By Harry Morgan
God’s Word speaks of marriage right at the beginning (Genesis 1:26-27), and right at the end (Revelation 19), and a lot of places between, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Marriage was God’s gift to mankind—a fitting gift to celebrate at the Christmas Season when we remember that God’s Son was given to die and rise again to become the eternal Bridegroom of those He redeemed in a supreme act of sacrificial love.
With the marriage of Adam and Eve, an exclusive union was instituted between one man and one woman, to be fruitful and fill the earth. Such a lasting monogamous relationship would bring honor to God, foreshadowing the final and perfect union in heaven between Christ and His Church.
Marriage was also a symbolic backdrop for other important Biblical truths. Boaz, an Israelite, took a Gentile Moabite woman named Ruth to be his wife. Special circumstances brought about this unlikely union that foreshadowed Gentiles being grafted into God’s plan of Salvation, resulting in the magnificent scene described in the Apostle John’s vision of the future heavenly Church: “I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.” (Revelation 7:9-10)
In John 2:1-11, Jesus’ first creative miracle took place at a marriage in Cana where He made wine from the water in clay pots used for purifying the Jews attending the wedding. By turning water into wine, Jesus revealed He was truly the Son of God, and his disciples believed on Him. It may be that their faith was married to Him at that moment, joining them with that future multitude of whom it is said: “…blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.” (Revelation 17:9).