Leviticus 18:1-18 - Homiletics

The restraints thrown about marriage by God's Law

are not meant to confine within the narrowest limits that which is a necessary evil, but to guard a holy institution, and prevent its being corrupted by abuse. Manichaeanism and asceticism, which is essentially Manichaean in its character, denounce the body and the bodily affections as being in themselves bad; stoicism strives to crush out or eradicate natural feelings, to make place for a passionless calm. God's Law and the doctrine of the Church declare that it is the abuse, not the use, of the body that is wrong; and, like the better forms of philosophy, occupy themselves with regulating, controlling, ruling man's passions, instead of vainly attempting to kill them. "Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge" ( Hebrews 13:4 ). £

I. MARRIAGE WAS INSTITUTED AS THE PRIMEVAL LAW AT THE CREATION OF WOMAN . "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth" ( Genesis 1:27 , Genesis 1:28 ). "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" ( Genesis 2:23 , Genesis 2:24 ).

II. PARALLEL BETWEEN THE MARRIAGE LAW AND THE SABBATICAL LAW .

1 . The sabbatical law, in like manner as the marriage law, was instituted at the creation ( Genesis 2:3 ).

2 . Both laws took a special form for the patriarchal and Israelitish Churches.

3 . In both cases an alteration was made by the authority of our Lord, the obligation of the laws still continuing as before. The form which the law of the sabbath took for the Jewish people may be seen in the seventh commandment and other Mosaic injunctions respecting the seventh day. The law of marriage likewise underwent a change from its original character, and instead of enjoining monogamy, it allowed polygamy; and "because of the hardness of men's hearts," it permitted divorce for light causes (see Matthew 19:3-12 ). The manner of observing the sabbatical law was changed for Christians by the authority which cur Lord declared himself to possess for the purpose ( Matthew 12:8 ), and which the constant habit of the earliest Christians, of assembling on the first day of the week and regarding it as the commemoration of the Resurrection day, proves him to have exercised. In like manner, he restored the law of monogamy ( Matthew 19:8 ), and withdrew the license for divorce, except in the one case of adultery on the part of the wife ( Matthew 19:9 ). In respect to the Levitical restraints on marriage he made no change, as is again proved to us by the universal recognition of these obligations on the part of the early Christians.

III. ADDITIONAL SANCTITY WAS ADDED TO MARRIAGE BY CHRISTIANITY . In the Epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul points out the analogy which exists between the relation of husbands to wives, and of wives to husbands, and the relation of Christ to the Church, and of the Church to Christ. "The husband is the head of the wife, ever as Christ is the head of the Church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church: for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the Church" ( Ephesians 5:23-32 ). An inference has been drawn from these words that Christ instituted holy matrimony as a sacrament of the Christian Church. Such inference is altogether false. Marriage was not considered one of seven sacraments until the days of the Schoolmen; but the passage exhibits the holiness of marriage in a new light, and gives a new reason for its being regarded as holy. The "mystery" is the analogy which exists between married persons and Christ and the Church. St. Paul quotes the words of institution from the Book of Genesis, showing what a high estate matrimony is, and gives this further reason for its holiness, which had not previously been known to exist. Such a thought as this takes marriage out of the sphere of carnal things, refining, purifying, and sanctifying it in a manner not yet appreciated wherever celibacy is regarded as a higher and holier condition.

IV. THE CAUSES FOR WHICH MATRIMONY WAS ORDAINED . "First, It was ordained for the procreation of children, to be brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord, and to the praise of his holy Name. Secondly, It was ordained for a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication. Thirdly, It was ordained for the mutual society, help, and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity" (Form of Solemnization of Matrimony). The third of these causes has been too often forgotten in the Christian Church, and the second has been too much dwelt upon; the consequence of which has been a low estimate of marriage, and therefore of woman. St. Paul's words ought to show us that it is this characteristic which gives its Christian aspect to marriage.

V. DUTIES OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES TOWARDS EACH OTHER . On the one side, love and protection ( Ephesians 5:25 ); on the other side, love and submission ( Ephesians 5:24 , Ephesians 5:33 ).