The Model for Marriage (3)

Turning to chapter 2 in Solomon’s Song, the great model of marriage in Scripture, in verse 1, the maiden thinks of herself as only common flowers, a rose and a lily. What a contrast that is to today’s vanity and immodesty. In verse 2, however, as far as he is concerned, the King views all other women as thorns and her as the lily among them.

Staying with a nature metaphor, in verses 3-6 she likens him to “the apple tree.” Most guys today would frown at that one, but not in that day. The metaphor graphically pictured three aspects of love that are important to women. First, she says, “I sat down under his shadow with great delight,” which is a picture of protection. In contrast to her working in the brutal sun (1:6), in him she found rest.

Second, she says, “His fruit was sweet to my taste,” which pictures provision. At the very foundation of a marriage is the husband’s providing for his wife’s needs, and she was totally secure in that. Third, she says “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love,” which pictures proclamation. I love the picture here! He took her to the banquet hall to “show her off.” In essence he put a “banner” over her proclaiming that he was not ashamed of her or embarrassed to proclaim his love for her.

Today’s macho philosophy that says men are weak if they show affection is not only unbiblical but, if I may be blunt, is also pretty stupid. She was so taken by his affection and his demonstration of it, in fact, that she was “love sick” (v. 5), a common theme in Near Eastern love poetry. She was so weakened that she needed both physical strength from food (“flagons,” that is, raisons, and “apples”) and also emotional strength from his intimate embrace. To my fellow husbands out there, I encourage us all that our wives thrive on such intimacy.

In light of the emphasis on the physical attraction that we have seen, verse 7 provides an essential control: “I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.” It’s not certain who the “daughters of Jerusalem” were, but some views include: ladies of the royal court, concubines in the royal harem (not likely), or all female inhabitants of Jerusalem. Whichever is correct, the point here is a warning against the arousal of uncontrolled sexual passion before the right time. Marital and premarital chastity are elsewhere encouraged in the Song (4:12; 8:8-12). Indeed, the most important thing a young lady can do to prepare for her future marriage is to stay pure.

The same is true, however, for a young man. In Proverbs 5-7, Solomon writes of what immorality will do to a young man, and it should be read often as a reminder. In 6:32-33 we read, “Whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.” There’s no double-standard in God’s law, as there is in our society. Both young ladies and young men should stay pure and wait for God to sanction intimacy with their spouse. It will be worth the wait.

In verses 8-14, the maiden describes Solomon as a “roe or a young hart” (that is, a gazelle or deer) as he approaches. He’s attractive, strong, and agile, and is moving quickly because he can’t wait to see her. It’s springtime and they go for a walk. Everything they see—the flowers, birds, trees, and vines—stimulates the senses and reminds them of the beauty of their love.

Verses 14-15 are very special: “O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.” What beautiful poetry! Doves hide in the clefts of the hills to avoid detection. Solomon requests, then, that she come out and show her entire self to him and hold back nothing. “I want to know you,” he says, “I want to know everything about you.”

Solomon also mentions “foxes,” which is extremely important to the rest of the story. Foxes are always a sign of trouble, so anything that would spoil their relationship should be dealt with, brought out into the open and addressed. How important the “doves” and “foxes” are in a relationship! And how vital it is that couples receive adequate premarital counsel! Tragically, however, very little such counsel occurs in churches day.

Verses 16-17 declare the very foundation of marriage, that each owns the other: “My beloved is mine, and I am his” (cf. I Cor. 7:2-3). They look forward to their marriage when they can embrace “until the day break.”

The Model for Marriage (2)

Continuing our look at the greatest model of marriage, why is Solomon’s Song part of Scripture? Why put “a love story” in the Bible? After all, the Bible is a book about spiritual truth. Why put in something so earthly? 

One commentator well sums up the purpose of this wonderful book: “The purpose of the book is to extol human love and marriage. Though at first this seems strange, on reflection it is not surprising for God to have included in the biblical canon a book endorsing the beauty and purity of marital love. God created man and woman (Gen. 1:27; 2:20-23) and established and sanctioned marriage (Gen. 2:24). Since the world views sex so sordidly and perverts and exploits it so persistently and since so many marriages are crumbling because of lack of love, commitment, and devotion, it is advantageous to have a book in the Bible that gives God’s endorsement of marital love as wholesome and pure.”

