A PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE
ON THE
SCRIPTURAL RESPONSIBILITY
OF CHRISTIAN MEN
TOWARDS UNMARRIED
CHRISTIAN WOMEN
IN
THE CHURCH OF
JESUS
CHRIST
(AFTER YEARS OF SEEKING GOD
ON THE SUBJECT)
A scriptural
review of Ruth in 1999
An End Time Issues Publication
By
Dr
James A Robertson
P
O Box 4206
Randburg,
2125
South
Africa
Telephone
: +27 +11 791-2327
Cellphone
: +27 +83-251-6644
Fax
: +27 +11 791-5004
Email
: jamesr@infodoor.co.za
COPYRIGHT
This
document may be copied in part or in full for the benefit
of all believers provided it is not copied for commercial gain. It is
only required that authorship and contact information be
supplied.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
1.
INTRODUCTION -
1
2.
SOME KEY SCRIPTURES WITH REGARD TO THIS INTERPRETATION - 2
3.
TARGET SITUATION -
2
4.
SUMMARY -
3
5.
ELABORATION ON INTERPRETATION OF RUTH 3:9
- 3
6.
ELABORATION ON INTERPRETATION OF ISAIAH 4:1
- 7
7.
ELABORATION ON INTERPRETATION OF EXODUS 21:10
- 8
1.
THE RIGHT TO CALL HERSELF WIFE AND TO TAKE HIS NAME - 8
2.
FELLOWSHIP, COMPANIONSHIP AND RELATED PRIVILEGES - 8
8.
SOME REMARKS ON INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION
- 9
1. IS
THIS NOT A CARNAL PLOT?
- 10
2.
WHAT ABOUT AIDS? -
10
3.
ONE FLESH, BLOOD LINE AND OTHER FACTORS
- 10
4.
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OTHER ISSUES
- 11
5.
UNITY -
11
9.
CONCLUSION -
11
A PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE ON THE
SCRIPTURAL RESPONSIBILITY OF
CHRISTIAN MEN
TOWARDS UNMARRIED CHRISTIAN WOMEN
IN THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
A scriptural
review of Ruth in 1998
1.
INTRODUCTION
This document has
come about in response to a specific situation which is, in turn the
culmination of years of intensive Bible Study, prayer and Spirit Led
observation since I first
became concerned about the level of Divorce in the Church and the
extent of distress of single
Christian women.
When I first cried
out to God to ask Him "Why is there so much divorce", I had no idea of
the
magnitude of the problem both spiritually and in the "natural". Nearly
four years later I
continue to obtain additional insight, sometimes on an almost daily
basis. While diagnosing
the spiritual, doctrinal and carnal roots of the problem is one thing,
formulating a technical
response to the problem is considerably more challenging. Reaching
a point where an
approach can be identified which leads to practical, faith filled
action is a far greater
challenge. At this stage, this document will only go so
far as to suggest the broad, scripturally
correct action that is indicated, considerably more experience with the
practical application of
these scriptures will be required before it is possible to write more
than theoretically about the
practical aspects.
This document is my
first attempt to set in writing for comment a small fraction of what I
have
seen in this study. It is prepared in response to a
specific set of circumstances and is by
no means intended as a general document to be applied by any person who
happens to
lay their hands on a copy.
There are numerous
issues of a social, religious and legal nature which are inevitably
confronted by the interpretation presented in this document of which I
am aware. Some of
which I have answers for. There are many for which I do not have
answers at this time but
have no doubt that God does. No doubt there are many other factors
which I am not even
aware of at this time. Many other answers can be obtained from the
God's Free Men and
Women internet web site at bfree.org.
At the same time I
have no doubt that this document is the beginning of a work in the
Church
of Jesus Christ to remove what seems to me to be perhaps the biggest
single doctrinal blemish
on the "Bride of Christ" that must be dealt with before the return of
The Lord Jesus Christ. As such, this is an intensely serious and heavy
teaching. I appeal to all readers to address this
document with the seriousness and reverence that the subject deserves.
As
you read further, please consider that it is possible that more people
are
being spiritually destroyed on the earth daily through ramifications of
this
teaching, which I will not even attempt to address in this document,
than
through any other area of dark ages doctrine that remains in the church
today!
2.
SOME
KEY SCRIPTURES WITH REGARD TO THIS INTERPRETATION
In presenting this
interpretation it is essential that we recognize some key scriptures
which
indirectly relate to interpretation of contentious scriptures such as
those that follow.
As indicated in the
focus block above, before I started writing this document I was seeking
a
final confirmation that God really wanted this document written now.
