Finding each other, and staying.
Not meant to be alone · How they met · The big day · The Song of Songs · The hard parts · Staying · Side by side
The first thing in creation that wasn't good.
The first thing in all creation that wasn’t good: me, on my own. God said so himself.
The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”
Replying to @adam
Named every animal. Every single bird. Not one of them was like me.
And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
Deep sleep. A rib gone. Then God brought her to me. Finally. Bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh.
So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh. And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him. And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.”
Two are better than one. If one falls, the other helps him up. Pity the one who falls with nobody there. Two lying down together keep warm. How do you keep warm on your own? And a cord of three strands isn’t quickly broken.
A man on his own@alone.and.busyNo son, no brother. The work never stops, and it’s never enough. Who am I even doing this for?Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up! Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
A man leaves his father and mother, is joined to his wife, and the two become one. It’s a deep mystery, and I’m talking about Christ and the church.
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the church.
Wells feature a lot.
Abraham sent me back to his family to find Isaac a wife. Ten camels. At the well outside town, in the evening, I prayed: LORD, let the girl who says, “Have a drink, and I’ll water your camels too,” be the one.
Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all manner of good things from his master in hand. And he set out for Nahor’s hometown in Aram-naharaim. As evening approached, he made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town at the time when the women went out to draw water. “O LORD, God of my master Abraham,” he prayed, “please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Here I am, standing beside the spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. Now may it happen that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who responds, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels as well’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. By this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
Replying to @abrahams.servant
I hadn’t even finished praying when she walked out with her jar on her shoulder.
Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.
A man ran up and asked for a sip from my jar. Gave him a drink, then said I’d draw water for his camels too, till they’d all had enough. Ten camels. Ten.
So the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me have a little water from your jar.” “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and she quickly lowered her jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, “I will also draw water for your camels, until they have had enough to drink.” And she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran back to the well to draw water, until she had drawn water for all his camels.
Replying to @rebekah
I just stood there watching her, not saying a word. Waiting to see if the LORD had made my trip a success.
Meanwhile, the man watched her silently to see whether or not the LORD had made his journey a success.
Evening, and a man was walking across the field towards us. I asked the servant who he was. His master, Isaac, he said. So I got down off my camel and covered my face with my veil. Isaac took me into his mother Sarah’s tent, and I became his wife. He loved me. It comforted him after his mother died.
Early in the evening, Isaac went out to the field to meditate, and looking up, he saw the camels approaching. And when Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she got down from her camel and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “It is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself. Then the servant told Isaac all that he had done. And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah as his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother’s death.
Brought my father’s sheep to the well, and a stranger rolled the stone off by himself and watered our whole flock. Then he kissed me and burst into tears. Turns out he’s my cousin.
While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, with Laban’s sheep, he went up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. He told Rachel that he was Rebekah’s son, a relative of her father, and she ran and told her father.
Replying to @rachel
That stone only comes off once every flock’s in. That’s the rule. He just rolled it off on his own.
But they replied, “We cannot, until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.” While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, with Laban’s sheep, he went up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.
Worked seven years for Rachel. They felt like a few days, I loved her that much.
So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.
Bowed right down to the ground in front of him and asked why he'd even noticed me. I'm a foreigner.
At this, she fell on her face, bowing low to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?”
Liked by Boaz
Replying to @ruthofmoab
Why wouldn't I? I've heard everything you've done for your mother-in-law since your husband died. You left your dad and mum and your own country for people you didn't know. May the LORD, the God of Israel, pay you back in full. You've come to shelter under his wings.
Boaz replied, “I have been made fully aware of all you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and how you came to a people you did not know before. May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge.”
You're all witnesses today. I'm buying back Elimelech's land, and I'm marrying Ruth.
At this, Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon. Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to raise up the name of the deceased through his inheritance, so that his name will not disappear from among his brothers or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.”
Replying to @boaz
We are witnesses.
“We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the LORD make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you be prosperous in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem.
Mary was pregnant before we’d come together. I was going to end the engagement quietly. I didn’t want her shamed.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.
Replying to @josephofnazareth
Then an angel in a dream: don’t be afraid to take her home. The child is from the Holy Spirit. Name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. So I did.
But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and embraced Mary as his wife.
Mary’s my wife. I’ve brought her home.
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and embraced Mary as his wife.
Replying to @josephofnazareth
Congrats, you two!
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and embraced Mary as his wife.
Wedding in Cana. Things that happened: 1. The wine runs out. 2. His mother tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 3. Six stone jars filled to the brim with water. 4. It's not water any more.
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, what is that to you and to Me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” Now six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. “Now draw some out,” He said, “and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside
Running the feast at this wedding in Cana. Just tasted what they brought me. Normally you serve the good wine first, and the cheap stuff once everyone's had plenty. This lot have kept the best till now. Where on earth did it come from?
and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone serves the fine wine first, and then the cheap wine after the guests are drunk. But you have saved the fine wine until now!”
Replying to @cana_feastmaster
The servants knew. They'd drawn it from the water jars.
and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside
Just married? No war for a year. Stay home and make your wife happy.
If a man is newly married, he must not be sent to war or be pressed into any duty. For one year he is free to stay at home and bring joy to the wife he has married.
A whole book of the Bible that's just two people in love.
