In Numbers 24:5-7 we read a beautiful description of the homes of the Israelites. One of the descriptions is that they will be “like cedar trees beside the waters” In the Bible cedar trees speak of majesty, beauty, and faithfulness. They are called “excellent” trees in Song of Solomon 5:15. I believe we can liken our marriage relationship to the cedar. Let’s look at some of the qualities of the cedar:
CEDARS ARE STRONG AND ROOTED
Cedars are strong and firmly rooted. In Psalm 80:10 (TLB) God likens His people to the “mighty” cedar trees. The word “mighty” is “el” in the Hebrew and means “strong,” a word that is also used of God. Psalm 92:12 (MLB) tells us that the “righteous . . . shall become mighty like the cedar of Lebanon.”
The Hebrew word for “cedar” is “ere”z and means “from the tenacity of its roots.” God wants our marriages to be strong. He wants them to be strongly rooted in God’s principles and the covenant we made on our wedding day. He wants them to be strongly knitted together in commitment, faithfulness, morality, unity, and love.
However, they don’t become strong without our putting in an effort to strengthen them. We must do something to build and strengthen our marriage each new day. With our words and our actions.
CEDARS GROW TALL
Because the cedars are strongly rooted they can grow to 120 feet high and 30 to 40 feet in girth. We can either stunt our marriage or make it grow. Which are you doing? We stunt our marriage by curbing each other.
We need to release each other into God’s wondrous plan. We as wives must learn to let our husbands be men. It is so easy to expect them to be like us or even think like us. But they don’t think like us. Forget it! They are different to us. Let your husband be who he is. Let him take the responsibility of his role seriously to provide, protect, and lead you in God’s ways. Don’t take that from him. Many women think they help their husbands by going out to work. That doesn’t help them. It weakens the home and the husband’s mandate from God.
Let’s get it straight. When we embrace our high calling of motherhood and homemaking and release our husbands to their calling, our marriage can grow tall. Neither of us were created to do the job of the other. God made male and female with their own specific purpose. We accomplish far more for God and this world when we do it God’s way.
Don’t forget to do something today to strengthen your marriage!
More thoughts tomorrow.
Love from Nancy Campbell