Lessons #247 and 248
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Freedom of marriage of virgins (1 Cor 7:36-38)
36 If anyone thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if she is getting along in years and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. 37 But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does even better.
It is true that the main concern of our passage of study is freedom of marriage of engaged couples in times of crisis or suffering but that there is a message derived from it that is applicable to every believer regardless of a person’s marital status. So, let me refresh your mind with this message which is: You should not allow crisis or suffering to cause you to break your promise although you may delay its fulfillment with adequate explanation to the one you made the promise. This aside, recall that in our last study we were concerned with conditions that are appropriate for a man that is engaged to woman to temporarily hold off marriage in time of crisis. The first condition, as we have studied, is that the man who is engaged or betrothed should be convinced it is the right thing to postpone his marriage without any feeling of being pressured. The second condition for postponing marriage in time of crisis is if the man can maintain repeated control over his own sexual desires. This brings us to the third condition that we indicated in our last study we will begin with in today’s study.
The third condition for a man that is engaged to woman to temporarily hold off marriage in time of crisis is if he has no intention of breaking off the engagement or the betrothal. It is this condition that is given in the clause of 1 Corinthians 7:37 and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin. This clause as it reads seems not to support the condition I stated. Therefore, let me give you a literal translation of the clause from the Greek that reads and this he has decided in his own heart, to keep his own virgin. You see, the word “not” of the NIV does not appear in the Greek. That aside, the literal translation raises three questions we should consider, to help us interpret it. The first question is what does the demonstrative pronoun this refer? The second is how we should understand the literal statement he has decided? The third is what does the apostle meaning by keeping his virgin?
The demonstrative pronoun this we used in the literal translation is translated from a Greek demonstrative pronoun (houtos) that may mean “this” or “this one” when referring to a person or a thing comparatively near at hand in the discourse material. In the form in which the Greek word is used in our passage it could refer to what precedes. However, because it is used before a clause that expresses condition, which it introduces, it is used to refer to what follows, that is, the content of the decision of the man who is engaged to a virgin as we will get to shortly.
The idea of decision is given in the NIV in the verbal phrase has made up his mind that literally reads has decided in his own heart. The word “decided” of the literal translation or “made up” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (krinō) that may mean “to judge, pass judgment upon, express an opinion about” as it is used in the Lord’s instruction concerning looking down on others in a condemning way in Luke 6:37:
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
The word may mean “to judge as guilty” “to condemn” as the word is used to describe the states of those who believe in the Lord Jesus and those who do not in John 3:18:
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
The word may mean “to punish” as in Stephen’s sermon as he referred to God’s promise to Abraham of punishing those who would enslave his descendants in Acts 7:7:
But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’
The word may mean to make a judgment based on taking various factors into account, hence means “to consider,” as Lydia used the word to persuade Apostle Paul and his team to stay in her house if the apostle considered her a believer in Christ as we read in Acts 16:15:
When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
The word may mean “to prefer” as it is used to describe the preference of believers regarding day of worship although it is translated “considers” in the NIV of Romans 14:5:
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
The word may mean “to resolve” as it is used to describe the only thing the apostle was concerned regarding the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2:2:
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
The word may mean “to convince” as in Apostle Paul’s certainty about the death of Christ for all human beings as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:14:
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:37, the sense of the word is to reach a conclusion after a cognitive process hence means here “to be resolved.”
The word “marry” of the NIV of the clause who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin of 1 Corinthians 7:37 or “keep” in the literal translation this he has decided in his own heart, to keep his own virgin is translated from a Greek word (tēreō) that has the basic sense of “to keep” with several nuances. It may mean “to keep” in the sense of “to retain” in custody or to persist in obedience or to cause a state or condition or activity to continue. It is in the later sense of to cause a state or condition or activity to continue that is most applicable to our context and so we need to explore the range of meanings of this third sense of the Greek word. The word may mean “to hold” in the sense of to keep for a definite purpose or a suitable time as it is used for the Lord holding the unbeliever for the day of judgment in 2 Peter 2:9:
if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
Under the sense of to keep for a definite purpose or suitable time the word may mean “to reserve” as in the judgment reserved for the false teachers referenced in 2 Peter 2:17:
These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.
The word may mean to keep unharmed, that is, “to protect” as it is used in the priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus petitioning the Father to keep believers unharmed as recorded in John 17:11:
I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.
It is the meaning of to keep something unharmed or undisturbed that Apostle Paul used the word to encourage Timothy to maintain his spiritual purity, as we read in 1 Timothy 5:22:
Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
The word may mean to keep hold of something so as not to give it up or lose it so may mean “to maintain” as it is used in the instruction of the Holy Spirit regarding unity in a local church in Ephesians 4:3:
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:37, it is in the sense of keep in a certain state or condition, that is, “to keep” or “to maintain” that the word is used.
