Marriage

 
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S: Ezra 10 

Ezra led the returning Jews to repent of marrying foreign women, and divorce their foreign wives, even those who already had children.

O: Even in the Old Testament, it’s clear that this is not a case of racism, but of faith. The problem with the foreign wives was not race or nationality – it was that they did not follow Yahweh. There are other examples in the Old Testament where foreigners follow Yahweh and God sanctioned them marrying in, e.g. Ruth.

However, the New Testament made it even clearer: 1 Corinthians 7:39 “A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.” The phrase “in the Lord” shows that a Christian who is free to marry must marry someone who belongs to Christ.

Note that the New Testament also makes it clear that if you’re already married to an unbeliever, you are not to initiate a divorce. 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 “Now to the rest I say—not the Lord—if any brother has an unbelieving wife and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if any wife has an unbelieving husband and he consents to live with her, she must not divorce her husband. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the brother, since otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. The brother or the sister is not bound in such cases. But God has called us in peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?”

A: While being married to a non-believer is a problem because of the spiritual disunity, it’s even worse to break up a marriage just because the spouse is not a believer. This is especially the case when there are already children. So, what Ezra led the returning Jews to do is not what we should do as New Testament believers.

If we’re not married yet, and we want to marry, we should marry a fellow-believer. The principle from 2 Corinthians 6:14 applies: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers, for what participation is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?” Although 1 Corinthians 6:14 is not specifically about marriage, but rather about partnerships in general, what more intimate partnership is there other than marriage? So, it also applies to marriage.

P: Father, strengthen our marriages. Give wisdom to our single brothers and sisters to find Godly spouses if they desire to marry. And help those who are already in “unequally yoked” marriages to be such a blessing to their family that they be drawn to You. As I am married to a fellow believer, I pray that I will also be a good husband; help me to love her as Christ loves the church and gave Himself up for her. In Jesus’ name, amen.