Participants: Pastor Stephen Bohr
Series Code: CGC
Program Code: CGC000042S
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01:12 Shall we bow our heads for prayer? Father in heaven
01:16 as we study today about the meaning of marriage in the book 01:21 of Genesis, we ask for the guidance of your Holy Spirit. 01:26 We realize that in the world today marriage doesn't mean 01:30 very much. The devil is angry and he's trying to destroy 01:35 marriage because he knows that as marriage goes so goes society 01:40 and so goes the world. So help us to understand your plan for 01:44 marriage from the very beginning and we thank you for hearing 01:48 our prayer for we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen. 01:52 In order to understand the meaning of marriage we need to 01:57 begin at the very beginning of creation week. So I'm going to 02:02 review the days of creation culminating with what God did 02:07 on the sixth day of creation week. The first day the Bible 02:13 tells us that God spoke light into existence. The second day 02:17 he spoke the firmament into existence. On the third day he 02:22 spoke the dry land and the trees and the flowers and the plants 02:26 into existence. On the fourth day God placed the sun and the 02:30 moon and the stars in their positions by the power of his 02:35 word. On the fifth day God spoke the birds and spoke the fish 02:39 into existence. On the first part of the sixth day God spoke 02:44 the land animals into existence. And then, of course, the Bible 02:49 tells us that towards the end of the sixth day most likely God 02:54 created man and woman. Let's notice that as it's found in 03:00 Genesis chapter 1 and verse 27. Genesis 1 and verse 27. This is 03:06 towards the very end of the sixth day. It says... 03:23 And then of course a little bit further down in verse 31 we find 03:27 that is says,... 03:35 Now remember that. Indeed it was very good... 03:42 So you have God creating in six days. Towards the end of the 03:47 sixth day God makes man and woman and then at the end of the 03:51 sixth day God looks upon his work and he sees that it is very 03:55 good. Now you notice that God did not explain how he created 04:00 man and woman. Genesis 1 verse 27 simply says that God made man 04:05 and woman, male and female, but it doesn't explain how. And so 04:09 we're left with the question and of course in Genesis chapter 2 04:13 God is going to recapitulate, in other words, he's going to 04:17 repeat some of the things that he left unsaid in Genesis 04:20 chapter 1. And one of those things which was not explained 04:25 is how he created man and how he created the woman. Now let's 04:30 notice first of all how God created Adam, the man. Genesis 04:35 chapter 2 and verse 7 explains it... 04:46 ...Now I want you to notice here that with man God did 04:55 something different than with the rest of creation. The rest 04:58 of creation he spoke into existence. But if you read 05:02 Isaiah 64 and verse 8. You're going to discover that God made 05:08 man, he formed man, like a potter out of clay. In other 05:13 words God gave Adam the personal touch. He took clay, formed man 05:19 and then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and 05:23 Adam became a living being. So we know how man was created. 05:28 Now the question is how was the woman created during creation 05:33 week? Let's go to Genesis chapter 2 and verse 18. Genesis 05:38 chapter 2 and verse 18. By the way this is happening on the 05:43 sixth day of creation week. God has already formed man of the 05:47 dust of the ground. Now he's going to proceed to create the 05:51 woman but there are some things that have to happen first. 05:57 Notice chapter 2 and verse 18... And the Lord God said, "It is 06:03 not good that man should be alone;... Now that's a strange 06:09 statement because at the end of creation week we found in 06:14 Genesis 1:31 that it says that God looked upon everything that 06:19 he had made and it was very good but here on the sixth day after 06:24 God has created Adam God looked and he says there's something 06:29 here that is not good. Imagine that. Something in creation week 06:34 that was not good. Obviously this is before the end of the 06:38 sixth day of creation. Because on the sixth day God looked and 06:42 it was very good. Here he says it is not good. So this is 06:45 before the end of the sixth day. Are you understanding what I'm 06:49 saying? And so notice what he continues saying. Once again 06:52 verse 18... 07:03 Now that's an interesting expression. The King James says 07:08 a help meet. Now what is a help meet? A help meet is one 07:13 corresponding to Adam. It is one like Adam. It is a complement 07:21 to Adam. It is one who is a counterpart to Adam. In fact, 07:29 woman is man's alter ego or what we might call man's other 07:35 self. In other words they were supposed to be intertwined as 07:41 one, counterpart one of the other. Now I'd like to read a 07:46 statement that we find in Patriarchs and Prophets, page 46 07:50 This book, Patriarchs and Prophets is a marvelous book. 07:53 It tells the story of the Old Testament from the origin of sin 07:57 and actually it happened before the Old Testament, and it goes 08:02 all the way through the story of David, the king of Israel, about 08:07 a thousand years before the birth of Christ. It's a 08:11 marvelous book. And here Ellen White explains what the 08:15 expression help meet or counter part means. 