adultery – 11:3 Restoration

Marriage Laws – What YHVH Has Said

In the opening article in my new “Marriage Laws” series, I made the proposition that Yeshua clearly said that some things belong to YHVH only, and that marriage is one of those things that YHVH has reserved to Himself, and not given to Caesar (the government) to legislate. In forthcoming articles, I will explore how “Caesar” in America and other societies in the past has arrogated to himself the power to regulate marriage. In this second article, I am going to answer the question of what YHVH has said about marriage. It turns out that He has said a great deal, and nowhere has He said that Israel’s rulers have any legal jurisdiction on this topic. If they don’t, how much less jurisdiction do the nations have?

We will begin at the beginning during Creation Week in which we are going to analyze what He said and did through the aftermath of the Fall. Later, we will discuss what He put into the Sinai Covenant and the related statutes and judgments in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

True confession of (fake) sin!

In fact, even as a married man, I couldn’t commit adultery with a single lady. It is physically and spiritually impossible!!

I’ve been happily married more than 28 years and wouldn’t trade any of it. It hasn’t always been easy, but life with Kelly has been good. I love her. Always have, but then I’m a sucker for ‘broken wings.’

Only in recent years have I realized or recognized that aspect of my personality, but I can see the seeds of that character trait going way back. Kelly is the first person I really recall with whom I exercised this ministry. We began dating before the parachuting accident that took both of her hands, though we weren’t serious. Truth be told, at that point, she was seeing someone else and I was sort of playing the field… but, she sure could fill out a pair of Army fatigues.

Traditional Marriage – Be careful what you ask for….

The most recent issue of Patriarchs’ Journal (V. 3 Issue 21) has a very thought provoking article by attorney Rick Knuth titled, “So Which ‘Traditional Marriage’ Do People Want To Save?’

“Until the passage of Married Women’s Acts in 1898, a married woman’s property was controlled by her husband, even property she brought it into the marriage. Married women were legally incompetent to transfer assets or make binding contracts for themselves…

“This was preceded by an even older tradition, “coveture,” under which a woman, once married, lost her separate identity. The wife was considered to be her husband’s property, and all she owned was under his control. He could dispose of his wife’s property and could command her labor, even her body itself.”

In fact, Knuth points out in his short and rather pithy article that marriage as a ‘romantic union between a man and a woman’ is quite a new ‘tradition.’ Among other valid points he presents, Knuth reminds the reader that civil and state regulation of marriage is also more occasional than traditional. As I have pointed out, the state has no place in marriage bonds and, for that matter, Scripturally, neither do religious ‘authorities.’

The point to really consider is, ‘are God’s ways better than man’s? Cognitively, we know the resounding answer is ‘Yes!’, but our flesh often cries out against it. Just as with Shabbat, feasts and eating clean, we should simply embrace the Word of God regarding family structure and marriage while trusting that blessings follow obedience.

Additional thoughts regarding marriage, family and the restoration of Israel in our Restoring Kol Israel series.