Order my footsteps by Thy word, And make my heart sincere; Let sin have no dominion, Lord, But keep my conscience clear.
Make me to walk in Thy commands, "Tis a delightful road; Nor let my head, nor heart, nor hands Offend against my G.o.d.
ISAAC WATTS
PART XVI. THE HOME
[Ill.u.s.tration.]
The Marriage At Cana. "Home is the grandest of all inst.i.tutions."-_Spurgeon._ See page 711.
The Marriage Inst.i.tution
[Ill.u.s.tration.]
Isaac And Rebekah. "Marriage is honorable in all." Heb. 13:4.
1. After creating man, what did G.o.d say?
"And the Lord G.o.d said, _It is not good that the man should be alone_."
Gen. 2:18.
2. What, therefore, did G.o.d say He would make?
"I will make him _an help_ meet for him." Same verse.
NOTE.-Not a _helpmeet_ nor a _helpmate_, but-two words-a help _meet_ for him; that is, _fit_ or _suitable_ for him. The word _meet_ in the original means a front, a part opposite, a counterpart, or mate. Man"s companion, or help, was to correspond to him. Each was to be suited to the other"s needs.
3. Could such a help be found among the creatures which G.o.d had already made?
"And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; _but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him_." Verse 20.
4. What, therefore, did G.o.d do?
"And the Lord G.o.d caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord G.o.d had taken from man, _made he a woman, and brought her unto the man_." Verses 21, 22.
NOTE.-How beautiful, in its fulness of meaning, is this simple but suggestive story, at which skeptics sneer. G.o.d did not make man after the order of the lower animals, but "in His own image."
Neither did He choose man"s companion, or "help," from some other order of beings, but made her from man-of the same substance. And He took this substance, not from man"s _feet_, that he might have an excuse to degrade, enslave, or trample upon her; nor from man"s _head_, that woman might a.s.sume authority over man; but from man"s _side_, from over his _heart_, the _seat of affections_, that woman might stand at his side as _man"s equal_, and, _side by side with him_, together, under G.o.d, work out the purpose and destiny of the race,-man, the strong, the n.o.ble, the dignified; woman, the weaker, the sympathetic, the loving. How much more exalted and inspiring is this view than the theory that man developed from the lower order of animals.
5. What did Adam say as he received his wife from G.o.d?
"And Adam said, _This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh_: she shall be called _Woman_, because she was taken out of _Man_." Verse 23.
6. What great truth was then stated?
"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and _they shall be one flesh_." Verse 24.
7. In what words does Christ recognize marriage as of G.o.d?
"Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. _What therefore G.o.d hath joined together_, let not man put asunder." Matt. 19:6.
NOTE.-Thus was the marriage inst.i.tution ordained of G.o.d 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 cl.u.s.ter 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 G.o.d 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 G.o.d 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 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 G.o.d 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 pa.s.s, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that _the sons of G.o.d 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 G.o.d," descending from Seth, married the "daughters of men," the descendants from the idolatrous line of Cain, and thus corrupted the seed, or church, of G.o.d itself. All the barriers against evil thus being broken down, the whole race was soon corrupted, violence filled the earth, and the flood followed.
11. What restriction did G.o.d make respecting marriages in Israel?
"Let them marry to whom they think best; _only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry_." Num. 36:6.
12. What prohibition did G.o.d give His chosen people against intermarrying with the heathen nations about them, and why?
"_Neither shalt thou make marriages with them_; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. _For they will turn away thy son from following Me, that they may serve other G.o.ds_: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly." Deut. 7:3, 4.