08:19 On page 46, she says this... 09:29 Notice the terminology. Close union and affectionate 09:35 attachment that should exist in this relation. Now even though 09:40 the book of Genesis does not explicitly address in the first 09:44 two chapters whether a marriage should be between a believer and 09:48 an unbeliever, it is very clear by this expression help meet 09:54 that Adam and Eve were supposed to be on the same page mentally 10:00 physically and spiritually as well as emotionally. What I'm 10:06 saying is that they undoubtedly according to the plan of God 10:11 would practice a common faith. We find from Genesis that they 10:16 we're going to keep a common day of worship and they were going 10:22 to serve a common God between them. It is inconceivable that 10:27 in the mind of God if Adam and Eve are one flesh, if Eve is 10:32 Adam's other self so to speak that one would go to church on 10:36 one day and the other would go to church on another day, that 10:40 one would keep the Sabbath and the other one would keep another 10:44 day, that one would have certain religious practices 10:47 contrary to the religious practices of the other. In other 10:51 words because they were actually one according to 10:56 scripture is understood that the original marriage was between 11:01 individuals who spiritually were in tune; they were on the same 11:07 page. In fact, the question that I ask when I'm doing 11:11 marriage counseling to a couple where they belong to 11:15 different churches, they're both Christians, but they belong to 11:19 different churches, I ask them questions such as this: When you 11:23 get married and you have children where are your kids 11:28 going to be educated, in an Adventist school or in a 11:33 Catholic school? Is that an important question. It doesn't 11:36 look like it when you're romancing, but I'll tell you 11:40 it's going to come up later on. I ask them this: Where and when 11:46 are you going to go to church? Is that an important question? 11:51 Absolutely. What is your family going to eat. If one believes 11:56 that you can eat pork and loves pork and the other one is a 12:01 vegetarian you're going to have somewhat of a crisis under the 12:05 same roof. I also ask the question: What type of 12:11 entertainment will you participate in. Will you dance? 12:16 Will you drink? Will you go to the movie theater? Are you 12:22 understanding what I'm saying? How can you be soul mates, how 12:28 can woman be man's other self, how can man and woman be one 12:34 and still be at odds in their spiritual habits and in their 12:39 manner of practicing their religion and worshipping God? 12:43 It's impossible. And so when God made Adam and Eve at the very 12:48 beginning of human history, God made them to worship the same 12:53 God on the same day and in the same manner and to have worship 12:58 together. He did not make them different spiritually. Now let's 13:03 go back to Genesis and continue examining the story. We find 13:07 that God says it is not good that man be alone. I will make 13:12 another self for him. Now notice Genesis chapter 2 and 13:18 verses 19 and 20. Genesis chapter 2 and verses 19 and 20. 13:23 God now gives Adam, this is the sixth day still, God gives Adam 13:27 a little task to perform. 13:28 It says there in verse 19: Out of the ground... 14:03 You know God purposely had Adam name the animals because he knew 14:08 that as Adam was naming the animals he was going to see that 14:11 there was no help meet for him. There was no one like him. 14:15 He was going to notice that each animal had its mate but he did 14:20 not have someone to share his experience physically, mentally, 14:24 spiritually and emotional with. And so God purposely told him to 14:29 name the animals so that he would feel lonely and of course 14:34 loneliness is not good. It is not good that man should be 14:38 alone. And so we find in Genesis chapter 2 and verse 21 that God 14:45 performs the first general anesthesia of human history 14:50 and the first surgery of human history. Notice Genesis chapter 14:55 two once again and verse 21... 15:04 do you notice that a deep sleep. Would you call that anesthesia? 15:07 Absolutely. And this was a general anesthesia. You know 15:13 Adam was not semiconscious, semi awake. He was out of it. 15:18 and it says... 15:36 What did God take out? He took out a rib. And what did he make 15:42 out of the rib? It says that out of the rib, verse 22,... 