God started it all in the Garden of Eden
When He opened His plan of
life
It’s interesting to me
that from the very beginning
The plan called for a
husband and wife
So Adam and Eve stood
before God that day
To be united in holy
matrimony
From that day till now
this has been the way
To cling to each other,
and each other only
Their union was rich and
full and free
Their relationship marked
with love
And to top it all off,
they took a walk each day
With their God who came
down from above
It was truly a marriage
that was made in heaven
They were close as close
could be
This couple was more than
one-plus-one is two
This one was one-plus-one
equals three!
It’ll be that way today if
you’ll only believe
God wants marriage to be
more than a token
In Proverbs it says a
double cord is strong
But a triple one is not
easily broken
Then God gave them their
job which was really a task
To watch over the birds,
earth and sea
It was all made for them
to deeply enjoy
With one exception which
was a great tree!
God fashioned them both
with tender, loving care
He provided them food,
clothing and a name
Then told them to be
fruitful and to multiply
When they were naked, they
knew no shame
Out of this union came
children galore
But only three who are
essential to the story
And God’s plan of life was
born to this family
And the children were
raised to God’s glory
Now problems arose, but
that’s nothing new
Families have always been
tested and tempted
But in spite of it all,
God continues to call
And this plan has never
been pre-empted.
Now we’re told very little
of the children of that day
Except that one asked, “Am
I my brother’s keeper?”
But when Cain killed Abel
while working in the field
It broke the heart of the ‘Silent
Reaper’
Now blood shed to God is
always special
It’s the source of life
for all man.
But especially when violence
entered this way
It disrupted and
threatened God’s plan
But down through the ages
God has kept His hand
Upon the family which He
seems to have ordained
Uphill and downhill, long
distance and short
Upon us all God’s gift has
remained
There were many to follow
More than just a few
Their names roll through
the ages
Down to me and to you
The first major
interruption came after Cain
With the advent of a man
name Noah
Bod was displeased and
greatly disappointed
So He let the floodwaters
flowa J
And when it was all over
eight people survived
Four families is a better
way to speak
God started again with a
clean, brand new slate
And a world that was so
clean it would squeak
Over and over God worked
with these people
Patience was the name of
the game
Generations came and
generation went
But most were as evil as
Cain
Finally God stumbled on a
couple who would listen
Abram and Sarah, his
lovely wife
God made promises hardly
anyone would believe
And they set out from Ur
for a new life
As the story turns out,
most of these promises were distant
And Abram and Sarah wouldn’t
see them
But Isaac was born in
their very late years
And survived even though
his dad nearly killed him
Isaac and Rebecka were the
next family on the scene
Their twin boys were a
competitive pair
Jacob fought his brother
before they were born
And Esau was all covered
with hair
After seven years of labor,
Jacob got Leah
But was deceived in the
deal by Laban
So he worked seven more to
get Rachel as well
And wound up with two
wives and two maidens!
Twelve children in all
came out of these four
And their stories take
many a twist
But Joseph emerged as the
ruler of all
And their home down in
Egypt was fixed
It was many years later
that Moses arose
From the bull-rushes to
serve as a savior
With Zipporah, his wife,
and a vision in his head
He led them from Egypt
with God’s favor
With a God who was present
in pillar and cloud
They started out on their
journey for Canaan
It was to be a long trip
with problem after problem
But it sure beat in Egypt
remainin’
To reduce forty years,
they made it to Canaan
And established a kingdom
around Saul
Then came David, who was
known to be after God’s heart
And Solomon, whose kingdom
included all
In the midst of all this,
we find Boaz
Who, in Ruth, found a wife
that was good
Twas in Bethlehem that
their first child was given
This is where Obed, David’s
grandfather stood!
