PerryDox – BeJustAChristian

Life without God is like looking in the mirror with the lights turned off – useless and unenlightening. Life minus God leads to a mess, confusion, and misunderstandings on even the most simple of truths. In fact, I will say life is impossible to understand without God. Life with or without God can be painful; loneliness can be suffocating, obedience can be a struggle. Often our burdens come from our own sins. Others come from struggling with our weaknesses. Pain and suffering can even come from serving the purposes of God. That means some sufferings originate from God. Which brings us to these questions: What right does God have to do that?! Is there a greater purpose to God’s commands than just obedience? Let’s answer these questions by looking at some obscure passages about certain marriages so that we can discover the mystery image of marriage.

I. Jeremiah – God Commanded Jeremiah Not To Marry.

Jeremiah 16:1-4 (HCSB) (1) The word of the LORD came to me: (2) “You must not marry or have sons or daughters in this place. (3) For this is what the LORD says concerning sons and daughters born in this place as well as concerning the mothers who bear them and the fathers who father them in this land: (4) They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like manure on the face of the earth. They will be finished off by sword and famine. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.

Jeremiah could not marry by God’s command. Because of God’s prohibition to get married, Jeremiah could not have children. This emptiness was not because he was physically unable, but rather God forbade him to – Harsh command. Maybe some might argue unfair. What right did God have in forbidding the personal happiness of Jeremiah that comes from marriage and children?

Yet consider the coming national and personal pain to be inflicted on Judah and its inhabitants due to its expulsion into captivity. Would worrying about a wife and children and losing them be worth having a wife and children? Sounds similar to another situation where Paul suggested – not commanded – the single life due to the “present distress” (1 Cor.7:26).

While harsh, can we see that God is trying to protect Jeremiah from future pain? God’s purpose was not to make Jeremiah suffer, but to exchange one type of suffering for another. Sometimes present, short-term anguish saves us from future, life-long sorrow.  And yet, the human side longs for contemporary companionship. Maybe, I argue with myself, at least with a wife by his side, Jeremiah could have had some comfort during his own personal suffering…maybe.  But not necessarily…. Just as we are told to remember Lot’s wife; remember Job’s.

Which is worse, to be commanded not to marry, or to marry knowing you will see your wife and children suffer?

What right did God have to command Jeremiah not to marry or have children? God knew it was for Jeremiah’s own good. Plus, God is God; and we are not.

II. Hosea – God Commanded to Marry a Prostitute

Hosea’s wife Gomer was “a promiscuous wife;” and God had commanded that marriage take place (Hos.1:2). Hard to believe isn’t it?! Not very comforting, is it? How to interpret the phrase “a promiscuous wife” or as some versions say, “a wife of harlotry,” is grammatically difficult. Very plainly, God commanded Hosea to marry a prostitute. Either God told Hosea to marry a woman who would become a prostitute. Or else, Hosea was commanded to wed a woman already practicing prostitution. Either way, God’s precept was not pleasant. It invited pain.

What was the purpose of this horrific command? God chose Hosea to represent Himself – what a blessing; and Hosea’s wife was to represent unfaithful Israel – what a curse. Can you imagine being married to a prostitute? God can! Can you visualize the hurt that comes from adultery? God is able to! Can you picture seeing your wife pregnant and knowing (or at least suspecting) that the child is not yours? Look at the name of Hosea’s second child – Lo-ammi (Hos.1:9). It means, “Not my people.” Considering the whole martial set-up was parabolic, what would naming your child, “not mine” symbolize? Gomer, Hosea’s wife, had gotten pregnant by having an affair or more likely through prostitution. The point is, God suffers the pain of infidelity which many suffer.

So, which is worse, to be commanded not marry, or commanded to marry someone whom you knew would betray you? Jeremiah’s situation, while still lonely, is not as agonizing. Being single can be better than being married. God knows our pain. Restoration between Hosea and Gomer (and God and Israel) would come (Hosea 3). But even in the healing there is hurt; even in the longing there is loneliness.

What right did God have to command Hosea marry a prostitute? Hosea was given the privilege of illustrating God’s suffering and redemption to the people. So there is a greater purpose than Hosea’s individual happiness. Plus, God is God; and we are not.

III. God Killed Ezekiel’s Wife

Ezekiel, another prophet, is another living parable. God allowed Ezekiel to have a wife; and yet God said something personally dreadful to any loving husband:

Ezekiel 24:16 (HCSB) “Son of man, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a fatal blow. But you must not lament or weep or let your tears flow.