15:57 Now there's a couple of things that I want to underline here. 16:02 It says here that God made the woman. Now listen up. The word 16:07 that is used for made here in the Hebrew is not the common, 16:11 ordinary word for making something. It is a word that 16:15 means, by the way, it's the Hebrew banah which means 16:19 to build. It is used many times in the Old Testament to describe 16:25 the building, for example of Solomon's temple. In other words 16:31 God did not speak Eve into existence either. God built Eve. 16:37 Now isn't it interesting that God does not speak Eve into 16:42 existence. God does not make Eve out of the dust of the ground 16:47 like he did the man, but God takes a rib out of the man and 16:51 out of the rib he builds a woman he constructs a woman. In other 16:58 words, with his own hands. Why in the world would God do 17:03 something like this? By the way, a rib is very close to what? 17:09 Very close to the heart. Did you notice that the quotation from 17:15 Patriarchs and Prophets says that God did not take a bone 17:19 from his foot because he was not supposed to trample on Eve. 17:23 Neither did God take a bone from the head because Eve was 17:28 not supposed to be the head of man. But God actually took a 17:34 bone very close to Adam's heart which is the place that God 17:40 wanted Eve to occupy in Adam's attention. And of course, Eve 17:45 was taken from Adam. She was actually a part of Adam. Do you 17:51 notice also in this verse that it tells us that God brought Eve 17:57 to Adam. Now this is a very important point. You know these 18:03 days people go out spouse hunting. But originally God is 18:10 saying that we don't go spouse hunting. God shows us whom we 18:16 should marry by circumstances in our lives, by signs in our 18:22 lives we are able to see who God has for us. And sometimes 18:27 we rush things and as a result we make the wrong decision. 18:32 But it says here that God made the woman out of man and God 18:37 brought the woman to man. And there are some people in this 18:42 church whose names I'm not going to mention that I've had the 18:46 privilege of marrying and they have just wonderful, happy 18:49 marriages. And I say wow! God certainly intervened in the life 18:54 of this man or in the life of this woman to bring them 18:58 together in this church at this time in almost a miraculous way. 19:04 And so we find that God makes Eve out of a rib of Adam to show 19:10 that she is of the same substance of man. He takes a 19:14 bone close to the heart because that's the place that Eve should 19:18 occupy in the attention of Adam. Now there's something very 19:22 important as we examine the story of the creation of man and 19:27 woman and the establishment of the first marriage and that is 19:32 that marriage in Genesis according to God's original plan 19:37 was supposed to be heterosexual. That's very, very clear in the 19:43 first two chapters of Genesis. Let's notice once again Genesis 19:49 one verse 27. Genesis chapter 1 and verse 27. You know there's 19:53 this big discussion today in the world whether gay marriage is 19:57 acceptable or not on the sight of God. Well the fact is Genesis 20:01 makes it very, very clear that God established marriage to be 20:07 heterosexual, not homosexual. Now notice Genesis chapter 1 and 20:12 verse 27... 20:26 What did God create? Male and what? Male and female according 20:32 to this. Notice Genesis chapter two and verses 22 and 23. 20:38 It says:... 20:55 The first marriage was between a him and a what? A her 20:59 according to this. Verse 23: And Adam said, this is now bone of 21:05 my bones and flesh of my flesh. She... What? She shall be 21:12 called woman because she was taken out of man. Are there any 21:18 doubts in the book of Genesis that marriage as God created it 21:23 originally was to be heterosexual marriage? 21:28 There's absolutely no doubt. And then of course we find the words 21:33 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and be 21:39 joined to his wife. Man shall be joined to his what? To his 21:44 wife and they shall be one flesh By the way when it speaks about 21:48 being one flesh and joined to his wife, it's talking about the 21:52 intimacy of marriage. It's talking about the privilege now 21:56 of having marital relations, or sexual relations, the man and 22:00 the woman. Listen, you don't have to be very intelligent to 22:04 figure out that God created marriage to be heterosexual. 22:08 All you have to do is look at simple, common biology. All you 22:14 have to look at is at the physical makeup of the man 22:18 and the physical makeup of a woman and you know that certain 22:23 organs God made for man and certain organs he made for woman 22:28 to be employed in the sacred union of marriage. It's simple 22:34 biology, even if you didn't have Holy Scripture to refer to. 22:39 And so we find in the book of Genesis that marriage is to be 22:45 heterosexual. We also find in the book of Genesis that 22:51 marriage is supposed to be between kindred hearts, between 22:55 believers. And by the way, do you know that the New Testament 22:59 corroborates that point. Be thee not unevenly yoked with 23:05 unbelievers. And the Apostle Paul, if you look in your Bibles 23:11 with me 1 Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 39, God tells us 23:17 that marriage must be between believers. I Corinthians chapter 23:24 7 and verse 39. It says here... 23:45 Is there a condition for getting married. Yes it must be in the 23:53 