Echoes of Time - Lesson 1 - Introduction

Ecclesiastes 1:9-10, ‘The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.’


There is ‘no thing new under the sun.’
So why do we think we are the only ones
struggling with our specific problems?

Why do we think we are the first couple
to be given this set of dilemmas?
If we do not learn from the past,
we are doomed to repeat it.

Soon after the honeymoon, Satan visits


Genesis 3:1-6, ‘Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.’

Why does Satan want to attack marriages?





Satan wants us to disobey God.
Satan’s goal in life is for us to reject God’s plan for our lives
and that includes God’s plan for our marriage.

God’s plan for marriage is that…
a man leave his father and mother
and cleave to his wife and for the two to become one.

Does it say a woman should leave her mother and father?





God’s plan is that what He has joined together
no man should separate.
God’s plan is that marriage should be honored
by all and the marriage bed kept pure.

God’s plan is for wives to be subject to their own husbands as to the Lord
and for men to love their own wives as Christ loved the church
and to nurture and cherish their wives as their own flesh.


Satan wants to destroy love.
Love is one of the greatest gifts God has given us.
Jesus died on the cross to demonstrate God’s love for us.
Paul said Christ’s love compels us.
And without love as the motivation
no act of service no matter how sacrificial is unprofitable.

Indeed, love is the supreme spiritual gift and the greatest command.
Jesus said the two greatest commandments are....

Therefore if Satan wants us to disobey God,
then his top priority has to be to destroy our love,
because love is the chief of God’s commands.

Therefore, Satan wants to attack any relationship
in which love can be nurtured.

Satan wants to deliver misery.

Proverbs 21:9, ‘It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.’

Proverbs 25:24, ‘It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.’

Proverbs 21:19, ‘It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.’

Proverbs 27:15, ‘A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.’


Satan wants to discredit our witness.
Jesus said a house divided against itself cannot stand.
How much more so is it true that a house divided against itself
cannot be light and salt to the world.

Philippians 2:15, ‘That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;’

So how can we defeat the Devil?





Draw near to God through repentance and forgiveness

James 4:7-8, ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.’

The most certain way to resist the devil and draw near to God
is through repentance and receiving forgiveness.
And what works in our relationship with God works in our marriages.


When a problem arises in our marriage,
we can know that at the root of the problem is sin.
Too many times we blame each other,
when the real culprit is sin.

If we can step back and identify the sin.
Maybe it’s selfishness.
Maybe it’s a lack of self-control.

Repent of the sin.
If you are the offended party,
forgive the sin.

In a marriage relationship where you take one sinner
and unite him with another sinner,
repentance and forgiveness is absolutely essential.

So is it safe to say our ability to remain happily married
will be in direct proportion to our willingness to repent of our sins.
Sins such as selfishness, envy, anger;
sins of lying and breaking faith.

Our ability to stay happily married
will be in direct proportion to
Our willingness to repent and to forgive.

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