Having prayed, I opened
a Bible at random and found myself confronted with Mark 7:7
to 9:
"In vain
(fruitlessly and without profit) do they worship Me, ordering and
teaching
[to be obeyed] as doctrines the commandments and precepts of men. [Isa
29:13] 8 You disregard and give up and
ask to depart from you the commandment of God
and cling to the tradition of men [keeping it carefully and
faithfully]. 9 And He
said to them, You have a fine way of rejecting [thus thwarting and
nullifying and
doing away with] the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition
(your
own human regulations)!" (Amplified Bible)
Having
assimilated what the Lord was saying to me through these scriptures I
finally
confronted a key issue that was proving a stumbling block to my
understanding of what
I was to write in this document. In God's sight, the issue is one of
men accepting their
God given responsibility towards women. I have no doubt that it is a
responsibility for
which we will be judged if we fail.
As I continued with
my bible reading the scriptures which say that if we love God we will
keep
His commandments (1 John 5:3) came to mine. I also found myself reading
Jesus' rebuke to
the Pharisees and Lawyers in Luke 11:39-54 and realized that He almost
certainly would
express himself at least as strongly with regard to the issues
addressed in this document. I also
saw afresh verse 53 and 54 with regard to the scribes and Pharisees
being "enraged with and
set themselves violently against Him" and realized that the opposition
that I have met in
seeking to discuss some of these issues with Christian leaders was no
different.
Jesus
sees things so differently to us most of the time, a fact that we
ignore at our peril.
3.
TARGET SITUATION
This document seeks
to address a very specific target situation:
The
responsibility of mature, sincere, committed Christian men who truly
fear God and
desire to do His will towards similarly mature, devout and committed
Christian women who
do not have a husband, have been crying out for a husband and whose
lives are being
destroyed as a consequence of their difficulty of coping with their
situation and the
resultant attacks that Satan is making on them. Such men should also
have a real burden
for women in this situation and be aware of a specific situation which
they truly believe
that God has brought to their attention.
It is recognized
that there are an enormous number of additional men and women to whom
this
teaching theoretically applies, however, under current social and
church circumstances, it is
doubtful whether people who do not satisfy the above conditions will
have any hope at all of
surviving the religious and demonic onslaught which will almost
certainly follow a decision to
act on this teaching. My wife and I have been through a time of intense
testing, trial and
tribulation over several years getting to a point where we can
seriously say "Father your will
not our will be done". Nevertheless, "all things are possible with God"
and He is able to do
exceedingly abundantly beyond all we can ask or imagine.
It is also
important to understand that the spiritual consequences of putting this
teaching into
effect are enormous. Acting on this teaching without a clear
understanding of the spiritual
consequences and how to deal with them could be tantamount to signing a
warrant for your
own spiritual destruction. This is NOT about sexual licence and
promiscuity as some might
claim, it IS about a critical end time responsibility of awesome
eternal significance!
4.
SUMMARY
The essence of this
document is summarized by three scriptures:
RUTH
3:9 (Amp) "....... And she answered, I am Ruth your
maidservant. Spread your
wing (of protection) over your maidservant, for you are next of kin." That is "please
marry me", refer also 1 Corinthians 11:5 & 8-10,
Ephesians 5:23-26.
ISAIAH 4:1 (Amp) "And in that day seven women shall take
hold of one man, saying, We
will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel, only let us be called
by your name
to take away our reproach [of being unmarried]". That is there will be seven women
saying "please marry us" for every man in the Church of true believers
(refer rest of Isaiah
4).
EXODUS 21:10 (NAS) "And if he takes to himself another
woman, he may not reduce her
food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights." This refers to the rights of an
existing wife
when a man takes an additional wife even if the existing wife is a
slave, maidservant or
concubine.
The nett effect of
these three scriptures, as I currently understand them after all the
Bible
Study, prayer and spiritual and practical observation of my entire life
to date, is therefore quite
simply that any single Christian woman who is under attack from the
enemy and needs the
protection of a Godly husband will in all likelihood find that she is
competing with many other
women for any unmarried Godly man that she may meet and will only find
a husband by asking
an already married man to take her under his wing as a second, or
subsequent, wife. Furthermore, by extension of the scriptures in the
book of Ruth, it appears that the man (and
therefore his existing wife) has a serious obligation to honour such a
request subject to
prayerful seeking of God and mature discussion between all three
parties involved.
In the sections
that follow I will endeavour to develop the scriptural basis of the
above
summary and thereafter will seek to set out some of the consequences
and practical
implications of this teaching, as best I understand them at this time.
