Does God choose your spouse or do you with God's guidance?

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JohnDB

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Jan 16, 2021
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#81
Does the Pentateuch specify this about foreign brides?
She was Naomi's widowed daughter in law...
By Westernized standards she is nothing anymore. Also by ANE standards as well. Ruth's sister stayed behind for good reasons.
Ruth was considered and treated as Goyim by most people except Boaz.
 

presidente

Senior Member
May 29, 2013
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#82
good question ....where was Rachel?
If it was me and my intended had got married to my sister I am not sure if I would have then married him as well!

or I would have had a talk with them and got them to do an annulment since they married under false pretences. Unfortunately Jacobs twin brother Esau was already married...Rachel could have matchmaked him with Leah...
That didn't stop Esau from marrying an Ishmaelite.
 

presidente

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#83
She was Naomi's widowed daughter in law...
By Westernized standards she is nothing anymore. Also by ANE standards as well. Ruth's sister stayed behind for good reasons.
Ruth was considered and treated as Goyim by most people except Boaz.
Boaz inherited the property by marrying Ruth, not Naomi. Technically, I suppose he could have married Naomi. If she had gotten a husband really quick, he could have gotten the land instead of Boaz. She was out of child-bearing years so it did not make sense as a way of preserving the estate across generations, unless there were a miraculous birth. If Ruth's sister-in-law had showed up and married someone in her husband's clan, the property would have had to have been divided up further. I suppose they could have handled all those scenarios had they happened after Ruth married Boaz.
 

Amanuensis

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Jun 12, 2021
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#84
Ruth was considered and treated as Goyim by most people except Boaz.
I recently studied Ruth and discovered that the text declares very clearly that she was praised and respected and had a noble reputation for how she had decided to join Israel and help her mother in law.

There is no hint of prejudice toward her from anyone only praise and acceptance. And Boaz said she could have had her pick of the young men and yet she chose to focus on the goel of Naomi's family which made her even more noble.

All this is clearly stated in the text and we have no authority to interject racism or prejudice toward Ruth based on other stories or other books of the bible that don't apply to this context. It is stated more than once how others viewed her, including the women of the town and they all praised her. So that is how we should view it and not make up ideas that the text does not say. She was honored and accepted as one of them. She was a true Israelite according to the Law's provision for accepting strangers into the fold.
 

Amanuensis

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Jun 12, 2021
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#85
We often hear single Christians say I'm waiting on the spouse God is preparing for me. What does this imply? A prearranged marriage by Christian elders? A spouse that seems to supernaturally fall into your life? Does this eliminate dating as in God will send that individual within His timing?

I personally believe it is a mix of God's sovereignty, free will of the human, and relationship between God and human.

Basically, date with God's guidance.
Paul made it very clear that for New Testament Christians (you and I) that marrying was a choice. There is not a hint in Paul's Teachings about it in 1 Cor 7 that one would be "turning down" God's choice for them or rejecting God's will for them if they chose to remain single and serve the Lord undistracted.

There is no such thing as "The One." You make them "The One" when you say your wedding vows.
So choose wisely. You don't get to say "They were not "The One" after you discover that they are one of the most miserable people anyone could ever possible live with.

It is funny how most people who are not happy with their mate think "Oh no.. they were not "the ONE" .... instead of "God gave me The One and now I have to learn to love them for who they are. Their ideas about God having "the one" just for them change so quickly when "The One" turns out to not be their fantasy.

In the end they discover that they were indeed choosing all along, and they are ready to choose all over again, but this time they will say that one was not the One but this one is the ONE. They don't learn, they keep believing in the fantasy that there is "The One" and they just have to pay closer attention to the miracles that bring them together unless they MISS THE ONE that was meant for them. It gets so stupid.

