Biblical Duties of Husband and Wife

Blessed Love to all Royal Dawtas of JAH RasTafari Ithiopia I!

I've been down the last three days with a bug, it was pretty rough - still have a bad cough. Haven't been able to achieve much, but I hope to back up and running and in better Irits soon. I also really want to get serious with myself to go as raw as possible, or at least cut myself off totally from the forbidden foods I've been posting about. I guess when you're sick you have too much time to think about all the crap you're not doing good enough lol!

In response to a Sistren request for this topic, I post the following lists on the duties of a man and woman in what I call "sacred marriage," or in the type of marriage JAH RasTafari honoured and full-joyed for many many fruitful years. When I told another Sistren that I was posting about this topic, we ended up reasoning at length over RasTafari Marriage and the lack of security some sistren face because they have no formal ceremonial order to establish themselves before JAH and the community with. Many RasTafari who want to marry have to come up with their own ideas on what works best for them. We wondered why it is so? I figure it's because in the beginning days, the marriage affairs of the Lion was personal - it was probably not something spoken about much in Binghi - I'm just guessing. In bunning out Church marriage I and I have failed to really replace it with a tradition just as wholesome and accepted, and which will set more RasTa homes before JAH, placing HIM as Head and Guardian of the family. The lack of vows and the declaration thereof causes insecurity for some Dawtas (and this is speaking outside of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church) and it should not be. Hopefully I will be able to address this topic at more length in the future.
  I will definitely be making a video in the near future given that I feel like so many Sistren feel it to be an important topic that is left unaddressed.

The duties of the Virtuous Wife as listed in the Bible are to:

·         Pray, fear the Lord and walk in His ways

·         Be obedient to the Laws of right, love, cleanliness and feasts

·         Be sanctified and washed in the Word, to become a holy “Church” without blemish

·         Be a “believing wife” that she may worship and minister with her King-Man and his brethren and their wives

·         Be obedient and submissive to her husband always, seeing him as her head

·         Have authority over her husband’s body, not her own

·         Have unshakeable faith in JAH to survive any situation

·         Manage the home and all property

·         Never commit adultery

·         Never live independent of her husband

·         Never depart from her husband, or be reconciled to him

·         Remain unmarried if she is over sixty and livicate herself to the Lord

·         Bear children and discipline them in the Law

·         Love her husband and children

·         Be discreet/reverent, with chaste conduct

·         Dress modestly attired at home and in public, wearing the symbol of authority on her head

·         Find and develop skills that can provide income and daily occupation,  working hard and diligently

·         Focus on things that develop and stimulate the Holy Irit

·         Speak quietly and wisely always to others

·         Be gracious and fair in all dealings

·         Be a “teacher of good things” or give counsel to the younger generations

·         Make no oaths or promises that could afflict her soul or bring guilt upon her, and likewise break no vows she cannot honorably keep

·         Help the poor

·         Beautify, furnish, clean the tabernacle and place of worship

·         Tend to the Lord’s holy men, the priests, monks and apostles who journey and minister

·         Congregate with others in good works

·         Stay away from drunkenness, idleness and ungodly places and company

A Virtuous Wife wants a Virtuous Husband the same way. Someone who will also put JAH first in his life and will strive to obey and emulate the Laws of Right, Love and cleanliness. Someone who will make her feel happy, beautiful, important and unburdened by the Laws their Livity and Faith mandate.  She wants a Man of JAH, a Lion, who will submit to her wishes, raspect her and provide/conquer for her and their children with the same care and zeal she gives to them. She wants him to allow her to also provide for the family and home in the way that she is capable and willing to bring forth.

It is necessary that her husband take her seriously, take the Law seriously, and not be a hypocrite or fall short of his reputation in whatever capacity he lives. Although patriarchal society - both Hebrew-Israelite and Ethiopian – never really offered a choice to a woman in choosing her husband; the Law still ensured that a husband would make her happy and comfortable. He, in taking her from her father’s home, or whatever circumstance he found her, would need to be totally responsible and provide even better. Frankly speaking, it just didn’t look good for a man of a good living, or good marriage or of a leading role in society, to have an unhappy home. How could he keep order elsewhere if his home was a sham?

And so, in order to clearly establish the principles of Sacred Marriage, including the Alpha with the Omega is necessary. It gives  Sistren a clearer overstanding of the values and principles to look for in a husband, and to instill in a son.

The following summary details the duties of the upright, Nazirene Husband in Scripture as father, husband and holy man of God whether prophet, priest, king or apostle.

The duties of the Virtuous Husband are to:

·         Lift his hands in prayer without wrath or doubting

·         Establish the Lord as Head of his house

·         Have unshakeable faith in JAH to conquer and provide

·         Put on the Image of Kristos, fearing the Lord to walk in His ways

·         Honour and obey Laws of Right, Love and Cleanliness always

·         Take a virgin wife, or a younger woman whose husband is deceased to wife (have his own wife, not a harlot, widow or another’s wife who has left home)

·         Leave his mother and father’s house and cleave to his wife, and be at home frequently for the first year with her if he is a man of travel

·         Sanctify and cleanse his wife by the Word of JAH that he may take her unto himself as a holy and spotless “Church”

·         Teach her at home anything she does not overstand in Tabernacle

·         Love his wife as he loves himself, be affectionate towards her

·         Nourish and cherish his wife as he nourishes and cherishes his own body and pleasures

·         Have authority over wife’s body, not his own

·         Never commit adultery

·         Never divorce his wife, or be reconciled to her

·         Not live independent of his woman

·         Give his wife a proper certificate of divorcement if she does not please him at all

·         Never approach his wife during her customary impurity

·         Never spill his seed outside the womb

·         Not be bitter toward his wife

·         Give his wife many children

·         Labour with his hands to provide for them and their table

·         Not provoke his children, or ill-treat them that their spirits will become broken and discouraged

·         Ensure his children are upright, taught well, and have a secure inheritance

·         If in her presence, immediately relieve his wife of any unwise vow/promise she makes if it will afflict her soul. Failing to relieve her, binds her to accept her fate

·         Praise, give honour to his wife for all her works whether at home, business or charitable

·         Never mistreat his wife or diminish his care and love of her, if he takes a second wife

·         Never take a second wife if he is a leader of a Church

·         Rejoice and live joyfully with the wife of his youth

Queen Omega Love
Sis Ila