In doing this, I am
woefully conscious of my own limitations in terms of my ability to hear
God clearly and to
discern His true will with regard to this situation
in a religious environment which I have
repeatedly found to be intensely hostile to any discussion around this
topic. Satan is dragging
millions of men and women into hell with him and he is not about to
give up this battle without
a fight. There is no doubt that he will constantly seek to infiltrate
deception and error into the
lives and teachings of any person who seeks to address this topic. I
therefore encourage
readers to be constantly vigilant, to test all that is written here
against the Word of God and
to pray at all times in the Spirit without ceasing while considering
what follows.
5.
ELABORATION ON INTERPRETATION OF RUTH 3:9
This verse reads in
part "....... And she answered, I am Ruth your
maidservant. Spread
your wing (of protection) over your maidservant, for you are next of
kin."
The context of this
verse is one of Ruth, a Moabite woman who had married a Hebrew
sojourner in her land. Her husband, his father and his brother all die
and Ruth is left a widow
with her mother-in-law Naomi and returns to Israel with her, declaring
that "your people shall
be my people and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16). This acceptance by Ruth
of the God of
Israel and the people of Israel, thus forsaking her gentile inheritance
is a clear type of any
person accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as saviour and wholeheartedly
adopting the Christian
faith. From other verses we gather that Ruth had not made a shallow
decision but an
uncompromising decision to "go all the way". She left her family and
native land and adopted
and complied with the social practices of her adopted faith and land.
In fact, Ruth is so
esteemed in the sight of God that she became the mother of Obed, the
father of Jesse the father
of King David and thus her name is recorded for eternity in the
genealogy of the Messiah, the
Lord Jesus Christ!
On this basis, we
must accept that the steps taken by Ruth, a widow, to seek the
protection
of Boaz, a "near kinsman" is entirely appropriate and correct in the
sight of God. She was not
being forward when she approached Boaz, she was acting in accordance
with laid down
scriptural protocol in accordance with Deuteronomy 25:5-10.
The interpretation
of this verse of scripture is very eloquently presented by William
Schnoebelen in his book "Masonry, Beyond the Light". I quote verbatim
from pages 230-232:
"HEADSHIP
"Paul
teaches that the 'head of every man is Christ; and the head of the
woman is the man' (1 Corinthians 11:3). This is how men and women are
created
by God. Two other key verses in this passage tell us:
'But
every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered
dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as is she were
shaven...For
the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the
man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For this cause
ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. 1
Corinthians 11:5, 8-10
"Although
this is a rather deep passage, it is not too deep that it cannot be
interpreted by turning to the Bible itself for help. The first part is
clearer. The
husband is to be the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of
the husband. Paul clarifies this principle elsewhere, telling us:
'For the
husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the
church: and He is the Saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is
subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every
thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church,
and gave himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the
washing of water by the word. Ephesians 5:23-26
"It is
not a question of the husband 'lording it over' the wife as much as it
is
the husband giving himself up for his wife, laying down his life for
her as Jesus
did for the church. This is not a permit for abusive behaviour on the
part of
husbands in any way, shape or form. The wife must be submitted to the
husband,
but the husband must be Christ-like in his care and devotion to the
wife. He must
be the channel through which the Holy Spirit can 'sanctify and cleanse'
his wife.
"TO
SPREAD YOUR COVERING
"The last
part of the passage quoted above is the most puzzling. What does
'For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of
the angels'
mean? This verse, and the ones preceding it, have often been
interpreted with
total literalness, to the extent that women have felt obliged to wear
veils or hats
to church.
"However,
the word here is 'power', which obviously means more than a veil. If we
stand aside and let the Bible interpret this passage, it all becomes
clear. In
Ruth 3:8-9, we find the elegant Hebrew custom to which Paul is
referring:
'And it
came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned
himself: and behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art
thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy
skirt
over thine handmaid: for thou are a near kinsman.
"Ruth is
asking Boaz, her near kinsman, to marry her out of obligation to his
dead relation, Mahlon, her former husband. For him to cover her with
his skirt
was a way of saying that he would marry her, taking her under the
mantle of his
protection, even as we, the church, are under the mantle of Jesus'
protection.'
"When a
Godly man marries a woman, he takes 'power' over her because of
the angels. Which angels are being referred to is unclear. Some say
they are not
good angels, but fallen angels, which might attack or tempt the wife,
Others say
they are good angels who are scandalized by seeing a wife out from
under the
authority of her husband.
"Although
we cannot be certain, I prefer the first explanation, especially since
there are two other places in scripture which seem to indicate that
fallen angels
might be very dangerous to unprotected women (Genesis 6:2, Jude 6-7).
Thus, it
is the duty of the man to provide a spiritual covering for his wife.