Lord. Now there's another important aspect of marriage 23:55 that we find in the story of Genesis. And what I'm going to 24:00 share with you is probably very politically incorrect but it's 24:04 taught in the book of Genesis. What are you talking about 24:07 you're saying pastor. Even thought Adam and Eve were 24:11 created as equals the woman was to be subject to her husband, 24:17 even before sin. You'll hear people say, no that was after 24:23 sin. No, even before sin the wife was to be subject to her 24:28 husband even though she was equal to her husband. By the way 24:32 Adam and Eve were created equal. Allow me to share this with you. 24:36 Were both of them called man? We just read it in Genesis, 24:40 both of them were called man, male and female but man. 24:43 Were both created in the image and likeness of God? We just 24:48 read it. Were both of them given dominion? Yes they were. Were 24:53 both of them commanded to be fruitful and multiply? Yes. Were 24:58 both of them blessed? Yes. Were both of them made from the same 25:03 substance? Yes they were. In other words, God created Adam 25:09 and Eve equal and yet he created the woman to be subject to man. 25:14 Now you say how can you be equal if one is subject to the other? 25:19 The fact is that it is very simple. You can be ontologically 25:24 equal. Ontologically means as a being before God. You can be 25:28 equal while at the same time functionally one can be subject 25:33 to another. And you say how's that? Well let's take a look at 25:36 the relationship between Jesus and his Father. We studied this 25:40 when we dealt with the issue of discipline. Remember we 25:42 studied the issue of discipline, how God disciplines his children 25:45 as a model as to how we're supposed to discipline our 25:50 children. Well let me ask you, are God the Father and his Son 25:55 Jesus equal? Are they? Well let's notice a couple of texts. 25:59 John chapter 10 and verse 30. John chapter 10 and verse 30. 26:04 What does Jesus say there? It's a very short verse. He says... 26:15 Are Jesus and his father equal. They're one just like Adam and 26:21 Eve were one. The same terminology. Let me as you 26:24 something. Is Jesus even though he is equal with his Father, is 26:29 Jesus subject to his Father. Have you ever read 26:34 I Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 3 where it says that the 26:39 head of Christ is who? The head of Christ is God and the head of 26:46 the woman is who? The man. Now if you don't like the idea that 26:52 the head of the woman is the man you obviously would not like the 26:57 idea that the head of Christ is the Father. Now the Father and 27:02 the Son are equal. But the Son is subject to the Father and in 27:07 the same way Adam and Eve are equal but the woman is to be 27:13 what? The woman is to be subject to her husband. You say now how 27:16 do we know that the woman is to be subject to her husband and 27:21 that the husband is the head? Well let me share some details 27:26 with you. Who was created first Adam or Eve? Do you know the 27:31 Apostle Paul says that because man was created first and then 27:35 woman man has the leadership or the headship role? By the way, 27:40 who named who. Did Eve name Adam or did Adam name Eve? 27:45 In scripture, naming someone is an indication of the exercise of 27:50 authority on the part of that person and so when Adam said she 27:54 shall be called woman, Adam is exercising his what? 27:59 His authority in naming the woman. Furthermore when Adam and 28:05 Eve sinned who did God hold accountable? Who did he hold 28:12 accountable? He held Adam accountable. And by the way, we 28:18 find Jesus not as the second Eve he is the second what? He is the 28:23 second Adam because Adam was the father and representative of the 28:29 human race. Are you understanding what I'm 28:32 saying? And so for all of these reasons Adam and Eve were equal 28:37 but the wife was to be subject to the husband. Now I realize 28:42 that in a world where the husband abuses his privilege 28:45 as the head and beats up his wife and mistreats his wife, 28:49 this is a very hard word. But in God's original plan it was to be 28:54 a loving headship. The woman would lovingly subject herself 28:58 to her husband because she realized that her husband wanted 29:02 the best for her. And the husband, of course, would love 29:05 his wife, would give his life for his wife. In fact, Adam 29:09 loved Eve more than he loved God because he could not stand the 29:14 idea of living one day without Eve and when Eve sinned Adam 29:19 said I guess I will sin also. He loved Eve with all of his heart. 