Marriage is still very popular[1], but it is increasingly reported that single Christians struggle to find suitable life partners[2], which is ironic in this information-age where a Google search for “dating web sites” return 122 million responses in under 1 second. This seems to indicate that a multitude of possible life partners does not solve the problem of loneliness. But why not? Is it because there are too many options, or that a more perfect partner is perhaps one more click away…?
Another possible explanation why single people today struggle to find suitable life partners are due to unclear or unrealistic expectations from marriage and marriage partners. The myriads of writings and media resources[3] bring varied opinions and ideologies about marriage which leave a world in confusion about the essence and design of marriage as God intended it. In particular three most destructive trends keep people from finding and enjoying fulfilled marital lives: firstly the culturally accepted norm of “falling in love”[4] where marital partners are selected (and de-selected) based primarily on emotions. Secondly, the belief that there is a “other half” or “soul-mate”[5] you need to find in order enjoy a fulfilled marriage relationship. Thirdly, the consumerist mindset that markets, searches and compares potential partners to seek an ideal fit, as we do with accessories, cars or clothes. These secular ideas are perpetually propagated and fueled by contemporary music, films and novels, and has become normative in our Christian thinking.
I believe that finding a marriage partner is not primarily about falling in love, not about finding my soul mate, and not at all about comparative shopping. These ideas are foreign to Scripture and does not lead to fulfilled marriage. This leaves us with the questions “what is marriage?” and “what makes marriage work?”
In the light of this confusion I find God’s message through the prophet Malachi refreshingly clear and concise. Although the tone of the conversation we pick up is quite negative: God says that He has no interest in listening to the religious elite’s prayers because of their lack of respect for the institution of marriage and their marriage partners (Malachi 2:13). Then the the Lord clarifies the intent and meaning of marriage, cautioning them regarding the destructiveness of promiscuity and divorce for both the couple and the children. Malachi 2:14-16 reads as follows:
But you say, “Why does [God not hear our prayers]?” Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”
The terms God uses to define marriage in and it’s intent in this passage are companionship, covenant, union, for children, and faithfulness. Let’s look at each one of them to re-evaluate our understanding of marriage.
- Marriage is companionship: “she is your companion”
In definition and defense of marriage in Malachi 2:14-18, God first mentions companionship. Here in Malachi 2:14-15 companion refers to the wife, but in Proverbs 2:17 it refers to the husband. Marriage is companionship.
The common interpretation of the role of the wife as “the helper” quoted from Genesis 2:18 is understood to mean that she should help in the purpose of the husband and running of the household.
However, that interpretation misses the intended meaning of Eve as helper, and the primary intent and definition of marriage. Genesis 2:18 reads “LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’” To understand the meaning of the term “helper”, one should ask “in what area did Adam need help when the Lord graciously sought to solve his problem?” The answer is clear from the context: Adam was lonely – in the midst of a perfect world! Adam needed someone to share life with, to take away the sting of loneliness. Adam needed companionship, and the Lord gave him a helper, a companion.
This first picture of marriage is important since it reveals God’s design intent of marriage: to remove the sting of loneliness, so that man and woman may share the fullness of life together in intimate relationship.
Another important point to notice here is that while Adam was in a perfect environment, in a perfect relationship with God – with no sin and consequently no separation because of it – Adam had a need for companionship which God recognized, God articulated, and God acted upon to solve. (The solution was marriage). I mention this because I have read and heard too many times that single people should “find their happiness and contentment in God.” The sentiment is great, but it seems as though God did not meet that need for companionship in Adam, and that He was the one who recognized (and even created) that need in Adam, and provided that for that need in companionship.
Marriage is companionship. Marriage is given to eradicate loneliness. This is the primary task and responsibility of the marriage partner. Every other motive for entering into marriage will set one up for disappointment and eventually marital failure.
- Marriage is covenant: “she is …your wife by covenant”
In Christian circles we frequently hear that marriage is a covenant (legal promise). But less frequently the covenant is defined. We frequently read or hear about the ceremony regarding ancient vow-taking, but the essence of the vow is mentioned less frequently.
However, every person who contemplates divorce remembers his/ her vows to be something like “I will never leave you nor forsake you… in good times and bad… in sickness and health…” And that is the essence of the promise: marriage is a covenant of companionship[6] – a promise to never allow the other person to feel lonely again. Marriage is a promise which bind two people together in this life in mutual partnership. Where two is better than one.[7] It is not a contract of mutual performance (“you do this – i do that”) but rather a promise of companionship (“being with you always, regardless of your performance or state”) as Ruth did to Naomi. [8]
Marriage is covenant – a partnership by promise to remain together and share all “until death do us part”. Marriage is a covenant of companionship.
