Becoming a Better HusbandSample

A Godly Husband Should Know the Scriptures

The author of Hebrews reminds us that God “spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways” (Hebrews 1:1). Without the Bible as a reference, prophets relied on hearing directly from God—in dreams, in visions, through an audible voice, or through an impression in their spirit.

Today we have the completed revelation of God to man in the pages of the Bible. Dreams, visions, and audible voices are not the ordinary ways God chooses to speak to us today. He has provided us with a more certain, more trustworthy record of his Word to his people. A prophet today does not need to hope for a “word from the Lord” about a particular subject—he has the sure Word of God as his guide.

To hear from God today, a husband must be diligent to equip himself as a student of the Scriptures. Douglas Wilson, in his book Reforming Marriage, says, “a man may not be a vocational theologian, but in his home he must be the resident theologian. The apostle Paul, when he is urging women to keep silent in the church, tells them that ‘if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home’ (1 Corinthians 14:35). The tragedy is that many modern women have to wonder why the Bible says they should have to ask their husbands. ‘He doesn’t know.’ But a husband must be prepared to answer his wife’s doctrinal questions, and if he cannot, then he must be prepared to study so that he can remedy the deficiency.”

We think of a prophet as one who proclaims God’s truth. First and foremost, he hears from God so that he can proclaim the truth accurately. A husband who would attempt to speak on God’s behalf should tremble at the assignment. False prophets in the Old Testament were stoned. The New Testament warns us to “be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). The spiritual disciplines of a godly man begin as he reads, studies, memorizes, and mediates on the Word of God.