29:23 This was his help meet. It was his other self. It was like 29:27 tearing him apart the idea that Eve would die and Adam would 29:32 continue living so he decided to sin as well and suffer the same 29:38 fate as Eve. Problems show up in marriage when we disrespect 29:42 the order that God established at the very beginning. When the 29:47 woman tries to exercise the headship role instead of the 29:51 man. That's one of the big problems of the world. And when 29:55 the man refuses to love his wife and wants to actually beat up 30:00 on his wife. But if marriages were like God intended it at the 30:04 beginning that the man would exercise a loving headship role 30:07 and the woman would subject herself in love to her husband 30:11 marriage would be everything that God wanted it to be. 30:17 Allow me to read you a statement that we find in the 30:22 book Patriarchs and Prophets page 59 about Eve. See we live 30:28 in a time of women's liberation. That's what it used to be called 30:32 women's rights and you know the idea I'm not going to let any 30:36 man control me or dominate me. I'm going to declare my 30:40 independence and as a result women have occupied the 30:43 positions that men should occupy and they've abandoned the home. 30:49 Do you think it's degrading for a woman to take care of her 30:53 children and take care of the home. That is the most beautiful 30:58 task that you could ever fulfill to make sure your children are 31:02 saved in the kingdom because you're fulfilling your role as 31:07 the mother. Now notice what she says about Eve. Eve had been 31:12 perfectly happy by her husband's side in her Eden home, but like 31:18 restless modern Eves she was flattered with the hope of 31:23 entering a higher sphere than that which God had assigned for 31:29 her. In attempting to rise above her original position she fell 31:35 far below it. A similar result will be reached by all who are 31:41 unwilling to take up cheerfully their life duties in accordance 31:47 with God's plan. In their efforts to reach positions 31:50 for which he has not fitted them many are leaving vacant the 31:54 place where they might be a blessing. In their desire for a 31:59 higher sphere many have sacrificed true womanly 32:04 dignity and nobility of character and have left 32:10 undone the very work that heaven appointed them. Powerful words, 32:16 which if they were practiced the world would be far different. 32:22 Far fewer marriages would end up in divorce if we respected 32:27 the order that God established. Turn with me to the book of 32:32 Ephesians chapter 5 and verses 22-25. The Apostle Paul is clear 32:37 on this point. Some people say Ah what did Paul know? He was a 32:42 male chauvinist. Well I believe that what he wrote was inspired 32:47 by the Holy Spirit. How about it? Notice Ephesians chapter 5 32:52 and verse 22... 33:17 Of course that means in the Lord He's just explained in the Lord. 33:20 If your husband wants you to do something that is contrary to 33:23 the Lord, you can say No Way. But in everything else they are 33:27 to submit to their husbands according to this. And then 33:30 notice the Apostle Paul balances it off by talking to the 33:33 husbands... 33:41 In other words, the Apostle Paul is saying, Husbands love 33:45 your wives and give yourselves for your wife and if they did 33:49 that it would be very easy for the wife to submit to the 33:52 husband. Now notice one other text. This is a critically 33:55 important text. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 33. 33:59 Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 33 This is a very interesting verse 34:05 and notice what the Apostle Paul has to say here in chapter 5 34:11 and verse 33. A very interesting word is used. He says:... 34:29 Now that doesn't catch the whole nuance of what God is trying to 34:34 say. The translation respects. The Greek word that is used here 34:41 is the word phobeo which means to fear your husband. Now it's 34:47 not talking about fear in terms of being afraid. It's the same 34:52 word that's used in Revelation 14 verse 7: Fear God and give 34:57 glory to him. It means to have God in awe in the deepest 35:02 respect. That's what it means. But the word fear; the wife is 35:06 to fear her husband and the husband is to love his wife as 35:10 himself. By the way, when a husband beats up his wife and 35:14 practices spousal abuse, he's actually beating himself up 35:18 because the wife is one with you you are one flesh. 35:24 And so the Apostle Paul says that when a man mistreats his 35:28 wife he is really mistreating who? He is really mistreating 35:33 himself. Now another important point that we find in Genesis 35:38 is that marriage is a divine institution. Marriage is not a 35:44 social contract. Marriage is not something that merely happens 35:48 when we go to the office of the justice of the peace. Marriage 35:53 is a divine institution. Go with me to Genesis chapter 2 and 35:58 verse 24. Genesis chapter 2 and verse 24. Very important verse. 36:04 After Adam says this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my 36:09 flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of the 36:12 man, we find these words: 36:23 Is that word therefore indicating that marriage is 36:28 normative for the future? Or is this only something that God did 36:33 with Adam and Eve or is this normative for the future? 36:36 On the basis of what Adam has said, God is saying therefore 36:41 from now on a man shall leave his father and his mother. 