- Marriage is unity: “make them one”
One of the most frequently quoted Old Testament text by New Testament authors is Genesis 2:24, where we are reminded that the essence of marriage is to “leave” what is familiar and “cleave” your spouse, and “the two shall become one flesh.” Thus the unity requires in part our participation (perpetual actions that move us towards our spouse (“cleave”) and move away from our old familiar life of singleness (“leave”). But God’s strong hatred for the Israelite’s prevailing indifference and unfaithfulness towards marriage in Malachi 2:15 also reveals His part in marital union: “did not I make them one with a portion of the Spirit in their union?”
This phrase shows the essence of marriage is a mystical, spiritual union of two people, brought about by God. “Mystical” means something difficult to explain, but can be understood through participation. This truth is also taught by Jesus when He is asked to comment on the practice of divorce made cheap in His day: “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:8-9). It is a mystical unity that speaks of a shared life, a shared identity.
Although the unity is difficult to observe, the effects of separation – what Malachi calls “violence to one’s flesh” (Malachi 2:16) – is observable. The well-researched, traumatic effects of divorce affect the loss of identity, decreased emotional and physical health as well as shortened life expectancy, lowered social status, increased financial pressure and lowered relational attachment[9]. The devastation in children affected by divorce include behavioral problems such as aggression and rebellion, psychological effects such as depression, anxiety and lowered concentration, followed lower academic achievement and poor self-esteem.[10] These adverse effects in physical, emotional and spiritual well-being makes sense when one considers that divorce is a tearing apart of two people that have in reality become one, causing tremendous injury and death in all involved.
- Marriage is for Godly offspring: “what was… God seeking? Godly offspring.”
Contemporary Western civilization is self-seeking, bent on entertainment and consumerism. It is a culture that opposes long-term commitments, any difficulty and a sacrificial lifestyle. This lifestyle hates children and views such dependent relationships as burdensome and thus undesirable. Even within good marriages children will be delayed as long as possible to ensure a time of care-free enjoyment. And a family who has more than 2-3 children will be followed by stares and comments such as “don’t you have a TV?” from passer-by’s wherever they go.
At the heart of this culture, marriage is for self-enrichment and pleasure for self children is an after-though or necessity to prolong society. However, God says He made marriage as a union to solve the problem of man’s loneliness through the covenant of companionship. Yet, what He wants from this union is “godly offspring”. Marriage is the only setting where godly offspring can be raised, in the secure setting of mutual faithfulness. This is the place where godliness is modeled and grafted into the young children, and where children are protected in their identity and perception of others from the “violence” of divorce and unfaithfulness. Thus the immediate context of the phrase in Malachi 2:15-16 teaches us that “godly offspring” require “faithfulness” in the union between husband and wife, to not bring about “violence” to the home.
When God thinks of marriage, he thinks of children. What God wants from the union of marriage is godly offspring.
- Marriage requires faithfulness: “do not be faithless”
“However, “Why does he not [hear our prayer]?” Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant… So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.” (Malachi 2v16)
Marriage is a divine union through a covenant of companionship, a place where Godly offspring is raised. And marriage requires faithfulness. Two reasons for faithfulness emerge from the text:
Malachi 2:14 starts with a question from the Israelites who faithfully offer to God sacrifices to maintain good relationship with Him, and entreat His favor. But God says clearly that He does not hear their petitions, because of their marital unfaithfulness. About 450 years later the Apostle Peter again wrote to the people of God “Husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel… so that your prayers may not be hindered.” (1 Peter 3:7). This is a profound statement – that God cares so much about our marital relations that He either hears our prayers or not! Thus the first reason for faithfulness in marriage is because God sees, God cares, and God requires faithfulness (and honor) at home before He accepts public worship or answers prayers.
Yet a second reason in the text seems to be the core reason of the appeal to marital faithfulness from God: to not cause “violence” to self, your spouse or your children. This text enriches our understanding of our sexuality, teaching us that sexual practices are not merely physical or biological activities, but also spiritual and relational. Malachi warns that sexual promiscuity has a negative impact on your own spirit and therefore cautions us to “guard yourself in your spirit”. Your spirit is the seat of your identity and relationships, is your capacity to create and dream (hope), to rejoice, to endure, to trust (or have faith), to communicate, to understand or perceive etc. God says “preserve this! – do not be sexually unfaithful!”