Amen. If marriage is the very foundation of society, of living, of having and training children, of all human relationships, doesn’t it make sense that God would devote an entire book of Holy Scripture to it? If Scripture is authoritative and solely sufficient in every possible issue, would not the subject of marital love be treated in a practical, straightforward, even graphic manner?

Let’s take a brief look at this love story and compare its model with our own marriages. In the opening words of the Song (1:2-4), it’s actually the physical side of love that is mentioned first, which seems to conflict with the common view that says, “The physical doesn’t matter at all in choosing a mate.” The maiden speaks of her desire for the Beloved’s physical affection and lists the physical features that attract her to him. The desire for physically intimacy is clear. Yes, while marriage must be based on much more than just physical attraction or it will indeed fail, such desire is not only allowed, but is considered good and healthy. 

In verses 5-8, the maiden speaks of herself as being “black.” The Hebrew here (shecharchoreth) refers to “skin that is swarthy, darkened, in context because of the sun’s rays.” She, therefore, feels that the Sun has marred her complexion because she worked so much outdoors, in contrast to the ladies in the palace. But here is, in fact, a key to her character—she’s not afraid to work. Nonetheless, in her insecurity, she needs the Beloved’s reassurance.

Another key to her character are the words “why should I be as one that turneth aside?” (v. 7). As Young’s Literal Translation phrases it, “For why am I as one veiled?” Unlike Tamar (Gen. 38:14-16), this girl values purity and rejects the veil (or any appearance) of the wandering prostitute. So important is propriety, in fact, that she insists on specifying a particular place and time for them to meet.

Solomon’s reassurance comes in verses 9-11. He calls her “my love” nine times, starting here in verse 9 and then in 1:16; 2:2,10, 13; 4:1,7; 5:2; 6:4. He compares her “to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots.” While most girls today wouldn’t appreciate such a comparison, girls of that day would because no animal was considered more beautiful and graceful. Being poor, she doesn’t have jewelry, but he compliments her further that her “cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, [and her] neck with chains of gold.” In other words, “You don’t need jewelry. You are already adorned with natural jewels.” Husbands, when was the last time you complimented your wife? Billy Sunday is quoted as saying, “Try praising your wife, even if it frightens her at first.”

In verses 12-14 the maiden speaks of the smell of her perfume that will reach the King as he sits on his throne. Scent plays a powerful role in physical attraction. She also pictures in her mind the intimacy of their sleeping together.

In verse 15, we see the couple looking into each other’s eyes and talking, a key to intimacy. The King compliments her eyes, calling them “doves’ eyes,” as doves are known for their tranquility and purity. Verses 16-17 reveal that they are lying beside each other on the grass with the forest surrounding them. What a romantic setting! “The Bible actually talks about romance?” we might ask. Indeed, It does.

The Model for Marriage (1)

In previous installments we have examined the meaning and motives for marriage. In the next few, I would like to share a wonderful blessing with you, namely, the model for marriage. And there is no better model in all of Scripture than the book titled, “Solomon’s Song.”

The title “Song of Solomon” that appears in several English translations comes from verse 1, which states that the book was written by Solomon. The ancient Hebrew versions, however, call it “Song of Songs.” This title translates the superlative in the Hebrew, as does “Holy of Holies,” for example (Ex. 26:33-4). In other words, of the 1,005 songs that Solomon wrote, this is the song, Solomon’s best.

Solomon’s Song is a love story, and what a story it is! Once in a while a writer will pen a good love story, and once in a great while a movie is made that tells a good love story (instead of the typical lust story). But here is a real love story, one that is beautiful and absolutely pure. Once again, while it’s not perfect, simply because people are not perfect, it does serve as a perfect model. In light of the perversion of love and marriage in our day, Hebrews 13:4 captures the heart of this love story: “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” As this story underscores, the physical relationship between husband and wife is, as the Greek amiantos (“undefiled”) indicates, unpolluted, unstained, and unsoiled by sin.

