Behold Her Beauty! Appreciating Our Wives.

“And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, behold now, I know that thou [art] a fair woman to look upon.” – Genesis 12:11

Abram would have been married to Sarai for probably 35 years when they got to Canaan. However, he seems not have a proper appreciation of her beauty for the most part of that 35 years of marriage until a certain event called. What took him so long before he properly realized the beauty of his wife and what it means to him?

He clearly realized this when he was going down in life as a result of famine; his marriage was going down to Egypt (that is, to the world).

He discovered it when he was afraid of dying because of the beauty of his wife; then he beheld the treasure and beauty of his wife when it was almost too late!

We should not get so used to our wives that we fail to discover their beauty and appreciate them.

We should not get so used to our wives that we fail to discover their beauty and appreciate them.

It should not be only when our wives are, for instance, in labour pain that we show love to them. It should not be when we are about to lose them to the world or to certain circumstances that we begin to appreciate their beauty. Rather, we should be showing them love and appreciating their beauty as we journey together on the pilgrim way. This can be, for instance, by spending quality time with them both to teach them the Word of God and to be a listening ear to them often times.

We should show and express our love to them both when they are at their best for us or not, when food gets burnt or salty, and not only when she submits herself and her substance to us. We know that Christ “commendeth his own love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners,” He loved us, even to the end.

May it not be too late before we properly start appreciating the beauty in our wives. One thing that can endanger husbands to loose their wife is when we have not identified this beauty, invest in it and guard it so this beauty will not be stolen by another man or circumstances.

Abraham perceived his life will be threatened because he had not secured his wife’s beauty. We should never had to wait to discover the beauty of our wives at a critical or dangerous times. May we discover the beauty in our wives so we can get the blessing of God in our lives and marriage.

In Malachi 2:14 we read “yet you ask, why does He reject it? Because the Lord was witness [to the covenant made at your marriage] between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously and to whom you were faithless. Yet she is your companion and the wife of your covenant [made by your marriage vows].”

What should we do when we discover the beauty of our wives at such a time; when we are near to enter Egypt?

The Lord expect that we value the beauty and not jeopardise it. He expects us to keep the covenant of our marriage in the Lord, because He is a witness to how we behave to our wives. We need to ask ourselves what has veiled our eyes for so long. We need to turn back from going to Egypt and ask the Lord to direct us just as He showed Isaac a way of escape from the famine in his time instead of going down to Egypt.

Going down to Egypt (that is, to the world) will not only make you lose your wife to another man (the devil), but we will get a thorn in our flesh, Hagar, that will hurt our vision (father of nations), make mockery of our ‘Isaac’ (in him shall your seed be called) and Ishmael will hurt our generations even after we are gone.

The devil’s servant (Pharaoh) will take our ‘inner beautiful’ wife and sow as a seed to us, a younger ‘outward beautiful’ wife with plenty of gifts. He will give us and our families a space in his land to invest and do business and get famous. He will appoint us a position in his Church (for pastor’s who allowed themselves to be used as devil’s servant) where we will be so busy and celebrated, buried in the work of God (David and Uriah) all of which comes at the expense of spending time to value our wives.

There are Abimelechs and Pharaos even now.
“For among them are those who warm their way into homes and captivate silly and weak-natured and spiritually dwarfed women, loaded down with [the burden of their] sins [and easily] swayed and led away by various evil desires and seductive impulses. [These weak women will listen to anybody who will teach them]; they are forever inquiring and getting information, but are never able to arrive at a recognition and knowledge of the Truth.” – 2 Timothy 3:6-7

Why Is the Devil After Our Wives?
He wants to raise ungodly seed through her just as he did through Eve. The old serpent successfully raised his seed through Eve (Gen 3:15).

How?
Adam had not put to use the beauty in his wife (the spiritual womb to birth God’s vision for him – be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue it and have dominion) before the serpent lured Eve into sin by deceiving her to eat the forbidden fruit and she passed the fruit to her husband who ate also and thereby got defiled. She later gave birth to her children in sin. “Behold, I was brought forth in guilt, And in sin my mother conceived me“.

