In the first two chapters of Genesis we learn that God created man in his image as a relational being, therefore he exists in two forms: male and female. In addition, we learn that the purpose for this design is that man would procreate, fill the earth with humankind and exercise dominion over the rest of creation. In order to fulfill this design God created the life-long covenant bond of marriage that is to be heterosexual, monogamous, intimate, and complementary. As we continue through the rest of the book of Genesis, we see both the benefits of following this design and some of the dangers of neglecting it.
Beginning in 4:1 we see the impact of the procreative purpose of marriage as the first family begins to grow. Eve gives birth to Cain, then Abel, and although Abel is murdered by his jealous brother their offspring continues to multiply. We read in v.17 that Cain and his wife begin to have children, building a society of wealth and power, and among his descendants we find the first example of a corruption of God’s good design for marriage. In just the 6th generation after Adam and Eve, we encounter Lamech, a proud and violent man who overreacted to a wound received from a boy by killing him and then exulted in it by making up a song which he sang to his wives. What is striking is that Lamech is introduced to us in v.19 as having taken “two wives for himself.” Rather than being joined to one wife and so the two becoming one flesh, Lamech perverted God’s design of marriage, and this was merely an indicator of the terrible perversion that was in the heart of this descendant of Cain.
Whenever we reject God’s wisdom and follow the wisdom of this world, we bring pain, suffering, conflict, and disappointment on ourselves.
It doesn’t take very long before we encounter another instance of mankind’s rebellion against God’s design for marriage. In Genesis 6:1-3 we read, “When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves.” This passage is one of the most controversial in all the Bible as interpreters have argued for one of three meanings for centuries. Some suggest that this refers to marriages between fallen angels and human women producing some sort of angel-human hybrid that was eradicated in the flood. The second alternative is that these were marriages between the godly line of Seth and the ungodly line of Cain, putting the whole human race in jeopardy of becoming like Lamech and exulting in wickedness and violence. The third interpretation is that these were polygamous marriages by kings who took for wives any and all they chose. Whichever conclusion you come to with respect to identifying the “sons of God” and the “daughters of mankind,” it is clear that the holy institution of marriage was being violated, and that this corruption was part of the evil for which the Lord brought the flood on the whole earth.
Another example of the corruption of marriage in the book of Genesis is found in chapter 16 where the patriarch Abram is told by his wife, Sarai, to take Hagar her servant as his second wife as a means of acquiring a child. This arrangement proves effective at producing offspring, as we read in v.4 that he “slept with Hagar and she became pregnant,” but it also proved to be very effective at marring the beautiful intimacy and oneness of the marriage bond between Sarai and Abram. Her pride was injured because Hagar could conceive when she couldn’t, and she falsely blamed Abram for her own sin and turned against her slave, mistreating her and causing her to run away. The whole scenario reveals the negative consequences that come when we turn our backs on God’s plan for marriage and follow after the ways of the unbelieving world. This entire scene is repeated on an even grander and more tragic scale in the life of Abram’s grandson, Jacob, and his sister-wives, Leah and Rachel in chs. 29 and 30, where the sisters compete for Jacob’s affection, treating him like little more than a piece of meat.
There is one positive example of marriage in the book of Genesis, however, when Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac. He was concerned that his son not marry a woman from among the Canaanites, presumably because they were idolatrous and extremely wicked, and desired that he take a wife from among his own relatives instead. His servant was a devout man and through all 67 verses of chapter 24 we find him praying and seeking God’s blessing and guidance on his quest. Clearly, the Lord was providentially providing a wife for Isaac, because he led the servant to Rebekah, Abram’s beautiful and unmarried great-niece. After he had discussed the proposition of marriage with her and her brother, Laban, Rebekah agreed to go with him and become Isaac’s wife. This is a great example of one breaking ties with his or her immediate family in order to be joined to their spouse, and the end of the account reveals that Isaac and Rebekah’s marriage proved exactly the kind of intimate and complementary relationship that God designed: “And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah to be his wife. Isaac loved her, and he was comforted after his mother’s death.”
What the book of Genesis makes clear is that God has designed marriage according to his own wise and benevolent plan and we bring pain, suffering, conflict, and disappointment on ourselves whenever we reject his wisdom and follow instead the wisdom of this world. Still, God’s word has much more to say about the subject of marriage, as we’ll see next.