There are two principle characters in the story: Solomon, who is referred to as “the Beloved” 32 times in the King James Version (inexplicably, the margin in the NIV refers to Solomon as “Lover” and the maiden as “the Beloved.” Why such a total reversal of what has been recognized through the ages?), and the Shulamite maiden. 

While her identity is uncertain, three possibilities stand out. One is that she was an unknown maiden from Shulam, but there is no other mention of Shulam in the Bible or the known extra-Biblical literature. Other interpreters say that it is simply another name for Shulem, located in lower Galilee, but that seems conjectural. The third possibility makes more sense. In the Hebrew, “Shulamite” is actually the feminine form (Shulammith) of Solomon (Shelomoh). As scholar Augustus Strong points out, because the definite article is present, the term is “a pet name.” In other words, having become Solomon’s wife, she took his name, which was a common practice then as it is now, and which was instituted in Genesis 5:2, as God called “their name Adam,” not just his name.

Solomon’s Song has been variously interpreted. Both the allegorical and typological views don’t approach it literally. In one way or another, they make the characters and events mean something that’s not stated in the text. The most common idea is that the whole story depicts God’s love either for Israel or the Church. The Church, however, cannot possibly be in view because it was a mystery in Old Testament times, hidden from the foundation of the world and not revealed until the New Testament Apostles and Prophets (Rom. 16:25-6; Eph. 3:9). Even more basic than that, however, nowhere in the book is God’s love the subject, rather the love of a man and woman.

We should also interject that such spiritualizing has caused hymn writers to refer to Christ as the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley (2:1), but that simply is not so; the Shulamite maiden used both terms not of Messiah but of herself, considering herself as common as those flowers. Solomon, however, disagreed in the next verse by saying that she was not just any lily but “the lily among thorns.” 

We submit, therefore, that by spiritualizing Solomon’s Song, we totally miss its literal, deep, and vitally important message. There is no justification whatsoever for viewing the book in any other way than to take it at face value, to look at it in a normal, literal fashion. When we do, we see in its three main sections Solomon’s days of courtship (1:2-3:5), his wedding and early days of his first marriage (3:6-5:1), and the growth and maturing of that marriage (5:2-8:4). While we might wonder how Solomon could have been the author of this song when he indulged in the forbidden pagan practice of polygamy (700 wives and 300 concubines, I Kings 11:3), the answer is undoubtedly that this was his first marriage, as implied in Ecclesiastes 9:9: “Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of [your] life.” We’ll continue in the next several installments.

The Motives for Marriage (3)

The first biblical motive for marriage is companionship.

Second, marriage provides sexual protection. The key passage here is I Corinthians 7:2-3: “Nevertheless, to avoid fornication [i.e., any sexual perversion], let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.” God’s design and beautiful balance is that to prevent sexual sin, we get married and have a physical relationship that is mutually beneficial to both husband and wife.

It is fitting that this instruction appears in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian believers. Among the Greeks most sex was outside of marriage, and the Corinthian believers were in the thick of it. While Paul deals with sins in the areas of attitude in 1:10-4:21— the major attitudes being pride and arrogance—in chapter 5 he turns to the sins of action, primarily in fact, with sexual sin. Such sin arose then for the same reasons it arises today, namely, humanistic education and amoral philosophy. Temple prostitution, for example, actually glorified promiscuous sex. Such relations were so common that the practice came to be called “Corinthianizing.” Many believers had formerly been involved in such immorality, and it was hard for them to break with the old ways and easy to fall back into them.

Later in the letter (6:12-20), Paul details three evils of sexual sin. First, he writes that it is not “expedient” (v. 12a), that is, it’s unprofitable. No sin is more destructive than sexual sin. While it promises satisfaction, it ends up “bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword” (Prov. 5:4). Second, Paul writes that he would not be “brought under the power of any” sin (v. 12b), and sexual sin is uncontrollable. Many a man has started with pornography and ended up not being able to have normal relations with his wife or even being transformed into a child molester. Third, Paul tells us that sexual sin is unconscionable, that it perverts beyond conscience. In verse 18 he warns that sexual sin is sin against our own body, a perversion of God’s intention for our body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit for the Believer (v. 19-20).