Stop believing in the fantasy about THE ONE and just make a wise choice.
Are they nice all the time?
Do they save money and stay debt free?
Are they smart and like to study the Bible?
Do they spend their lives serving Christ and helping others to know Him?
Things like that.
Notice the things you would find hard to live with and don't ignore them.
Things like filth, slobbiness, these are flashing signs of an inward condition.
Do they spout really dumb, unbelievable, irrational conspiracy theories? These types will make your home a house of horrors.
Are they too emotional about everything, good and bad? Could be a sign of BiPolar which will result in more negative emotion than postive once you live with them. And these things are rarely cured so no what you are signing up for, because you don't get to say they were not "the one" when you get tired of the emotional drain after 10 or 20 years of it just getting worse every year.
They with all their negative issues will be THE ONE when you make those wedding vows.

Read 1 Cor 7 again and believe that Paul meant exactly what he said even if it is not going to be a good Hallmark Movie.
 

Amanuensis

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Jun 12, 2021
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#86
Boaz inherited the property by marrying Ruth, not Naomi. Technically, I suppose he could have married Naomi. If she had gotten a husband really quick, he could have gotten the land instead of Boaz. She was out of child-bearing years so it did not make sense as a way of preserving the estate across generations, unless there were a miraculous birth. If Ruth's sister-in-law had showed up and married someone in her husband's clan, the property would have had to have been divided up further. I suppose they could have handled all those scenarios had they happened after Ruth married Boaz.
It is a merging of the responsibilities of the Goel and what seems like a Levirate marraige but isn't. The son of Boaz and Ruth was given to Naomi to preserve her inheritance.
 

Amanuensis

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Jun 12, 2021
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#87
Boaz inherited the property by marrying Ruth, not Naomi. Technically, I suppose he could have married Naomi. If she had gotten a husband really quick, he could have gotten the land instead of Boaz. She was out of child-bearing years so it did not make sense as a way of preserving the estate across generations, unless there were a miraculous birth. If Ruth's sister-in-law had showed up and married someone in her husband's clan, the property would have had to have been divided up further. I suppose they could have handled all those scenarios had they happened after Ruth married Boaz.
Boaz was only care taker of Naomi's property until his son with Ruth was old enough to take over and it became his son's property howbeit under Elimelech's name not Boaz. Boaz's son would become more like Naomi's son from the perspective of inheriting the property and it would be Elimelech's continuation in the land through Boaz and Ruth's son who would have taken on Elimelech's name as heir.
 

Amanuensis

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Jun 12, 2021
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#88
I believe God will supernaturally place the right person in our path somehow; it should not take too much effort/work of our own to find the spouse. It should be a clear sign. Some people do seek actively and I do believe God can approve those relationships as well.
Clear sign? Like what? They sent you a picture of a cat at the same time that you sent them one and neither had spoken to one another in several days? A MIRACLE!!! LOL. You prayed "God is this the one, please give me a sign" and then the doorbell rang and there they were? No that is not how it works. That is how people make really bad decisions to marry someone that turned out to be a bad match to live with but they are now obligated to stay with.

The Clear sign will be 1) Do they have the attributes and character traits you are looking for in a spouse.
2) Do they have issues that you would find intolerable in a spouse or a roommate?
If they have such intolerable issues, that is a clear SIGN not to marry.

The decision should be made solely on the basis of common sense wisdom and definable pros and cons. And time of at least 6 months should be given to get past the involuntary fantasies we have toward them and can see things clearly including some of their most serious flaws.

There are no supernatural signs. Why? Because Paul already made it clear that it is a choice. God is not going to pressure you or trick you into a lifelong relationship that is going to require a lot of attention from you, unless you sign up for that on your own with having full understanding of what you are getting into. God does not want you to blame him when you discover that you will have trouble in the flesh for this decision that YOU MADE.

A clear sign? Yes 1 Cor 7. That is your sign.
 

presidente

Senior Member
May 29, 2013
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#89
Paul made it very clear that for New Testament Christians (you and I) that marrying was a choice. There is not a hint in Paul's Teachings about it in 1 Cor 7 that one would be "turning down" God's choice for them or rejecting God's will for them if they chose to remain single and serve the Lord undistracted.