"Why is
this? Because it is the way the Lord made the marriage relationship. It
is the way men and women are put together, In a good, Christian
marriage, the
husband is the covering for the wife -- her shepherd, her 'lightning
rod', if you
will. He takes all the flak for her, even as Jesus did for us. He
should be both a
unique font of blessing for her and her strong protector from attack,
whether
spiritual or physical."
I have no doubt
that the above interpretation is substantially correct, I have
independently
encountered a teaching by Benny Hinn on "Demons and Devils" which makes
a related point
about Genesis 6:2-6 referring to fallen angels taking on their human
form and having sexual
intercourse with women, thus giving rise to the race of giants of which
Goliath was one of the
last. It is these same angels which are referred to in Jude 6
and 2 Peter 2:4 "For if God did
not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and
delivered them into chains
of darkness, to be reserved for judgement."
Genesis 6:2-5 reads:
"The
sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair, and they took
wives of
all they desired and chose. Then the Lord said, My Spirit shall not
forever dwell
and strive with man, for he also is flesh; but his days shall yet be
120 years. There
were giants on the earth in those days -- and also afterward -- when
the sons of
God lived with the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.
These were
the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. The Lord saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination
and
intention of all human thinking was only evil continually."
It seems that there
are a reasonably large number of believers who accept that the term
"sons
of God" refers to angels and that the passage above therefore refers to
fallen angels marrying
women. One teaching holds that since Satan realized that the only way
that God could regain
dominion over the earth legally was for the Messiah to be born of a
woman and that, by
instructing his fallen angels to marry as many women as possible he
could corrupt the blood
line so completely that it would not be possible for a sinless man to
be born of woman. According to this interpretation Noah and his sons
were the only remaining men on earth who
were genetically and spiritually uncontaminated by this impregnation,
hence the need for the
flood to destroy all other humans. Apparently one or more of Noah's
sons wives was not pure
and that was how the giants propagated after the flood and why Israel
had to completely
destroy them when they came out of Egypt and why David's victory over
Goliath was so
significant.
According to this
interpretation, once an angel has sinned by having intercourse with a
human
woman he is cast into chains for the day of judgement as referred to in
Jude 6 and 2 Peter 2:4. As a consequence, Satan's compliment of angels
was seriously diminished and he could not
afford to again try this avenue. Presumably this does not prevent him
from trying again at the
end of the age should he conclude that there is benefit to be gained.
Something like this may
be a prerequisite for the birth of the "beast" of Revelation but this
is outside the scope of this
document.
In this light, the
responsibility of Christian men to provide covering to Christian women
in
these last days becomes of greater significance if we take account of
the level of deception that
is expected to accompany the end of the age.
General observation
of daily occurrences also indicate that many unmarried Christian women
become desperate about not having a husband and often fall into the
trap of marrying unsaved
husbands who frequently abuse them. This leads to immense suffering,
sometimes to
backsliding and often to divorce. Others fall victim to their sexual
needs and find themselves
repeatedly succumbing to the advances of men who take advantage of
their vulnerable
position. Many Christian women in this situation become desperately
unhappy.
In continuing with
our analysis of Ruth, it is important to note that at no point is there
an
indication whether Boaz already had a wife and it will be apparent from
Exodus 21:10 that this
is not a relevant question. Since scripture explicitly permits a man to
take more than one wife
there was no need for Boaz to be unmarried and, in fact, careful
scriptural analysis indicates
that it is probably highly unlikely that he was unmarried.
We should
furthermore note that there was another man who was a closer kinsman
than Boaz
but that he declined to marry Ruth because she was a Moabitess,
prohibited by Deuteronomy
23:3 & 4. From this we observe a degree of discretion on the
part of the person who was
technically the first in line who, on the grounds of a scriptural
constraint, chose to decline to
perform the required service. Note that Deuteronomy 25:5-10 lays down a
serious reproach
for the man who declines to perform this duty without scriptural
grounds:
"But if
the man does not want to take his brother's wife, then let his
brother's wife
go up to the gate to the elders, and say, 'My husband's brother refuses
to raise up
a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my
husband's
brother.' Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him;
and if he
stands firm and says, 'I do not want to take her,' then his brother's
wife shall come
to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot,
spit in his
face, and answer and say, 'So shall it be done to the man who will not
build up his
brother's house.' And his name shall be called in Israel, 'The house of
him who
had his sandal removed.'
Clearly, refusing
to marry such a woman is not a decision to be taken lightly.
As a counterpoint,
it is apparent that the application of these scriptures in these days
cannot
be taken entirely literally. However, Paul in 1 Timothy 5:11 &
12 states:
"Therefore
I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the
house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For
some
have already turned aside after Satan."
