Bible Studies

Isaiah 4:1 “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 thy name, to take away our reproach.”

Back from the Hurricane, and God will have me send this out! A few weeks ago as I started reading the Word of God, God immediately had me read this verse and I could go no further. I just couldn’t get past it. This verse is very true in the sense that marriage has become less like a relationship and has become a light thing. We see everywhere how the sanctity of marriage is mocked and downright attacked.

However, the Lord showed me something else. The real reason He had me read this, and wouldn’t let me pass it by, was the reminder that this is how many people are with Him!

So few people realize just how our relationship with God, is like a Marriage! However, marriage is exactly how the Lord sees it. This is why so very often the Word of God explains that when the Israelites sinned against the Lord and started to serve other gods, He said they were committing adultery and were whoring around:

Exodus 34:16 “And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.”
Judges 2:17 “And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so.”

There are so many verses in the Word of God that explain how the Lord views our relationship with Him as a marriage. However, the clearest and most to-the-point verses we see in the Word on this, is Ephesians 5:22-32, which says

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 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, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies, He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

There are so many things packed into those verses. We may very well study that soon if God would have it. Yet to quickly look at them, we are reminded of how the wife’s relationship to the husband is like the church’s relationship to Christ Jesus. Then we are also reminded that the husband’s relationship to the wife, is like Christ’s relationship to the church! We will try to have another study on this soon, God Willing, as there is much to say on all that!

Going back to today’s verse however, we must realize how our relationship with God is like a marriage . . . and God shows us in today’s verse something very important.

It is VERY true, that today we have so many people with false conversions to Christianity, and so many people are walking in “Fake” Christianity. People often claim the name “Christian” for reasons such as in some areas it’s a popular fad to call yourself a Christian, or they believe calling themselves a Christian will make them look good, or will somehow get them into heaven. This is what the Word is saying in today’s verse. In those days, seven women, or multiple people, will take hold of one man, or take hold of God, and say to Him “We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.”

View that, in light of your relationship with God Almighty. Many go to God and claim Christianity to take away their reproach. Many claim the name of Christ to make themselves feel better about themselves. However, many tell God that they will eat their own bread and wear their own clothes. They want nothing to do with God, except for calling themselves a Christian.

People go to God and tell Him they want to eat their own bread instead of eating the Bread of Life, the Word of God for their daily bread. They want to listen to their own words and obey their own words instead of God’s Word.

People go to God and tell Him they want to wear their own clothes. They don’t want to put on the garment of Praise that God gives them, when they are feeling heaviness and depression. They don’t want to adorn themselves with the beauty of holiness. They don’t want to put on the robe of righteousness. They don’t want to put on the white raiment that the Lord would give to them. They tell God they don’t want to “adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.” (Titus 2:10)

Today’s verse describes the widespread issue of how people are doing their own will instead of God’s Will. People claim to be Christians, yet tell God that they will do their own thing, live their own lives, do what they want, instead of obeying God. This is the same thing as a wife that tells a man “Let me marry you. I’ll live my own life, do my own thing, eat my own food and wear my own clothes. We won’t have anything to do with each other except that I’ll have your last name so that people will see I’m married and not think I’m an old maid!”

This is what people are doing to God – and it’s time to stop playing games with God. It’s time to stop being lazy, stop giving God excuses for our disobedience, and start putting God FIRST in our lives instead of ourselves and even our own families: parents, husbands, wives, and children.

It’s time to analyze your walk with God. Analyze your life right now. Do you put yourself or others before God? When God wants you to do something, do you complain and excuse yourself? Do you tell God you have a headache and can’t do it? Do you tell God you have to do this or that other thing first? Do you tell God that you sinned in anger because your emotions are shot (thereby excusing yourself instead of repenting)? After a long, hard day if God tells you to kneel down and spend time in prayer, do you tell God that you’re too tired and you’ll to it tomorrow or after you relax a while? If God wakes you up in the middle of the night, and tells you to pray, do you turn back over and basically tell God “not now, I’m sleeping?” When God says in His Word to do good to those who do wrong to you, do you tell God No because of what they did to you? If God wants you to say something to someone, do you tell Him that you’re too nervous or embarrassed?

The list could go on and on. But you really need to put yourself in check, EVERY SINGLE DAY! Are you actually married to God (marriage is a commitment, two becoming one and in God’s case: 1 Corinthians 6:17)? Or do you not consider Numbers 15:39 which says “…that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring.” Seeking after your own heart, and your own eyes—your own will instead of God’s—is once again as we said at the start, to go a whoring and committing adultery against God Himself.

If you’ve checked yourself and found yourself guilty of those things, then don’t let the devil tell you that you might as well give up and not bother, since you’re guilty. Instead, rekindle your relationship with God, fall in love with God once again. As the tradition is with regular marriage, “Renew your vows” with your marriage with God. God says to the church that has lost their first love, in Revelation 2:5 “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works;…” Don’t stay down, but repent to God, and start over. Renew your love with God. Do the things you did that kindled your love of God in the beginning. Spend time in prayer . . . and LISTEN to God instead of just talk. A relationship cannot last if there is no communication between BOTH! It is also a tragedy if you do not even know the voice of God . . . so learn to discern His Voice!

I pray that all of you are doing excellent and have stayed in the Word of God every day. I know these Bible Studies that once were daily have all but disappeared. However if God would have it I will work on these again. Keep me in your prayers about it, that God enables and renews these studies. I pray that God Blesses each of you. God Willing, I will see you soon!

Love always in Christ,
Your friend forever,
And brother,
Michael

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Psalm 125: 1 “They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.”

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