There is no such thing as "The One." You make them "The One" when you say your wedding vows.
So choose wisely. You don't get to say "They were not "The One" after you discover that they are one of the most miserable people anyone could ever possible live with.
I agree with the general sentiminent, but I would also like to point out that 'wedding vows' are a cultural construct, not a Biblical one per se. Jews had their own customs. Standing in front of a priest and a crowd reciting words intended to show to consent to marry with rings on the ring finger was a Roman practice, done with a pagan priest before the practice was Christianized. Biblical practice involved the groom giving a bride price for virgins and a custom of having a feast at some date and taking her home with her. By the time of the New Testament, Jews had a custom of having a kind of written contract and a bit more elaborate dowry customs, providing a dowry that stayed with the woman. Some Bible interpreters project post-exhilic dowry practices back into pre-exhilic times. That might be legitimate, or it might not.

Saying 'breaking wedding vows' is grounds for divorce, as I have read in discussions on marriage in online forums, can be inaccurate and misleading. For example, if a wife says, "I don't feel cherished enough. He isn't cherishing me like he said in the wedding vows' is not Biblical grounds for divorce. Maybe he needs to repent and there needs to be reconciliation. If she took the older Anglican wedding vows and does not obey, she needs to repent for violating her commitment and scripture, but that does not mean he is free to divorce her for breaking her vow. Breaking vows is one thing. Divorce is another. And many of the 'wedding vows' are not technically vows. I have heard the word 'swear' used in RCC vows, but Protestant vows are often in line with 'let your yea be yea and your nay, nay' since neither are compelled to swear and oath. But marriage is still binding based on what has been revealed, apart from our adding extra oaths on top of that.

It is funny how most people who are not happy with their mate think "Oh no.. they were not "the ONE" .... instead of "God gave me The One and now I have to learn to love them for who they are. Their ideas about God having "the one" just for them change so quickly when "The One" turns out to not be their fantasy.
I heard a Sunday school teacher, when I was a child, say that he believed for every man there is one woman, just like God made Eve for the one man Adam. Thinking about it later, he was wrong. Widows and widowers may remarry. Back in the day, a man might marry a 19-year-old who dies in childbirth. Then he marries a 23-year-old the next year. Both wives were alive at the same time. They couldn't both be 'the one.' And 'the two' just doesn't sound right.

But if you do pray for God to select the perfect woman for you and ask Him to bring her to you and show you who she is, and it happens, in a sense, you might think she is 'the one.' If someone prophesies over you, genuinely, that you are to be married when you have already planned to proposed, then you still have to be faithful, be a good husband (in my case as a man), etc. My wife still has to be a good wife. If God provides a spouse for you, and you mess it up, you shouldn't blame God for the other person not being 'the one.' (Some prophesied over us about us going to many places and ministering to many people, not explicitly about marriage, but it was implied we'd be together, after I'd prayed through on it and was convinced that this was the right decision and made arrangements to shop for a ring.)

In the end they discover that they were indeed choosing all along, and they are ready to choose all over again, but this time they will say that one was not the One but this one is the ONE. They don't learn, they keep believing in the fantasy that there is "The One" and they just have to pay closer attention to the miracles that bring them together unless they MISS THE ONE that was meant for them. It gets so stupid.
I suppose it depends on what they mean by 'the one.' If they mean 'the one' God has for them, then going from one person to another declaring each to be 'the one' is rather foolish.

Stop believing in the fantasy about THE ONE and just make a wise choice.
Are they nice all the time?
Do they save money and stay debt free?
Are they smart and like to study the Bible?
Do they spend their lives serving Christ and helping others to know Him?
Things like that.
Notice the things you would find hard to live with and don't ignore them.
Things like filth, slobbiness, these are flashing signs of an inward condition.
Do they spout really dumb, unbelievable, irrational conspiracy theories? These types will make your home a house of horrors.
Are they too emotional about everything, good and bad? Could be a sign of BiPolar which will result in more negative emotion than postive once you live with them. And these things are rarely cured so no what you are signing up for, because you don't get to say they were not "the one" when you get tired of the emotional drain after 10 or 20 years of it just getting worse every year.
They with all their negative issues will be THE ONE when you make those wedding vows.

