Day 307

Of Marriage.

Chapter 25, Paragraph 1.

“Marriage is to be between one man and one woman; neither is it lawful for any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than one husband at the same time.”

Scripture Lookup

Genesis 2:24

Malachi 2:15

Matthew 19:5,6

Reflection

What is marriage? Is it happily ever after? Is it just a piece of paper? Many of us have learned what marriage is supposed to be from our parents, Disney movies, and the world around us. Unless your parents had a rock solid relationship, you never really learned what real-life marriage should look like. Conflicting views of what constitutes being married have risen in recent years, adding to the confusion.

So what is marriage? When we look in the beginning of God’s word, we see that God created Adam and Eve to complement each other. Eve was to assist her husband in tending the Garden of Eden, and Adam was to care for his wife. There was one man and one woman, and they were joined together. Their relationship was one of intimacy, trust, and love.

Yet problems seem to arise when we read further on in the Old Testament. Many in Israel – even godly kings – take more than one wife, and there is seemingly little objection. What’s up with that? Does God allow polygamy? To obtain the answer, we have to read ahead to the New Testament. Since the Gospel is further revealed in the New than in the Old, it will shine light on the issue of marriage. What does our Lord say in Matthew 19? Rather than citing the examples of polygamy, He points to one man and one woman becoming one flesh. Paul in Ephesians 5 compares marriage to the relationship between Christ and His Church. Does Christ have more than one bride? Of course not!

There is a 1:1 ratio in marriage. One man, and one woman, covenanting together to support one another. It is an institution given by God for the blessing of humanity. If we want to know what marriage is, then we need to look to the One who instituted it, not our experiences, movies, or society.

Questions to Consider

• What is marriage according to the Bible? How does that compare with what society claims marriage to be?