There is a way to have heaven here on earth now--a happy home full of love. But when Jesus said that our days today are "as it was in the days of Noah" (see Study Guide One), He touched the sensitive nerve of our souls. Not many homes have that love.
Those people who lost everything in the Flood had become obsessed with sex. "They took them wives of all which they chose" and "every imagination of the thoughts ... was only evil continually." Today marriage and the home are breaking down alarmingly. We know that approximately half of modern marriages either end in divorce or are poisoned by infidelity. It did not used to be this way. In Western civilization for thousands of years the solid home was taken for granted. To children of bygone generations the thought of their parents divorcing was as remote as Noah's Flood itself. When the children came home from school, mother and father were there. The home was expected to be like Gibraltar.
Then, suddenly, around 1844, came subtle changes, cracks that began to widen through each decade. The foundations of Western morality and integrity began to crumble. Moral rot set in. We have begun to see the significance of the date 1844, and we see how this phenomenon of infidelity is "on the map" of Bible prophecy as a sign of the soon coming of Christ.
Jesus will give to those who believe His Good News a very special grace--the ability to resist the infidelity and immorality that is flooding the world today. That means pure happiness here and now.
Does True Love Ever Die?
1. Did the Lord intend that love should ever die? Matthew 19:4, 5.
ANSWER: "For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and __________ __________ to his __________: and they __________ shall be one flesh."
2. But is it possible for love to die? Matthew 24:12.
ANSWER: Yes, "... because iniquity shall __________, the love of many shall __________ __________."
3. According to Jesus, why did God ever allow divorce, even in extreme cases? Matthew 19:7, 8.
ANSWER: "Because of the __________ of your __________."
4. If there is no "iniquity," and if the heart is not hard, does love ever die? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (as you read, remember that "charity" in the KJV is agape love).
ANSWER: "Charity (agape love) suffereth __________, ... Beareth __________ __________, believeth __________ __________, hopeth __________ __________, ... Charity [agape love] never __________ __________."
What Makes a Home Break Up?
5. Find the answer in Psalm 127:1.
YOUR ANSWER: "Except the Lord __________ the __________, they __________ in __________ that __________ it."
6. How important is the husband's part in building a happy home? Ephesians 5:23.
ANSWER: "The husband is the __________ of the __________."
The word "husband" means literally "house band," the hoops on the barrel, as it were. The Greek here says that it is the husband who preserves the home from breaking up just as Christ preserves the Church from breaking up. (The word "saviour" means "preserver.")
7. Since the husband is the divinely appointed "preserver" of the home, is the wife to blame him for all that goes wrong? Proverbs 14:1.
ANSWER: "Every wise woman __________ her house: but the __________ plucketh it down with her hands."
If the husband were a perfect being as Adam was before his fall, the wife might well blame him if something goes wrong. But Scripture says, "all have sinned." A woman becomes wise when she realizes this, and can put herself in her husband's place and feel as he feels. Each partner will volunteer to bear perhaps even more than is justly his/her share of the blame. This may not be fair, but it may be wise. God will some day sort-out what is fair, and what is unfair. In the meantime, the "wise" woman "buildeth" her house, and leaves judgment to God. And the man builds his, too.
8. See if you can find out the one true reason why the devil ever succeeds in breaking a home. Look carefully at James 4:7 (last part).
ANSWER: Somebody didn't "__________ the devil," to make him "__________ from __________."
9. If only one marriage partner is a true Christian, can the home be happy? 1 Corinthians 7:13, 14.
ANSWER: "The unbelieving husband is __________ by the [believing] wife, and the unbelieving wife is __________ by the [believing] husband."
"Sanctified" in this text means "strongly influenced towards holiness." The Jerusalem Bible translates it: "The unbelieving husband is made one with the saints through his wife." Don't forget Jesus' words about the "salt" in Matthew 5:13. A believing partner in marriage can preserve a home from spoiling just as salt anciently preserved fish from spoiling.
10. Here is a thought question: can you find out who it is that brings two people together in marriage? Read Genesis 24:1-14, 44, 50.
ANSWER: The Lord "__________ __________" this girl (Rebekah) to be Isaac's wife. Of their union, it was said, "The thing proceedeth from the __________."
If you choose not to believe this principle, your marriage can never truly endure. If you choose to believe it, the Lord "builds" your house, and it will endure.
11. Who joins two people together in marriage? Who separates them? Matthew 19:6.
ANSWER: "What therefore __________ hath joined together," __________ __________ "put asunder."
The problem seldom begins with a third party. It is the man and wife themselves who first put themselves "asunder" in mind and heart. The "triangle" problem almost always comes later.
12. In what practical way can you let Christ build your home so that it will never collapse? See how Christ handled the problem of a will that struggled to oppose His Father's will. Matthew 26:39.
ANSWER: Christ prayed, "Nevertheless __________ __________ I will, but as __________ __________."
"What you need to understand is the true force of the will. ... Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. ... You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do His good pleasure. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ." Happiness Digest, p. 21.
How Miracles "Happen"
13. How does a husband become fortunate enough to have a wife? Proverbs 18:22 and 19:14.
ANSWER: "Whoso findeth a __________ findeth a __________ __________" since a "__________ is from the Lord."
The love mentioned here is different than the selfish feeling the world calls love. Selfish love is dependent on the goodness or value of its object. No woman can do her best unless she is loved and appreciated.
14. Can a husband change his wife for the better? Ephesians 5:25, 33.
ANSWER: By __________ his wife as Christ "__________" the church, "and __________ __________ for it."
15. How can a wise woman relate to her husband and change him for the better? Ephesians 5:22, 24, 33.
ANSWER: "Wives __________ yourselves unto your own husbands," "as the church is __________ unto Christ, so let the wives __________ to their own __________ in every thing." " ... And the wife see that she __________ her husband."
Impossible? Not if an all-wise Creator and Redeemer says this is the pattern of true happiness. The key is two-fold. Husbands can love their wives in this wonderful way only as they see how Christ has loved the church. And wives can respond like this only as they appreciate the response the church makes to Christ's love.
"Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." 1 Peter 5:7 "Pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:17