Read 1 Cor 7 again and believe that Paul meant exactly what he said even if it is not going to be a good Hallmark Movie.
God can direct specifically through putting something on someone's heart, through the Spirit speaking, through dreams, through visions, through prophecy, through other means, and he can also answer prayers for wisdom and direct the paths of those who trust Him instead of leaning on their own understanding and who acknowledge him in all their ways.

I have a recent post on this in the decision-making thread in the Bible section of CC.
 

presidente

Senior Member
May 29, 2013
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#90
It is a merging of the responsibilities of the Goel and what seems like a Levirate marraige but isn't. The son of Boaz and Ruth was given to Naomi to preserve her inheritance.
The Levirate marriage is explicitly there in the Torah, and this case fits the Levirate marriage scenario. The women said Naomi has a son, but there isn't a formal mechanism for an adoption of this kind in the Pentateuch and Boaz is still listed in the geneology. The land followed the male lineage, anyway.
 

presidente

Senior Member
May 29, 2013
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#91
Clear sign? Like what? They sent you a picture of a cat at the same time that you sent them one and neither had spoken to one another in several days? A MIRACLE!!! LOL. You prayed "God is this the one, please give me a sign" and then the doorbell rang and there they were? No that is not how it works. That is how people make really bad decisions to marry someone that turned out to be a bad match to live with but they are now obligated to stay with.
I would disagree with @TheIndianGirl that God will give a Christian wanting to marry a 'clear sign' in all cases. If you don't get a sign and use wisdom to make a good decision. A single, unattached man finds a single unattached woman. Her father gives him in marriage. They all have good motives to actually be married. There is no problem there. But God can also give specific direction, and God can answer prayers for such things.

Abraham's servant had a very specific request about a damsel coming to the well, giving him and his camels drink, etc. The prayer was answered. I don't think he calls it a 'sign' but it is something like that.

In the New Testament, Joseph had a dream that prompted him to move past the bethrothal step with a pregnant woman and to complete the process and to take her as his wife.

The Clear sign will be 1) Do they have the attributes and character traits you are looking for in a spouse.
2) Do they have issues that you would find intolerable in a spouse or a roommate?
If they have such intolerable issues, that is a clear SIGN not to marry.

The decision should be made solely on the basis of common sense wisdom and definable pros and cons. And time of at least 6 months should be given to get past the involuntary fantasies we have toward them and can see things clearly including some of their most serious flaws.
Everyone has flaws. If you date a woman and don't see any, then you will likely see them after you have been married for a period of time. If no one ever married women with bi-polar, these women would never get married. I am in favor of a man trying to find a wife who would make a good mother to his children and a woman trying to find a good father for her children, but we all have problems.

There are no supernatural signs. Why? Because Paul already made it clear that it is a choice. God is not going to pressure you or trick you into a lifelong relationship that is going to require a lot of attention from you, unless you sign up for that on your own with having full understanding of what you are getting into. God does not want you to blame him when you discover that you will have trouble in the flesh for this decision that YOU MADE.

A clear sign? Yes 1 Cor 7. That is your sign.
I believe you are creating a false dichotomy here. Paul received a revelation from Christ before his baptism. Ananias also had a vision about it. He was sent out in Acts 13 in addition to that. Paul had a general call to bear witness to Gentiles and to Israel. But at one point in time, the Spirit would not allow him to preach in the provinces of Asia and Bithynia. He got specific direction to go to Macedonia. Later, we was able to go back and preach in the province of Asia.

Within the parameters of those broad instructions, he was given some more specific directions. Paul says, "If you marry you have not sinned...." We should take that within the parameters of Paul's other teachings in the passage (e.g. don't marry a married person) and other scripture. But also, within that wide berth Christians are given to marry, if the Spirit wants to give us specific direction, we should follow that as well.
 

presidente

Senior Member
May 29, 2013
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#92
Boaz was only care taker of Naomi's property until his son with Ruth was old enough to take over and it became his son's property howbeit under Elimelech's name not Boaz. Boaz's son would become more like Naomi's son from the perspective of inheriting the property and it would be Elimelech's continuation in the land through Boaz and Ruth's son who would have taken on Elimelech's name as heir.
That sounds like a Levirite situation.