How beautiful you are, my darling. Your eyes are doves.
How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how very beautiful! Your eyes are like doves.
Replying to @herbeloved
How handsome you are, my love.
How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how delightful! The soft grass is our bed.
You’ve stolen my heart, my bride. With one look.
You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your neck.
My beloved is mine, and I am his.
My beloved is mine and I am his; he pastures his flock among the lilies.
Daughters of Jerusalem, if you find him, tell him I’m sick with love.
O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you, if you find my beloved, tell him I am sick with love.
Replying to @shulammite
Okay but what’s so special about him? You’ve made us promise and everything.
How is your beloved better than others, O most beautiful among women? How is your beloved better than another, that you charge us so?
Daughters of Jerusalem, promise me: don’t stir up love until it’s ready.
O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.
They're in here too. Nobody pretends otherwise.
Seven years. The wedding feast. And in the morning: it’s Leah.
Finally Jacob said to Laban, “Grant me my wife, for my time is complete, and I want to sleep with her.” So Laban invited all the men of that place and prepared a feast. But when evening came, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her. And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maidservant. When morning came, there was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob said to Laban. “Wasn’t it for Rachel that I served you? Why have you deceived me?”
Replying to @jacob
It’s not done round here, marrying off the younger before the firstborn. Finish the wedding week with this one, and you can have Rachel as well. For another seven years’ work, mind.
Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older. Finish this week’s celebration, and we will give you the younger one in return for another seven years of work.”
My sons’ names say it all. Reuben: the LORD has seen my misery, surely my husband will love me now. Simeon: the LORD heard I’m not loved. Levi: now at last my husband will be attached to me.
When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.” Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has given me this son as well.” So she named him Simeon. Once again Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi. And once more she conceived and gave birth to a son and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah. Then Leah stopped having children.
My husband Elkanah has two wives. Every year we go up to Shiloh to worship, and every year Peninnah makes sure I know she has children and I don’t. Every single year. I end up crying and can’t eat.
Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival would provoke her viciously to taunt her. And this went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival taunted her until she wept and would not eat.
Replying to @hannah
Hannah, love. Why are you crying? Why won’t you eat? Why so down? Aren’t I worth more to you than ten sons?
“Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband Elkanah asked. “Why won’t you eat? Why is your heart so grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
Twenty years married and nothing. Then Isaac prayed for me, and now it’s twins, fighting inside me. Why is this happening to me? So I asked the LORD. He said two nations are in my womb, and the older will serve the younger.
Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So Rebekah went to inquire of the LORD, and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
Replying to @rebekah
First one out was red and hairy all over, like a fur coat. Esau. The second came out holding on to his brother’s heel. Jacob, the heel-grabber. Isaac loves Esau and his wild game. I love Jacob.
The first one came out red, covered with hair like a fur coat; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. Because Isaac had a taste for wild game, he loved Esau; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Be angry, but don’t sin. Don’t let the sun go down while you’re still angry. Don’t give the devil a foothold.
“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger, and do not give the devil a foothold.
We put it to him: can a man divorce his wife for any reason at all? His answer: what God has joined together, nobody should separate. Divorce your wife for anything other than sexual immorality and marry someone else, and that’s adultery.
Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?” Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
Replying to @pharisee.judea
Honestly, if that’s how it is, maybe it’s better not to marry.
His disciples said to Him, “If this is the case between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry.”
Love is patient. Love is kind. It doesn’t envy. It doesn’t boast. It isn’t proud. It isn’t rude. It doesn’t insist on its own way. It isn’t easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. It takes no pleasure in evil, but is glad about the truth. It puts up with everything, believes the best, keeps hoping, keeps going.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Replying to @paul
Reading this in a church where we take each other to court.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.
Submit to one another out of respect for Christ. Wives, to your husbands, as to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives the way Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
God has chosen you and he loves you. So dress yourselves in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Put up with each other, and if anyone has a complaint against someone, forgive. Forgive the way the Lord forgave you. And over all of it, put on love. It holds everything together.
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.
Go on. Eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a glad heart. Enjoy life with the wife you love, all the fleeting days God has given you.
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works: Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.
Some couples just got on with it together.
Claudius threw all the Jews out of Rome, so Priscilla and I ended up in Corinth. Then Paul turned up. Tentmaker, same as us. He’s staying with us and working with us.
After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them, and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was.
Apollos, from Alexandria. Brilliant speaker, knows the Scriptures inside out, full of fire. But he only knew about John’s baptism. So Aquila and I took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately.
Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
Aquila and I send our love, Corinth. So does the church that meets at our house.
The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.
Naming day. We’re all round at Zechariah’s for the circumcision. Obviously the boy’s getting his dad’s name.
On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him after his father Zechariah.
Replying to @thehillcountry
Elizabeth says no. He’s John. John?! Nobody in the family is called John.
But his mother replied, “No! He shall be called John.” They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who bears this name.”
Who’s this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved?
Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? I roused you under the apple tree; there your mother conceived you; there she travailed and brought you forth.
Set me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. Love is as strong as death. Its flames are the fiercest fire of all. Floods can’t put it out. Rivers can’t wash it away. If a man offered everything he owned for love, he’d be laughed at.
Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol. Its sparks are fiery flames, the fiercest blaze of all. Mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned.
Keep choosing each other.
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