Domestic Violence

It’s another beautiful day with another beautiful opportunity to share the truth of the word of God. It’s been a while since I last shared a post on this blog and I must apologize for this. I have been a little bit unmotivated lately and I sincerely crave your prayers. Nothing too serious, I am just a little overwhelmed.

Well with my apology tendered I should then go ahead and be God’s spokesperson to a heart needing a word from Him today. And I want to say something about domestic violence. Despite the fact that I have been unmotivated the Lord has been laying it on my heart to share a word about the issue of domestic violence.

Domestic violence has been a trending topic lastly on all social media platforms and even in the news in my country. There is been a recent case of wife been beaten to death by her husband and it’s not a case in isolation. It is gradually becoming a one too many occurrence of very extreme case of domestic violence that has ultimately led to death.

One of the spouses dies and the other is also just as good as dead just because they both have not been able to master the act of controlling their emotions and exercising restrain when necessary. In situations like this the woman who most likely is the one that dies becomes the victim while the husband is the beast. This is just so natural because the man holds the strength of power, he carries the muscles. But we almost always forget that the wife carries the tongue and even in some cases carries some hidden venom that kills faster than the strength of the muscle. So in my submission to you in this post I will not be one sided, neither will I apportion blame. But by the help of the Holy Spirit we will be looking at this issue from a balanced point of view. 

Malachi 2:13-16

Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accept them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, “Why?”It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth; because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. 

Has not the Lord, made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

"I hate divorce, says the Lord God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the Lord Almighty. 

So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.

In the course of writing the book Marriage: God’s Rules of Engagement, I came across one hidden truth about marriage in Ephesians 5:22-31, Colossians 3:18-19 and 1 Peter 3:1-7 and this truth is that God in dealing with the issue of marriage begins with the wife. God instruction concerning marriage is first issued to the wife. Why the wife first and not the husband, who God says is the head of the home? It is because the success or failure of any marriage resides in the ability and wisdom of the wife. A wife is the heart of every marriage is what we like to say. When the heart is not functioning well the whole body is in trouble. If the heart does not recover the body dies. This is exactly what happens to marriage. If the wife begins to misbehave then that marriage is dancing swiftly to the rocks. If this wife is not awakened from her slumber her marriage dies.

Before I direct my writing to the man in marriage I will like to share a few passages from the Bible for the wives to consider so they know that there are consequences to their actions whether good or bad. As a woman you need to understand that you cannot sow the seed of hate and expect to reap love. When you want to be treated as a queen then you must endeavor to treat your husband like a king. Life is about cause and effect. 

Proverbs 21:9, 19

Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. 

Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife. 

These two passages are meant to be a food for thought for all women; we need to personally assess ourselves to know what kind of a wife we are. Are we the manipulative wives, the quarrelsome wife, the wise wife or the wife of noble character? Genesis 2:18 states clearly the reason why God made the woman; our primary reason for being in existence is to be a suitable helper to our husbands. As a wife are you fulfilling that purpose? 

Proverbs 21:23

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.

Proverbs 18:21

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruits. 

Proverbs 18:2, 6

A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.

A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites beating. 

Proverbs 14:3

A fool’s talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect him. 

Like I mentioned earlier, life is about cause and effect. When you sow a seed you must be ready to reap its harvest. When as a wife you do not learn to sow wisely then you should be ready to reap foolishly. Ecclesiastes 3:7 says there is a time to be silent and a time to speak. Those who have applied this quote wisely in their homes are reaping the harvest of peace and love.

In marriage a woman fights her battles on her knees with God and not reflexing muscles with a husband you cannot match strength for strength. There is nothing your husband is bringing your way that you and God cannot handle. When the wife has a deep rooted relationship with God and she is sincerely following the leading of the Holy Spirit on the affairs of her home she can never be subjected to any humiliation by any man in the name of husband. If God cannot change your husband’s heart to love and care for you like he should, then the Lord will call the husband home and you will be free from the marriage covenant while He hands you over to a man who can love you like the Lord will want him to. God did it before for Abigail and it is at His discretion to do it again if the need arises.

If you as a wife do what you are supposed to do as a wife, doing it to please God, then you can be sure that peace beyond measure will reign in your home and even your husband will call you blessed.With this said, I then want to address the men.

In Malachi 2:13 God, addressing the men, said they weep and wail because He no longer pays attention to their offerings and does not accept their sacrifices with pleasure mainly because they have broken faith with the wife of their youth; the wife of their marriage covenant. Men who don’t treat their wives right don’t have to wait till they get to hell before they are punished. They start to get the response of their deeds while still on earth. I am sorry if I sound hard, but that’s the truth of the Bible. 1 Peter 3:7 says be considerate with your wife and treat her with respect so that nothing will hinder your prayers. So a man who does not treat his wife as the Bible says he should is at the danger of having his prayers hindered.

Then Malachi 2:16 God says He hates a man covering himself with violence as with his covering. This is not just any violence that God is speaking of, it is violence against your wife; the wife of your marriage covenant. The Bible says who can stand the wrath of God. If God says He hates a thing and you do it, then you invite His wrath. When that God comes, can you withstand it?

So many men have nosedived from grace to grass, from abundance to absolute lack and poverty owing to the way and manner in which they treat their wives. They cry wolf and blame it on household witches; it is no household witch, it is the Lord who stands as a witness between you and the wife of your youth that has refused to hear your cry for help and thrown your offerings back at your face. He will not tolerate any man treating His precious being violently. Change your ways and see how things will turn around in your favour.

If as a husband you abuse your wife and you are violent towards her, true she cannot match your strength, but there is someone who handles the case on her behalf whose strength you cannot comprehend. She might appear a weaker one to you and a ready prey for your outburst, but when she begins to pray I’ll advise you start to beg for forgiveness and retrace your steps because what will be the after effect of that prayer you cannot match it in any way. No matter how masculine and overbearing a husband is, he cannot match the powers of a praying wife. He might appear to win in the physical, but the real war is in the spiritual. When your wife has secured victory spiritual she has ultimately won even in the physical. It’s just the manifestation that comes afterwards.

Marriage is not a battle field, it is a land flowing with milk and honey where God has brought the man and his wife together as one people combining strength to wage war against the various challenges of their lives. Marriage is not for the husband and wife to battle against each other, but to combine forces against external forcing threatening their union. We need to always be reminded of this because it is based on this truth that God will demand an account from us on how we have performed on the assignment He has placed on our lives. In everything in life which includes marriage there is an effect for every cause, and there is a cause for every effect. Sow the right seeds so that you can reap good harvest. May the Lord bless our homes.