I am now thinking about the Lukan versus Matthew geneologies. If the tradition Africanus gave was right and Joseph was descended from David through Nathan, physically, and through legal lineage through Solomon, then the Matthew lineage is not really consistent in not giving the legal lineage for Boaz. I'm not saying that was wrong. These are familiar Biblical characters and the reader should be expected to know this was a Levirite situation.

Africanus had Joseph two fathers in the geneologies be half-brothers of the same mother, who'd been widowed, and Heli raising up seed to his deceased half-brother Jacob.
 

Amanuensis

Well-known member
Jun 12, 2021
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#93
I agree with the general sentiminent, but I would also like to point out that 'wedding vows' are a cultural construct, not a Biblical one per se. Jews had their own customs. Standing in front of a priest and a crowd reciting words intended to show to consent to marry with rings on the ring finger was a Roman practice, done with a pagan priest before the practice was Christianized. Biblical practice involved the groom giving a bride price for virgins and a custom of having a feast at some date and taking her home with her. By the time of the New Testament, Jews had a custom of having a kind of written contract and a bit more elaborate dowry customs, providing a dowry that stayed with the woman. Some Bible interpreters project post-exhilic dowry practices back into pre-exhilic times. That might be legitimate, or it might not.

Saying 'breaking wedding vows' is grounds for divorce, as I have read in discussions on marriage in online forums, can be inaccurate and misleading. For example, if a wife says, "I don't feel cherished enough. He isn't cherishing me like he said in the wedding vows' is not Biblical grounds for divorce. Maybe he needs to repent and there needs to be reconciliation. If she took the older Anglican wedding vows and does not obey, she needs to repent for violating her commitment and scripture, but that does not mean he is free to divorce her for breaking her vow. Breaking vows is one thing. Divorce is another. And many of the 'wedding vows' are not technically vows. I have heard the word 'swear' used in RCC vows, but Protestant vows are often in line with 'let your yea be yea and your nay, nay' since neither are compelled to swear and oath. But marriage is still binding based on what has been revealed, apart from our adding extra oaths on top of that.



I heard a Sunday school teacher, when I was a child, say that he believed for every man there is one woman, just like God made Eve for the one man Adam. Thinking about it later, he was wrong. Widows and widowers may remarry. Back in the day, a man might marry a 19-year-old who dies in childbirth. Then he marries a 23-year-old the next year. Both wives were alive at the same time. They couldn't both be 'the one.' And 'the two' just doesn't sound right.

But if you do pray for God to select the perfect woman for you and ask Him to bring her to you and show you who she is, and it happens, in a sense, you might think she is 'the one.' If someone prophesies over you, genuinely, that you are to be married when you have already planned to proposed, then you still have to be faithful, be a good husband (in my case as a man), etc. My wife still has to be a good wife. If God provides a spouse for you, and you mess it up, you shouldn't blame God for the other person not being 'the one.' (Some prophesied over us about us going to many places and ministering to many people, not explicitly about marriage, but it was implied we'd be together, after I'd prayed through on it and was convinced that this was the right decision and made arrangements to shop for a ring.)



I suppose it depends on what they mean by 'the one.' If they mean 'the one' God has for them, then going from one person to another declaring each to be 'the one' is rather foolish.



God can direct specifically through putting something on someone's heart, through the Spirit speaking, through dreams, through visions, through prophecy, through other means, and he can also answer prayers for wisdom and direct the paths of those who trust Him instead of leaning on their own understanding and who acknowledge him in all their ways.

I have a recent post on this in the decision-making thread in the Bible section of CC.
Of course we should pray about such a major decision and when we pray we believe that God can give us direction and lead us.