We have considered the key words used in the clause of 1 Corinthians 7:37 and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin that literally reads and this he has decided in his own heart, to keep his own virgin. Therefore, the question is to determine what it means, based on the meaning we have suggested so that literal translation implies to keep the virgin in a certain state or condition. As we mentioned previously in verse 36, it is the literal verbal phrase to keep his own virgin that caused some interpreters to take the position that the apostle was concerned with father-daughter relationship. We have already argued that that is not the case; instead, that the apostle was concerned with engaged couple. This being the case, the issue is whether the literal verbal phrase to keep his own virgin means to continue to keep the woman’s virginity undisturbed that would imply calling off the engagement/betrothal as reflected in the NIV or to keep unharmed the engagement or betrothal in the sense, to put off the marriage to a future time. It is our interpretation that the apostle was concerned with postponing the marriage to a future time when crisis or suffering subsides but not with breaking it off completely. This interpretation seems to be reflected in the NRSV and the NJB since instead of the verbal phrase not to marry the virgin of the NIV they translated to keep her as his fiancée. A man will only keep a woman as his fiancée if he plans to marry her at a future time. Therefore, we contend that the Holy Spirit through the apostle did not endorse a man breaking off a betrothal or engagement because of crisis or suffering but to postpone the marriage until a future time when it would be convenient to do so.
There are at least three reasons for the interpretation of postponing the marriage that we have given. First, it is the interpretation that does not cause any difficult with the first condition of being convinced of doing the right thing we indicated the apostle stated regarding postponing a marriage. You see, it is difficult to see how the first condition for postponing marriage we considered will make sense. In other words, it is difficult to see how breaking a promise would be something that is right since the man was to be convinced that what he was about to do regarding the woman he is engaged or betrothed is right. Second, for the apostle to have meant that the marriage may be called off would mean that the apostle in a sense encourages divorce since he would have recognized breaking off a betrothal as the same as divorce. As a Jew, the apostle knew the seriousness of betrothal as we may gather from Joseph’s resolve not to divorce Mary to whom he was betrothed when Mary was found to be pregnant but not by him, as we read Matthew 1:18–19:
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Since the apostle would not have encouraged divorce because of a crisis or suffering, it means that he did not approve for the man who is betrothed or engaged to break off his betrothal. Third, the apostle was aware that it is not proper to break one’s promise hence his defense of himself against an accusation of breaking his promise, as stated in 2 Corinthians 1:17–18:
17 When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, “Yes, yes” and “No, no”? 18 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”
The apostle in writing “Yes” and “No.” meant to communicate that he would not on one hand promise to visit the Corinthians and on the other hand break his promise. The point is that the apostle knows how serious it is for a believer to break his promise which would be the case if a man who is betrothed or engaged calls of the proposed marriage.
In any case, the third condition for a man that is engaged to woman to temporarily hold off marriage in time of crisis is if he has no intention of breaking off the engagement or the betrothal. As we stated, it is this condition that is given in the clause of 1 Corinthians 7:37 and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin or literally and this he has decided in his own heart, to keep his own virgin. The clause not only gives the third condition, but it states what the apostle indicates is proper to take place, which is not to call off a betrothal. In effect, we mean that the clause provides the thing the apostle commends in the rest of the verse which is not to call off the betrothal or engagement but to postpone it.
We are saying that it is not calling off the marriage that the apostle commends but its postponement. It is this he means in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 7:37 this man also does the right thing or literally he will do well. The word “does” of the NIV is translated from a Greek verb (poieō) that may mean “to carry out” as it pertains to an obligation as it is used of the Lord in Romans 9:28:
For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”
The word may mean “to do” in the sense of undertaking or doing something as it is used in the description of the battle that takes place inside of the believer between the Holy Spirit and the sinful nature, as stated in Galatians 5:17:
For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
The word may mean “to treat” as in the instruction given to slave masters or employers in modern term in Ephesians 6:9:
And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
The word may mean “to act” as Apostle Paul used it to describe his behavior towards believers prior to his conversion as stated in 1 Timothy 1:13:
Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:37, the word means “to do” or “to act” in the sense of carrying out an obligation of betrothal or engagement. The translators of the NIV translated the Greek word in the present tense using the verbal phrase does the right thing whereas the Greek uses a future tense that literally translates will do well, implying that the apostle anticipates that the man he had instructed will in the future act regarding the matter of postponing the engagement without breaking it off.
