Week 3, Proverbs 31:11 and 12

I was discussing this lesson with some of the ladies at church tonight and was expressing to them how horrible this one went. I felt it was doomed from the beginning due to the silence of everyone. Then it was interruption after interruption, people coming in and out, strangers coming to the door, and people getting up to leave before I could finish explaining what we would do this week. Being a bundle of nerves, having social anxieties, wanting everything to stay on track, and having a fear of public speaking all of this was extremely frightening and was a huge distraction (I guess having the attention span of a 4 year old doesn't help either) - Man. I have some issues huh? :/ (thanks dad - most of those come from him). Needless to say, I lost all hope in the lesson and almost cried all the way home. Hopefully while writing this all down, someone will get something out of it. I'm praying (and I hope you do as well) that this Wednesday will go MUCH better.

To get started, this lesson was on verses 11 and 12. They speak of being a good wife. I don't have the most experience in this field, but I do have Christ in the center of my marriage and I feel that this is enough reason for me to teach on the subject. That is our goal after all - Christ should be in your relationship BEFORE you get married (dealing with being equally yoked - check out II Corinthians 6:14), and should remain in the center of that marriage until "death do you part". People's commentary on the verse from II Corinthians gives plenty of reasoning on the process of being equally yoked and what it means.

"2 Co 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. The figure is drawn from the prohibition of De 22:10 Le 19:19. The meaning is that Christians are not to pair off with unbelievers. All intimate associations are forbidden. The primary reference is to intermarriage and to association in heathen festivals. All close fellowship with unbelievers is included. Saints should choose Christian alliances and associations. NOTE ON MIXED MARRIAGES.--"The unequal yoking" covers the question of marriage between Christians and irreligious persons. The whole spirit of the Bible is against the practice. Marriages of the "sons of God" with the "daughters of men" caused the sins which brought on the Flood (Ge 6:1-7). Alien marriages were forbidden to Israel (Ex 34:16 De 7:3,4); this was the pit into which Samson fell (Jud 14:3); to this cause was due the fall of Solomon (1Ki 11:1-10); Ezra made the Jews put away alien wives (Ezr 9:10), and in the discussion of the subject in 1 Corinthians 7, the whole implication is that intermarriage with unbelievers was out of the question. The widow is only allowed to marry a Christian (1Co 7:39)."

When I taught the lesson, I used Abigail and David as the married couple to look at as a model couple. Mainly Abigail as the model wife. She was strategic, met David's requests, emphasized the positives of David's character, reminded David of his values, and realized the effect his decisions would have on his future. The woman knew how to calm the man down and rationalize with him. She was a very good communicator. She could tell you exactly what you needed to hear to build up your ego while giving advice and her opinion at the same time. Most of us get just as agitated as the person we are dealing with who is angry in the first place. David was running on a short fuse due to Nabal's sarcasm and he was ready to kill not only Nabal, but all of the men that worked for him. Abigail brought out the best in David. They worked well together and were complimentary to one another. We should be that way with our spouse. It shouldn't be all one-sided. You should make decisions together, pray together, work well together, etc.

Another couple that I should have mentioned (and didn't realize it until this morning) was Aquila and Priscilla from the New Testament. They were friends and supporters of the apostle Paul. If you want to see a couple who really compliments one another while keeping God in the center of their marriage, check them out. They worked together, served the Lord together, and brought out the best in one another. I'd love to get into them more but this post is already getting long. Maybe we will have the opportunity to go through them in detail while we are going into another verse. Their story can be found in Acts 18. Paul brings them up again in Romans, I Corinthians, and I Timothy.

I apologize for the scattered thoughts of this post. I'll admit, I waited too long and crammed a lot of information for this one lesson and it did get jumbled up. That's why there was no heads up for what were doing.

This week (June 5th) we will be studying verse 13 and focusing on Lydia from the New Testament. Ladies who come to class, bring in your favorite thing to wear. I pray that you all have a good week.