1, 2. Wetin Hebrews 13:4 de move us to do?

YOU de like to honor Jehovah? Yes all of us want honor Jehovah! We de honor Jehovah because e deserve-am and e promise to honor us if we honor him. (1 Sam. 2:30; Prov. 3:9; Rev. 4:11) Jehovah also want make we honor people, like people for government. (Rom. 12:10; 13:7) But one area dey wey we really need to show honor. That one na marriage.

² Apostle Paul be write say: “Make all of wuna honor marriage, and make the marriage bed dey pure.” (Heb. 13:4) Paul no just de make general statement about marriage. Instead, e de tell Christians say make they honor marriage, make they see-am as important thing. Na so you de see marriage, especially your own if you don marry?

3. Which important advice Jesus give about marriage? (Check the first picture.)

³ If you de honor marriage, you de follow the best example. Jesus honor marriage. When the Pharisees ask Jesus about divorce, e tell them wetin God talk about the first marriage say: “Because of this one, man go leave e papa and e mama and go stay with e wife and them go be one flesh.” Jesus still talk say:  “Wetin God don join together, make nobody scatter-am.”​—Read Mark 10:2-12; Gen. 2:24.

4. How God want make marriage be?

⁴ Jesus agree say na God start marriage and marriage need to last forever. God no tell Adam and Eve say they fit use divorce end marriage. God use that first marriage show how e want make marriage be. Na one husband and one wife dey for that marriage, and the two of them go remain together forever.

5. Wetin death de do to marriage?

⁵ When Adam sin, many things change. One of them na death, and this one really affect marriage. We fit see this one from the letter wey Paul write to show say Christians no dey under the Law wey God give through Moses. E talk say death de end marriage and the husband or wife wey e dey alive fit marry again.​—Rom. 7:1-3.

6. How the Law wey God give Israel people show how God de see marriage?

⁶ The Law wey God give Israel people tell them many things about marriage. The Law allow them to marry more than one wife. Even before God give them this Law, people don de marry plenty wife. But God tell them how to treat their wives. E say make them no de treat them anyhow. For example, if Israel man marry slave and later marry another wife, e go continue to protect and care for e first wife as e de do before. (Ex. 21:9, 10) We no dey under that Law, but e show us say Jehovah de honor marriage. This one no suppose make you honor marriage?

7, 8. (a) As Deuteronomy 24:1 talk, wetin the Law talk about divorce? (b) How Jehovah de see divorce?

⁷ Wetin the Law talk about divorce? The Law show say God want make marriage last; but for some reasons, e allow divorce. (Read Deuteronomy 24:1.) That time, Israel man fit divorce e wife if “e see something wey e really bad about the woman.” The Law no explain wetin “something wey e really bad” mean. E must be something wey e fit bring shame or wey e dey serious, no be just small-small thing. (Deut. 23:14) The bad thing be say, for the time of Jesus, many Jew people de divorce “because of anything.” (Matt. 19:3) Make we no follow their example.

⁸ Prophet Malachi show how God de see divorce. For that time, e dey common for man to use cunny-cunny divorce the wife wey e marry when e dey young. E fit be because e want marry young, pagan woman. To show how God de see this thing, Malachi write say: “I hate divorce.” (Mal. 2:14-16) This one agree with wetin the Word of God talk about the first marriage. E say: “Man go leave e papa and e mama and go stay with e wife and them go be one flesh.” (Gen. 2:24) Jesus show say e de see marriage as e Papa de see-am when e talk say: “The thing wey God join together make nobody scatter-am.”​—Matt. 19:6.

9. How we understand wetin Jesus talk for Mark 10:11, 12?

⁹ Person fit ask say, ‘Any reason dey to make Christian divorce and marry another person?’ Well, Jesus talk how e de see divorce. E say: “Any man wey e divorce e wife and marry another woman don commit adultery against e wife, and if any woman divorce e husband and marry another man, e don commit adultery.” (Mark 10:11, 12; Luke 16:18) So e dey clear say Jesus honor marriage and e want  make people honor marriage too. If person look for excuse to divorce e wife or husband wey e no do bad and marry another person, e don commit adultery. This one na true because if person just divorce e wife or husband, this one never end the marriage. Before God, the two of them still be “one flesh.” Jesus still talk say when man divorce e wife when e no do bad, e fit make the woman commit adultery. Why e talk so? That time, when they divorce woman, e fit want marry again so that the new husband go support her with money. That marriage go be adultery.

10. Wetin fit make Christian to divorce and dey free to marry again?

¹⁰ Jesus talk wetin fit end marriage. E say: “I tell wuna say, any man wey e divorce e wife except say the wife commit sex wey e bad [Greek, por·neiʹa], and marry another woman, don commit adultery.” (Matt. 19:9) Jesus don talk this same thing when e de teach for mountain. (Matt. 5:31, 32) For this two occasion, Jesus talk about “sex wey e bad.” Wetin e talk cover many things about sex outside marriage, like: adultery, prostitution, sex between people wey they never marry, sex with man and man or woman and woman, and sex with animal. For example, if married man sleep with another person, e wife fit decide whether e go divorce the man or not. If the wife divorce the man, then the marriage don end before God.