Of all temptation, there is nothing more powerful than sexual lust. Entire industries, in fact, are built upon that drive, prostitution as well as pornography. One of the foundations of advertising and marketing, regardless of the product in question, is that, “Sex sells.” Why? Because it’s such a powerful force. God has, therefore, given us a way to deal with sexual temptation; it’s called sexual activity within marriage. This activity is vital. It’s also vital that it be quantitative for the husband and qualitative for the wife. It is for that reason that God says that each belongs to the other so as to meet those physical and emotional needs.

Third, marriage provides the means of raising godly children. While procreation is not marriage, it is part of marriage, and it is godly marriage that will provide godly children. The key passage here are the two verses that following Malachi’s statement about marriage being a covenant: “And did not he make [them] one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away [i.e. divorce]” (Mal. 2:15-16). The Jews were plagued by divorce, so Malachi reemphasizes the oneness of God’s design. And an essential reason for marriage is raising and training the next generation of godly people. 

Fourth and finally, marriage provides the foundational element of human society. Marriage is not something man devised as a clever way to sort out the responsibilities of men, women, and children. God designed it to be the foundational element of all human society. Marriage is under tremendous attack and many are trying to do away with it, but they have no right to do so because they didn’t institute it! In fact, an attack on marriage and the family is actually an attack on all of society because each marriage is like an individual brick in a house; the structure depends upon every single brick. Even though the house will stand with a few missing bricks, the structure is still defaced and weakened and is destined to collapse sooner or later. Let us strive, through Sprit-filling and Word-filling, never to allow our marriages, and subsequently our homes, to be weakened. Let us strive to make them what God wants them to be.

Oh, these motives are, indeed, what make marriage the most beautiful and the most intimate relationship on earth.

The Motives for Marriage (2)

Last time we began a look at the first motive for marriage: companionship.

Did you know that married people live longer? According to insurance statistics, the death rate for married men aged 25 to 34 is 1.5 per thousand; for single men it is twice as high—more than 3.5 per thousand. The difference is even greater as men grow older: in the 35 to 44 group, the death rate for married men is 3.1 per thousand; for unmarried it is 8.3. Among all women, the mortality rate for single females is almost twice that of women who are or have been married. All this could mean that, as one writer puts it, “The moral is: better wed than dead.” That certainly stands to reasons, for a whole person will live longer than only half a person.

Further, have you ever pondered that every good marriage is a miracle of God? To think that two people who are so diverse, so different in their way of thinking, so different in how they approach a problem, so different in their emotional, physiological, and emotion structure, can “make it work,” is nothing short of a miracle. Only God’s creation of marriage can accomplish such a feat.

At this point, it is appropriate to deal with an essential aspect of such companionship, namely, communication, without which a marriage is destined to disintegrate. In Ephesians 1-3 Paul presents doctrine, the grand themes of our salvation and wealth in Christ. Beginning in chapter 4, he then deals with our walk in Christ. One aspect of that walk is unity (4:1-16) and another is purity (v. 17-32). Those two sections actually lay an essential foundation for marriage. Obviously we want both unity and purity in a marriage. Further, and most appropriate, is that feature of the “new man” spoken of in verse 25: “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.” While truth, openness, and honesty are essential in any relationship, nowhere are these more crucial than in a marriage. Again, without them, the marriage is doomed.

Tom and Jill sat across the desk from a Christian counselor. In the bitterest terms she could use, Jill said, “I am absolutely certain that this husband of mine is cheating on me; he’s been stealing from his overtime pay. I know he’s been stealing money. And I want to know what he’s been doing with it.” She’d been holding this in for several months, ever since she first noticed the missing money. The result was her increasing anger and bitterness. Turning to the husband, the counselor asked, “Tom, where did the money go? Did you really take it?” He slowly reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, dug into a hidden compartment, and pulled out a wad of money. “It’s all here,” he said, as he threw it on the desk. “I’ve been saving for our anniversary for a special treat for Jill.” What a sad scene! Because of a lack of simple communication, that wife threatened to break up that marriage.