However, I do believe that if we listen we will hear God say "Read 1 Cor 7" The choice is up to you. But know this, if you do marry you will have trouble in the flesh. I would spare you. And if you do decide to marry you will also have to spend a significant amount of time involved in things required to fulfill your duties as a husband or wife of which you would not have to be involved with if you don't marry. There are pros and cons to marrying.

People have attempted to say that Pauls instructions were for a specific moment in time in the church of Corinth but I believe that it was for every Christian who reads it from that day to this one. Some say he was saying they will have trouble in the flesh from persecution such as their wife getting imprisoned and making them sad which they would not have such sadness if they were not married. That is just straining to come up with a reason to make it a 55AD setting and I don't see it that way at all. The trouble in the flesh had to do with the same as caring for the things of the world to please the mate. It is part of marriage. Want to live without it? Don't get married. It's that simple, and that matter of fact.

We are fortunate to have a chapter like 1 Cor 7 where such questions are answered using plain speech and Paul did make it clear that it was a personal choice.

Paul never said, "The Lord might lead you marry someone by giving you a sign." He said, if you do it, it's not a sin, and if you don't you'll have more time. Pretty much. That's what he said. Nothing else.

I believe the plain tenor of his words were that people like him, evangelists, ministers, soul winners, missionaries, people who want to give their whole lives to the focus of intenerate preaching and saving souls, "if they have the gift of celibacy" will be more effective and get more accomplished, and be less distracted if they are single.

This only applies to those that have the gift. If the idea of singleness is sad, or a torment, you don't have the gift, get married and deal with the distractions.

But there are plenty of fish in the sea. Don't marry someone who is going to make life one continuous test of endurance because they are an immature emotional drain. WAIT.... find someone who is stable, and mature and constant emotionally. They are out there. Probably busy getting their next degree. Go back to school if you are single. Maybe you have been looking in the wrong places for the mature mate you can't find. They aren't loafers. Go look among those who are accomplishing things.
 
T

TheIndianGirl

Guest
#94
Clear sign? Like what? They sent you a picture of a cat at the same time that you sent them one and neither had spoken to one another in several days? A MIRACLE!!! LOL. You prayed "God is this the one, please give me a sign" and then the doorbell rang and there they were? No that is not how it works. That is how people make really bad decisions to marry someone that turned out to be a bad match to live with but they are now obligated to stay with.

The Clear sign will be 1) Do they have the attributes and character traits you are looking for in a spouse.
2) Do they have issues that you would find intolerable in a spouse or a roommate?
If they have such intolerable issues, that is a clear SIGN not to marry.

The decision should be made solely on the basis of common sense wisdom and definable pros and cons. And time of at least 6 months should be given to get past the involuntary fantasies we have toward them and can see things clearly including some of their most serious flaws.

There are no supernatural signs. Why? Because Paul already made it clear that it is a choice. God is not going to pressure you or trick you into a lifelong relationship that is going to require a lot of attention from you, unless you sign up for that on your own with having full understanding of what you are getting into. God does not want you to blame him when you discover that you will have trouble in the flesh for this decision that YOU MADE.

A clear sign? Yes 1 Cor 7. That is your sign.
I believe there is one person who God clearly shows us. There are a lot of good people/Christians who will likely make good spouses. So can any good Christian be a our spouse? That seems to be a low bar. It's like a husband/wife telling their spouse they could have found another good spouse if they didn't meet them. While probably true, I prefer to believe that God will choose someone specially for us and will show a sign.
 

Amanuensis

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Jun 12, 2021
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#95
I believe there is one person who God clearly shows us. There are a lot of good people/Christians who will likely make good spouses. So can any good Christian be a our spouse? That seems to be a low bar. It's like a husband/wife telling their spouse they could have found another good spouse if they didn't meet them. While probably true, I prefer to believe that God will choose someone specially for us and will show a sign.
Paul said it was their choice. They could marry and if so, they were not sinning. Not to think it was more moral to stay single.

