Once in a while I uncover a gem buried outside of the Biblical texts.
Gems are always priceless, especially if they’re chiseled fragments of God’s written word. And some of His people are literary artisans when it comes to mining and communicating His creational strategy.
Such is the work of Barbara Mouser in her ICGS workbook, God Through the Old Testament—His Strategic Words and Works (Houston, TX: Snowfall Press, 2014). I simply cannot convey the significance of the the Lord’s institution of marriage more effectively than she did in this publication.
Mouser documents eleven separate institutions established by God as recorded throughout the Scriptures, the last two of which are yet to come, being the Millennial and Eternal Theocracies of the coming age. The first two, however, are the only ones relevant to the scope of this article.
I was surprised to discover that the very first institution of God is individual responsibility! [see: Gen. 2:15-17] She writes:
“The first government is government by self control….The first ‘chain of command’ is the one within us.” [Mouser, page 5]
And, what I always considered to be the first institution of God—marriage, was actually the second, having been established in the text of Gen. 2:24-25. But rather than try to illustrate every Biblical marriage principle she cites, I’ll attempt instead to highlight what I believe to be some critical missing pieces of a societal puzzle:
“Together man and wife form the irreducible unit of mankind. The “man/woman oneness is the religious, economic, governmental and social building block of all civilization and world rule. Erotic love and sexual union are the exclusive domain of marriage, its consummating and definitive act.” [Mouser, Page 7]
The notion of “irreducibility” would no doubt frustrate the rabid individualist. After all, both men and women have sustained themselves outside of marriage since the beginning of time. But that doesn’t diminish the focus of God’s divine plan:
“‘Two become one’ is the microcosm of Man Complete, with all his ability to be Man and fulfill God’s commands to be fruitful, to expand, to subdue, and rule creation. Apart from this unit—this Completed Man—God’s work is not done in history…God has delegated to the married couple—and only to them—the physical, legal, and spiritual assets necessary to raise up and endow godly generations…Only in tandem do men and women become a true engine of productivity, capable of creating, keeping, and dispensing wealth.” [Mouser, Page 7]
Accordingly, she describes this union as the “seed crystal of mankind.” Seed crystals are used in a laboratory process to replicate larger crystals in a more orderly fashion rather than allowing them to grow naturally in random form.
But our Creator’s methods have never been arbitrary. The marriage covenant systematically generates and greases every legitimate wheel of human authority:
“Marriage is the basic economic unit of mankind…Marriage is the foundation of government and thus is the guardian of freedom. The authority delegated to husbands in marriage and to parents in family is the basis of human government. All freedom is grounded in the godly, loving exercise of this authority by husbands and parents, and the respect of wives to husbands and children to parents.” [Mouser, Page 7]
[Why should “religion” influence government? [see: Freedom’s Moral Thread]
The Biblical mandate to “be fruitful and multiply” was God’s general directive given to Noah and his descendants—that is, the subsequent human race. [Gen. 9:7] On the other hand, the apostle Paul assured the saints in Corinth that some had been given the capacity to adhere to a life of purity outside of the bonds of matrimony. [1Cor. 7:7-8,17]
Others, not so much.
Even so, marriage between a man and woman remains the Lord God’s unabridged formula necessary for procreation and social/economic order. Its success is contingent upon understanding the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Body.
[How are the roles of marriage relevant to our relationship with Christ? [see: A Recipe for Confusion]
Not all of His people are participants. But they’re all proponents.
[To access additional publications and study material concerning the Biblical theology of manhood, womanhood, marriage and family, please visit the International Council on Gender Studies website at http://fiveaspects.net.]
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Posted: May 26, 2019 by cjournalme
Married Lives Matter
Once in a while I uncover a gem buried outside of the Biblical texts.
Gems are always priceless, especially if they’re chiseled fragments of God’s written word. And some of His people are literary artisans when it comes to mining and communicating His creational strategy.
Such is the work of Barbara Mouser in her ICGS workbook, God Through the Old Testament—His Strategic Words and Works (Houston, TX: Snowfall Press, 2014). I simply cannot convey the significance of the the Lord’s institution of marriage more effectively than she did in this publication.
Mouser documents eleven separate institutions established by God as recorded throughout the Scriptures, the last two of which are yet to come, being the Millennial and Eternal Theocracies of the coming age. The first two, however, are the only ones relevant to the scope of this article.
I was surprised to discover that the very first institution of God is individual responsibility! [see: Gen. 2:15-17] She writes:
“The first government is government by self control….The first ‘chain of command’ is the one within us.” [Mouser, page 5]
And, what I always considered to be the first institution of God—marriage, was actually the second, having been established in the text of Gen. 2:24-25. But rather than try to illustrate every Biblical marriage principle she cites, I’ll attempt instead to highlight what I believe to be some critical missing pieces of a societal puzzle:
“Together man and wife form the irreducible unit of mankind. The “man/woman oneness is the religious, economic, governmental and social building block of all civilization and world rule. Erotic love and sexual union are the exclusive domain of marriage, its consummating and definitive act.” [Mouser, Page 7]
The notion of “irreducibility” would no doubt frustrate the rabid individualist. After all, both men and women have sustained themselves outside of marriage since the beginning of time. But that doesn’t diminish the focus of God’s divine plan:
“‘Two become one’ is the microcosm of Man Complete, with all his ability to be Man and fulfill God’s commands to be fruitful, to expand, to subdue, and rule creation. Apart from this unit—this Completed Man—God’s work is not done in history…God has delegated to the married couple—and only to them—the physical, legal, and spiritual assets necessary to raise up and endow godly generations…Only in tandem do men and women become a true engine of productivity, capable of creating, keeping, and dispensing wealth.” [Mouser, Page 7]
Accordingly, she describes this union as the “seed crystal of mankind.” Seed crystals are used in a laboratory process to replicate larger crystals in a more orderly fashion rather than allowing them to grow naturally in random form.
But our Creator’s methods have never been arbitrary. The marriage covenant systematically generates and greases every legitimate wheel of human authority:
“Marriage is the basic economic unit of mankind…Marriage is the foundation of government and thus is the guardian of freedom. The authority delegated to husbands in marriage and to parents in family is the basis of human government. All freedom is grounded in the godly, loving exercise of this authority by husbands and parents, and the respect of wives to husbands and children to parents.” [Mouser, Page 7]
[Why should “religion” influence government? [see: Freedom’s Moral Thread]
The Biblical mandate to “be fruitful and multiply” was God’s general directive given to Noah and his descendants—that is, the subsequent human race. [Gen. 9:7] On the other hand, the apostle Paul assured the saints in Corinth that some had been given the capacity to adhere to a life of purity outside of the bonds of matrimony. [1Cor. 7:7-8,17]
Others, not so much.
Even so, marriage between a man and woman remains the Lord God’s unabridged formula necessary for procreation and social/economic order. Its success is contingent upon understanding the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Body.
[How are the roles of marriage relevant to our relationship with Christ? [see: A Recipe for Confusion]
Not all of His people are participants. But they’re all proponents.
[To access additional publications and study material concerning the Biblical theology of manhood, womanhood, marriage and family, please visit the International Council on Gender Studies website at http://fiveaspects.net.]
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