The Voice (Francistown)
Moses Maruping
7 August 2007
Residents of Block 8 in Gaborone were last Saturday stunned by a very rare occurrence when Magdalene Monnye Israel tied the knot with God.
The bizarre wedding, possibly the first of its kind in Botswana, took place despite a lot of misgivings from some of the bride's neighbours.
The 50-year-old mother of four, who hails from Mogonye in the Borolong District, without qualm sent a lot of shivers down many residents' spines when she resiliently walked down the aisle with what she termed the Holy Spirit.
The colourful wedding ceremony started off at Lesedi Hall in Extension 4 before going to the bride's place at Plot 34611 in Block 8, where she was received with a lot of ululations and whistles from those who supported her course.
A devoted Emao Christian Church member, Magdalene said her decision to "marry God" began in 2003 immediately after the father of her kids left her for another woman.
"When my relationship with the father of my kids hit the roof I told myself that I will never seek another man. I decided to devote myself entirely to God."
Speaking from her home in Block 8, which also doubles as her church's healing centre, Magdalene revealed that her decision to marry God came through a vision.
"A voice came to me whilst sleeping. I was convinced it was the voice of a guardian angel. Since I was frustrated and miserable because of my failing relationships in the past, the voice told me that I shouldn't worry since I was never made to marry a man of flesh and blood."
She said that the voice, in a dream, told her to wear a ring.
"It was more or less a female voice. Whilst caught in the reverie I pleaded with the angel to only wear the ring when I turn 50, which is this year. For the past four years I have been testing myself through various church offerings and it was only this year that I certainly knew I can walk down the aisle and marry God."
Clad in her church garb, Magdalene added that the same vision came again this year emphasizing that she wear a ring and marry the Holy Spirit.
"I then met with our church's Bishop and gave him the news.
Although he was astounded at first he agreed to marry me and it was this Saturday when I tied the knot with the Holy Spirit. Even my family was bowled over but they gave in since this is what I wanted. Some people came to the wedding to see with their naked eyes whether someone could indeed marry God."
Quoting from the Book of Luke 2:36-37 in the New Testament; Magdalene is convinced that what she did over the weekend does not in any way quarrel with the teachings of Christianity.
However, those in the know like Pastor Biggie Butale, the president of Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana, rubbishes such acts. Butale dismissed Magdalene's action as nothing but blasphemy.
He believed that the newly wed has been deceived by her self-styled vision and that what she did is purely an insult to God.
Pastor Butale added that Magdalene's vision could have been Satan masquerading as an angel of light.
"It is the first time in my entire life to hear of such a ridiculous thing. The only thing you can do is devote yourself to God, but you can never marry him. This is an insult," said Butale, who is also senior pastor of End Time Pentecostal Ministries.
Butale added that the fact that Magdalene has produced kids outside marriage is a clear indication that she is a sinner who is not ashamed to continue sinning.
"Her interpretation of the Bible leaves much to be desired. The scripture she used as a guide doesn't spell that she should marry God. What it basically says is that prophetess Anna, the widow, who had been married and stayed with her husband from her virginity, served God with fasting and prayers night and day. It doesn't say Anna got married to God. It's on this basis that I feel she was misguided."
Pastor Dikao Motswana of St. Paul Apostolic Faith Mission of Botswana also finds the whole thing unnerving, saying it was also a first for him to hear of a person marrying God.
"We have the Bible that speaks very clearly about the origin of man, woman and marriage. The Bible simply put is God's voice. The Genesis account speaks very clearly on both the origins of mankind but also the purpose and design for marriage."
Furthermore Pastor Motswana added that God's son, Jesus, clearly affirmed God's design for marriage between man and a woman and the reliability of this prime source from the Book of Genesis, which reads thus; "From the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh; consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. (Mark 10:6-8)."
Motswana said the only thing that could happen is for people to devote themselves to serving God but not to marry Him.
"You can only be born again. Marrying God? that's preposterous. She needs to clearly understand the Bible. Even the other Book she quoted, 1Corinthians 7:32, doesn't give her lieu to marry God. What it basically says is that 'I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried care for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God'."
He added that the scripture continues to say whilst the unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit; but she that is married cares for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
"There's no way in the Bible where it's written that one can marry God."
Meanwhile, the person who conducted the wedding ceremony, Bishop Shadrack Nthswabi of Emao Chistian Church, which is largely concentrated in the northern part of the country, is convinced there is nothing wrong with what Magdalene did over the weekend.
"Whilst I was merely acting on her emotions and devotion to God, I also enjoyed binding her with the Holy Spirit. It's a first and it's not surprising that many people were astounded by this incident."
Ntshwabi noted that Magdalene's bumpy relationships with men in her past could have clearly played a crucial role in making her devote herself entirely to the Holy Spirit.
"She is convinced that it is only through God's plan that she was able to raise her kids alone and she feels indebted to Him hence her reason to marry God. I absolutely find nothing wrong with that."
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 The Voice. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
