Weekly Devotion: Marriage is Honourable

“Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” Hebrews 13:4

“Marriage” is an institution created and ordained by God for man and is the “honourable” union between one man and one woman designed to last one lifetime. Yet there will be 1.6 million divorces in the USA this year alone, not counting the break ups of those living together outside of wedlock. Of those remaining married, studies show that only 1 in 10 marriages consider themselves happy and fulfilled. There is a myriad of reasons for these sobering statistics of how Satan has corrupted the very core of our society, but I believe most, if not all, come down to a perversion of, or failure to meet one or more of God’s reasons for marriage.

·         Procreation (Genesis 1:28) – God created marriage as a means to “be fruitful”.

·         Partnership (Genesis 2:18) – God gave woman to man to “help meet” God’s mission.

·         Purity (1 Corinthians 7:2) – God created marriage as a means to “avoid fornication”.

·         Picture (Ephesians 5:23-32) – Every problem in marriage can be resolved by considering the example of “Christ and the church”.

In spite of the bad press that marriage has received due to divorce, and in spite of legislation trying to deviate from the Biblical definition, “marriage is honourable”. You can hardly log onto the Internet without getting an advertisement from a dating service. For most, there is a built-in something that makes us desire that special one and only soul mate, and rightfully so, because it is a “good thing”.

“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.” Pr. 18:22

The way to find that “good thing” however is not by matching 29 personality traits with someone else. God gives you and me that “good thing” that you desire when you “walk uprightly” before him.

“For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11

While “marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled…whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” The Greek word for “whoremongers” is where we get our word “pornography” from, so these two labels include all sexual lusts and sins outside of marriage, from which Christians are to “flee” (2 Timothy 2:22; 1 Corinthians 6:18). Sexual purity is not old fashioned to God!

Not only is marriage honourable, but we even have a “maid of honor” at weddings and one of her functions is to verify the vows between bride and the bridegroom. The first of the vows typically goes something like this, “do you _______ take _______ to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, till death due us part, etc.”? This is not unlike the choice / vow that each of us must make to be espoused (engaged) as the bride of Christ and not unlike the choice that “Rebekah” had to make before she could be married to Isaac. What about you friend, have you “taken” Jesus to be your husband, till death do you part? If not, “wilt thou go with this man” today by saying “I will”, to him in prayer?

“And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.” Genesis 24:58