But God also says to remain faithful to your wife for the sake of your wife and children – since the breaking of the covenant brings violence to the spirits of the entire family (as mentioned in the previous section). It seems as though the covenant family enjoys protection from God as God enters into the marriage with “a portion of [His] Spirit in their union” (v15), and faithlessness regarding the covenant allows violence to spirits of the family members, especially if the faithlessness leads to the breaking of the covenant (divorce).
Conclusion and practical response
Thus a clear definition and intent of marriage from Malachi 2 could read:
Marriage is a covenant of companionship by which God makes the husband and wife one for the sake of godly offspring, which is preserved in mutual faithfulness.
How do we respond to this revelation of marriage from Scripture? We need to re-evaluate our expectations of marriage and our (potential) marriage partners in light of God’s design. For a fulfilled life, we need to approach marriage from a Biblical perspective otherwise we will not find the life of satisfaction and joy God contained therein.
Our first mental adjustment from this definition is that marriage is not primarily a romantic notion. It is a relationship built on companionship, trust, faithfulness and a shared life. Thus the marriage partner is not firstly a lover, but a companion. The aim is an intimate life, not an erotic life. What one seeks for in a marriage partner, and seeks to maintain in marriage is good companionship: someone trustworthy, someone supportive, someone with whom you can live well and work well. Someone to take away loneliness by living a shared existence.
Secondly, marriage is permanent. Malachi’s understanding of marriage re-enforces the truth that marriage is indeed “until death do us part”, and the consequences of faithlessness and divorce is “violence” – death and destruction to all involved. This requires loyal devotion as well as patience and forgiveness from both marriage partners. Thus marriage cannot be approached with the self-centered consumer mindset, where marriage partners are compared and traded in.
Thirdly, the end of marriage is not merely “my happiness” but a Godly legacy, including God-fearing children. The pursuit of self-indulgence (“my happiness”) increases selfishness – the worst enemy of marital joy and bliss.
How do we renew our minds about Godly marriage? I suggest three ways, the first of which are obvious: study the Scriptures to prayerfully evaluate and re-adjust your own opinions of marriage. I do not believe that a mere reading of the Bible is sufficient for transformation here – one has to systematically study it, preferably in discussion with your spouse. Secondly, once a good Biblical understanding of marriage is established, one needs to actively evaluate the underlying presumptions and messages in contemporary music, novels and movies, etc relating to love and marriage. For the trout to swim upstream he needs to know the force with which the river is flowing downstream, and compensate appropriately. Lastly, and sadly this is a difficult one: find a godly example of marriage and make deliberate effort to spend time with them and learn from them. A good, living example is still the best way to grow in godliness.
So, in light of this Scripture – how does your view of marriage compare with God’s design and intent?
[1] Amidst increasing divorce rates, 80% of Americans are still expected to marry according to NY Times article by Cherlin A. J., In the season of marriage, a question – why bother?, NY Times Sunday Review dated 27 April 2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/opinion/sunday/why-do-people-still-bother-to-marry.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
[2] From Christian Today published 18 April 2013 http://www.christiantoday.com/article/single.christians.experience.anxiety/32169.htm
[3] A search into the Amazon online shopping database on “marriage” results in more than 230’000 books and related resources. Accessed 14 July 2014.
[4] From the Roman Cupid myth where the belief is that the angel Cupid shoots arrows and the victim falls helplessly in love with another upon sight. Refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid
[5] From the Greek creation myth where the humans were created both male and female in one body, one soul, but for their rebellion Zeus split them in half so that they male and female would forwever wander miserably in search for their other half or “soul mate” Refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_mate
[6] Adams J.E., Marriage, Remarriage and Divorce, Baker House Books (Grand Rapids, MI, 1980), p8
[7] See Ecclesiates 4:9-11.
[8] See Ruth 1:16 -17 as a good example of such a vow, although this vow is not between husband and wife, the context is a vow of companionship.
[9] Hawkins J.H., Fackrell T.A., Should I keep trying to work it out? (Utah Commission on Marriage: 2009), p96. Online version and program available here: http://divorce.usu.edu/
[10] Cherlin A.J. et al, Longitudinal studies of effects of divorce on children in Great Britain and the United States, Science, Vol. 252 no. 5011, 7 June 1991, pp. 1386-1389
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