“The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly” John 4:17-18.
What a sorry situation for this woman! At the point of accessing life’s greatest blessing that requires the signatory support of a husband, she had none to present! Not that she was not married or staying with a “husband” but she just didn’t have a husband. What a paradox of life. And Jesus agreed with her words which she said, “I have no husband.”
This is the sorry and pitiable situation of many married women today: they are lawfully married and living with men as husbands but their experiences can best be described like the situation of this Samaritan woman, who though married, said, “I have no husband.” There are three categories of women who can be described as not having husband.
The first category is those living with unavailable and irresponsible husbands. They are married but their husbands are not just there. Like when Adam was not available when the Serpent launched his brutal and merciless attack on Eve in the Garden of Eden; God would later call out to him and asked, “Adam, where art thou?” Manoah also was absent when the Angel visited his wife and the angel had to be asking the wife of Manoah “Where is your husband?” There are many women today over whom the heaven is asking “Where is your husband?” There are many wives today whose heads are not “covered” by any husband in the divine organogram. The Scripture says, “The Head of Christ is God; the Head of the man is Christ and the head of every woman is the man (her husband).” Unavailable, irresponsible husbands who have failed in providing the necessary spiritual, moral and financial support for their wives render such wives no-husband-wives. Women and wives in this category struggle all alone by themselves to bear the burden that is meant to be borne by two people; and having no “cover” over their heads, they are exposed to diverse humiliating experiences. Any woman with an irresponsible man is a woman with no husbands. To such women going through this kind of experience, the best solution is to passionately present such husbands in prayer to God who has the power to change lives and situations. He is the Maker of both men and women, and only Him has the solution to every man’s problem. God can transform a man into the likeness of His Image. Make praying for your husband a top priority. In fact, the best any woman can offer her husband is prayer. Don’t give up, with God all things are possible.
Another category of married women with no husbands are women living in adultery. Adultery is voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than his wife or between a married woman and someone other than her husband. The Samaritan woman had lived with five different men in adulterous relationships. Women who abandoned their matrimony to go and married other men for no justifiable reason live in adultery and therefore have no husband as such marriages are invalid before God. Jesus said, “…and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.” Sadly, there are many adulterous women today who have left their rightful husbands and married to other men just for mere reasons of money and pleasures. Satan is ferociously attacking the family system on a global scale as rates of adultery keep increasing by leaps and bounds. This is a strategy of the devil to weaken and destroy the family system and the world at large as he knows well that any incidence in the home front is a precedence in the world. The omission in the family becomes an omission in the world at large. It was family that was first attacked before the whole world now lies in wickedness. A married adulterous woman is a woman with no husband. Polygamy and any marital abomination present with men today is never the original of God. “In the beginning, it was not so.” One man, one woman till death do them part is the original and authentic plan of God for marriage. Polyandry, the practice of having more than one husband at a time is a development from the pit of hell to destroy the sanctity and sanity of the marriage system. May the God of creation restore order to the family system globally.
The third category of married wome
n with no husband is are women who are “too good” to be husbanded. These category of wives are the proud species of wives. They are too “blessed” to be submissive, too intelligent to be instructed; too gifted to be governed by any man. They just can’t submit to the authority of any man probably because of their age, wealth, position in the place of work, political appointments, a higher salary than the husband, parental heritage, spiritual gifts and ministerial achievements…they are just “too good” to be under a man’s authority at home. They are wives after the order of Vashti but not Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. “That kind of deep beauty was seen in the saintly women of old, who trusted God and fitted in with their husbands’ plans. Sarah, for instance, obeyed her husband, Abraham, honoring him as head of the house. And if you do the same, you will be following in her steps like good daughters and doing what is right; then you will not need to fear [offending your husbands]” (1 Peter 3:5-6 TLB). Wives who are too good to be husbanded are wives with no husband. Did I call them too good? They are no good at all! They are like rottenness in the bone. Unfortunately enough, they litter the Christian Body as well! They are angels in the church but angry wolves at home, who give no respect and honour to their husbands. If you are such, may the Lord transform your life for good.
n with no husband is are women who are “too good” to be husbanded. These category of wives are the proud species of wives. They are too “blessed” to be submissive, too intelligent to be instructed; too gifted to be governed by any man. They just can’t submit to the authority of any man probably because of their age, wealth, position in the place of work, political appointments, a higher salary than the husband, parental heritage, spiritual gifts and ministerial achievements…they are just “too good” to be under a man’s authority at home. They are wives after the order of Vashti but not Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. “That kind of deep beauty was seen in the saintly women of old, who trusted God and fitted in with their husbands’ plans. Sarah, for instance, obeyed her husband, Abraham, honoring him as head of the house. And if you do the same, you will be following in her steps like good daughters and doing what is right; then you will not need to fear [offending your husbands]” (1 Peter 3:5-6 TLB). Wives who are too good to be husbanded are wives with no husband. Did I call them too good? They are no good at all! They are like rottenness in the bone. Unfortunately enough, they litter the Christian Body as well! They are angels in the church but angry wolves at home, who give no respect and honour to their husbands. If you are such, may the Lord transform your life for good.
The Samaritan woman confessed “I have no husband. The cause of her moving from man to man is not revealed to us, but though she was under a man as husband, yet Jesus saw her as having not her head “covered”. Do you even know that the issue of head covering in the bible is particularly addressed to married women as a symbol of being under the authority of their husbands? Go read the passage again. But alas! There are many heads covered with the thickest turban and most expensive hats who are all the same uncovered! Hope you are not a married woman who has no husband! Think on this thing, and the Lord give you understanding.