Marriage is one of the institutions that everyone think they know about only to realize after marrying that they did not know about it at all. Many born-again Spirit filled believers still depend on the world’s definition and view of marriage. They believe that it is simply another thing that man developed along the way or which he fixed into the Constitution at one point in time. Your ideas about marriage should not be coming from the rumor mill, glossy magazines, the silver screen, Nigerian movies or newspapers. The world may see marriage in many ways but God has a specific reason in His word why He created marriage and unless we get to hear it from His own mouth, we will not be able to enjoy it as we would. When you want to maximize the potential of any manufactured product, all you have to do is read the makers’s manual and follow it. Let’s take a journey into God’s word and see what He has to say.
            God considers marriage to be an honorable institution which He created, “Marriage is HONORABLE in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Heb 13:4). This is not simply putting a ring on the finger, marriage is valuable, costly and to be esteemed. It is not another social tie, but is the ultimate honorable tie of all ties.  God created male and female in the Garden of Eden for a reason. That reason was for them to be married and joined to one another. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; MALE AND FEMALE created he them”(Gen 1:27). Notice that we did not evolve but that we were created in God’s very image. Then God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, showing us that same sex marriage was not His original design.
            “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a HELP MEET FOR HIM. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam THERE WAS NOT FOUND A HELP MEET FOR HIM. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he TOOK ONE OF HIS RIBS, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be ONE FLESH. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Gen 2:18-25). God made a helper for Adam and the Amplified version states that she was “suitable, adapted and completing” for him. There is no animal that can take the place of a husband or wife much as some naturalists would have us to believe that the dog is “man’s best friend”. You can not replace a husband with a dog or any other animal. In the process of time God took Adam into a deep sleep, a phenomenon today referred to as being “slain in the Spirit”. God took out a rib out of Adam’s side to show that the woman was to be his equal companion. She was not taken out of his head so that she would be domineering over him nor was she taken out of his foot, so that he would step all over her. The Bible says that a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, showing us that one has to reach a level in their life when they are no longer dependent on their parents and need to settle together with a husband or wife. Notice that this does not refer to boyfriend and girlfriend cohabiting but only to husband and wife. Then the account tells us that they shall be one flesh. This primarily refers to having sexual intercourse since the two bodies are joined together first then the spirits and souls are joined as a result.
The Power of Two:
One of the primary reasons why God puts husband and wife together is for them to be able to meet the challenges of life together. King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived had this to say, “Two are better than one; because they have a GOOD REWARD for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecc 4:9-12). He clearly points out that two are better than one and they have a more satisfying reward for their labor, showing us that they can achieve more. There is a special anointing that God releases upon two individuals who are in agreement. An example is given of a robber attacking a lone traveler on a dark highway and we see that the robber can be defeated if two are moving together. Some commentators have even gone ahead to say that the threefold cord is referring to a husband and wife who are married and subsequently have a child which makes them an unbreakable rope. Travelers in Israel in the ancient times needed to rest along their journeys when the night would fall and they would simply camp out in the open in tents. During winter these travelers would feel so cold, but when they would huddle together they would get heat from one another. This could also be an allusion to the marriage bed where the husband and wife provide warmth to each other. From this Solomon clearly shows us that the two have an edge over the single one.
            “How should one chase a thousand, and two put TEN THOUSAND to flight” (Deu 32:30). When two come together they do not simply do twice the amount of work. You have probably come across questions in mathematics like if on man can make two chairs in one day, how many will two men make in one day. The obvious natural answer would be that two men can make four chairs. This would mathematically imply that if one man can chase a thousand then two would chase two thousand. This is mathematically correct but biblically wrong. God does not work through addition but multiplication and when two are joined together in marriage their efforts are multiplied exponentially and the chase five times more than one could. Jesus also spoke about the power of two when they agree on anything they ask from God, “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That IF TWO OF YOU SHALL AGREE on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mat 18:18-20). God answers a prayer of agreement between husband and wife speedily when they are in one accord. However when conflicts arise, the prayers of couples are blocked until they resolve it and reconcile, “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; THAT YOUR PRAYERS BE NOT HINDERED” (1Pe 3:7).