Many books have been written to help couples revive their struggling marriages. Now Edward Lee, an ordained minister and a 1993 graduate of Johnson C. Smith University, has added another.
Unlike some self-help marriage guides, Lee’s book — “Husbands, Wives, God” — seeks to aid modern couples by examining seven marriages in the Bible.
Lee looks at the relationships between Job and his wife, Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, David and Michal, Manoah and his wife, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah.
In each of those unions, Lee said, the Bible has something to say about the balance between a husband, a wife and God — thus the name of his book..
“Each of the seven marriages presented struggle with something that couples today can relate to,” he said. “In each case, their road to balancing their marriage was by changing their relationship with God, both as individuals and as a couple.”
Lee has been married six years and is currently assistant to the pastor at New Antioch Baptist Church of Randallstown, Md. He and his wife live in Baltimore. In Charlotte, he said, he was an assistant minister at University Park Baptist Church, now called The Park Ministries.
Lee said one of his first duties as a church marriage counselor in Maryland was to counsel a couple who had been married since he was in the sixth grade. He remembered it as a humbling experience.
His book, he said, is not “based on the wisdom of the author but the wisdom of the Source as it comes from the Bible.”
“Biblical marriages share struggles familiar to ours of today,” he said. “The accounts of these real marriages not only defined godly marriage perspectives and behaviors, but also evidenced relationships that endured heartache, flourished during national crises and economic instability, rebuilt trust in spite of adultery, and displayed integrity even when one of the spouses didn’t.”
The book has a study guide so that couples — or groups — can learn together.
Lee said he began his study of Biblical marriages in 2006 after he had examined the struggles of his own marriage and the marriages of those around him. He said it was the study of Biblical marriages that led to a more balanced relationship with his wife, and he wanted to share the messages with as many people as he could.
“The divorce rate among believers parallels those outside of the faith,” he said. “The prayer is that the principles shared in this book, along with couples’ strengthened relationship with God, will result in changed marriages.”
Lee said his book will be released Oct. 17 at JCSU’s Alumni Book Fair during homecoming week. It will also be available, he said, on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and edwardclee.com, as well in some Christian bookstores.
Lee said he’s now working on a 52-week devotional covering 52 marriage narratives in the Bible. He hopes to have it on the market by December.