The evaluation of this act of the man who postpones his marriage to the woman he is betrothed or his fiancée, is described with the verbal phrase does the right thing. The expression “right thing” of the NIV is translated from a Greek adverb (kalōs) that means “good” as it is used to describe those that want the Galatians to observe the ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic law, as in Galatians 4:17:
Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them.
The word may mean “well” in the sense of meeting relatively high standards of excellence or expectation as in the qualifications of an overseer of a local church in 1 Timothy 3:4:
He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.
The word may mean “honorably” as in the admirable manner a believer should aim to conduct self as was the case with the human author of Hebrews as we read in Hebrews 13:18:
Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.
The word may mean “right” as it is used to commend one that loves the neighbor in James 2:8:
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 7:37, the word is used in the sense of “well” or “rightly” so that the man who will postpone his marriage without breaking it off is commended as acting in a satisfactory manner or in accordance with high standards based on God’s word.
The meaning we have assigned to the Greek word that is translated “the right thing” in the NIV that we indicated means “well” or “rightly” supports our interpretation that the apostle was concerned with postponing marriage because of the crisis or suffering the Corinthians faced. As we have argued previously that the apostle knew the importance of keeping one’s promise, it is inconceivable that the apostle would commend a man for breaking his promise. In effect, when the apostle wrote the Greek sentence that although translated in the NIV this man also does the right thing that in view of the meaning we assigned the Greek adverb may be translated he will do well or he will act rightly, he could not be commending a man that will break off his marriage and so fail to honor his commitment. To read it that way will not only contradict the apostle’s own thought of the importance of keeping one’s promise, but it will fly in the face of everything God is. I mean that since God is One that keeps His promise then for the apostle to commend someone for breaking off a marriage, he would be acting contrary to God’s nature and so it could not be said that he wrote under the control of the Holy Spirit. But we know that the apostle wrote under the control of the Holy Spirit, so it is impossible for him to write down anything that will conflict the character of God, which is being faithful to a promise.
In any case, the apostle commended two possible actions that a man betrothed to a woman or engaged could take in time of crisis or great persecution of believers. The first is to proceed to marry the woman when certain conditions apply. The second is to postpone the marriage also when certain conditions are met. The apostle having commended both options summed up or concluded his teaching regarding the two possible actions that a person betrothed to a lady may take in time of crisis. His summation or conclusion is given in an emphatic manner as attested in the phrase that begins 1 Corinthians 7:38 So then.
The expression “so then” is translated from two Greek conjunctions. The word “so” is translated from a first Greek conjunction (hōste) that may be used either as a marker of purpose with the meaning “in order that, so that” or marker of result with the meaning “therefore, so.” However, in some situations, it may be difficult to differentiate purpose from result. The word “then” is translated from a second Greek conjunction (kai) that has several usages. For example, it may be used to introduce a result that comes from what precedes and so may be translated “and then, and so.” It may be used to emphasize a fact as surprising or unexpected or noteworthy with the meaning “and yet” or “and in spite of that” or “nevertheless.” The second conjunction may also be used to give emphasis to what follows and so may be translated “even.” The pairing of the two Greek conjunctions is used four other times in the Greek NT besides 1 Corinthians 7:38. In one usage it is clear the translators of the NIV did not translate both conjunctions in describing the miraculous acts of God through Apostle Peter, as recorded in Acts 5:15:
As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.
The NRSV translated both Greek conjunctions with the expression “so that” and “even” as we may note from the fact that the clause of the NIV As a result, people brought the sick into the streets is translated in the NRSV so that they even carried out the sick into the streets. In two other usages the translators of the NIV translated both Greek conjunctions with the words “so that” and “even.” In reporting the miraculous acts of God through Apostle Paul, the two Greek conjunctions were translated “so that” and “even” in the NIV of Acts 19: 12:
so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
In this usage, it is clear the translators of the NIV translated the first Greek conjunction we considered to reflect result and the second to reflect emphasis. The same is true when both conjunctions were used in Apostle Paul’s reporting the hypocrisy of Apostle Peter when he withdrew meal-fellowship from Gentile believers for which Paul rebuked him, as narrated in Galatians 2:13:
The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
In the last usage of the pairing up of the two conjunctions we are considering, it is not certain that the translators of the NIV translated them separately in 1 Peter 4: 19:
So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
The phrase So then is the same as in 1 Corinthians 7:38 so we cannot be sure if the translators of the NIV and majority of our English versions that began the verses as the NIV actually translated both Greek conjunctions that began the verse in the Greek. This notwithstanding, it is our interpretation that the pairing of the two Greek conjunctions in 1 Corinthians 7:38 is a way the apostle introduced his conclusion or summation in an emphatic manner.