36:45 By the way how do we know that? Because when God said this there 36:48 was no father or mother. Correct? Were there any 36:54 fathers or mothers? No. So when these words are pronounced, 36:58 therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and be 37:01 joined to his wife, God is saying that what he did at the 37:05 very beginning is going to be normative for all those who will 37:09 have in the future what? Fathers and mothers. In other words, God 37:14 is making a divine institution. By the way, who spoke these 37:18 words? Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother 37:22 and shall be joined to his wife and they shall be one flesh? 37:27 You know, you read Genesis and you don't really know because 37:31 it's immediately after Adam says this is flesh of my flesh, bone 37:35 of my bones, she will be called woman. And then it says 37:38 therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother. You know 37:41 you say well is Moses saying this? Or you might say is Adam 37:44 still talking here, therefore shall a man leave his father 37:48 and his mother and be joined to his wife? Who's saying these 37:53 words. Genesis doesn't make it very clear. But Matthew does. 37:57 Go with me to Matthew chapter 19 and you'll see that marriage is 38:01 a divine institution. Matthew chapter 19 and I want to read 38:07 verse 4-6. It says here: 38:22 ...who made them at the beginning? God. Which person of 38:30 the Godhead? Jesus. Genesis 1 verse 1 says In the beginning 38:37 God created the heavens and the earth. John 1:1-3 says In the 38:42 beginning the Word was God and made all things. So the creator 38:48 of Genesis was Jesus. You say well why does Jesus then say 38:53 he who made them at the beginning? Why doesn't he say 38:56 when I made them at the beginning. This is a figure of 38:59 speech. I don't have time to go to the text that I'm going to 39:02 mention them. For example in John 6 verse 33 and verse 46 39:05 Jesus uses the same expression speaking about himself. He which 39:11 did this but he's speaking not about someone else. 39:15 He's referring to himself. And so he who made them in the 39:19 beginning who is Jesus according to this made them male and 39:24 female and now notice verse 5: And said. Who said? He who made 39:30 them in the beginning and said.. 39:41 So who spoke those words in Genesis and was the Creator? 39:45 And now notice verse 6:... 39:53 and then we have some words that are in Matthew that were not in 39:57 Genesis. It says:... 40:09 Is Jesus implicitly here saying that divorce was not in God's 40:16 plan originally. What God has joined together. Marriage is 40:24 something that is performed by whom? By God, according to this. 40:29 What God has joined together let not man cast asunder. In other 40:35 words when we get divorced according to the book of Genesis 40:40 we are going contrary to the plan of God. Now I realize that 40:44 Jesus said that there's a certain reason why we can get 40:49 divorced and remarried; in the case of breaking the marriage 40:53 vow. In the case of adultery according to Christ. But people 40:58 get divorced today for every reason under the sun. They get 41:03 divorced because the husband or the wife snores and for trivial 41:08 things such as that as if marriages were disposable. 41:12 You know one of the problems is that people enter marriage today 41:16 with a defeatist attitude. They basically say well you know I'm 41:20 getting married. If it doesn't work I'll get a divorce. I know 41:25 when I got married 33 years ago I really believed that this is 41:30 till death do us part. This is for life, for better, for worse. 41:35 If we have troubles, we'll work on the troubles and we'll work 41:41 them and iron them out and we'll make the marriage work. 41:46 But today people give up for small reasons sometimes. 41:51 What God has joined together let not man cast asunder. 41:56 Folks, marriage is a divine institution. Marriage is not a 42:02 human institution, it is not a social contract. It is holy and 42:07 indissoluble. Notice what Patriarchs and Prophets, page 46 42:12 says:... 42:26 Isn't that amazing. I want to ask you something. Is the 42:31 liberal left, as it is called today, trying to change marriage 42:38 Is it? What is it trying to do with marriage? It's trying to 42:44 change marriage from the union of a man and a woman to perhaps 42:51 the union of a man with a man and a woman with a woman. 42:55 The liberal left is trying to change the meaning of marriage. 