REJOICE IN THE WIFE OF YOUR YOUTH

WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL

JULY 19, 2022  

TOPIC: REJOICE IN THE WIFE OF YOUR YOUTH

BY T. O. BANSO

“Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth” (Proverbs 5:18 New King James Version).

It’s been said that when Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary, a reporter asked them what they would attribute the success of their married life to. The automobile giant was quoted as saying that the formula “is the same formula that I have always used in making cars – just stick to one model!”

Many marriages are in trouble today because this formula is not adopted. Some marriages have even crashed because of this. The husband is attracted to some models outside instead of sticking to the model he already has. The same applies to the wife.

The husband could be comparing his wife to other women outside and not appreciate her. The same could be true of the wife. Some partners are deceived that some people they have not lived with are better than their partners! Some could be so seduced by beautiful faces or so-called sexy bodies that they become unfaithful to their wives.

No matter how much some wives dress and try to look attractive to their husbands, they are not satisfied. They still lust after some young women outside. They consider their wives old! Such husbands have forgotten that their wives were not old when they married them! Also, these husbands are not as young as they were when their wives married them.

Some men have taken foolish decisions to marry a second wife because they want a young, beautiful lady or for other selfish, unbiblical reasons. A man turned his hitherto peaceful family into a battleground after marrying a second wife.

The spiritual atmosphere of the family was polluted and strange things began to happen even when she wasn’t living with them. The family suffered different afflictions. After some time, the man fell ill and died prematurely. By this time, the woman had acquired so much from him. Today, the name of the man is only heard mostly through the woman, yet the man had children before he married her. I can’t remember if the woman had any child with this man. How could a man destroy his own family after God had been good to him and he had accomplished so much in life!

Stick to one model. Stick to your spouse. And I am not talking about staying with an abusive spouse who can cause your premature death through domestic violence. In such a situation, you need a break for the aggressor to regain his sanity and the matter to be resolved. God has called us to peace (1 Corinthians 7:15).

You don’t have to die in the hand of a violent man when what God says is that husbands should love their wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her (Ephesians 5:25). And God also says husbands should love their wives and not be bitter toward them (Colossians 3:19). God didn’t say husbands should beat their wives! Neither did He say husbands should break their heads!

The same thing is true of wives. God says wives should submit to their husbands, as to the Lord or as is fitting in the Lord (Ephesians 5:22; Colossians 3:18). God also says wives should be submissive to their husbands so that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives (1 Peter 3:1). God didn’t say wives should kill their husbands or harm them. Unfortunately, some married men and women have been killed by the partners they once said they loved. This should not be so.

Marriage is a lifetime commitment. Partners should be faithful to each other. Stick to your wife and don’t be sexually attracted to other women. There are these two phases in the Bible: the wife of your youth and the husband of her youth. The first is used two times in the New King James Version in Proverbs 5:18 and Malachi 2:14. The latter is used one time in Joel 1:8.

Proverbs 5:18 says, “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth” (New King James Version). This is one of the keys to a long-lasting marriage. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. The Contemporary English Version puts it this way: “Be happy with the wife you married when you were young.”  Don’t abandon the wife of your youth – the wife you married in your youth just because she is now old! Nobody, including you, will be young forever. No matter how a woman beautifies her face and dresses up, she cannot prevent the aging process.

In the days of the Prophet Malachi, the people of Judah were unfaithful to their wives. They divorced their wives just because they wanted a change and married pagans. They did as they liked and asked why God didn’t accept their worship.

Malachi 2:14-15 says, “Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the LORD has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth” (New King James Version). Take note of the phrases “the wife of your youth” and “the wife of his youth.”

God considers it treachery when a man divorces the wife of his youth for unbiblical reasons and marries another woman. There will be consequences for anyone who does so. Some have suffered or are suffering the consequences already. Why must you bring trouble to your home? Proverbs 11:29a says he who troubles his own house will inherit the wind.

Stick to one model. Cleave to the wife of your youth. Genesis 2:24 says a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. Rejoice in the wife you married when you were young. Don’t change your wife! Be faithful to her.

Also, be faithful to the husband of your youth. The phrase “the husband of her youth” is used in Joel 1:8 to describe how God wanted the people of Judah to lament – lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. A woman or virgin painfully laments the death of the husband of her youth because of her deep love for him.

Be faithful to your spouse. Avoid schemes that will put your life and home on fire. “Behold, I have found only this [as a reason]: God made man upright and uncorrupted, but they [both men and women] have sought out many devices [for evil]” (Ecclesiastes 7:29 Amplified Bible). Rejoice in the wife (husband) of your youth.

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner, and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and was raised on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

PRAYER POINTS: Holy Spirit, help me to be faithful to my spouse. I shall rejoice in the wife  (husband) of my youth and not be treacherous. No strange woman shall destroy my home in Jesus’ name. My home shall not become a battleground; God’s peace shall continue to reign in my home. I pray that husbands or wives who have abandoned their spouses will repent and reconcile with them.

(For over 800 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).

T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org