Marriage for Life

by Richard C. Nickels

“What divine institution was ordained and blessed by God at creation? If your answer is “the Sabbath,” you are correct. If your answer is “marriage,” your answer is also correct. The Sabbath and Marriage are two foundational Bible doctrines.

Importance of Marriage

Marriage is the theme of the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, the Eternal teaches us the importance and spiritual significance of marriage. In Eden, God taught mankind two doctrines: the Sabbath and Marriage. These are related, for the Sabbath is the avenue for our relationship with God, and human Marriage is a God-plane relationship with another human being, to help us build our relationship with God.

At the institution of marriage, there was no provision for divorce. However, mankind quickly departed from God. Sin made the marriage relationship more difficult, Genesis 3:16-19. Cain departed from the presence of the Lord, Genesis 4:16, married, had a son named Enoch, and built a city named after Enoch. Cain’s descendant Lamech was the first recorded polygamist. The line of Cain continued to be divorced from God’s presence.

Genesis 6 shows that wrong marriages and wrong sexual relationships led to God’s judgment of the Flood. The word translated “violence” is Strong’s #2555, chamas, the same word for Abraham and Sarah’s sin involving Hagar, Genesis 16:5. See also Malachi 2:16. Marriage is not a contract, but a covenant, verse 14. As in the days of Noah, sexual sins will abound just prior to our Lord’s return, Matthew 24:37-38…”

(this article is an excerpt from the July-August 2004 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel)

To read the rest of this article, which starts on page 4, click this link: https://biblesabbath.org/tss/508/tss_508.pdf