Again, years progressed
and the Word of the Lord was scarce
And Hannah, wife of
Elkanah, was caught in a stare
Eli, the high priest, gave
her a promise of a son
Then came Samuel – a prophet
quite rare
As these ages rolled by,
the family survived
In spite of being abused
There was David and
Bathsheeba and Solomon’s thousand wives
Now there’s a man who was
REALLY confused
Before we change
testaments there’s a few more we should name
Such as the family of Job
and his wife
It’s amazing when you
realize how faithful he was
He trusted God through the
deepest of strife
And what about the prophet
whose name was Hosea
Whom God asked to marry a
woman of ill repute
So Hosea expressed a love
for Gomer that was persistent
To show that God’s love is
beyond dispute
Now that brings us to a
critical point
Down to a woman and wife
past family age
But with God there is
nothing impossible
So a child was born to
this marriage
When the promise came,
Zacharias was left speechless
But Elizabeth certainly
did not fear it
Her conception, late in
life, was a blessing
And her child – in her
womb – felt the Spirit
John the Baptist was a
prophet like Elijah
His preaching was a sharp
as could be
Our Lord Jesus was later
to comment
“Never a greater man ever
lived, than he.”
But the outstanding family
story
Is the one about the
young, virgin girl
Who was asked to reveal
all God’s glory
Just the thought of it
gives us a thrill
Mary’s conception was of
the Holy Spirit
Joseph faithfully kept her
from danger
When the child came at the
end of their journey
Mary wrapped Him and laid
Him in a manger!
That night was a
miraculous occasion
We commemorate it down to
this day
There were angels,
shepherds and wise men
Who were all the first
followers of the Way!
Now take notice as you
listen to this story
God chose a family to
reveal His full love
It was Jesus, Immanuel,
and God’s full glory
was to shine through His
life from above
And He preached and
touched and He healed
As He walked on the land
just like us
One would think He’s be
loved and accepted
But actually, He raised
quite a fuss
This One, whose life was
nothing but service
Was finally hung on a tree
It was not until then that
they knew it
He was part of a divine
Trinity!
But His dath had no
permanence about it
On the third day, He rose
from His tomb
The women believed from
the beginning
But the men – not till He
entered the room
Even today, men are slower
to respond
Oh, the church would be
richer indeed
If, like women, they would
trust in the Beyond
Upon His life and His Word
they would feed
Other families were to
enter this life stream
Many were there on
Pentecost Day
When Peter’s words about
visions and men’s dreams
Were fulfilled in a
memorable way
Even some of our Lord’s
disciples
Were married and had
families to show
Peter was one of these
brave ones
His mother-in-law helped
him to grow
Now Paul had no wife that
we know of
Although scholars have
wondered and guessed
Where else could those
beatings have come from?
And what about this thorn
in the flesh?
I’m joking, and
certainly you know it
For the love of a
husband and wife
is far more than
children and possessions
It’s the way to an
abundant life
I think of
Priscilla and Acquilla
Pauls’ friends in
the tent-making trade
Who opened their
home and gave from their hearts
And oh, what a
difference they made!
You see, from the
very beginning
God ordained it –
it’s the way it should be
Without families,
the world would stop spinning
We’re essential, oh
please – don’t you see?
We’re all
needed! The family is God’s plan
For life – abundant
and free
Just stop and think
for a moment
Without my family –
now where would I be?
Every couple that
unites in marriage
Participates with
God in His plan
If they’d only
recognize Jesus
As the Lord of
every woman and man
The problems in our
world would quickly fade
And struggles on
our families would cease
If only a few
people would take notice
That Jesus is the
source of real peace
If you ask: “Who can change our world’s pace?”
My answer will come
really fast
If we put the
family in its right place
It matters not what’s
in our past
God will use a few
families as leaven
This is the way
that God meant
They will lead the
whole world to Heaven
What we need is
real commitment!
Biblical families
have established God’s pace
Right down to now
when we fear the great bomb
But the way He will
save our race
Is through a Dad, a
bunch of kids, and a Mom
So determine today –
you’ll be part of God’s way
Don’t turn back, be
determined, press on
Talk with your
spouse – take time to pray
“O Lord my God, we
will follow, just lead on!”
Now to close up
this time of devotion
And to bring things
to a right and proper end
In the name of the
Father the Son and the Spirit
May we all together
now say “AMEN!”
