Meant to Be: Holy Matrimony

Matthew 2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

You should be thinking: what's this got to do with marriage? Stop and think! It has much to do with Holy Matrimony! This occasion was when the bridegroom was presented to the groom with all the pomp of precious metal and ointments.

In some societies, even in Christendom, there have been pre-arranged marriages. My friend, Suresh Nair, was promised as a child to be the wife of she who became his wife. Even Eve was promised to Adam at his own creation. Thus, holy wedlock with the soon-to-be spouse is meant to be!

I was married before. The marriage was, but was not meant to be, because it was not holy. There were lies told at the counseling sessions, and neither of us at age eighteen paid much attention to the wedding vows. We tried to make it work anyway, and we both worked hard. That is what love is - working hard to make it work. Although our world's collided, for me, the collision did not reduce the friendship. I still pray for my ex-wife, and that she will be happy, in spite of the stress of legal dissolution. I failed, she failed - we failed. However, I do not believe in divorce, never did, and that is my greatest sin in life. Sinful? Yes, for there are no loop-holes outside of infidelity. However, I arranged for her future material comfort and education. That, to be honest, was done out of guilt.

This is my first time ever to anyone speaking of my worst failure. Of course, maybe my worst failure was the marriage from the beginning because as weak Christians, it was not Holy Matrimony. It was surely not meant to be, but we made it be. We got married without the realizing the seriousness of the marriage bond, and it a picture of our relationship to Christ.

Some treat divorce as the unpardonable sin. In my own denomination, I can't be a bishop nor a deacon unless I murder (sic) my wife! Why? The statement of their association is that a bishop or deacon "be the husband of one living wife".  With that statement, the actuality of divorce is denied although even Jesus at the well, recognized divorce. Effectually, this legalism makes divorce the only unpardonable sin. Since the statement is worded the way it is, technically, if I killed my wife, then I would be eligible to become a deacon!

There are consequences to divorce... and many! For instance, hurt feelings, loneliness, and the messiness of blended families trying to share special times with divided allegiances. From a practical standpoint, when children are involved, there is never ever complete separation. I write this to perturb those who are even considering divorce; it is not a good thing, and more pain will come with it than pleasure!

Also, I write these things so others can take the matter of marriage more seriously. I would suggest that anyone entering into marriage enter it in Holy Matrimony. That is the topic of my commentary today because Holy Matrimony is what is meant to be.

1 Adam and Eve is not canon but provides great insight into the institution of marriage. God brought to Adam and Eve golden rods, incense, and myrrh to comfort them in the wilderness. At their wedding angels brought them as a present to Adam and Eve.

1 Adam and Eve 31:1 "AFTER these things God said unto Adam, 'Thou didst ask of Me something from the garden, to be comforted therewith, and I have given thee these three tokens as a consolation to thee; that thou trust in Me and in My covenant with thee. For I will come and save thee; and kings shall bring me when in the flesh, gold, incense and myrrh; gold as a token of My kingdom; incense as a token of My divinity; and myrrh as a token of My suffering and of My death. 3 But, O Adam, put these by thee in the cave; the gold that it may shed light over thee by night; the incense, that thou smell its sweet savour; and the myrrh, to comfort thee in thy sorrow.'"

First off, God made a Covenant with Adam. That Covenant was to provide a bridegroom for Adam and Eve. Don't think perversion but symbolism.  Jesus was promised to mankind, and this is the pre-arranged marriage of old! At Adams's creation, his groom was planned, as was Eve's.

The engagement gift was gold, incense, and myrrh, representing God's Kingdom, His Divinity, and His Suffering and Death, respectively. For Adam's comfort, the gifts were to provide Light, Sweetness or contentment, and comfort in times of sorrow. However, before Adam and Eve were united in Holy Matrimony in the presence of God, this sacred writing says that Satan tried to counterfeit their marriage by deception - thus just matrimony with nothing holy about it. In fact, it was to be unholy matrimony because of the presence of dark angels.

You see, marriage was meant to be, but more importantly, it was meant to be holy! Why are there so many divorces? Because Satan deceives. Even in church weddings, the marriage can be unholy because the hearts of the two are more focused on the pleasure than the divine!

Satan and his devils came under the pretense of being God and angels offering gold, incense, and myrrh. He tried to bond Adam and Eve together with smooth-talk and presents. For a moment, Adam had his mind on the treasures and the promised happiness. Then the Word spoke to him, he came to his senses, rejected false matrimony, and felt guilty for being deceived again. Many marriages are consummated with the same deception. Satan said it was meant to be, and it is, but by God's ordination, not Satan's!

When God ordained marriage, it was not the treasures which he bestowed but His Kingdom - Holy Matrimony, His Divinity - marriage under God, and His Suffering and Death - 'til death do them part.

Adam and Eve, representing the world were betrothed to Jesus for 5500 years. They were patient for their marriage to the bridegroom, and had quite a long engagement with the groom. Then, when Jesus was born, mankind's bridegroom was presented to the world.

The old Russian monarchs at one time had brideshows. All the most noble and fair women were selected to parade before the emperor. From the fairest of them all, the emperor selected one to be his bride and empress. Well, with us, God selected us all as his brides, and like the maidens in Russia, Jesus was the emperor. The Russian beauties had no choice in whom their groom was to be, and neither do we! Jesus is the only bridegroom who can provide safety, and die for His bride! All we can do is accept the groom, knowing there will be no other!

Hence, at the wedding, three kings again brought gifts for the engagement ceremony. This event was the groomshow, and the show was lit with a shining star. God picked the groom, and it was Himself!  Thus, the world was betrothed to the bridegroom. Our fidelity to our bride here on earth, in Holy Matrimony, is the same fidelity we are to show our Groom. If we are fickle with our earthly marriage, fornication with other grooms is the outcome. Fidelity in Holy Matrimony is as important as fidelity with Jesus Christ!

Isaiah prophesied this Marriage between man and God and compared it to our own marriage with God:

Isaiah 62:5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.

Isaiah wrote often of the coming wedding hundreds of years before the betrothed came. As Jesus birth was betrothal ( a promise to be married) to mankind, our own rebirth is betrothal to the Bridegroom - Jesus by name!

Jesus often referred to Himself as "the bridegroom". For instance, the following:

Mark 2:20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

The position of the Christian is engagement to Christ. Christ is at the right hand of God right now waiting on the bride. He is faithful to us, and all that He ask is that we not fornicate with other gods, even ourselves. Before the wedding, Jesus will meet us in the sky, cleanse us thoroughly and present his bride - the Church to the Father, and the marriage will be blessed! The faithful bride of the world will be presented to the groom in Holy Matrimony, and will rule with Him!

Jesus's covenant with Adam was never ending. Jesus has waited thousands of years to walk with his creatures again in front of God without shame. The trumpets shall sound as the blushing bride is presented to the Father. God will say, "Well done, bride, Here is my Son. He is now your husband." Whereas, earthly marriage is separation from the parents, divine marriage is unification with God. It's going back to the way things were before mankind fornicated. Jesus cleansed his bride with His own blood so that the marriage could be pure! He took his Mary Magdalene - us, cleansed her, and will make her pure in Heaven to be His bride. (No, Jesus and Mary Magdalene were not married, but like us, she will be in heaven.)

That, my friends, is why matrimony must not be counterfeit. It must be Holy Matrimony. If it's not, Satan can and will tear it asunder if he can find away. We must be vigilant that the deceiver doesn't have a false wedding or a false marriage. A Satan-ordained marriage is infidelity to God, whereas God's ordains our marriage to have fidelity to Him!