the Levitical order. There are certain knowledge one must acquire to be tagged marriageable according to the Jewish tradition. And being that the tradition of the Jews is only applicable to the Jews, it is best that a Jewish man directs his search for a bride to the camp of the Jews only, and Jewish women consider only Jewish men worthy grooms. That reveals the recommended criteria for marriage to be one’s level of acquisition of knowledge regarding the matter, as well as sharing the same conviction and holding the same orientation.
NUGGETS – 1 to 3
God only yokes two persons in marriage when He notices adequate training and preparedness in intending couples.
Understand the CAUSE of Marriage before getting into it - Mark 10 v 6, Gen 1 v 26, 27, Exodus 2 v 1, Gen 2 v 24, 25.
Do not marry who you cannot respect. Do not marry who you are not proud of. And do not marry who you do not like what they do for a living.
Exodus 2:1-2 – Note in this scripture that a man of Levi married a woman of Levi. This explains their level of preparation consequent upon the requirements to attain certain levels of maturity according to the Levitical order. There are certain knowledge one must acquire to be tagged marriageable according to the Jewish tradition. And being that the tradition of the Jews is only applicable to the Jews, it is best that a Jewish man directs his search for a bride to the camp of the Jews only, and Jewish women consider only Jewish men worthy grooms. That reveals the recommended criteria for marriage to be one’s level of acquisition of knowledge regarding the matter, as well as sharing the same conviction and holding the same orientation.
For two animals to be yoked together, they must have been trained to carry the yoke. Same is applicable in marriage. One needs to be trained to be yoked together with a partner he or she intends to marry in order to be successful in the journey. You should never bring any partner under pressure to be yoked with you in marriage because the marriage yoke requires willing acceptance.
You should never marry somebody you cannot be proud of. For sisters, endeavor to pray after getting a marriage proposal, and don’t do so under pressure. Just so you know; before a man proceeds to propose to one lady, he most certainly has many options in his mind as to who to propose to. So when you receive a proposal, the first person you should mention it to, isn’t that your girlfriend because she may bring you under the pressure you are advised to try to stay out of. You should rather mention it first to God in prayer before proceeding to let your pastor in on the matter. This point may provoke this question; so what about my parents? The answer to this will be provided in the next edition of this lecture. Keep a date!
A man as well ought to talk to God, and then to his pastor before proceeding to propose, because in a multitude of counsel is safety according to the bible. Don’t force anybody to marry you. And don’t force yourself to marry anybody. The bible says in romans 14:5 that everybody should be PERSUADED. Never set a trap to catch a groom or bride. And in case you find yourself in state peacefulness after getting a proposal or giving one, wait some more and observe your emotions to ascertain that the peace is actually of God, because a temporary peace instilled by the euphoria of the whole marriage idea may be mistaken for the peace of God, thus leading you into a bond that was never meant to be. Marriages in the western world collapse due to transgression of this regulation. So their lack of adequate acquaintance between intending couples leads them to quick divorce and multiple marriages. So you can find one woman who has been married four times. The woman of Samaria is humorously supposed to have had a root in America, resulting in her having up to 7 husbands and in the process of having the eight when God intercepted.
NUGGETS – 4 to 7
Courtship is not a guarantee to Marriage! A broken courtship is far better than a broken marriage.
God is the YOKE MASTER. He won’t ever yoke you in marriage with anybody capable of wasting your time, destiny and resources.
When you are well trained and ready for the course of marriage, God will yoke you to the right person - Amos 3 v 3.
For the yoke to produce results, it has to be BALANCED.
Numbers 36:6 Compare this scripture with Exodus 2:1-2 and meditate on the common factor therein. Just like the Levite man took unto himself a Levite woman for a wife in Exodus 2:1-2, the daughters of Zelophehad were mandated to take husbands for themselves only from the tribe of their fathers. One may mistake this to mean some sort of warning against inter-tribal marriages. Taking a closer look at verse 6 of numbers 36, you’ll find that they were given the liberty to marry whoever they thought was best for them. But then, it was boldly stressed that those who make up the “whoever” must be from the tribe of their father. Though you are allowed to marry who you think best, you must be careful not to misinterpret it because "who you think best" has nothing to do with physical appearance and other physical attributes you may desire to see in a partner. Rather, God expects you to think and realize that you need to marry someone whose purpose aligns with yours. That is who you are expected to think best as a bible trained student that you are or should be.
The marriage yoke thrives on love, purpose and commitment. Those are the three anchor points of marriage. It is bothersome how people can’t live together and face each other after barely three months of marriage. One begins to wonder what brought them together, or upon what platform they met and decided to wed each other.
Amos 3:3 – The marriage yoke is summarized to be the purpose of God that brings a man and a woman together, and not the ring he puts on her finger. Anyone can put a ring on a woman’s finger, as long as she lets him. So they both must be able to define the purpose of God for which they have come together. They must vividly and categorically be able to point out that very thing or reason that brings them together. If not, they shouldn’t dare walk down the aisle with each other. That would be a blind and purposeless marriage!
Hosea 10:11-12 - God yokes you in a marriage companionship when you are ready for the yoke. So you should spend more time getting ready for the yoke than busy yourself around, looking for a yoke in your state of unpreparedness. When God yokes you in marriage, he does so for a purpose; his own purpose. Always look out for the purpose of God in a proposed marital union before giving into it. Lastly, don’t forget the master. Never ever forget the master of the yoke after you have been yoked. Hosea 10:12. You need him now that you are yoked, as much as you did when you were not yoked.
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