We see the same
principle, with the same implication of entry for Satan carried into
the New
Covenant, again with no indication that Paul foresaw the possibility of
there not being enough
unmarried men to go round. The implication again being that the fact
that a man was already
married did not prevent him from marrying a widow in order to give no
opportunity to the
adversary to speak reproachfully.
Again, in 1
Corinthians 7:8 & 9, Paul states:
"But I
say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they
remain
even as I am; [unmarried] but if they cannot
exercise self-control, let them marry,
For it is better to marry than to burn with passion."
It
is clear that nowhere in scripture does God envisage women being forced
to remain
unmarried.
In 1 Corinthians
7:39-40, Paul goes on to state:
"A wife
is bound to her husband by law as long as he lives. If the husband
dies,
she is free to be married to whom she will, only [provided that he too
is] in the
Lord. But in my opinion [a widow] is happier (more blessed and to be
envied) if
she does not remarry. And also I think I have the Spirit of God."
Here
we observe Paul expressing his personal opinion that a widow and
presumably a
legitimately divorced woman, will be happier if they remain single. The
implication is
clearly that there are women who will be happier in this state and
therefore, by
extension, it would seem that the principle of covering is not a rigid
spiritual requirement.
We also observe a
clear instruction that if she is to remarry the man she marries must
also be
a believer. This is a qualification inherent in the passages in
Deuteronomy and Ruth cited
earlier. Clearly Ephesians 5:22-33 can only apply if husband and wives
are believers. Accordingly we must again deduce that all that we have
studied here indicates the necessary
implication that a woman must marry a believing man who already has a
wife or wives rather
than marry an unbeliever.
In the light of all
the above, there can be no doubt that God intended, and in fact almost
requires, all adult women to be married (joined) to a believing husband
6.
ELABORATION ON INTERPRETATION OF ISAIAH 4:1
This verse reads "And
in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will
eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by
your name to take
away our reproach [of being unmarried]".
In interpreting
this verse of scripture there are a number of factors to take into
account.
Firstly, the
question arises as to the time period which is referred to as "that
day". Isaiah 4:2
states that:
"In that
day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the
fruit
of the land shall be excellent and lovely to those of Israel who have
escaped."
It seems to be
generally accepted that the reference to the "Branch of the Lord"
relates to the
Messiah and therefore to the end of the age. In principle, it would
appear that this passage
relates to the millennium which many agree is nearly upon us and that
the escape may refer to
the coming tribulation although there are others who hold that the
current spiritual upheavals
may already constitute the beginning of the "great tribulation". It
does not seem necessary to
enter into a detailed analysis of this issue, suffice it to say that
Isaiah 4 clearly refers to the end
of the age and therefore to a date and time which is many thousands of
years closer to us today
than it was to Isaiah. I am personally strongly persuaded that God is
saying that this time is
at hand and that the church is being confronted with the Isaiah 4:1
situation right now.
On a simplistic
note, there are probably very few Christian leaders who would deny that
there
are many more committed and devout Christian women in their
congregations than men and
also few who would deny that those women are struggling to find
Christian husbands, that
many are marrying "unbelievers" and that many are facing tremendous
suffering as a result. On a casual observation basis, I have observed
congregations where the ratio of women to men
in the congregation has, I estimate, ranged from 2 to 1 to 10 to 1.
While the overall ratio
today may not be exactly 7 to 1 it is probably not far off.
The footnote to
Isaiah 4:1 in the Amplified Bible refers to Jerusalem and Isaiah 4:3
refers to
Zion and Jerusalem, other verses in the proximity also refer to
Jerusalem. Most authorities
seem to agree that references to Zion and Jerusalem in end time
prophecy, particularly in
Revelation, are types of the body of "true believers" whereas Babylon
represents carnal
Christians who are not really committed to the Lord Jesus Christ and
who will fall away in the
coming tribulation. It therefore seems reasonable to
conclude that the ratio of seven
women to one man relates to sincere, devout and committed Christians,
those who are
prepared to take up their cross and follow Him, no matter what the cost.
If this
interpretation is correct then, viewed in the light of the previous
section on covering,
it is apparent that sincere, devout and committed Christian women face
an enormous challenge
finding a husband. It is equally apparent that the eternal implications
of effectively addressing
the implications of this teaching AND IMPLEMENTING THEM in the body of
Christ is an
enormously important challenge.
Isaiah chapter 3
refers to the immoral and improper conduct of the women of Jerusalem.
Isaiah 3:16-17 states:
"Moreover,
the Lord said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk
with outstretched necks and with undisciplined (flirtatious and
alluring) eyes,
tripping along with mincing and affected gait, and making a tinkling
noise with
[the anklets on] their feet. Therefore the Lord will smite...."