But if they could stay single that would be better as far as being undistracted and not having to deal with the temporal things of this life such as responsibilities that are required of married people.

Now if it were true that God had a special person for you but you chose to stay single would that mean that you "turned down" that gift from God? Would it not mean that you are saying about that special one God has for you, No Thanks, I would rather not, (which is what Paul said was perfectly ok to say) and would it mean that person who was supposed to be THE ONE for you now finds another who becomes THE ONE, so that THE ONE is always a moving target based on decisions that people make rather than God's choice?
 
T

TheIndianGirl

Guest
#96
Now if it were true that God had a special person for you but you chose to stay single would that mean that you "turned down" that gift from God?
Yes.

Would it not mean that you are saying about that special one God has for you, No Thanks, I would rather not, (which is what Paul said was perfectly ok to say)
I am not sure if Paul would say No Thanks if God found him a mate. I don't think we can disagree with God in that way. Being single is good as Paul says, but if God wants Paul to get married (using Paul as an example here) that is good in its own way also. God may have a different path for Paul in that case.

would it mean that person who was supposed to be THE ONE for you now finds another who becomes THE ONE, so that THE ONE is always a moving target based on decisions that people make rather than God's choice?
Being THE ONE would have to be mutual I believe. Say a couple falls in love, but the guy is sent off to war. She waits for years but doesn't hear back, so she marries someone else. Well, I believe the original couple is THE ONE for eachother.
 

Amanuensis

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#97
Yes.



I am not sure if Paul would say No Thanks if God found him a mate. I don't think we can disagree with God in that way. Being single is good as Paul says, but if God wants Paul to get married (using Paul as an example here) that is good in its own way also. God may have a different path for Paul in that case.



Being THE ONE would have to be mutual I believe. Say a couple falls in love, but the guy is sent off to war. She waits for years but doesn't hear back, so she marries someone else. Well, I believe the original couple is THE ONE for eachother.
This is what you believe but it is not what scripture teaches. Paul made it clear that it is a choice. We can marry or not marry. Nothing about God having a special one for us.

I think it is always best to renew our minds to think according to the revealed word of God on things rather than romantic fantasies. We will save ourselves from bad decisions if we base them on common sense about the person we want to marry rather than esoteric ideas about whether God has chosen them for us. We get to choose that is what the scriptures say. And that is as far as we should go.

But if some people want to go through life making up things that are not true and believe that they are, that is their choice too. Unicorns will always exist in the minds of some.
 

GaryA

Truth, Honesty, Love, Courage
Aug 10, 2019
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#98
Unicorns will always exist in the minds of some.
And, apparently, in the Bible also:

Numbers 23:

22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an
unicorn.

Numbers 24:

8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an
unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.

Job 39:

9 Will the
unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? 10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

Psalms 29:

6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young
unicorn.

Psalms 92:

10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.

I dare say that something called 'unicorn' [at least] existed at some point in time in the past... ;)
 
T

TheIndianGirl

Guest
#99
This is what you believe but it is not what scripture teaches. Paul made it clear that it is a choice. We can marry or not marry. Nothing about God having a special one for us.

I think it is always best to renew our minds to think according to the revealed word of God on things rather than romantic fantasies. We will save ourselves from bad decisions if we base them on common sense about the person we want to marry rather than esoteric ideas about whether God has chosen them for us. We get to choose that is what the scriptures say. And that is as far as we should go.

But if some people want to go through life making up things that are not true and believe that they are, that is their choice too. Unicorns will always exist in the minds of some.
To say that God is not involved in providing and choosing a spouse seems unscriptural. Also, being married or single is not really about choosing. In fact, God said don't choose.

Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 1 Corinthians 7:27
 

Amanuensis

Well-known member
Jun 12, 2021
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And, apparently, in the Bible also:

Numbers 23:

22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.

Numbers 24:

8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.

Job 39:

9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? 10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

Psalms 29:

6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.

Psalms 92:

10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.

I dare say that something called 'unicorn' [at least] existed at some point in time in the past... ;)
Rhino?