The Bible says in Hosea 1:1-3, “The word of
the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in
the days of Uzziah, Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days
of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.[2]
The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go,
take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom,
departing from the LORD.[3] So he went and took
Gomer the daughter of Diblaim;
which conceived, and bare him a son.” We know why God told Hosea
to take “wife of whoredoms
and children of whoredoms.” It was to have a symbolic meaning for the nation of
But before a Christian man or a
Christian woman must deal with the challenges of marriage, they must find the
person that they are going to marry. God wants most people to be married. There
are a few people that God will lead to not be married, and you might be one of
them; but for most people it will be the will of God that they be married.
Usually, a woman is not complete without a man, and a man is not complete
without a woman. But you cannot marry just anyone. You must marry the right
person for you. Every believer who is a single adult needs to know that God has
a very clear set of principles to be understood and practiced by every believer
to guarantee that they will meet the exact person that God wants them to marry.
One of the most important of those principles is found right here in Hosea
chapter one. God told Hosea whom to marry. God had a will and He revealed His
will to Hosea. The same is true for every believer. You must desire God’s will,
you must seek God’s will, and you must be surrendered to God’s will in order to
find that person that God created for you.
The first spiritual principle as you
seek your soul-mate is to be surrendered to God’s will.
The second spiritual principle is to seek a like-minded Christian who loves
Jesus. As it says in Second Corinthians 6:14-17, “Be ye not
unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion
hath light with darkness?[15] And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?[16]
And what agreement hath the
The third spiritual principle is to
make finding your soul-mate the object of serious and faithful prayer. This
might need to be the object of your prayer for years, because finding the right
mate is not a simple task; and if it is done correctly, the process will be on
God’s timeline and not yours. Jesus said in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto
you.”
Yes, He will give what we ask, but He will not necessarily give as soon as we
wish. That is why we pray for His will to be done. God not only has a will
concerning whom we marry, but He also has a time. To wait on His choice means
we must also wait on His time. The worse things that
happens to some people is to marry the wrong person. It will be worth the wait.
One of the great examples of true love
in the Bible has to do with how Isaac and Rebekah
came together. It is very important to look at the principles found in that
situation so that any Christian who is looking for a soul-mate will make sure
to apply the same principles to his or her own search.
The coming to gether of Isaac and Rebekah
is found in Genesis chapter 24. The Bible says in Genesis 24:1-4, “And Abraham
was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all
things.[2] And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that
ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:[3]
And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the
earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of
the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:[4] But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a
wife unto my son Isaac.” In the search for a wife for Isaac we initially see
Abraham involved instead of Isaac. Of course, this was a much different culture
in a much different time; but the principle should be considered. When most
young adults get married, they are young. As a matter of fact it is not
uncommon to hear people say of their first marriage something like this, “I was
so young that I did not know what I was doing, and I made an unwise choice.” I
am not saying that a young adult should give their choice over to someone else
to make for them, but I am saying that a young adult should seriously consider
any warnings or advice that is given to them by an older adult that they trust.
Before being carried too far away by your emotions, a parent or grandparent or
aunt or uncle who cares about you may have some observations that you need to
consider about this other person. We are only talking about the rest of your
life. We are only talking about the most important decision that you will make
aside from accepting Jesus as Savior. The final decision is yours, but be wise
enough to at least listen to counsel about it.
When Abraham sent the servant to look
for a wife for Isaac, Abraham made the servant swear by “the God of
heaven, and the God of the earth.” Abraham recognized that just as God
rules heaven by His Almighty power, God also wants to rule on earth. But God’s
rule on earth that has to do with believers requires
that believers follow certain guidelines in order to be led of the Lord. God
has given us choices. We need to know how to avoid the pitfalls of life so that
we can make the best choices to fulfill God’s will and to find the most
fulfilled life possible for us on this earth. Abraham knew that one of the
great spiritual principles concerning whom you should marry has to do with
their spiritual condition. How wise he was. He said, “that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the
Canaanites.” The Canaanites were heathen. They did not know nor serve the
great God of gods. It would have been a disaster not only for Isaac, but for
the whole family, if he had married a heathen. How many Christians in our
country married a heathen, and then they wonder why their marriage did not work
out?
The Bible says in Genesis 24:12-16, “And he said,
O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day,
and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.[13]
Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the
city come out to draw water:[14] And let it come to pass, that the
damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may
drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the
same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I
know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.[15]
And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel,
son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor,
Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.[16] And the
damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and
she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.”
There are two major points that can be made about finding the person that God
wants you to marry. The first has to do with prayer. Abraham’s servant
undoubtedly knew that it was a daunting task to be assigned to find a wife for
Isaac. He did what every believer should do: he prayed. If you are a single
adult, I hope you follow this example and pray to God Jesus that He would lead
you to the person that He has prepared for you to marry. God answers prayer,
and He especially answers this prayer. Before the servant
even finished praying, up walked Rebekah to the well.
That is exactly how God answers such a prayer: He will bring the man and the
woman together. It will not be a coincidence. It will be the hand of God
bringing a man and a woman together in the will of God, and by the grace of
God. That is how Adam got his wife. Concerning Adam and Eve, the Bible says in
Genesis 2:21-22, “And the LORD God caused a
deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and
closed up the flesh instead thereof;[22] And
the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought
her unto the man.” If you are surrendered
to God’s will, if you are determined not to choose an unbeliever, if you listen
to sound advice, and if you pray about it, then God will bring His choice for
you across your path.
There is one more important point to
make about Isaac and Rebekah and their coming
together as husband and wife. They had true love for each other. It says in
Genesis 24:58-67, “And they called Rebekah, and said unto
her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.[59] And they
sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and
Abraham's servant, and his men.[60] And they blessed Rebekah,
and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of
millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.[61]
And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode
upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah,
and went his way.[62] And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country.[63]
And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up
his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.[64] And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she
lighted off the camel.[65] For she had said unto the servant, What man
is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the
servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail,
and covered herself.[66] And the servant told Isaac all things that he
had done.[67] And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and
took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he
loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.”
Notice the phrase in verse 67, “and he loved
her.” You will not find greater love than when
you find God’s choice for you because God is love. All true love comes from
God. When God brings two people together, He gives each one love for the other.
The mistake that some people make is that they become fixated on someone, but
they do not perceive that the other person is just going along with things, but
does not really love them in return. If that person is God’s choice, then they
will you as much as you love them. If you make the mistake of marrying someone
who does not love you, then they will eventually meet someone whom they do
love.
Isaac and Rebekah’s
love for each other lasted. Even when they tried to hide it, they could not. It
says in Genesis 26:6-9, “And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:[7]
And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister:
for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place
should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to
look upon.[8] And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time,
that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at
a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah
his wife.[9] And Abimelech called Isaac,
and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst
thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because
I said, Lest I die for her.” The word that is translated
“sporting” comes from a word that means “to laugh” or “to play.” In other words
they were enjoying each other’s presence in a romantically playful way that
made it obvious to Abimelech that they were in love
with each other as husbands and wives should be. This leads to another subject:
once a man and a woman who loves each other get married, how do they retain
that love as the years go by? We will have to leave that subject to another
sermon. One thing is for sure, it will a lot easier to
get there if you start right by finding God’s choice for you.
As you look for the love of your life,
remember that there is a spiritual symbolism to it all. Jesus searched for you
when you were a lost soul, and then when He found you and saved you, you became
complete in Him.
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Copyright; 2014 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved