FACTORS INFLUENCING HOUSEHOLD SALVATION (3)

• As we continually feed on the Lord—who is the Word of God and the Bread of Life—we draw our very existence from Him. His life becomes our life. Fear of death loses its grip. The grave cannot hold us captive. Sickness and disease are driven far from our dwelling, and poverty finds no place in our courtyard (Deuteronomy 8:1–3; Matthew 4:1–4; Luke 4:1–4; John 6:48–51, 57–58).

• When we embrace and apply the lessons from the twelve sons of Jacob, we find hope even for the most broken of families. These truths also hold the power to bring genuine restoration to those who seem like incorrigible backsliders, reminding us that God’s grace can redeem any story. In our world today—and sadly, even within the church—many couples are legally married but not happily married. Such unions often face one of two outcomes: they either end in divorce, or, if the couple chooses to remain under the same roof, they live as intimate strangers—always together, yet forever apart.

• In such a marriage, each partner becomes a solo performer, living life on separate stages. A true duet—a harmony of hearts — is either forbidden, accidental, or carefully staged to create false impressions. As the saying goes, those who are truly happy are not always together, and those who are always together are not always truly happy.

• Being legally married to one woman yet happily married to another finds its roots in the family of the patriarch Jacob—the third in the triumvirate of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Though these heroes of faith once dwelt in the same tents, the dynamics of their marriages were markedly different, revealing lessons about love, covenant, and human frailty (Hebrews 11:8-9).

• No two marriages are alike because each marriage is shaped by the distinct personalities of those within it. Take Abraham, the first of the patriarchs. He began as a monogamist, faithfully united to Sarah. Yet ten years after entering the promised land, Sarah—burdened by barrenness—gave Hagar to Abraham as a second wife (Genesis 16:1–6). Sarah and Hagar were not the only women in Abraham’s story. After Sarah’s death, Abraham took other concubines, and among them, Keturah was elevated to the position of wife (Genesis 25:1–6, 1 Chronicles 1:28-33).

• As for Isaac, the second in line of the patriarchs, he remained monogamously married to Rebekah throughout his life. After her death, he chose to remain a widower until his passing. Isaac’s marriage could be described as a union made in heaven and lived out faithfully on earth. Like Adam and Eve, there was no dating or prolonged courtship; they were married the day they met, and their covenant endured for the rest of their lives.

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