Much of the latter
part of the chapter is in similar vein, clearly referring to the age in
which we
currently live where there is a seemingly complete disregard for
modesty even among women
within the church. A casual visit to most churches in the area where I
live will reveal many
women who in broad terms conform to this description. In the same vein,
it seems quite
possible that the level of affliction being experienced by many women
is because, at some time
in their lives, they have been guilty of such sin and that the smiting
that is referred to is what
they have been or are going through. It would seem that the process of
cleansing and dying
to self and dying to the world referred to in Isaiah 3 may be a
necessary precursor to any
person entering the era of spiritual blessing referred to in Isaiah 4. If
this interpretation is
correct, this would suggest that much of what is presented in this
document should only
be applied to women who have reached a level of spiritual maturity in
Christ to be
responsible wives within the context of this teaching.
In the analysis of
Exodus 21:10 I will further discuss the marital implications of Isaiah
4:1 but
it is important to note that the terms and conditions for taking
another wife, which are set out
in Exodus 21:10, that is that the food, clothing and marital privileges
of the first wife are not
diminished, are echoed in Isaiah 4:1 with the important distinction
that the potential second and
subsequent wives will waive any requirement for provision of food and
clothing and will only
request marital privileges.
This accords with
current reality where many of the women to whom Isaiah 4:1 would apply
in this generation already have their own house and a job that provides
all their material needs. What they lack is the spiritual covering of a
husband and all that goes with it.
7.
ELABORATION ON INTERPRETATION OF EXODUS 21:10
This verse reads "And
if he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her food,
her clothing, or her conjugal rights."
This verse of
scripture, together with many others and the analysis provided in
previous
sections of this document clearly overrules the widely held doctrinal
view that Jesus in some
fashion during His three and a half years of ministry prohibited
polygamous marriages. This
doctrine has it's roots in the rule of Justinian in about 600 AD where,
after marrying a reformed
prostitute who is reported to have been very dominant and would
therefore seem to have had
a Jezebel spirit, he issued a proclamation banning plural marriage.
With this established, it is
possible to complete the interpretation of Ruth 3:9 at a first level of
interpretation.
As noted above, the
terms and conditions for taking another wife, which are set out in
Exodus
21:10, that is that the food, clothing and marital privileges of the
first wife are not diminished,
are echoed in Isaiah 4:1 with the important distinction that the
potential second and subsequent
wives will waive any requirement for provision of food and clothing and
will only request
marital privileges which according to my current understanding would
include:
1.
THE RIGHT TO CALL HERSELF WIFE AND TO TAKE HIS NAME
This implies that
she will receive sexual favour in order to establish and develop the
one
flesh bond. This is an area where there are potentially significant
challenges in terms of
marital adjustment for the existing wife and also in terms of working
within social
standards, etc.
Interestingly, the
new South African constitution recognizes all forms of tribal /
customary
marriages as well as Islamic (polygamous) marriages, etc. Accordingly
it is apparently
now legally possible for a man to legally take more than one wife
supported by the
constitution, subject only to the requirement that he has some basis to
cite customary
precedent or has adopted a particular customary base.
The practical
cohabitation arrangements are also challenging but there are a variety
of
scriptures which give us an indication of the arrangements that existed
in Bible times. In
particular, each wife had her own tent, etc. There are also models
around the world in this
generation that have been documented which provide a basis for adapting
these scriptures
to our time.
Accordingly, this
is not an insurmountable problem.
2.
FELLOWSHIP, COMPANIONSHIP AND RELATED PRIVILEGES
A
woman in such a situation would clearly want to fulfil her role as a
home maker,
wife and mother. In part, the models referred to in the
previous section address this
matter, however the issues around a number of women living in close
fellowship with one
another and their husband presents additional challenges. Note,
however, that they
become one flesh and that Numbers chapter 5 clearly states
that jealousy is the prerogative
of a husband if his wife commits adultery NOT of a wife. Accordingly,
with appropriate
deliverance, spiritual insight, commitment to resolving difficulties
and ABOVE ALL love
of God and desire to please Him, I have no doubt that these problems
can be overcome. There is much that I could write on this subject but,
at this time, time does not permit.
The application of
these points in practice will, no doubt, be immensely challenging in
terms
of our current paradigm of marriage but I have no doubt that with the
guidance of the Holy
Spirit and provided all participants, and particularly the husband, are
submitted to Christ and
all wives are fully submitted to their husband these challenges will be
overcome.