The conclusion the apostle gave is a recommendation as to which of the two options regarding dealing with a betrothal or engagement in time of crisis or suffering is preferable. So, the apostle again states the correctness of marrying in time of crisis in the clause of 1 Corinthians 7:38 he who marries the virgin does right. The word “marries” that appears twice in verse 38 is translated from a Greek verb (gamizō) that may mean “to give in marriage” which is different from the Greek word (gameō) the apostle had so far used in this seventh chapter of Corinthians to describe getting married. This has caused some to argue that this different word supports the idea of father-daughter relationship. But considering the context, there is no difference in meaning between the two Greek words. That aside, the apostle recommended the second action of postponing the marriage as preferable in last clause of the verse but he who does not marry her does even better. By the way, we have already argued that the apostle could not mean calling off the marriage but postponing it. This being the case the apostle intended to convey that it is a better choice, all things being equa,l to postpone marriage to a later time.
The apostle indicated that it is better not to marry or to postpone the marriage but in what sense is it better not to marry in time of crisis? The answer lies with the word “better” that is translated from a Greek word (kreittōn) that may pertain to being in a high status so may mean “more prominent” or “higher in rank” or “better, preferable” as the word is used to indicate that it is one who is of a higher rank that blesses one with lower rank in the argument of the human author of Hebrews that indicates Melchizedek, as a high priest, is superior to Abraham in Hebrews 7:7:
And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater.
The Greek word may pertain to having a relative advantage in value and so means “more useful” or “more advantageous” or “better.” It is in this sense that Apostle Paul indicated that it would be more advantageous or beneficial to marry than to burn with sexual lust although the word is translated “better” in 1 Corinthians 7:9:
But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
It is in the sense of being more advantageous or beneficial that the word is used in 1 Corinthians 7:38. This being the case, the apostle meant that it is more beneficial not to marry in time of crisis since a married man would be weighed down with care of a wife than a single man.
Be that as it may, the word “better” should remind us of the various situations in the Scripture that the Holy Spirit used the word to convey that there are more desirable states or conditions in this life that people of this world would not agree or know. It is better to have little of the things of this world with a sound spiritual life than it is to be wealthy and be an unbeliever. Unbelievers do not know this. Some believers may also be ignorant of this truth. Nonetheless, the psalmist declared this truth in Psalm 37:16:
Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked;
The same truth is stated differently in Proverbs 15:16:
Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.
It is more advantageous or beneficial to be a person who has very little of the things of this world but lives a life that honors the Lord in that the person strives to obey God’s word. Such a person would have inner peace in contrast to the wealthy who knows nothing about the Lord and so the individual’s life is filled with turmoil. The truth that it is better to have little of the things of this world but have the proper spiritual life with the Lord is conveyed in terms of having integrity but poor as in Proverbs 19:22:
What a man desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.
A person characterized as a liar is one that does not have the right spiritual life in Christ. Thus, the passage indicates that it is more advantageous to be a spiritual person in the Lord but poor than to be a liar. The matter of the preference of integrity is also stated in Proverbs 28:6:
Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse.
To walk blameless means to conform one’s life to right conduct. Thus, a person who is blameless is one that is devoted to God and His word. Such person is better than a wealthy man without spiritual life in that the person’s character is contrary to the Scripture. A person who walks blameless is one that enjoys peace and joy that the Lord provides to those who seek Him. This leads to another thing the Holy Spirit tells us is better for us in this planet.
It is better or more advantageous to attend Bible class or worship service where there is sound teaching of the word of God than it is to be anywhere else. This beneficial action is conveyed in Psalm 84:10:
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
On reading this passage, you may say to yourself where did he get the idea of going to a Bible class when the passage speaks of your courts or house of my God? Well, either phrase refers to the Temple in Jerusalem. Living in the temple was the greatest blessing a pious Israelite could imagine. This we can see with the description of the Prophetess Anna in Luke 2:36–37:
36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
Anna is describe as never leaving the temple as a way to describe her total devotion to the Lord. The Temple in Israel was a place where people went to worship. True worship indeed involves being taught the word of God. When there is little teaching of the word of God, worship may degenerate to the kind of ritual that the Lord abhors, as stated in Amos 5:22–23:
22Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. 23Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
A person who spends time in the temple was certainly exposed to the demonstration of God’s word through the rituals and teachings of priests and prophets. Therefore, a person who spends time in the temple is equivalent to an individual that spends time in a Bible class. This being the case, we contend that the passage of Psalm 84:10 conveys that it is better to spend your time in Bible class than any other place including places of entertainment. So, if you are bored while in Bible class but feel excited to be in a place of entertainment, something is wrong in your spiritual life.
