Marriage

Marriage is a contractual bond ordained by God in affirmation of man's need for woman (Genesis 2:18) in which a man and a woman come together in a relationship which knits them together as one flesh (Genesis 2:24). The unique differences between man and woman are part of what it means to be made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Despite the fact that procreation is not the singular goal of marriage, it is also expected to fulfill the commandment to have children, intended by God as a blessing (Genesis 1:28).

Multimedia

View

  • "He who finds a wife finds a good thing..." (Proverbs 18:22)
  • "Let marriage be held in honor among all..." (Hebrews 13:4)

Nature

The marriage relationship was intended to be:

  • Permanent – divorce is always a result of sin (Deut 24:1-4; Mal 2:14; Luke 16:18; 1 Cor 7:1-16, 39)
  • Partnership – the husband and wife speak with one voice (Genesis 2:20; Proverbs 1:8-9; 6:20-21; 10:1; 15:20, 19:26, 20:20, 23:22,25)
  • Personal - "...the companion of her youth..." uses the Hebrew word for intimate friend (Proverbs 2:16-17; cf 16:28)
  • Passionate - "...be intoxicated always in her love." (Proverbs 5:18-19)
  • Profit - "...crown of her husband"; "...a good thing" (Proverbs 12:4; 18:22; 19:14)

Quotes

"Jesus’ statement [in Matthew 19], “Because of your hardness of heart,” should not be understood to imply that only “hard-hearted” individuals initiate divorce but rather, “because your hard-hearted rebellion against God led to serious defilement of marriages.” The presence of sin in the community meant that some marriages would be deeply harmed, and God therefore provided divorce as a solution in those cases." Crossway Bibles (2009-04-09). ESV Study Bible (Kindle Locations 317145-317148). Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition.

See also

External links