The Sunday News
Witness Dingani
Question
“And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished upon her silver and gold which they used for Baal.” (Hosea 2:8). To what extent is infidelity a problem in Zimbabwean marriages? (25)
COMMENT OVERVIEW
THE question above requires one to have deep knowledge concerning the impact of infidelity in the marriage of Hosea the prophet. The prophet Hosea married Gomer and they had three children which were given cryptic names. The two divorced due to a number problems which will be discussed below. The question further requires one to show the extent at which infidelity is a problem in marriages in the Zimbabwean society. In Zimbabwean context newspapers such as Sunday News newspaper, Bulawayo24.com to mention a few have recorded various issues concerning marriages. This will be fully discussed in the ongoing discussion. The USA English dictionary defines the term infidelity as unfaithfulness in marriages.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
The prophet Hosea married Gomer. It is prudent to remember that Gomer was a woman of loose morals, she was involved in prostitution, this is evidenced in Hosea 1:2 (When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry, for the land commits great harlotry by forsaking the LORD.”) This has been further supported by B W Anderson page 306 in his book, 4th edition entitled “The Living World of Old Testament”. Gomer is recorded to have been unfaithful to Hosea as she continued with her old behaviour.
The unfaithfulness led to divorce as it is recorded in Hosea 2:5 “For their mother has played the harlot; she that conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.” As such this indicates the cause of divorce in the marriage of Hosea .
-In Zimbabwean context, various divorce issues have been recorded by local newspapers. A very good example is the story which was recorded on Sunday News newspaper and Newsday which indicated that divorce cases were alarming. (Readers can follow the following links https://www.pressreader.com/zimbabwe/sunday-news-zimbabwe/20170205/281578060398390 and https://www.newsday.co.zw/2015/07/21/1-102-couples-register-for-divorce-since-january/). “According to High Court records for January to July last year, a total of 820 couples approached the High Court in Harare seeking to have their marriages cancelled and 129 of them had their marriage certificates officially terminated.”
The major cause of most of the above divorces being the infidelity. Very good examples have been discussed by Auntie Rhoda on StarFM radio. All this indicates that infidelity causes divorces in Zimbabwean context. Sis Noe in the Sunday News also discusses various issues which leads to divorce and infidelity is one of the major causes. Readers can follow the following link (http://bulawayo24.com/index-id-Lifestyle-sc-Relationships.html). All this indicates that infidelity has been the major cause of divorces.
n In as much as it can be said that infidelity is the problem in Zimbabwean marriages, one should note that it is not the only problem in Zimbabwean marriages. It has been also recorded that in marriages there are problems that have led to divorces and these are physical and emotional abuse. An example was recorded by Bulawayo24.com, one can follow the following link for more information (http://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-local-byo-106395.html “The man she is claiming is her husband is mine. What happened is that we once had problems and he told me to go back to my parents’’.) All this indicates the problems in Zimbabwean marriages.
NB: THERE ARE SO MANY POINTS WHICH CAN BE ADDED
(a) Infertility
(b) Verbal abuse
(c) Sexual abuse
-The article was authored by Witness Dingani.
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