It is good for a man to remain as he is? -Part 2

Yesterday, I started an idea about Biblical marriage and it's benefits. I began with Paul's... ummm... confusing views of celibacy. I don't think that I have much to comment on that other than what I wrote yesterday.

Today, however, I would like to look at a verse from Song of Solomon (a.k.a. Song of Songs, in some translations). Some people may shy away from this book of the Bible, and might think that it is not much more than an excuse for middle school boys to giggle excitedly over the thought of breasts as two grazing fawns. Others think that the book is not about marriage at all, but is rather a description of Christ, and His love for his Church (the popular worship song "His Banner Over Me" seems to take this stance).

I do indeed believe that it foreshadows the coming Messiah...

...but I also believe that it is about two lovers... and the joys of marriage and of... well... sex.

That's right: sex. I said it. So sue me. :o)

Anyway, the text I would like to look at here is from the fifth chapter, verse 1. These are the words of "The Beloved", the male lover:

I have come to my garden,
my sister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh
with my spice;
I have eaten my honeycomb
with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with
my milk.

(To His Friends)
Eat, O friends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!

No one can read these words and deny that this man finds utter joy in his wife! He has drunk deeply and found that the well is absolutely blessed! And not only that... but he encourages his friends to seek after their own wells that they might find joy in drinking as well.

Now, I also mentioned yesterday that I believe that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are not somehow different in character, as it seems that some tend to think. Rather, I believe that God is never-changing, and manifests Himself in similar ways throughout the whole of the Scriptures... if we are willing to dig deep enough to see it. This is important, because it means that the God who lovingly blesses marriages today is the same unchanging God who inspired Solomon to write these words.

We can even see this if we go back to the beginning of the institution of marriage: the creation of man... and of woman. Every day of Creation, God said two things: "Let there be," and "It is good." The only time that God says that something is not good is when He sees man alone (Genesis 2:18). And note that the reason why this is not good is not because sin has somehow defiled the sanctity of man, because this is before the Fall of mankind, before sin has even entered the Garden of Eden. God looked at Adam, in his perfect, sinless state... and declared that it was not good for him to be alone. Marriage was God's idea. And it was a good idea.

So how is all of this compatible with the idea that marriage was established by God first, and foremost, for His own glory? Well, to answer that, I'm going to have to pull (yes... once again!) from the writings of a certain pastor Piper. John Piper gives a very interesting definition of God's love:

"The reason God seeks our praise is not because he won't be complete until he gets it. He is seeking our praise because we won't be happy until we give it. This is not arrogance. It is love."

The reason why Piper says this is because we were created to serve God and to give Him glory. When God glorifies Himself, it is not arrogance; it is, in fact, drawing us to the very thing which will give us true joy. To Piper, God's love for His children is an outpouring of the everlasting action of God declaring His own glory. When we experience this glory... we find our joy.

So it is with marriage, I believe. As I posted in October, I believe that God created the marriage union in order to give Himself glory, to declare the perfect worth of His Son. For those who enter into a Biblical representation of this union... they see this glory, and they bask in the joy that they find there!

I hope you can see now that my personal view of marriage is not a cold-hearted idea, devoid of emotion. But, rather, I believe that marriage can be a source of extreme joy, in that, being a representation of Christ's love for His spotless bride, it points man to the source of its joy: the very God who created it.