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Old 07-21-2009, 02:37 PM
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PaulB PaulB is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: The Northwest of England
Posts: 158
Default Greenbear

Hello again!

Thank you for sharing your examples from the Old Testament it is good food for thought.

If I were to tell you that you have to keep the commandments you would probably reply by saying that that is Old Covenant and Christ has fulfilled it and you would be right! But you do seem to be using the opposite kind of philosophical rule by which to interpret the NT rather than approaching the OT with the words of Christ on the subject.

There is no doubt in my mind that God has allowed things to take place throughout history that needed to take place even though it would seem unimaginable until it was done (Judas betraying Jesus was all included in that!)

I also recognise the following: Nu.22:28 “And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?”

This doesn’t prove that we should expect that to happen again (these are exceptions to what Asses were originally created for!).

Marriage is unquestionably there as a shadow representing Christ and His church (not churches – but church) Eph.5: 31-33 “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” (nothing plural there).

There is much more to marriage than what we see here on earth it has an original design by a designer! Now if a wife can only have one husband (as you say) but a man can have a multitude of wives then how does that fit into the Passage above.

We must approach this subject from the basis of Christ as the final revelation on the matter;

Mt.5:31-32 “It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.”

Yes there were the things that went before “BUT I SAY UNTO YOU..”

Mt.19: 3-10 “The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.”

This is how seriously Jesus takes marriage and its original purpose – these words were so convicting that His disciples thought that it is better to stay clear of such a demanding ordinance. Re-marriage didn’t seem to be a problem for them and they knew how (by their traditions which they would have formed from OT interpretations) to justify exceptions to the rule. So Jesus gave it to them as it stands (and was always to have stood) and this is what Paul is picking up on in Ephesians chapter 5.

There is no way that a handful of examples from the OT can possibly outweigh the authority of what Jesus Himself has to say on the matter as He created marriage. I would rather hear Christ on the matter than those in the OT who are fallen creatures and did not have the light that He has.

After saying this – I am enjoying our interaction as this is helping us all to dig deep and weigh all of the given evidence.

God bless you Greenbear

PaulB