11. Why Christian fit decide say e no go divorce even if e get reason from Bible?

¹¹ Jesus no talk say if husband or wife sleep with another person, the marriage must end for divorce. For example, wife fit decide say e no go divorce e husband if e don sleep with another woman. The wife fit still love e husband; e fit dey ready to forgive him and the two of them go try to make their marriage work. The truth be say, if the wife divorce the man and the wife no marry again, life no go easy for her. How e go get the things wey e need  like clothes, food and sex? What if e de feel say e dey alone? How e go affect their pikin them? The divorce go make-am hard to train them for truth? (1 Cor. 7:14) E dey clear say when marriage end for divorce, life no go easy for the husband or wife wey e no do bad.

12, 13. (a) Wetin happen for the marriage of Hosea? (b) Why Hosea take Gomer back, and wetin that one teach us about marriage today?

¹² We fit learn something from wetin happen to prophet Hosea. God tell Hosea make e marry wife (Gomer), wey e go be “woman of prostitution and [go get] children of prostitution.” Gomer “get belle and born one boy [for Hosea].” (Hos. 1:2, 3) After, e born one girl and one boy. Maybe e born them with other men. Even as Gomer go sleep with other men many times, Hosea no divorce Gomer. Finally, e leave Hosea and come be slave. But, Hosea still go buy Gomer back. (Hos. 3:1, 2) Jehovah use Hosea to show how E don forgive Israel many times even as they go de worship other gods. Wetin we fit learn from this one?

¹³ For Christian marriage, if the husband or wife go sleep with another person, the one wey e no do bad go need to make decision. Jesus talk say this person get reason to divorce and e dey free to marry another person. Or e fit forgive e husband or wife. If e forgive, e no bad. Hosea take Gomer back. After Gomer come back to Hosea, Gomer no be get to sleep with any other man. Hosea no “sleep with” Gomer for some time. (Hos. 3:3, ftn.) After some time, Hosea go don start to sleep with Gomer again. This one show how God dey ready to take back e people and continue to treat them well. (Hos. 1:11; 3:3-5) Wetin this one teach us about marriage today? If the one wey e no do bad decide say e no go divorce, and e start to sleep with e wife or husband again, e show say e don forgive. (1 Cor. 7:3, 5) If they sleep with each other, this one don cancel the reason wey the Christian be get to divorce. After that one, make the husband and wife work hard to see marriage as God de see-am.

14. As 1 Corinthians 7:10, 11 talk, wetin fit happen for marriage?

¹⁴ All Christians need to try to honor marriage just as Jehovah and Jesus de honor-am. But some fit no de honor marriage, because people no dey perfect. (Rom. 7:18-23) So make e no surprise us say some Christians for the time of the apostles get problems for their marriage. Paul write say: “Make wife no leave e husband”; but some still leave their husband.​—Read 1 Corinthians 7:10, 11.

15, 16. (a) If problems dey for marriage, wetin husband and wife go try to do, and why? (b) How this one concern marriage wey only the husband or wife de serve Jehovah?

¹⁵ Paul no explain wetin make the husband and wife separate. The problem no be say the husband sleep with another person. This one for be reason to make the wife divorce and marry another person. Paul write say if wife separate from e husband, make e “no marry another person, or make e go settle with e husband.” So God still de see them as husband and wife. Paul still advice say no matter the problem, make them try settle-am, except say one of them don sleep with another person. The two of them fit meet congregation elders for help. The elders no go support one side, but they go give them advice from Bible.

¹⁶ More problems go dey for marriage if  na only one person de serve God and de try to do wetin God talk. When problem dey for the marriage, na good reason to separate? As we don see, Bible talk say sex outside marriage fit be reason to divorce, but e no talk wetin go make husband and wife separate. Paul write say: “If woman get husband wey no be believer and e gree to stay with her, make the woman no leave e husband.” (1 Cor. 7:12, 13) This one still concern us.

17, 18. Why some Christians don decide to stay for their marriage wey problem want scatter?

¹⁷ But we don see some examples wey Christian sister get “husband wey no be believer” and the husband de show say e no “gree to stay with her.” This man fit de beat and de treat e wife for some bad way, and the woman de feel say her life de danger. The man fit no gree to care for e wife and children or e de make-am really hard for e wife to serve Jehovah. For that kind situation, the wife fit decide say no matter wetin e husband talk e go separate because e husband no want make e stay. But some Christians for this kind situation don decide to stay with their husband. They don endure and try to make things better. Why they do like that?

¹⁸ If they separate, they still be husband and wife. As they no de stay together, they go face problems as we don first talk-am. Apostle Paul give another reason why e good make husband and wife stay together. E talk say: “Husband wey no be believer go dey holy because of e wife, and the wife wey no be believer go dey holy because of the brother; if no be so, wuna pikin them no go dey clean, but now them dey holy.” (1 Cor. 7:14) Plenty Christians don decide to stay with their husband or wife wey no be believer even when e really hard. They fit talk say wetin they do get gain especially when their husband or wife come serve Jehovah.​—Read 1 Corinthians 7:16; 1 Pet. 3:1, 2.

19. Why plenty happy marriage them dey for Christian congregation?

¹⁹ Jesus talk about divorce, and the apostle Paul give advice about separation. They want make servants of God honor marriage. Today, plenty happy marriage them dey for the Christian congregation for the whole world. You fit even see plenty happy husbands and wives for your congregation. This husbands love their wives and their wives love and respect them. All of them de show say marriage na something wey we need to honor. We dey happy say millions of husbands and wives don prove say wetin Bible talk na true. E talk say: “Because of this reason, man go leave e papa and mama and go stay with e wife, and the two of them go be one flesh.”​—Eph. 5:31, 33.