Police Devotional
“It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house…It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.” (Proverbs 21:9, 19)
Solomon, one of King David’s sons, wrote the book of Proverbs. He was known for wisdom. However, when it came to marriage, Solomon’s wisdom was a little lacking—he had 700 wives. Although multiple marriages were accepted in the culture back then, they weren’t biblical or very smart. The Bible clearly states, “…let every man have his own wife [singular], and let every woman have her own husband [singular].” (1 Corinthians 7:2)
Currently, polygamy is illegal in the U.S. That law may change, too, since Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, Kagan, Kennedy, and Sotomayor threw out God’s standard for marriage with the same-sex marriage decision. Any approach to marriage outside of God’s way is an invitation to trouble—His way of marriage is one man and one woman. Problems happen when people don’t do things God’s way.
With his multiple marriages—even though they weren’t God’s will—it can be said that Solomon knew more about marriage and domestic trouble than most men. How could he not with seven hundred wives? These two verses are about marriage. They both talk about what to do when your wife is in a bad mood and wants to fight. They both give the same piece of advice: VACATE.
Most of the time, fights don’t start with blows; they start with words. Say two guys are arguing. They may end up fighting. First, they exchange words. Then they may exchange blows. When a woman is contentious and wants to fight, she usually starts with words, too. You may have learned on the job that in a domestic fight a woman’s favorite weapon is often her mouth. She is usually smaller and weaker than the man, but she knows how to hurt him with words. When a woman starts to use her mouth as a weapon, it’s time for the man to take a walk and cool off—that’s Bible.
Our scripture also says that if the woman wants to fight, it’s time for the man to take a walk, not for him to make the woman take a walk. Did you ever get a call to a domestic fight to find out that it’s just an argument? Then after you’ve heard both sides, decide that they should part for a little while, and tell him to take a walk, only to hear him whine, “Why do I have to go? Why can’t she go?” If you ever get a call like that, you could say this to him, “Because you’re the man, and Proverbs 21:9 says that the man should be the one who takes a walk.”
I Peter 3:7 tells husbands to be “giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel.” Because women are generally smaller and weaker, men are to treat them with respect. That’s why men should open doors for ladies (how often do you see that?) and why boys don’t hit girls. Nowadays, though, many men don’t respect God or His Word, so they don’t respect women. They don’t respect them enough to marry them, and they don’t respect them enough not to assault them. How often do you get calls of “a female assaulted by her child’s father?” Find out why he hit her. See if it wasn’t because of something she said. Marriage is an institution that God ordained, and it should be done God’s way.
God’s Word is so wonderful and enlightening. Best of all, it tells us how to be sure of heaven when we die. If you want to see that, please click “How do I go to Heaven?” on the sidebar to the right.
Brian Miller 7/22/2015
Cleveland Baptist Church | 4431 Tiedeman Road | Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 | 216-671-2822