Beware! God will judge “Family breakers” – Part 4

In our last issue the importance of family was the focal point. It is important because of its divine origin and God expects us to reflect His attributes such as love, holiness, and oneness through the family. Also, He expects us to carry on the eternal purposes through generations.
One of the important divine purposes of marriage is to have ‘godly seed’. God warns Israel against divorce in the book of Malachi. “And did not he make one? ……..And why one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the LORD, the God of Israel, said that he hates putting away:” (Mala. 2:15-16). Paul also has considered same reason, and exhorts saints to refrain from separation and divorce in 1Cor.7:12-
14. “…If any brother has a wife that believes not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which has a husband that believes not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean, but now are they holy.” Jesus Christ warned against divorce (Mat.19:6).The number one family killer is ‘hardness of heart’. That’s terrible!

Does God recognize All marriages?

This is a natural question arising out of our previous discussions. How can a family of unbelieving couple carry out God’s eternal purposes? It is true that they cannot pass on any spiritual legacy to the succeeding generations.
But all the marriages, whether it is of believers or unbelievers, God honors because it is He who began the institution of marriage. Moreover God established families for a healthy, stable and secure society. So God honors all marriages. Hebrew writer makes it clear and warns those who try to destroy the families.
“Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” Heb.13:4
Some tell us that God does not recognize ALL marriages! This view is contrary to the God’s word. In the Bible we read God recognized their marriage whether the persons concerned are godly or ungodly. Here are some examples:
“and Cain knew his wife”( Gen.4:17) Where is Sara your wife? (Gen. 18:9)
“Angels hastened Lot saying, arise take thy wife and thy two daughters” (Gen. 19:15) “Felix came with his wife Drusilla” Acts 24:24
“Aquila…with his wife Priscilla” Acts 18:2
These examples vividly suggest that God recognizes marriages irrespective of believers’ and unbelievers’.
Both Paul and Peter exhort the saints not to depart from an unbelieving partner but should remain together, in faithfulness, manifesting Christ like nature. (1Peter 3:1-6; 1 Cor.7:11-12)

God will Punish the Family breakers

From the beginning of human history, Satan attacks family with the sole intention of frustrating the purposes of God. In spite of human failure, sovereign God carried out his purposes through families. During the time of Noah, family system was completely broken down. Sons of God married daughters of men and the unholy alliances resulted in the birth of giants. God’s judgment fell upon that wicked generation but Noah’s family found grace in the sight of the Lord. God intended to carry out His purposes through them. But after a few generations, there was failure. Then, God called and separated Abraham and his generation to continue with His purposes. Around the same time, unnatural relationship completely broke down family system in Sodom, Gomorrah and neighboring cities. Fire from heaven destroyed those cities. Dead Sea that lies at the lowest part of the crust of the earth and nearly at the centre of earth, is a warning signal for family breakers. It is believed that Sodom and Gomorrah was located in that region.
As I write these lines Ireland became the first country that legalized same sex marriage by a popular vote. This is a prophetic fulfillment; as it was in the days of Noah and Lot so shall be also in the days of the Son of man. (Luke.17:26,28-29). God who judged in the past will also judge the present world for their immorality. Many of the modern diseases like AIDS and HIV are God’s judgment to those who are unfaithful in family life (Rom 1:18,27; 2:5). They will receive in “themselves that recompense of their error which was fitting”.

Why God destroyed Canaanite Nations?

Prior to the arrival of Israelites into the land of Canaan, it was occupied by seven Canaanite nations such as Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. They were greater and mightier than Israelites. Deut.7:1-2
Why did God remove those seven Canaanite Nations and replaced them with the nation of Israel? How can we justify this act of God? In that process of replacement is it not God encouraged ‘wars’.? Does the God of Bible love war? We can answer these questions reasonably by a careful study of the scriptures.

Sexual immorality

In Leviticus 18 Lord gave Israel a clear instruction to keep away from the ordinances and practices of the land and to walk in the ordinances and statutes of the Lord. Moral degradation, unnatural passion and broken families were the hall mark of that pagan culture. Lord instructed His people to abstain from any form of association with such culture.
Lord gave the inhabitants of Canaan more than four hundred years to repent and turn to the only true God. But they did not and their iniquities increased day after day. (Gen.15:17). When the iniquities of the Amorites became full, God decided to remove the perverted generation completely from the face of the earth, so as to protect the rest of the humanity from moral degradation.
Archeologists also confirm the moral degradation of the people of that time as depicted in Leviticus18. Wars of Israel *
The so called ‘wars’ of Israel in taking over the promised land were not wars at all in the ordinary sense of that terms. For instance Israel never fought in Jericho to capture the city and there is no record of any loss of life in Israelites armies at Jericho. Except the disaster at Ai, where thirty six men lost their life wholly due to the sin of Achan ( Josh.7) we do not read any causality in the army of Israel during the entire expedition of capturing the promised land by Joshua. Nothing comparable to this exists in all the long history of the ordinary wars between the nations; “for they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them” (Ps.44:3).

God’s “surgical operation”

When God diagnosed a serious malignancy on the “body of human race”; He decided to remove the “tumor” with extreme precision so that it should not spread to the neighboring nations. Israel was only a ‘surgical instrument’ in the hands of God to carry out the operation, in order to preserve the rest of the humanity.
From the foregoing facts discussed, it is clear to conclude that family is very important in God’s Plan and He resists those who fail to maintain holiness within the family. The Law of the land may undergo changes but as God’s children we should abide in the unchanging Law of the Lord and maintain the sanctity of our family. Let’s not forget that our God is a consuming fire( Heb 12:29)