So I have been asked quite a lot; are you single? and why are you single? Well, the answer is yes, I am single and the why is because I choose to be. I intend on being married one day (soon) and having a family of my own, but in the meantime, I understand that there is a process to this, especially if you intend on doing things the way the Most High has instructed.
I have a certain set of Biblical standards that I live by as it relates to having a Godly or God-approved relationship. A lot of the principles we naturally subscribe to in life today can all be found in the Bible. Our laws and/or codes of conduct such as, not committing murder, not stealing and honoring your parents/elders (as a child and even into adulthood) are all found in the Ten Commandments that the Most High gave to Moses to give to His people, the children of Israel after their Exodus from Egyptian slavery.
Women have always had an interesting and intricate role as it relates to men in the Bible and all throughout history. If you study the scriptures, you will see numerous accounts where the Most High used women to accomplish His will. Look at the story of Esther, Esther was a Hebrewess woman whom through her obedience to the Most High, was able to save her people (Israelites) from the King (her husband) who sought to destroy them. Father Abraham was commanded by the Most High to listen to his wife when she told him (Abraham) to cast out Hagar and her son Ishmael into the desert, which later resulted in Ishmael being raised up into a great and might nation. The story of Rahab, a Gentile woman who assisted the Hebrew men in capturing the city of Jericho is another great example. She was not an Israelite, but because she had heard of the fame of YAH and what He had done for the Israelites, her heart melted and she trusted in the power of YAH that she heard about rather than the power of any of other god ( Joshua 2:11). This caused her to have compassion and hide the Israelite men on the roof, letting them out the window to escape to the mountain for three days. Even Ruth, the Moabitess woman whom later married Boaz and became a great grandmother of King David played a vital role in the history of the Bible because of her faithfulness to Naomi and her people and God.
Some people have a misconception that women are to only be silent and let the men do all of the work. That is incorrect. Women, you are not the head, but rather the man. When it comes to the order of how YAH has set up the authority underneath HIM, it flows from The Messiah (Jesus Christ) to the Man (Husband / male gender) and then to the Woman. Just because you are not over the Man authoritatively doesn't mean that you don't have a purpose. Women are to be gentle, delicate and meek. We are to have a sweet and humble spirit given to us from the Most High (1 Pet. 3:4 KJV). Titus 2:3-5 KJV tells us that the older women are to teach the younger woman how "to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."
Discreet means: careful and circumspect in one's speech or actions, especially in order to avoid causing offense or to gain an advantage. (Google). We are to choose our words wisely; not ignorantly speaking in loud obnoxious behavior. We should be looking not to cause an offense, not seeking to create opposition or trouble. Chaste means: abstaining from extramarital, or from all, sexual intercourse; not having any sexual nature or intention; and without unnecessary ornamentation; simple or restrained (Google). We are to keep our purity, our virtue. The scriptures says that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's (1 Cor. 6:19-20 KJV). We were not created to be whores or loose silly women. Now, if you have participated in this type of behavior before, do not condemn yourself, you can repent (feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin) from these sins and turn away from them, never to do them again.
So, we now understand that woman are underneath the man in terms of authority and that we are to have discreet non-offensive attitudes, and keeping ourselves in purity and chasteness we can now see how we are to behave in our Godly relationship(s). We should cover our men in prayer, we are to keep our bodies for him and him only (the same goes for the men), we are to not nag and irritate with our mouths and attitudes but rather speak in peace and gentleness (as the women described earlier) to our husbands. Keeping the home (Titus 2:5 KJV), not just in cleanliness, but rather in creating a peaceful atmosphere where the Holy Spirit can and will dwell at all times; a pleasant place for yourself, husband and children. Submitting ourselves to the authority of our husband as the head of the household (Eph. 5:22-24 KJV). This is our role in our relationships. Behaving ourselves with all Godliness, pleasing and acceptable unto the Father. I am waiting for the Father to send my husband; a (Hebrew) man who is not ignorant of the scriptures but is rather living them out. A man who understands his role in a Godly relationship and that is looking for the same knowledge in his wife. By obeying the scriptures and the design that YAH built for relationship(s), only then can we fully see the hand of YAH moving in our lives and being a great light and example until the world.
Peace & Blessings,
Joanna