It’s also significant that in very next verse Paul declares, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Here is a Biblical truth that has several times in my own marriage kept me up to 3:00 AM working out a conflict. Paul knew that even righteous anger (4:26) can degenerate, so he added this admonition. Kept too long, even righteous anger can turn into a personal resentment. Yes, conflicts will come, and we might get justifiably upset with our spouse, but it must be dealt with before “the sun [goes] down;” that is, we must not take it to bed; we deal with it and get it resolved. If we don’t we are “[giving] place to the devil” (v. 27), giving him a foothold in the relationship and inviting him in to destroy it, and nothing would please him more. While a successful marriage is a testimony to the world, so is an unsuccessful one.

This “communicative companionship” is further seen as we read through the remainder of Ephesians 4: “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (vs. 28-32). If all those are to be true of our relationship with every believer, how much more appropriate they are in our marriages?

The Motives for Marriage (1)

The story is told of a newly hired cub reporter whose editor gave him the basic, classic instructions that he should always find out the answers to the five important questions for every news story: who, what, when, where, and why. He then added, however, “Almost always. The only newsworthy story for which you never ask ‘Why’ is a wedding.” While that seems to be good advice nowadays, God has given at least four very specific motives, or reasons, for marriage.

First, marriage provides companionship. All that we have seen brings new meaning to the words “an help meet for him” in Genesis 2:18, which many Christians do not really understand. The literal idea is “a helper suitable for him.” Originally, “help meet” was two words; today we consider it one, for the most part. “Help” meant what our word “helper” means, while “meet” literally meant “appropriate to, corresponding to, or approximating at every point.” So then, God made man a helper, a helper who approximates him, a helper who is appropriate and suitable for his needs.

I sure identified with a sign in a wallpaper and paint store that read, “Husbands choosing colors must have note from wives.” How true that is for me! If it’s not blue, then I don’t really care. If it weren’t for my wife’s knowledge, my clothes would never be coordinated. And that’s just one area in which she is a helper who is appropriate and suitable for my needs. 

One Christian writer, says it well: “As a result of the creation order, men and women are oriented to one another differently. They need one another, but they need one another differently. The man needs the help; the woman needs to help. Marriage was created by God to provide companionship in the labor of dominion.” That says it perfectly! When we understand that principle, when we are related to our spouse as God has designed us to, we will see our marriages transformed. 

Now couple that principle with the term “one flesh,” a term we find in Genesis and further along in Ephesians 5. This term does not refer only to sexual union, though that is involved. One way to think of this is in light of our word “everybody.” When we say, for example, “Everybody went to the church picnic,” we do not refer to literal “bodies,” but rather to everyone, that is, every person. That is what the Hebrew means. For example, when God says He will “destroy all flesh,” He doesn’t mean skin, bones, and so forth. He means that He will destroy every person. So, “one flesh” means one person, a whole person, a complete person. Two become one.

We should see in all this the fact that before marriage each of us was only half a person. As mentioned earlier, there will be those few who God empowers to remain single, but the general rule is marriage, and each individual is actually incomplete before that time. While that idea is violently apposed today—“I don’t need anyone else,” it is argued—such arguments are foolish because that one is incomplete without the other. That principle is at the heart of marriage—each is incomplete without the other; the two become one. The man brings strength and leadership into the “one person,” and the woman brings softness, nurturing, and other such qualities into the “one person.” Each half of the person complements the other half. 

How foolish we are when we do not allow the qualities of our life mate to balance us out. Have you ever wondered why God never puts two similar people to together? Because if He did, one of the individuals would be unnecessary. Have you ever looked at your marriage and noticed that one of you likes to get up early while the other likes to sleep late, that one of you likes to stay up late while the other likes to go to bed early, that one of you has a good sense of direction while the other can’t find north with a compass, that one of you is a good bookkeeper while the other one isn’t, that one of you is a neat freak and the other a slob? Why are these and many other contrasts true? Because when you put the two halves together, you get a whole person.