Note also that the
Greek word "gunè" is variously translated "woman",
"wife", "women" and
"wives". Vines and other reference works indicate
clearly that there is only one word for wife,
wives, woman and women. The reason for this is that there was no such
thing as an unmarried
adult woman in Jesus day, only women (married), widows (presumably
includes legitimately
divorced women) and harlots. Equally, gunè does not expressly denote
singular or plural in
the same way that "church" does not denote
singular or plural and thus the parallel between
marriage and the church, stated so clearly in Ephesians 5:22-33 is
exactly completed.
It is interesting
to note that the number seven (7) in Isaiah 4:1 is the number of
perfection and
completion whereas six (6) is the number of man. If the issue of
multiple wives in this
generation were a carnal issue, as many would suggest, it is reasonable
to expect that God
would use the number six in Isaiah 4:1. The fact that He uses seven,
the number of perfection
and completeness suggests that there is a depth of human relationship
in marriage that we
cannot begin to comprehend, provided it is accomplished in a Spirit
Led, Christ focused
manner in which all participants seek to live lives pleasing to God, to
lay down their lives for
Him and each other, to take up their crosses and to love one another as
they would be loved.
Given the strength
of the "one-flesh bond", refer my document on "Poverty in the Church of
Jesus Christ" for more information, it is possible to imagine that one
man and seven women
who are one flesh and in perfect unity and harmony would be a
formidable spiritual unit on
earth, something against which the enemy would truly not be able to
stand and undoubtedly
a major factor why Satan has so ruthlessly lied about and opposed
plural marriage since the
days of Justinian in about 600 AD.
It is also
important to recognize that in Revelation 1-3 reference is made to
seven churches. Apparently Jesus is married to a bride with seven major
components, each of which has distinct
strengths and weaknesses, each of them He reproves and corrects and to
each of them He
offers eternal life in victory with particular rewards if they overcome
and endure to the end. It seems quite possible that Isaiah 4:1
foreshadows this parallel on earth in an era where men
will truly learn to live together in unity and the church will come
into unity. It seems to me
that many of the lessons which are necessary for a man to live in unity
and harmony with seven
wives in this generation are probably similar to the lessons that the
church must learn to live
together in unity. Rick Joyner makes it clear that it is only once the
church comes into unity
that victory over the enemy is gained. Clearly God did not provide the
intimate parallel in
Ephesians 5:31-33 for nothing. Marriage is an earthly type of our
relationship with Christ. If
we cannot live in marriage as He would have us live, we cannot begin to
understand how to
achieve the fullness of what is possible in our relationship with Him.
The harmonious seven
wife marriage may turn out to be the single most significant
prerequisite to the church
operating in "greater works" than Jesus did?
It
is also interesting to note that people all exhibit very different
giftings, emotional,
physical and other responses. It is therefore possible to envisage a
situation where a
group of women who have been brought to one husband by the Holy Spirit
will find that
they complement one another in such a wonderful way that the whole is
truly greater
than sum of it's parts.
8.
SOME
REMARKS ON INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION
In closing this
document at this time, there are a few general remarks which come to
mind,
some of a spiritual nature and some carnal.
1. IS
THIS NOT A CARNAL PLOT?
Having been accused
by various parties of expressing interest in this subject as a
consequence of lust or carnality, I found myself trying to justify to
myself why this was not
the case. The analysis of Ruth 3:9, presented in section 5
suddenly eliminated that
argument. The topic has nothing to do with your or my
carnality, it has everything
to do with the disregard of man for the commandments of God.
As this sank in, I
began to see clearly for perhaps the first time the significance of
Rick Joyner's comment
in "The Final Quest" when he remarks during his account of his
judgement experience
when he was transported to the third heaven to the effect that he realized
that most of
the things he had done right in his life he had done for the wrong
reasons and most
of the things he had done wrong he had done for the right reasons.
Men have been
hammered for so long to believe that they can only marry one woman that
they have been totally blinded to the scriptures which clearly
demonstrate that woman
require a covering. Having regard for Isaiah 4:1 it is vital to
recognize that God would
almost certainly have used the number six in this verse if the subject
of this document were
carnal!
2.
WHAT ABOUT AIDS?
I have been asked
about AIDS, etc. Clearly, in the light of Isaiah 3 many of the women
who are referred to in Isaiah 4:1 will not be virgins. Some may have
been forced into
fornication as a result of their spiritual and sexual needs. The need
for such unions to
come about at the leading of the Holy Spirit is therefore an important
consideration. In
practice, existing parties to a marriage may want to take the
precaution of an AIDS test
but, given the dormant nature of the virus this is no substitute for
prayer.
3.
ONE FLESH, BLOOD LINE AND OTHER FACTORS
Of far more
significance than AIDS are the spiritual factors of which AIDS is, in a
sense,
a physical warning. A woman who has had previous sexual encounters will
bring with her
existing one flesh bonds, blood line curses and other spiritual roots
and forces inherited
from every one of her sexual partners. If these are not dealt with,
some of them before
remarriage, the husband could find himself an adulterer joined to many
other men and
women, an abomination in the sight of God and an open cheque book for
Satan to attack
the family and take it apart.