Another situation the Scripture speaks of being a better condition or situation concerns marriage. It is better to have a marriage situation where the couples have little but live in loving relationship than being rich and living in hatred, as stated in Proverbs 15:17:
Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.
This passage indicates that a person is better off living in a house or an environment without much material things as reflected in the fact of simple meals than expensive luxurious meals where there is no love. A meal that is composed of vegetables imply that the family could not afford meat and so eats only vegetable in contrast to the situation where there is plenty to eat but there is hatred in that family or house. This kind of situation of having little with love in contrast to having plenty without love is also described in terms of having peace and quietness in contrast to strife, as we read in Proverbs 17:1:
Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.
Dry crust refers to scraps of food that are leftovers that are not appetizing. Thus, the sense is that it is better to have very little food with peace and quietness than to have a house full of food with strife or quarrelling. This situation describes many families today where there is constant bickering and infighting despite evidence of affluence. You have houses that are full of drama all the time. Either the husband or the wife is constantly causing friction for the other so that living becomes uncomfortable. In fact, such situation leads to where many who are married prefer to be alone than have the kind of companionship in which there is constant friction. It is this condition that is implied with the idea of living in a desert than to live in a house where the wife is constantly nagging the husband, for example, as in Proverbs 21:19:
Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.
A desert is a place that is harsh and uncomfortable to live but it is a place without much of noise or commotion. Therefore, to say it is better to live in such a place than to live with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered person tells us how bad it is for those who live in houses where there is constant drama of quarrelling and infighting.
There is another situation that is preferable that most people do not recognize or would not want. People do not like to be corrected instead they prefer to be praised in flattery. However, the Scripture tells us we are better if we have someone who would correct our behavior frankly and honestly than to have friends or people who claim to love us but do not show that love through their action that would include correcting us when we do something wrong as we read in Proverbs 27:5
Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
The point is that there are situations in life that are better than others. Apostle Paul was aware of this truth that he himself described how much better it would be to be with the Lord than to live on this planet, as we read in Philippians 1:23:
I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
It is that he has this sense that he preferred being single in time of crisis than to be married.
Be that as it may, we have been considering the actions the Holy Spirit conveyed through Apostle Paul that those who are betrothed or engaged to marry could take in time of crisis. However, we indicated that the passage has a message that applies to every believer regardless of marital status. It is this: You should not allow crisis or suffering to cause you to break your promise although you may delay its fulfillment with adequate explanation to the one you made the promise. I want return to this message as a way of ending the section of 1 Corinthians 7:36-38 that we have been considering. We have already stated that a spiritual minded believer should be one that is characterized by keeping his/her promise as that describes a true worshipper of God as in the passage, we cited previously, that is, Psalm 15:4:
who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts,
Believers are to be individuals that keep their promise. This fact is conveyed in the OT Scripture regarding making vows to the Lord as we read in Numbers 30:1–2:
1 Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel: “This is what the LORD commands: 2 When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.
It is true that this passage is concerned with promise made to God but the principle applies to any believer in every situation of life if we are going to be like our God who never breaks His promise to us. The importance of not breaking one’s promise is demonstrated with several examples of those in the OT that did not break their promise. One of the most notable examples is Jephthah that promised to sacrifice the first thing that greets him when he returns victorious from war. This happened to be his daughter as we read in Judges 11:29–40:
29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” 32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon. 34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break.” 36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. 37 But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.” 38 “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. 39 After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite custom 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
This example notwithstanding, we should recognize that it can be costly both in a physical and in a spiritual sense to break a promise. Shimei paid with his life for failure to keep his promise or oath as we read in 1 Kings 2:43–46:
43 Why then did you not keep your oath to the LORD and obey the command I gave you?” 44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wrong you did to my father David. Now the LORD will repay you for your wrongdoing. 45 But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain secure before the LORD forever.” 46 Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down and killed him.
The kingdom was now firmly established in Solomon’s hands.
If we fail to keep our promise, then we should not expect God to answer our prayer as indicated in Psalm 50:14–15:
14Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, 15and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
Thus, if you make a promise to a person you should endeavor to keep it. If crisis or suffering makes it difficult to fulfill your promise at a specific time, you should still fulfill it in the future but explain your situation to the one you made the promise with the assurance that by God’s help if your situation improves that you will make good on your promise. This will particularly apply to a case when someone loans you money and you promise to pay back. Again, let me end by reminding us the message we have applied which is: You should not allow crisis or suffering to cause you to break your promise although you may delay its fulfillment with adequate explanation to the one you made the promise.
08/14/20