Marriage and a Happy Home

A Woman for the Man

After creating man, what did God say?

“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18.

What therefore, did God say He would make?

“I will make a helper for him.” Verse 18.

Note – Not a helpmeet nor a helpmate, but – two words – a helpmeet for him; that is, fit or suitable for him. Man’s companion, or help, was to correspond to him. Each was to be suited to the other’s needs.

Could such a help be found among the creatures that God had already made?

“So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air, and all the beasts of the field. But, for Adam no suitable helper was found ” Verse 20.

A Woman From The Man

What, therefore did God do?

“So the Lord caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.” Verses 21,21.

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 would have the 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 seat of his 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 in this view than the theory that man developed from the lower order of animals.

What did Adam say as He received his wife from God?

“The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man.” Verse 23.  

The Two Become One

What great truth was then stated?

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Verse 24.

In what words does Christ recognize marriage as of God?

“So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” Matthew 19:6.  

Note – Thus 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 great blessing, when abused becomes the greatest curse.

By what commands has God guarded the marriage relation?

“You shall not commit adultery.” “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.”

Exodus 20:14; 17.

What New Testament injunction is given respecting marriage? 

“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and the sexually immoral.” Hebrews 13:4. 

Note – By many, marriage is highly regarded – is often made even subject of jest. It’s divine origins, 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 Romans 7:1-4; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Hosea 2:19, 20; Revelation 19:7.)

Marriage With Unbelievers

After the Fall, what sort of marriages were introduced by men, which were productive of great evil?

“When men began to increase on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.” Genesis 6:1,2.

Note – The “sons of God,” descending from Seth, married the “daughters of men,” the descendants from the idolatrous line of Cain. As a result the barriers against evil were broken down, the whole race was soon corrupted, violence filled the earth, and the Flood followed.

What prohibition did God give the chosen people against intermarrying with the heathen nations about them, and why?   

“Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lords anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.”

Deuteronomy 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 want Israel to repeat that folly.

What instruction is given in the New Testament regarding partnership with unbelievers?

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 2 Corinthians 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 the 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 Exodus 34:14-16; Judges 14:1-3; Ezra 9 and 10; Nehemiah 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 upon himself upon the enemy’s ground. The Scriptures do not advocate separation after the union has been formed (see 1 Corinthians 7:2-16), but good sense should teach us that faith can best be maintained, and domestic happiness best ensured, where both husband and wife are believers, and of the same faith. Ministers and parents, therefore, should warn the young against all improper marriages. 

What instruction did Abraham give his servant Eliezer when sending him to select a wife for his son Isaac?  

“He replied, “The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family.” Genesis 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.

Marriage and Divorce

For how long does marriage bind the contracting parties?

“For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.” Romans 7:2. 

(See 1 Corinthians 7:39.) 

What only does Christ recognize as proper ground for dissolving the marriage relationship?  

“I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” Matthew 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. 

The Complete Home

Where and by whom were the foundations of the home laid?

“Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.” Genesis 2:8.   

In making this home, what besides man was needed?

“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Verse 18.

After creating Adam and Eve, what did God say to them?

“God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:28.

To what are the wife and children of the man who fears the Lord likened?

“You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessing and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.” Psalm 128:2,3. 

What are children declared to be?

“Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.” Psalm 127:3. “Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.”

Proverbs 17:6.

Relationship of Husband and Wife

How should the wife relate herself to her husband?

“Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.” Ephesians 5:22,23.

And how should husbands regard their wives?

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain and wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church – for we are members of this body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be untied to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each of you also must love himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Verses 25-33.

Against what are husbands cautioned?

“Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.” Colossians 3:19.    

Why should wives be in subjection to their husbands?

“Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husband so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by their behavior of their wives.”

1 Peter 3:1.

Why should husbands be considerate of their wives?

“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” Verse 7.

Parents and Children

Why should children obey their parents?

“Children, obey your parents, in the Lord, for this is right.” Ephesians 6:1. 

How should parents bring up their children?

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Verse 4.

Why should fathers not provoke their children to anger?

“Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will be discouraged.” Colossians 3:21.

By what means may the mother bind the hearts of the loved ones at home together?

“She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” Proverbs 31:26.

How faithfully should parents teach the precepts and commandments of God to their children?

“Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:7.

Note – The home is the child’s first school, and it is here that the foundation should be laid for a life of service. Its principles are to be taught not merely in theory. They are to shape the whole life training.

What is the great secret of a happy home?

“Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.”

Proverbs 15:17.

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