The Biblical Definition of Marriage

The definition of marriage and the right to be treated equally have been a big debate for such a long time. There was a time when I had struggled with the subject and it was that struggle that pointed me to a new direction in my faith. I decided to stop listening to man tell me what God says and start going directly to God. I decided that I would no longer simply read the scripture, but decided it was time to study it. I decided to no longer depend on what man says but depend on what Holy Spirit says. With that said, understand that I do believe that assistance from other men and women of God is necessary in my studies, not because they are always right, but because they can help me understand things a little bit better or can even point me in a direction that would be more helpful to me. If I am given advice or explanation of a specific scripture, I take what I have learned and bring it to God. I let the Holy Spirit tell me what is right, what is wrong, what is important, and what is not. After all, isn’t that what a Christian is supposed to do? Christianity is about building, maintaining, and strengthening a personal relationship with The Father through the teaching of The Son and the counsel of the Holy Spirit.

Having a relationship with someone means spending time with that person, talking to and listening to that person. It’s the same thing with God; and who better to teach me the scripture and help me understand and get to know God than His Son Jesus who teaches us by way of The Holy Spirit as promised in John 14:25-26. In order for me to be in the spiritual place where I can do this I had to strengthen my faith; feed my spirit with the bread which is His Word and be truly able to let God lead me in all decisions I make. I had to learn how to really be confident in and truly believe the promises that our Lord has made. Then and only then can I start having that relationship. I wanted to know what God wanted for me. I wanted to know how God feels about who I am. So, I needed to focus more on the infallible Lord God and less on fallible man. Allow me to share with you what I have learned in the past 23 years of studying and building my relationship with The Father. In regard to the definition of marriage; today it is believed that marriage is between one man and one woman. Many Christians say that creation proves it because of Adam and Eve. So, let’s take a look at that shall we?

In the second chapter of Genesis we read about how God took a rib from Adam and created a woman from that rib. When she is presented to Adam he says “this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.” The author of Genesis [Moses] further states that “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” It is because of what Adam said and what Moses said that so many believe that the biblical definition of marriage is that it is between one man and one woman. However, the biblical definition of marriage is much more than just Adam and Eve. Lamech [Gen. 4] had taken 2 wives for example. In the books of Genesis, second Samuel and first kings we also find that David had 7 wives and many concubines, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, Gideon had many wives; the list goes on. If you read through Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, much of the Old Testament, you will find that women were property. A woman was property of her father until married at which time she becomes her husband’s property. The woman’s desire, according to God, is to be to her husband and he will rule over her. Don’t get your panties in a bunch; I’m not making this up.

The definition of marriage, according to the bible, is about business transactions, property, polygyny, and procreation. Now, Polygyny is when one man has two or more wives; polygamy is when either man or woman has multiple partners. Biblically, it was polygyny that was normally practiced. There is so much more about the role of a woman and how wives were treated. My point is what? The biblical definition of marriage is obviously NOT simply between one man and one woman. The scripture that proves this totally outweighs the one scripture so many turn to prove their definition of marriage. I wonder how many of the one man one woman people are truly all about the biblical definition of marriage? A lot would have to change huh?