What was taken away? The desire of Ezekiel’s eyes. What was the desire of Ezekiel’s eyes? His wife. God will take her from Ezekiel, and the loving husband is not allowed to mourn outwardly, except to groan silently (v.17). Only by looking at eternity can we even begin to understand. But in this life, is it better to have loved and lost, than not to have loved at all? Maybe…and only after the hurt has healed. An important follow-up theological question is, can a believer in God stay faithful after such a taking away? Can we trust a God like this? But again, this tremendous blow against Ezekiel’s happiness was parabolic of both God and Israel. Notice what Ezekiel preaches immediately afterwards:

Ezekiel 24:20-24 (HCSB) (20) So I answered them: “The word of the LORD came to me: (21) ‘Say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to desecrate My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your heart. Also, the sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword. (22) Then you will do just as I have done: You will not cover your mustache or eat the bread of mourners. (23) Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not lament or weep but will waste away because of your sins and will groan to one another. (24) Now Ezekiel will be a sign for you. You will do everything that he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.

God knew the loss that Ezekiel suffered. Loss leads to loneliness. So, which is worse, to be commanded not to marry; or commanded to marry a prostitute with whom you would be reconciled with; or knowing the delight of your eyes would be taken away from you by God? Pain comes with many choices. Loneliness comes in many forms.

What right did God have to kill Ezekiel’s wife? Remember, there is a greater purpose than Ezekiel’s personal happiness. Ezekiel is given the opportunity to be put in God’s place; and Israel gets to learn how they have hurt God and themselves. Plus, God is God; and we are not.

IV. Marriage Is For Life; No Remarriage Except for Adultery

In discussing marriage and divorce, Jesus Himself wisely goes back to the beginning:

Matthew 19:9-10 (HCSB) (9) And I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” (10) His disciples said to Him, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it’s better not to marry!”

Loneliness is painful; pain itself can be lonely. But there are situations that are worse than loneliness. There are situations lonelier than being alone. Which is worse – to be alone and not married, or married and alone? Again, which is worse – to be alone with God, or alone without God? Heartaches come in many forms. And amazingly, no matter what kind of pain we suffer, God seems to have suffered just like us.

What right does God have to write the rules on marriage, divorce, and remarriage? First, understand that every marriage is to be a pattern of God’s relationships; whether Yahweh and Israel, or Jesus and the Church. Just like Hosea and Ezekiel, we have the privilege of being a living parable of God. And the rule of no divorce and remarriage except for fornication is true to form; God did not divorce Israel except for fornication:

Jeremiah 3:8 (HCSB) I observed that it was because unfaithful Israel had committed adultery that I had sent her away and had given her a certificate of divorce. Nevertheless, her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid but also went and prostituted herself.

The concept of “No Fault Divorce” is not only ruining families, and America, it is ruining the opportunity for us to model Jesus’ love for His church to all the world.

What right does God have to write the rules of marriage? The right is greater than our personal happiness. The right is allowing us to teach the world by living the relationship of God with His “wife.” Plus, God is God; and we are not.

V. Marriage is Defined As Between a Man and a Woman

When Jesus speaks about marriage, notice what He says,

Matthew 19:4-6 (HCSB) (4) “Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that He who created them in the beginning made them male and female,” (5) and He also said: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? (6) So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.”

Marriage is much more than just a scriptural place to have sex. It is a process of two people leaving a mother and father, becoming one flesh, and becoming a mother and father also. In other words, marriage is the foundation of the family. A society that suffers from the breakdown of the family suffers a societal breakdown itself. Seeing this, we can see how premarital, extramarital and homosexual marriages are all wrong for the same reason. It breaks down the family structure which destroys society. So this is again for our own good, but even more. It parallels Christ and the Church. We know the Holy Spirit uses this passage in Ephesians 5 to parallel the husband-wife relationship to the relationship of Jesus to the Church. Jesus too left His Father, to receive a bride, and make us one flesh with Him. Jesus did not marry a “man.”

Marriage is more than just about the happiness of two people. Notice again:

Genesis 1:26-28 (HCSB) (26) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” (27) So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. (28) God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

While the second “marriage ceremony” (Gen.2:23-24) is about how the woman is made in the image of man (1 Cor.11:7-9); the first “marriage ceremony” is about how man and woman together are made in the image of God. Since marriage is about a male and female together being the image of God; then what an amazing privilege and responsibility! Although God is not pictured as male and female, we do know that God is a creative being. A marriage made of a male and a male cannot create. A marriage made of a female and a female is just as barren. A husband and wife, male and female marriage mirrors the image of God; because just as God was fruitful and filled the earth, a male and female marriage is the God-sanctioned mechanism to image that buy being fruitful and filling the earth.

Jim Garlow – “We know that God is neither male nor female.  Yet we are made “in his image.”  In spite of the fact that we are, as individuals, made in the image of God, the true, full image is expressed when the two halves of humanity complement each other and become one. If I understand the role of marriage properly, a male, by himself, is not fully representative of all the descriptors of the image of God…. At the same time, if I understand the early pages of Genesis correctly, a female, by herself, cannot do justice to the full spectrum of the image of God. However, when the two complimentary halves of humanity unite – physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally and psychologically – the image of God, containing both tenderness and strength, is manifested.  Male and female are made anatomically, emotionally and spiritually for oneness.  Husband and wife, joined together, represent the full spectrum of the image of God.”

