“Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Matt. 19:6.
Note.—Thus was 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 greatest blessing, when abused becomes the greatest curse.
8. By what commands has God guarded the marriage relation?
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.” Ex. 20:14, 17.
9. What New Testament injunction is given respecting marriage?
“Let marriage be had in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” Heb. 13:4, R. V.
Note.—By many, marriage is lightly regarded—is often made even a subject of jest. Its divine origin, its great object, and its possibilities [pg 707] 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 Rom. 7:1-4; 2 Cor. 11:2; Hosea 2:19, 20; Rev. 19:7.
10. After the fall, what sort of marriages were introduced by men, which were productive of great evil?
“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” Gen. 6:1, 2.
Note.—Not only was there plurality of wives, which in itself is an evil, but the “sons of God,” descending from Seth, married the “daughters of men,” the descendants from the idolatrous line of Cain, and thus corrupted the seed, or church, of God itself. All the barriers against evil thus being broken down, the whole race was soon corrupted, violence filled the earth, and the flood followed.