What, then, is the end result? Not only does it make a complete, whole person, which is good for that person, but ultimately it brings glory to God. Mark it down: every Godly, successful marriage is a praise to God; it is a testimony, a proclamation to the world that God’s institution works. We’ll continue this first motive for marriage next time.

The Meaning of Marriage (2)

Last time we left off with the controversial subject of a woman taking a man’s name in marriage and discovered that this is actually a biblical principle.

This is further seen, in fact, in what name Adam gave Eve. What a wonderful truth we see here! As Adam was naming all the animals, he did not name them without meaning. Names in the ancient world were much more significant than in western culture. Adam actually gave her two names. The first was “woman” (Gen. 2:23), which is the Hebrew Ishshah, which Adam himself defines as “taken out of Man.” The second name was “Eve,” which should bless the heart of every woman. It is the Hebrew Chavvah, which Adam again defines, “the mother of all living.” 

What a truth! Every wife is both an Ishshah who is dependent on a man for her living, and a Chavvah on whom every man is dependent for his life. The warm-hearted Walt Disney movie, The Lion King, contained a song called, “The Circle of Life,” but what we see here is truly the circle of life: while the woman was taken from the man and is dependant upon him, every man is likewise dependent upon a woman for his life. And God did (and continues to do) all this through one institution—marriage.

Are there not exceptions to all this? Does not God’s Word talk about people remaining single? Yes, this is mentioned in Matthew 19:11-12 and I Corinthians 7:7. We will not take the space to deal with it here, but biblically “celibacy” is rare. God’s norm, God’s rule that has few exceptions, is marriage.

So then, the essence of marriage is companionship. We can put the matter this way: Marriage is a formal covenant (agreement or promise) between a man and a woman to become each other’s loving companion for life.

Malachi 2:14 is the key. The prophet addresses Jewish men with the words, “She [is] thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.” In light of the rampant divorce in the nation, the context speaks of the seriousness and devastation of divorce, that is, the breaking of the covenant (the promise, the commitment) between husband and wife. What is a companion? A companion is one with whom we are united in goals, values, affections, and, in the case of marriage, even body. So, when the “covenant of companionship” is made, each partner promises to love the other with an agape love (a self-emptying self-sacrifice), to take away each other’s loneliness, to meet each other’s sexual needs, to honour and be faithful to the other, to bear children as God dictates, and many other things as well. The world’s idea of a “soul mate” is nothing but a shallow mud puddle in comparison with the oceanic depth of God’s principle of the covenant of companionship.

How important it is also that marriage vows contain these principles! The ones we use today might be traditional, but they are not entirely biblical. Where needed, we should not hesitate to rewrite these vows. This is just one more area that should be covered in in-depth premarital counseling, something that has virtually disappeared in Christianity today, and which has brought devastating consequences. 

It is tragic beyond words at how little counseling is done before pastors marry couples. I personally know one pastor who has done hundreds of weddings without a word of counsel. Frankly, I have done few weddings in 33 years of ministry for that very reason. I have often had phone calls that went like this. “Hello, Pastor, my fiancé and I were wondering if you would marry us?” “Maybe,” I answer. “What do you mean maybe?” comes the puzzled reply. “Well first, we must all sit down to at least six weeks of pre-marital counseling where we will open Scripture and deal biblically with what marriage is and the requirements God gives for the husband and wife.” If the caller is still on the line by now, I conclude, “After that time is complete, I’ll then tell you whether or not I’ll perform the ceremony.” Usually, the response is, “Well . . . uh . . . thank you for your time. Goodbye.” I simply cannot be part of beginning a marriage that is not founded upon the absolutes of God’s Word.

Marriage, then, is the very core of human existence and societal success. It is not to be entered lightly; we don’t just “try marriage and see if it works out.” It is a covenant, a promise, a commitment of life. As we continue, we will see more of these absolutes.