A variety of
spiritual hygiene factors will have to be addressed before marriage can
take
place. In particular, the husband must satisfy himself completely that
the woman is free
to marry in the SIGHT OF GOD.
We have recently
ministered to a woman who was seduced under hypnosis in her late teens
by a man who has shadowed her throughout her life and has been a born
again believer for
decades, he is now in his late fifties. Following an intensive six
hours of Holy Spirit led
discussion and counselling, the woman was shown that this was the man
who had seduced
her and the Lord gave us Deuteronomy 22:28-29 which tells us that if a
man seduces a
virgin without her fathers' consent that man "may not divorce her all
his days". In terms
of this scripture, this woman had lived most of her life in adultery
and God, in His mercy,
had brought her true husband back to her to fulfil his husbandly duties
after her legal so-called marriage had broken down. Clearly another man
marrying her would have also been
committing adultery.
Any
man planning to marry such a woman must ensure that she is truly a
"widow"
and that God has broken all one flesh bonds. In my understanding of
scripture and
practical experience, praying to break one flesh bonds is to no avail
if God has not
permitted the bond to be broken. If he has not, the couple would be
committing
adultery and Revelation 21:8 makes it quite clear that they will both
experience the
second death and burn in hell for eternity. We thus see a counterpoint
of two
critical spiritual issues of eternal significance - the need of a woman
for a Godly
husband and covering against the requirement not to commit adultery.
The Holy
Spirit must be the only source of guidance and the final arbiter in
such cases.
4.
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OTHER ISSUES
Almost every person
coming into such a relationship will have experienced deep soul hurts
and psychological traumas during their life to that point. As much as
these factors can
destroy a monogamous marriage they will certainly afford the potential
to destroy a
multiple wife marriage. Appropriate techniques exist for dealing with
these issues and they
should be addressed without delay at an early stage in the marriage or
even before
marriage.
Note that delaying
marriage beyond a certain point is not desirable since the principal
objective is to provide a spiritual covering. Only the Lord can
indicate when it is time to
consummate the marriage.
5.
UNITY
As discussed in the
document on Poverty, a man and wife who are in disagreement give
Satan fertile ground to attack them financially and possibly in other
ways. With several
wives the need for unity becomes much more challenging. Again, the Holy
Spirit must
bring the couple together and the entire marriage unit must submit to
Christ.
In this context
scriptures such as Proverbs 12:4, 14:1, 18:22, 19:13, 23:27, 25:24,
27:15
and 31:10 are of critical reference. A disgraceful wife is indeed like
rottenness in the
bones, it is indeed better to dwell on the corner of a roof top than
with a contentious,
quarrelsome and fault finding wife, etc. But a wife of noble character
IS her husband's
crown. Every wife has the opportunity to build up her husband and
therefore herself since
they are one flesh or to break him and herself down.
Again we see the
need for God to be the author of the union together with an ongoing
need for robust submission to the Word of God. It is probably fair to
say that a woman
coming into such a relationship who chose to depart from the Word of
God on an ongoing
basis would be betraying her covenant with her husband, thereby
committing "porneia"
the only basis on which Jesus permitted divorce in Matthew 5 and 19.
This should be
made an explicit condition to any subsequent wife in order that there
is a clear outlet in the
event of her failing to honour her commitment to her new husband.
Again, only God can
determine whether such actions would give rise to a situation in which
the husband was
entitled to divorce one of his wives and we can take Hebrews 6 and
similar passages of
scripture as an indication of how such situations should be evaluated.
9.
CONCLUSION
In this document I
have set out in broad terms my current understanding of Ruth 3:9,
Isaiah
4:1 and Exodus 21:10 as a basis for determining the
responsibility of Christian men to
unmarried Christian women.
The essence of this
teaching is that such women are entitled to a covering, that such men
have
a responsibility to supply that covering but that unless the Holy
Spirit brings the woman and
man together and the necessary spiritual hygiene and ongoing spiritual
submission are
practised, such a marriage is potentially fraught with difficulty.
If these issues are
addressed, there are strong scriptural reasons to conclude that the
parties
involved will experience the blessings of unity and harmony in a
measure which is exceedingly,
abundantly beyond all that we can ask or imagine.
I sincerely pray
that those for whom God intends this teaching AT THIS TIME will be
blessed
by it and that they will find the appropriate situations in which God
has ordained to put this
into practice in their lives.
God bless you,
JAMES
ROBERTSON