The Beauty of Marriage

A look at marriage from Genesis to Revelation

He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. Proverbs 18:22

The traditional vow

“I, _____, take thee, _____, to be my wedded wife (husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”

There is a consistency in the biblical establishment and elevation of marriage, all the way through the bible, from beginning to end, from Old Testament to New Testament.

“male and female he created them” Genesis 1:27

“It is not good for the man to be alone” Gen. 2:18

“And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Gen.2:22-24

When God created mankind, he commanded them “Be fruitful and multiply.” Gen. 1:22 and 28

It shouldn’t be necessary to say this, but nowadays I guess I’ll have to spell it out: homosexual marriage was not what God had in mind when he said to be fruitful and multiply. It takes a male and a female to be fruitful.

Anyone who is familiar with the 10 commandments also knows that God did not have ‘open’ marriage in mind:

“You shall not commit adultery” Ex20:14 the 7th commandment

Unfortunately, since we are prone to fall short of the ideal, allowances had to be made for divorce.

“When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house..” Deuteronomy 24:1 ..the word “indecency” here may need a little explanation, because the only reason Jesus allowed for divorce was “unchastity” [adultery]:

The “indecency” in Deuteronomy apparently means that she had committed adultery or immorality before marriage, in the light of Matthew 5:31-32, “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality,” and again, in Mt. 19:9 Jesus said “…whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

Divorce certainly isn’t part of the divine plan, but many of us have suffered the pain of divorce in our families. God loves us and hates to see us suffer, but also gives us the free will that allows us to disobey him, and disobeying God’s commands always leads to trouble. Divorce is complicated because even though both parties have sinned, because we all have sinned, sometimes one of the two is innocent of whatever the final trigger was that ended in divorce.

“the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.

Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.” Malachi 2:14-16

The importance of marriage is nailed down when we see that Jesus quoted both Genesis 1:27 and 2:24. When asked about divorce “He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?”

This was also revealed to Paul the apostle by inspiration. In Ephesians chapter 5, he talks of the mystery of how marriage is a figure of the relationship of Christ to the church, and of our relationship to Christ.

You have to read the whole beautiful passage, and ponder it – I’m not going to leave any of it out:

“submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” Ephesians 5:21-32

By now you will have noticed how often Genesis is quoted in the New Testament. It’s that important.

The symbolical imagery of marriage and the church as the bride of Christ continues in John’s Book of Revelation in chapter 19:7-9 with the marriage supper of the Lamb.

“Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come, (Jesus is the Lamb of God)
and his Bride has made herself ready; (his bride is the church)
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

The symbolism of marriage is carried clear up to heaven in Revelation 21:1-2

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

And finally, the church as the bride of Christ, the wife of the Lamb, is compared to the heavenly Jerusalem – the City of God - another symbol of the glorious, victorious church.

“Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” Rev. 21:9-11

I hope the connecting of these verses has given you a greater appreciation of the sacred institution of marriage.

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