God’s
marriage law, it seems to me, is based on three principles. The three
are: 1) the law of origins; 2) the law of harmony; and 3) the law of
order.
Disregard
for these three basic marriage regulations has ramified in many
different directions wreaking havoc on the home and family as God has
defined it in His word. Adultery, fornication, homosexuality, child
abuse--all are related to a disrespect for these three basic principles.
Many other deviations which are more subtle, but just as
dangerous--things like feminism, the uni-sex movement, gang
violence--may well be related to a disregard for these three basic parts
of God’s marriage law.
The law of origins
“In the
beginning” as Jesus used it in
Matthew 19
is
significant. It is at the heart of the law of origins. “Have you not
read,” he said, “that he which made them at the beginning made them male
and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and
mother and shall cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one
flesh?” This is further amplified in the ninth verse when he said,
after having been questioned about Moses’ allowance of divorce, “Moses,
because of the harness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your
wives: but from the beginning it was not so.” I have denominated this
as the law of origins.
God had a
plan for man and woman from the outset, one which He expected should
govern the relationship for all time. Notice that at the beginning and
from the beginning it was God’s law that a man--one man--should leave
his father and mother and cleave to his wife--one woman. Why God
allowed divorce during the time of Moses I don’t know. I do know--and
that for a fact--that from the beginning it was not so. Think of all
the trouble which has been caused by unconcern for the law of origins.
The law of harmony
There is a
basic difference between unison and harmony. Unison means being in
agreement in exactly the same way (in music, singing exactly the same
notes). Harmony means a simultaneous combination which makes for
agreement. In music, it is the pleasing combination of notes which make
a chord. It means to be “in accord.”
We need to
realize that God never demanded “unison,” but He did command “harmony”
in marriage. Men, together, are unison. Women, together, are unison.
Men with men is not harmony. Women with women is not harmony. A man
and a woman together in God’s arrangement make harmony. Compare the
idea of “they twain shall become one flesh.” They didn’t start out as
one, they became one. That’s harmony. Notice, too, “what God hath
joined together let not man put asunder.” They are con-joined in a
harmonious relationship. Life consists of interlocking opposites.
Marriage is the most beautiful one of them.
When Paul
says, in
I Corinthians 7:5,
“Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a season,”
he speaks to this harmonious relationship. The term translated “with
consent” is from a Greek word sumphemi which is where we get our word
“symphony,” a together sound. The law of harmony is basic to God’s
marriage law.
The law of order
Paul states
God’s law of order in
I Corinthians 11:1-2.
“Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep
the ordinances, as I delivered them unto you. But I would have you
know, that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is
the man; and the head of Christ is God.” This is an ordinance--what has
been ordained. God is the prior person, Christ next, man, then woman.
You can no more mess with this order with impunity than you can violate
the law of gravity. Punishment follows the disregard for either. It’s
just that the payoff is immediate in the latter and is delayed in the
former.
In order
for the marriage relationship to function as it should there must be
respect for this role order. It’s a law, not a wish, and a law always
has some punitive measures attached to it or it isn’t a law. Make no
mistake about it, you violate this law and you’ll pay.
The law of
order is illustrated beginning at
Ephesians 5:21,
(“submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of the Lord”) and
amplified through the rest of chapter five and into chapter six. As it
relates to man and woman it is briefly stated in such commands as “Wives
submit yourselves to your own husbands as unto the Lord, for the husband
is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church....”
And “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and
gave himself for it.” This is a practical commentary on
I Corinthians 7:1-3.
It’s God’s law of order at work.
Conclusion
To
disregard these three laws is to invite sure disaster. The immediate
punishment is seen in the loss of hearth and home and its ensuing
detrimental effect on society. The eternal disaster will be even more
devastating.
Other Articles by
Dee Bowman
Intentions Won't Get It!
God Save the Family
Criticism
The
Book Momma Read
How to Build a Good Character
Today is Today
Different by Design