#9 Marriage is Precious

We have the tendency to base our righteousness on what we do NOT do and think that is the purpose of the 10 Commandments but while God IS giving a specific definition of falling short they are NOT a definition of achieving righteousness. Righteousness is a way of life. The 7th commandment is about marriage and not just about the wrong - adultery, it requires us to look for what is right, that marriage is precious. In Genesis God tells us why this relationship is precious. God designed marriage for 1) procreation "to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth", 2) protection "subdue it" because since the fall creation is hostile to humanity, the world and our own sin nature and the devil all oppose us and our marriage relationship affects our prayer life, 3) provision God designed marriage to provide for our sexual needs including a legacy and lineage and for our basic needs, a helpmate and 4) a proclamation of the profound mystery of the way Christ loves the Church, His bride. Eph. 5:32 - He gave Himself (died) for it. It explains why God hates divorce, adultery, and homosexuality. Simply put they violate everything marriage is supposed to be it robs marriage of procreation, protection, provision and proclamation.