DAILY LIFE
Marriage is the social and religious institution whereby a man and woman unite to form a family, in many cultures, a public commitment to mutual support is also made. God established the original pattern for marriage in the Garden of Eden when He formed one man and, with a rib from his side, one woman who would be his life companion. In the beautiful words of Genesis 2:24, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
However, humanity has not observed the ideal during much of its history. Genesis 4:19 first mentions polygamy when Lamech, a descendant of Cain, took two wives. While Genesis 4 does not directly reject the practice, it is clear that Lamech is anything but a model to emulate (Gen. 4:23, 24). Other polygamous unions described in Scripture quite typically led to great sorrow and trouble (Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, Gen. 16, 21; Jacob, Leah, and Rachel, Gen 29, 30; David and his wives, 2 Sam. 6, 11; as well as Solomon and his wives, 1 Kings 11)clearly illustrating that they do not fit the ideal.
Scripture consistently rejects homosexual union. Sodom and Gomorrah perished because of this and other sins (Gen. 19; Jude 7). The Pentateuch required that homosexual union should be punished by death (Lev. 18:22; 20:13). The New Testament also condemns such sexual behavior and never accepts homosexual marriage (Rom. 1; 1 Cor. 6:9, 10).
Ancient Near Eastern documents record numerous parallels to the marital practices described in the Old and New Testaments, but there are also variations. Parents typically arranged marriages, as seen in several Old Testaments stories, but the custom was not part of Pentateuchal law nor do all marital accounts illustrate the tradition. The involvement of parents in the choice of the spouse likely had ties not only to the patriarchal ethos of the times but also to the fact that society contracted many marriages at early ages, 12-14 years for girls, 14-18 for boys.
Levirate is a type of marriage, in which the widow of a man without children would be taken in marriage by the brother or near relative of the dead man, was practiced not only in Israel but also in Ugarit, Assyria, and the Hittite kingdom. The purpose of this form of marriage, which sounds not only odd but almost incestuous to the modern ear, was to produce a child for the dead man to maintain land within a tribal clan rather than have it pass to some other group (Deut. 25:5-10). The question about the resurrection that the Sadducees directed to Jesus may suggest that the custom remained at least theoretically accepted in His day (Matt. 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-40). Because this practice was part of Israel’s law code as a nation, it has no applicability for Christians today.
Sexual promiscuity, consistently rebuked and rejected in Scripture as sin, has been a common problem throughout human history. In a quotation attributed to a 4th century Greek writer, Pseudo-Demosthenes it is claimed that “Mistresses we keep for the sake of pleasure, concubines for the daily care of our persons, but wives to bear us legitimate children and to be faithful guardians of our households” (Against Neaera 59.122). While a wife produced legitimate heirs, the promiscuity of her husband depreciated their relationship and her self-worth.
In contrast, the biblical teaching on families stresses a life of moral purity (Exod. 20:14; 1 Thess. 4:3). The wife is instructed to respect her husband and submit to his godly leadership, while the husband is instructed to love and cherish his wife (Eph.5:21-33). Parents should treat their children with tenderness and loving discipline and children are to honor and obey their parents (Eph. 6:1-4). By following these biblical counsels for marriage, the home may be a place of God’s presence and love and where others may be positively influenced for eternity. The apostle Paul stresses that Christ is the pattern for all members of the family. Although our Lord Himself never married, His life of sacrifice for others (Mark 10:45; John 13:1-15) marks out the path that human beings should follow for a successful marriage in contrast to the behaviors the world promotes.
Yamauchi, “Marriage,” Dictionary of Daily Life in Biblical & Post-Biblical Antiquity, 221-249.
Campbell, Marriage and Family in the Biblical World.
Hamilton and Collins, “Marriage,” Anchor Bible Dictionary, 559-572.