MY SISTER, MY SPOUSE

• Messages sorted by:[ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]

My book keeping doesn't show that I have posted this before.  If I have,
please forgive.  :-)

                        MY SISTER, MY SPOUSE

     Four  times in the Song, Solomon refers to his  Beloved  as "My Sister,
My Spouse."

     Most of us know that in Bible times, an "Engagement" was as binding as
the "Wedding", and couples were often spoken of as being a spouse before they
came together as husband and wife.

     Song  of  Solomon 4:9 Thou hast ravished  my  heart,  my sister, [my]
spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of  thine eyes, with one chain
of thy neck.   

     Song  of  Solomon  4:10 How fair is thy  love,  my  sister, [my] spouse!
how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than
all spices! 

     Song  of  Solomon 4:12 A garden enclosed [is]  my  sister, [my] spouse;
a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. 

     Song  of  Solomon  5:1  I am come  into  my  garden,  my sister,  [my]
 spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my  spice;  I have eaten my honeycomb
with my honey; I have drunk my wine with  my  milk:  eat, O friends; drink,
yea,  drink  abundantly,  O beloved. 

     In our modern "rush-a-day" world, we might have a  tendency to forget
some important principles of the marriage  relationship.  

     While  we were serving as Pastors (and we did for over  30 years) we had
ample opportunity to observe differences in the way spouses treated one
another while in the Church house-- compared to  how  they did after they
left and went their way.   Often  times there was a BIG difference.

     To combat the trend, I would often use an illustration,  and tell the
folks that my wife, whom I called "Sister" while in public, was  NO  LESS  my
"sister" when we got safely  within  our  four walls.

     Too  many times, when the door is locked for the  night,  a man  becomes
a bruit beast, or a woman becomes a shrew,  and  a battle  is  joined.
 Often, the children become the  confused  audience.  "These things ought not
so to be."

     Sometimes,  in times of stress, we tend to lose sight of  the fact  that
God's Word has something to say about the most  sacred relationship we humans
can have. 

     Colossians  3:19 Husbands, love [your] wives, and  be  not bitter
against them. 

     I  Peter  3:7  Likewise, ye  husbands,  dwell  with  [them] according to
knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as
being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.