Devil knew this blessing of fruitfulness on Adam and Eve will become a reality and that means they will subdue and dominate the earth. His interest was not to terminate this blessing because he can’t terminate God’s blessing but he can use this blessing for his own gain by overriding it through deception. This is the stolen mandate!

Thus the devil began to expand his kingdom by multiplying the earth with his seeds (children born by Eve who were his through sin) and started dominating the earth. “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are clearly identified” (1 Jn 3:10, etc).

Here is the danger that happened to Adam when he did not safeguard the beauty of his wife. No matter the vision he has to be fruitful, no matter the effort and labour he put to use in birthing his vision, the offshoot (Cain and Abel) were born sinners. All in Adam were born in sin (Rom 5:12-19). No matter the celebration of Adam at the birth of his children and his investment on them, the devil will lay claim on them except they are ransomed by the Lord through the blood shed for the remission of sin.

Then, the only hope for Adam to redeem his offspring early was to stand in the righteousness of Christ and sanctify his children with the Word of God and the blood of Christ before they grow to know what is right and wrong.

By the time they grow to a point that they can decide right and wrong they are held accountable for their sins. The devil will lay claim on their lives as his seeds except they have been raised as covenant children and they are standing on God’s standard.

The devil (sin) became the desire of Cain, it was lying at the door of his heart creeping in through what he watches on TV, social media, evil thoughts and others. But Abel was made righteous through his offering (offering his life to Jesus).

What was Her Beauty That Made Her Irrestitible to Kings and Princes?
What kind of beauty will make king and princes go after such woman; a stranger without knowing her background?

It was an irrestitible beauty!
What kind of beauty will endanger the husband’s life?
It must have been a very precious beauty!

Sarai was over 65 years when they were heading for Egypt. She was over menopausal age, yet kings (Pharaoh and Abimelech) and princes were dying to have her. She was blessed among all women (queens) in the palace. She was a woman with a difference. This beauty is not a matter of your status quo: royalty, wealth or position in the world or ministry.

Let us examine the beauty of a mother in the faith. 1 Peter 3:2-6:

1. She was submissive to her own husband; not pastors, fathers or boss at work over her husband.
2. She lived a pure and reverent life.
3. She was not concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.Outward beauty comes from your communion with God through His word and prayer.
   Moses stayed in the presence of God and he was beautified inside-out; his face was filled with the radiance of God’s glory.
4. She clothed herself with inner beauty, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.
5. She trusted God and accepted the authority of her husband.
6. She obeyed her husband and calls him Lord (Sarah)
7. She was a virtuous woman, she cared for her home and household (relatives and husband’s staff or servants) she nursed and raised 318 servants under Abraham Prov 31:10-31, Gen 14:14.
   Pharaoh had wives cloth with outward beauty but emptied within yet he and his princes were dying to have Sarai, despite not using outward ornaments to beautify herself. She was beautiful inside-out. When a woman increases in Christian virtues by studying the word of God and has a personal relationship with Jesus, she will be beautiful in her spirit, soul and body.

Blessing That Comes with This Beauty

1. In her genuine submission to her husband, God delivered her from kings and den of thieves (Palace). God will not allow her beauty to be tampered with. None of the kings slept with her.
2. A strong room (queen’s room) where no man can enter or grant deliverance, not even her husband could come in but God came in and delivered her.
3. The Lord erected a tent for her, Sarah’s tent, enlarge it for her so all other Christian women will come into it. Isah 54:2-3; Gen. 24 vs 67. She is the example that God wants us to follow.
4. She is the mother of us all. All Christians are children of Abraham and Sarah by faith. Gal 4:26
5. Her beauty never fades away but she increased in glory. After Pharaoh released her (maybe she was 65years then) 24 years after (Sarah now 89years) was still sought after by king Abimelech (a righteous man) to marry her.

Let us bless the Lord always for our wives and appreciate and nuture the beauty that the Lord has blessed them with. As husbands, we are to love our wives even as Christ loved His own. He loved them even unto the end. Christ has set for us an example that we should perfectly follow in His footsteps. May the Lord help us as we do His will.