MARRIAGE
The first institution on earth was the Institution of Marriage. Please take down a very important note, marriage is not the summit of man's purpose, but a means to an end for fulfilling it! So throw away the Hollywood movie ending (and the music industry's songs) of a love interest secured to live happily ever after. One can live happily ever after, but only if one submits to the original purpose of marriage.
Also, according to the New Covenant books of Mat. 22:30; Mar. 12:25; and Luk. 20:36, there is no need for marriage in Heaven. Those passages are preceded by the question "...whose woman will she be in the resurrection?" Part of Yeshua's response was that in the resurrection, should we make it, we will be like the messengers (angels) in heaven.
So, if we forfeit the sole purpose and function of marriage, which we now know is limited to this three dimensional plane of our existence, and we don't want to be a eunuch to serve in YHWH's kingdom, let's make sure we understand this first institution of man and not be perpetrators of its defilement.
Marriage is a covenant consummated with the shedding of blood! When Adam came in unto his woman, her blood flowed over his pro-creator putting them into a covenant relationship. It is not a contract!
Beriyt is the classical Hebrew word for covenant, meaning separate out parts as in an animal is cut in half with the two pieces laid down apart from each other. The individuals agreeing to a covenant pass between the pieces with its blood (In Beginnings Gen. 15:10,17; Jere. 34:18-20) indicating the total death to themselves for the life in their covenant partner. If one individual fails to hold up their side of the agreement, then what was done to the animal was to be done to them. Contract? I think not.
When the Powers built a woman out of Adam, she was Yahweh's "Magnum Opus", the completion of His intent for Adam, complementing perfection. Adam was to share with her his experience, knowledge, and understanding of the Creator about their purpose for existence.By the way, the ideal scenario was one man to one woman for life, there was no death. But, after the woman responded to the initiator (satan), and Adam followed her in rebelling against YHWH's command instead of admonishing her and interceding on her behalf, he sinned! As a consequence, death has been brought upon mankind.
Although there are many factors that unleash the messenger of death, there is one specific act that Yahweh says He Himself will respond to in Names (Exo.) 22:22-24. Hmm! Could that be why the ratio of men to women is lopsided? Okay, back to the roots of marriage.
With marriage, a woman rises to the husband's station in life while not falling from hers. A woman was seen as being of high value, and was to be carefully looked after. Early nomadic communities practiced a form of marriage in which a woman would have a tent of her own, within which she retained complete privacy from her husband.This principle existed in parts of early Yisra'eilite society, as some early passages of the classical Hebrew writings record, certain women each owning a tent i.e. Sarah (In Beginnings (Gen.) 24:67), and Jacob's 4 women (In Beginnings (Gen.) 31:33). In the case of wealthy husbands, the classical Hebrew writings describe their women as having each been given an entire house (1 Ki. 7:8; Song of Sol. 8:2).
As a polygynous society, the writings of the Hebrews order men who take on another woman, not to diminish her of food (the Hebrew word here is "sha'ar" meaning "meat", a luxury to the commoner. Only men of means would take on other women), of clothing, nor of her interest (Names (Exo.) 21:10,11). If the husband does not do these things, she is to be set free, without cost to her. He is also commanded not to show partiality if one is loved above the other (The Words (Deut.) 21:15). Hebrew brothers were commanded by Yahweh to be polygynous under certain circum-stances (The Words (Deut.) 25:5-10).
This point brings me to the original understanding of the word love. In the original language of man ahav is the word for love meaning devote completely to another, it's a decision! It has nothing to do with feelings or emotions. Please do not get angry with the information on this page because it may go against present ideology, I'm only striving to expose and remove the demonisation of mankinds' beginnings and its Hebrew cultural practice of polygyny in recounting history.
By the way, na'aph is the Hebrew word for adultery, meaning turn from one to another. Yeshua admonished the Yisraelites to not send or put away their women, He did not say they could not add in other women for covenanting to increase the family. Actually, polygyny would be the only answer in our time if men are to satisfy the original command of being fruitful and multiplying to fill the earth. We are commanded to fill the earth, not depopulate it. While every man did not engage in polygyny, which was based upon one's ability to provide for each woman equally, it was the root of Yisra'eil's multiplying exponentially (1 Chron. 7:4).
Shalom.