43:01 But the evangelical right is trying to change something else 43:07 that originated at creation. You see as it says in Genesis, 43:11 therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, which 43:15 means that it is normative from that point on. There's another 43:19 commandment that was established at creation, there was another 43:22 institution established at creation where the fourth 43:26 commandment says for in six days the Lord made the heavens, the 43:31 earth, the see, and everything that in them is therefore the 43:35 Lord what? Rested on the seventh day, he blessed it and he made 43:40 it holy. The very word therefore is used for the Sabbath as it 43:44 was for marriage. And so in the world today we have the devil 43:48 trying to destroy the two creation institutions. One on 43:52 the part of the liberal left who says we're going to change the 43:56 meaning of marriage to a man and a man and a woman and a 44:00 woman. And the radical right who are saying we're going to change 44:04 the Sabbath institution and we're going to say that we're 44:07 supposed to keep Sunday. Now you tell me, where is the 44:11 difference. There is no difference. The devil doesn't 44:15 care if you change one or if you change the other. They are both 44:20 creation institutions, are they not? And the devil hates both of 44:25 them. Do you know why? Because marriage guarantees the 44:30 stability of the horizontal order whereas the Sabbath 44:35 preserves the orderliness of the vertical order between man and 44:42 God. And so the devil wants to destroy the relationship 44:46 man and God of which the Sabbath is a reminder and he 44:50 wants to destroy the relationship of a husband and a 44:53 husband and a wife by redefining the meaning of 44:58 marriage. And some people will go even so far as to say, Well 45:02 you know the Sabbath was actually a symbol that God gave 45:08 of the rest that we were going to enjoy when Jesus came to the 45:12 world. And once Jesus comes to the world we get rid of the 45:16 symbol. Well the fact is that marriage was also a symbol 45:20 of the relationship between Christ and his people. And so if 45:23 marriage is a symbol of the relationship between Christ and 45:27 his people when Christ actually comes let's get rid of marriage 45:31 also. Are you understanding what I'm saying? The fact that the 45:36 reality comes does not necessarily get rid of the 45:39 Sabbath. It does not necessarily mean that we get rid of marriage 45:44 Some people even say well the Sabbath was so twisted out of 45:48 shape at the time of Christ that Jesus saw that it could not be 45:54 fixed and so he decided that he would discard it. Well the same 45:58 is true of marriage in the days of Christ. You read Matthew 46:03 chapter 19. People were getting divorced for every reason under 46:07 the sun. So marriage was also in the same condition. So why not 46:12 throw out marriage and throw out the Sabbath. But today 46:14 everybody says no, marriage is between a man and a woman and 46:18 you ask why? They say well because that's the way God made 46:22 it at the beginning. And then you ask and what else did he 46:28 make at the beginning. Well he made the trees and he made the 46:32 fish and he made the birds. And you say, yes, thank you very 46:36 much but I'm thinking more in the line of what he made at the 46:40 end of creation week. What else did he make immediately after 46:45 making marriage. The very next verses say that he made what? 46:51 He made the Sabbath. So if you discard the Sabbath what's so 46:56 wrong about discarding marriage? Are you understanding what I'm 47:01 saying? Now another important point in Genesis is that 47:05 marriage is to be monogamous. Is that clearly in Genesis that 47:12 marriage is supposed to be monogamous. You know what 47:15 monogamous means? It means one man to one woman. You say how 47:21 do we know that. Doesn't it say therefore shall an man leave 47:27 his father and his mother and shall be joined to his wives? 47:33 That's not what it says. It says shall be joint to his what? 47:39 To his wife. Now what part of wife do you not understand? 47:46 Wife is singular. God married one man with one woman. Not one 47:52 man with many women or many women with one man. 47:56 God established marriage as monogamous. Notice Ephesians 48:02 chapter 5. This plan had not changed. Ephesians chapter 5. 48:07 We just read it a few moments ago; 5 and verse 33. It says 48:12 here, the Apostle Paul is speaking. We read it in a 48:24 different context a few moments ago. He says this: 48:32 Did God create marriage as a monogamous relationship? 48:40 Absolutely yes. Marriage was supposed to be between one man 48:45 and one woman. And some people say, yeah pastor but look at all 48:50 the men in the Old Testament who married several women. Why don't 48:56 you look at the men who only married one woman? For example, 49:03 Isaac. Isaac married one woman, Rebekah. Noah married how many 49:11 women? One. How about Noah's sons? One each. By the way do 49:17 you know who the first polygamist was? There was a man 49:23 called Lamech and he was in the genealogy of who? Cain. It says 49:30 that he had two wives. You say but look, Abraham married two 49:35 women and God never said it was wrong. Yes and all you have to 49:42 do is look at what the marriage was like. I mean Sarah and Hagar 49:48 were at each other's throats. The household was miserable. 49:53 By their fruits ye shall know them. And then of course you 49:57 have Jacob who had two wives and two concubines. Have mercy! 