Women - Protected By Almighty God!

Rev. George R. Dillahunty
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
341 Lovick Lee Road
Oriental, North Carolina 28571-9407

February 20, 2006

Text: Deuteronomy 21:10-14 (King James Version)

"When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, (vs. 11) and seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; (vs. 12) then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; (vs. 13) and she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. (vs. 14) And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go wither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her."

Topic: Women - Protected By Almighty God!

In the words of Mart De Hann, of RBC Ministries, "Marriage is meant to protect a lifetime of love. The permanence of a husband-wife relationship rests on a covenant of mutual commitment and trust that is designed to survive normal and even serious marital conflict. Sometimes, however, verbal and/or physical abuse can do to a marriage what murder or rape do to a life."

It is easy to pass judgment on others when they are undergoing suffering and/or pain! How often have you heard someone say, "I wonder what they have done to Almighty God to be in the particular circumstance or situation that they find themselves in?" Did not the very Disciples of Jesus, the Christ, wonder who sinned - the blind man or his parents - because he was born blind? Listen to the response of Jesus, the Christ, to their question, found in John 9:3 (KJV): "...Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."

Nothing brings a matter closer to home than when it strikes our own home - when it happens to someone that we care about - and, all of a sudden, we find ourselves having a different response to a particular circumstance or situation.

Picture in your mind, if you will, this scenario: You have a beautiful young daughter who is in terrible pain. She has no clue as to where to turn and she blames herself for winding up in an abusive marriage.

Oh yes, my brothers and sisters, you know that your daughter is not perfect; but, then again, neither are you! You haven’t seen how often she has cried, you haven’t seen how hard she has tried to make her marriage work. You have not heard her prayers to Almighty God, asking Him to give her patience, asking Him to give her grace to stay with the man that she has promised to love for the rest of her life.

You haven’t seen her, when at times she wished she had never been born. You haven’t heard her husband tell her that he doesn’t love her - you haven’t heard him say to her that he is sorry he ever married her. You haven’t heard her husband call her names, deprive her of his affection; while, at the same time, expecting her to meet his sexual demands whenever he is in the mood - forget, whether she is in the mood or not!

When your daughter talks about getting some help, you haven’t heard her