America, and other parts of the world, has become so morally degraded as to legalize marriage between two men or two women. Such is unscriptural for several important reasons:

1. Contrary to God’s design for marriage (i.e., male and female)
2. Contrary to God’s design of the human bodies (i.e. unnatural sex)
3. Contrary to God’s design to have human marriage pattern His marriage.

Consider this last one. If homosexual marriage is acceptable in God’s sight, then which wife is the lead, and which husband subjects himself to the other? Which husband is the weaker vessel is both are the same kind of vessel? Which wife must lay down her life for the other wife? Which wife is Christ? All of the rules of a marriage have been thrown out. But then again, society – and “Christianity” – has already done this:

• Done away is marriage for life except for fornication.
• Done away is husband the head of the wife.
• Done away is sex reserved for marriage.
• Done away is the joy of having children only in marriage.

Because “Christianity” has forgotten that our marriages model God’s, marriage has been degraded in worth. No wonder our country has forgotten marriage is only between a man and a female. It had already forgotten everything else God said about marriage.

As we have seen with Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, we living such a parabolic life is not unusual. Christians are to teach the world by our marriages. This is far more than just some rules God made up. This is even more than just an application of “plumbing.” Homosexual marriage is wrong because it corrupts God’s message having mankind teach Jesus’ marriage to His church. Homosexual marriage is as wrong as Jesus committing homosexual sex. Therefore homosexual marriage is wrong for the same reason divorce for any cause is wrong. It does not illustrate to the world Jesus’ marriage to His bride.

Conclusion

Paul states about marriage and Jesus’ relationship to the church as a mystery:

Ephesians 5:32 (HCSB) This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.

Unbeknownst to the people of Moses’ day (it was a ‘mystery’), marriage was designed by God from the beginning to be a picture or parable of the relationship between Christ and the church.  Back when God was planning what marriage would be like, He planned it for this great purpose: it would give a beautiful earthly picture of the relationship that would someday come about between Christ and His church.  This was not known to people for many generations, and that is why Paul can call it a ‘mystery.’  But now in the New Testament age Paul reveals this mystery, and it is amazing. This means that when Paul wanted to tell the Ephesians about marriage, he did not just hunt around for a helpful analogy and suddenly think that “Christ and the church” might be a good teaching illustration.  No, it was much more fundamental than that: Paul saw that when God designed the original marriage He already had Christ and the church in mind.  This is one of God’s great purposes in marriage: to picture the relationship between Christ and His redeemed people forever!  (George Knight III, “Husbands and Wives as Analogues of Christ and the Church” in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism, edited by John Piper and Wayne Grudem [Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1991], 175-76)

One of our goals in this lesson was to reveal part of the mystery of marriage, that it is a relationship that displays to the world the image of God.

When a man is about to be married, it is often said half-jokingly and half-seriously, that he has no say about how the wedding goes because the wedding is her day. From an American, human point of view such is no doubt true. Plus, most men just don’t care about the color of the napkins at the reception. But what the Bible tells us it that the wedding day is ultimately God’s day, because the marriage is God’s.

We must look beyond the personal legal questions about marriage, not because they do not matter, but because they point to a greater purpose. God is not making laws just to make laws, or giving commands just to cause pain. God is asking everyone to live out His marriage in theirs. The very first time God’s image and likeness is mentioned, it is mentioned within the boundaries of a marriage. While there are many ways mankind exhibits God’s image, one that must not be forgotten is our marriages are made in the image of God. While God is a plurality in unity, so is a marriage. God is three in one, a marriage is two in one plus God.

“When a man and a woman celebrate the Sacrament of Matrimony, God as it were ‘is mirrored’ in them; He impresses in them his own features and the indelible character of his love….Marriage is the icon of God’s love for us….Indeed, God is communion too: the three Persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit live eternally in perfect unity. And this is precisely the mystery of matrimony: God makes of the two spouses one single life. The Bible uses a powerful expression and says ‘one flesh,’ so intimate is the union between man and woman in marriage. And this is precisely the mystery of marriage: the love of God which is reflected in the couple that decides to live together. Therefore a man leaves his home, the home of his parents, and goes to live with his wife and unites himself so strongly to her that the two become — the Bible says — one flesh.”  (“Pope” Francis)

Which is worse – pain and loneliness without God, or pain and loneliness with God?  Life is less painful and less lonely when God is with us… even if obeying God causes us pain and loneliness.

What is this sermon about?  Four essential points:

1. Let us not be too quick to bemoan our own lives, wishing we lived someone else’s. I doubt any of would want to change places with Jeremiah, Hosea, or Ezekiel.
2. Let us be quick to go to God with our pain, suffering, and anguishes, knowing He has suffered too. We see this poignantly when Hosea and Ezekiel’s marriages mirrored God’s own suffering.
3. Let us accept what God has chosen for us. God is God; and we are not.
4. Let us glory in the responsibility and privilege of paralleling the image of God for the world in our marriages.

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This entry was posted by PHall on Sunday, July 12th, 2015 at 5:19 pm and is filed under Genesis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.