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XVI.
The Home
Chapter 176
:
The Marriage Institution
1. AFTER creating man,
what did God say?
"And the Lord God said, It is not
good that the man should be alone." Gen.
2:18.
2. What, therefore, did
God say He would make?
"I will make him an help meet
for him." Same verse.
NOTE.-Not a helpmeet nor a
helpmate, but- two words- a help meet
for him; that is, fit or suitable
for him. The word meet in the
original means a front, a part opposite, a
counterpart or mate. Man's companion, or
help, was to correspond to him. Each was to
be suited to the other's needs.
3. Could such a help be
found among the creatures which God had already
made?
"And Adam gave names to all cattle,
and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast
of the field; but for Adam there was not
found an help meet for him." Verse 20.
4. What, therefore, did
God do?
"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep
to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one
of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead
thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had
taken from man, made he a woman, and brought
her unto the man." Verses 21,22.
NOTE.-How beautiful, in its fullness of
meaning, is this simple but suggestive
story, at which skeptics sneer. God did not
make man after the order of the lower
animals, but "in His own image." Neither did
He choose man's companion, or "help," from
some other order of beings, but made her
from man- of the same substance. And He took
this substance, not from man's feet,
that he might have an excuse to degrade,
enslave, or trample upon her; nor from man's
head, that woman might assume
authority over man; but from man's side,
from over his heart, the sect of
affections, that woman might stand at
his side as man's equal, and, side
by side with him, together, under God,
work out the purpose and destiny of the
race,- man, the strong, the noble, the
dignified; woman, the weaker, the
sympathetic, the loving. How much more
exalted and inspiring is this view than the
theory that man developed from the lower
order of animals.
5. What did Adam say as
he received his wife from God?
"And Adam said, This is now bone
of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she
shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man." Verse 23.
6. What great truth was
then stated?
"Therefore shall a man leave his
father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his
wife: and they shall be one flesh." Verse
24.
7. In what words does
Christ recognize marriage as of God?
"Wherefore they are no more twain,
but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined
together, let not man put asunder." Matt.
19:6.
NOTE.-Thus was the marriage institution
ordained of God in Eden, before man sinned.
Like the Sabbath, it has come down to us
with the Edenic dews of divine blessing
still upon it. It was ordained not only for
the purpose of peopling the earth and
perpetuating the race, but to promote social
order and human happiness; to prevent
irregular affection; and, through
well-regulated families, to transmit truth,
purity, and holiness from age to age. Around
it cluster all the purest and truest joys of
home and the race. When the divine origin of
marriage is recognized, and the divine
principles controlling it are obeyed,
marriage is indeed a blessing; but when
these are disregarded, untold evils are sure
to follow. That which, rightly used, is of
greatest blessing, when abused becomes the
greatest curse.
8. By what commands has
God guarded the marriage relation?
"Thou shalt not commit adultery."
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife." Ex.
20:14,17.
9. What New Testament
injunction is given respecting marriage?
"Let marriage be had in honor
among all, and let the bed be undefiled: for
fornicators and adulterers God will judge." Heb.
13:4, R. V.
NOTE.-By many, marriage. is lightly
regarded- is often made even a subject of
jest. Its divine origin, its great object,
and its possibilities and influences for
good or evil are little thought of, and
hence it is often entered into with little
idea of its responsibilities or its sacred
obligations. The marriage relationship is
frequently used in the Scriptures as a
symbol of the relationship existing between
God and His people. See Rom. 7:1-4; 2 Cor.
11:2; Hosea 2:19, 20; Rev. 19:7.
10. After the fall,
what sort of marriages were introduced by men,
which were productive of great evil?
"And it came to pass, when men began
to multiply on the face of the earth, and
daughters were born unto them, that the sons
of God saw the daughters of men that they
were fair; and they took them wives of all
which they chose." Gen. 6:1,2.
NOTE.-Not only was there plurality of wives,
which in itself is an evil, but the "sons of
God," descending from Seth, married the
"daughters of men," the descendants from the
idolatrous line of Cain, and thus corrupted
the seed, or church, of God itself. All the
barriers against evil thus being broken
down, the whole race was soon corrupted,
violence filled the earth, and the flood
followed.
11. What restriction
did God make respecting marriages in Israel?
"Let them marry to whom they think
best; only to the family of the tribe of
their father shall they marry." Num. 36:6.
12. What prohibition
did God give His chosen people against
intermarrying with the heathen nations about
them, and why?
"Neither shalt thou make marriages
with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give
unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take
unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son
from following Me, that they may serve other
gods: so will the anger of the Lord be
kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly."
Deut. 7:3,4.
NOTE.-Intermarriage with the ungodly was the
mistake made by the professed people of God
before the flood, and God did not wish
Israel to repeat that folly.
13. What instruction is
given in the New Testament regarding marriage
with unbelievers?
"Be ye not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath light
with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with
Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with
an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the
living God." 2 Cor. 6:14-16.
NOTE.-This instruction forbids all
compromising partnerships. Marriage of
believers with unbelievers has ever been a
snare by which Satan has captured many
earnest souls who thought they could win the
unbelieving, but in most cases have
themselves drifted away from the moorings of
faith into doubt, backsliding, and loss of
religion. It was one of Israel's constant
dangers, against which God warned them
repeatedly. "Give not your daughters unto
their sons, neither take their daughters
unto your sons, nor seek their peace [by
such compromise] or their wealth forever."
Ezra 9:12. See also Ex. 34:14-16; Judges
14:1-3. Ezra 9 and 10; and Neh. 13:23-27.
Even Solomon fell before the influence of
heathen wives. Concerning him the inspired
Word has left this melancholy record: "His
wives turned away his heart after other
gods." 1 Kings 11:4. No Christian can marry
an unbeliever without running serious risk,
and placing himself upon the enemy's ground.
The Scriptures do not advocate separation
after the union has been formed (see 1 Cor.
7:2-16), but good sense should teach us that
faith can best be maintained, and domestic
happiness best insured, where both husband
and wife are believers, and of the same
faith. Both ministers and parents,
therefore, should warn the young against all
improper marriages.
14. What instruction
did Abraham give his servant Eliezer when
sending him to select a wife for his son Isaac?
"Thou shalt take a wife for my son
of my kindred, and of my father's house."
Gen. 24:40.
NOTE.-This passage indicates that in early
Bible times parents generally had more to do
in the selection of life companions for
their children than they commonly have now.
Young people who are wise will seek the
advice and counsel of their parents, and
above all, will seek to know the will of
God, before entering upon this important
relationship, with its grave
responsibilities and its momentous
consequences.
15. For how long does
marriage bind the contracting parties?
"For the woman which hath an husband
is bound by the law to her husband so long as
he liveth." Rom. 7:2. See 1 Cor. 7:39.
16. What only does
Christ recognize as proper ground for dissolving
the marriage relationship?
"Whosoever shall put away his wife,
except it be for fornication, and shall
marry another, committeth adultery." Matt. 19:9.
NOTE.-Civil laws recognize other reasons as
justifiable causes for separation, such as
extreme cruelty, habitual drunkenness, or
other like gross offenses; but only one
offense, according to Christ, warrants the
complete annulment of the marriage tie.
THERE is a bliss beyond all that the minstrel
has told,
When two that are linked in one heavenly tie,
With heart never changing and brow never cold,
Love on through all ills, and love on till they
die.
MOORE. |