50:02 And if you read this story you're going to find that there 50:06 were fights in this household among all of the brothers like 50:11 you wouldn't believe. Is that what God intended? That's not 50:15 what God intended. Notice what we find in the book Story of 50:22 Redemption page 76 about Noah and his sons. Noah had but one 50:28 wife and their united family discipline was blessed of God. 50:34 Because Noah's sons were righteous they were preserved in 50:40 the ark with their righteous father. God has not sanctioned 50:49 polygamy in a single instance. How's that? See Jesus always 50:55 went back to the beginning of the ideal. Why did Moses then 51:01 give a letter of divorce for any reason. Jesus says Moses did 51:06 that because of the hardness of your hearts. But at the 51:08 beginning it was not so. You see the idea was to go back to the 51:15 beginning not to some secondary half measure. In diet we should 51:21 go back to the beginning. Sabbath observance we should 51:24 go back to the beginning. Dress we should go back to the 51:27 beginning. Marriage we should go back to the beginning. 51:31 The beginning is the model to which we should aspire, not what 51:36 came in in consequence of sin. She continues saying: God has 51:41 not sanctioned polygamy in a single instance. It is contrary 51:46 to his will. He knew that the happiness of man would be 51:53 destroyed by it. Abraham's peace was greatly marred by his 52:00 unhappy marriage with Hagar. And by the way, as we look at 52:05 marriage in the book of Genesis we also discover that you have 52:10 the Sabbath related to marriage. Have you ever noticed that 52:15 immediately after God performs the first marriage of Adam and 52:20 Eve, then begin the holy hours of the Sabbath. In other words, 52:24 at the end of the sixth day God is saying to Adam and Eve, Adam 52:30 I made you for Eve and Eve I made you for Adam. But then by 52:36 the Sabbath he says I made you both for me. Are you following 52:41 me? And he says every Sabbath your family is going to meet 52:46 with my family and we're going to celebrate together and that 52:51 way your marriage will be stronger and your relationship 52:54 with me will be stronger. So what have we studied? Reviewing. 53:00 Marriage is a divine institution Secondly marriage is normative 53:07 for all times and places. Number three, marriage is indissoluble 53:14 It is for life. Number four: Marriage is to be monogamous, 53:21 one man to one woman. Marriage is to be heterosexual between a 53:29 man and a woman. Marriage is to be within the faith. I mean if 53:35 you're one flesh and the woman is your other self how can one 53:40 self be going to church on Sunday and the other self be 53:45 going to church on Saturday? How can one be eating one thing 53:50 and another thing? How can some children go to school 53:54 in this religious school and the others in the other religious 53:59 school? Are you understanding me? Furthermore, marriage has 54:03 a particular order. The man is the head, the woman is to be 54:08 subject to the man but the man is to love the woman. 54:14 Folks Satan hates marriage with a passion. That's why he's 54:19 trying to destroy it. And Satan hates the Sabbath with a passion 54:24 and that's why he's trying to destroy the Sabbath. And I find 54:29 it very ironic as I mentioned before that the religious left 54:35 or the liberal left wants to change marriage whereas the 54:41 radical evangelical right will eventually move to change the 54:47 Sabbath institution that God made at the very beginning. 54:53 Tragic and sad. Do you know that the book of Genesis mentions 54:58 several distortions of marriage that appeared after sin entered 55:03 the world. Allow me to just mention them in closing. Incest. 55:09 Lot with his daughters. Genesis 19 at the end of the chapter. 55:15 His daughters made him drunk and they had sexual relations with 55:18 their own father. Ruben had sex with one of Jacob's concubines. 55:26 Incest came in contrary to God's plan. Adultery. Remember Joseph? 55:33 Potiphar's wife wanted to commit adultery with Joseph. Joseph 55:40 said how can I commit this great sin against my God? He knew that 55:47 adultery was wrong. Fornication which is sexual relations 55:51 between people who are unmarried You remember the story of 55:56 Shechem and Dinah? It ended up costing the lives of all of the 56:03 inhabitants of Shechem because of that one act of fornication. 56:07 Polygamy came in. Notice these distortions of marriage that the 56:12 devil brought in after sin. You have Lamech the first polygamist 56:18 You have Jacob. You have Abraham Then of course homosexuality. 56:23 Sodom and Gomorrah. Bring out these men that we might know 56:28 them. Marriages of believers and unbelievers. Genesis 6. 56:33 We've studied this. The sons of God marrying the daughters of 56:37 men in unequal yolk. The result was the flood. Prostitution. 56:41 Remember the story of Judah and Tamar. Judah who goes to visit 56:45 a prostitute. Listen. Even in Genesis the devil is trying to 56:49 destroy what? He's trying to destroy marriage because he 56:53 knows that as marriage goes so goes the world. So in conclusion 56:59 I have a challenge for everyone here tonight. Number one: If you 57:06 are married work on it so that you will stay married. If you 57:13 are divorced don't make the same mistake all over again. 57:19 And number three, if you are single go into this with fear 57:25 and trembling. |
Revised 2023-11-13