Hebraic
Musing –Why are Marriages and Our Society Both Crumbling?
I have recently
heard young people say, more than once – “Why get married?” While I was shocked to hear it, why would we
be surprised considering the influence of today’s media? Our world’s anti-Judeo/Christian viewpoints
prevail. There are broken homes, a lack of instruction in morality and
confusion over the role of sex.
Covenantal
Marriage
was the basis for OT culture. The
patriarchs and those who followed them live by Godly principles based on
marriages and families. This was all
part of God’s original plan in Genesis Chapter 2:24 “Therefore a man
shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall
become one flesh.” “Therefore” refers to what Adam said in verse
23 “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called
Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” BTW, in the NT, Jesus’s first miracle was at a
wedding!
Today’s society has moved to Contractual
marriage, rather than the Convent marriage that God planned for us.
What’s the difference? Contracts
are temporary, have a time limit and are based on terms to be met by each of
the parties; and can be broken if either party defaults. In contrast, a Covenant is permanent, “until
death do us part”, with no conditions! BTW, the word “Covenant” appears over 300
times in our Bible!
The
beginning of no-fault divorce has opened floodgates for divorce in our culture
making marriage Contractual instead of Covenantal. The State can get you out of a contract, but
not out of a covenant! Other cultures
don’t require marriage licenses; family, community and honor keep the couple
together. After WWII there were a rash
of divorces when men came home and marriages fell apart; remember “Dear John
letters”? I remember my uncle divorcing
his wife after the war; our family was surprised he did not move to Los
Angeles, the haven for divorcees back then (late 40”s/early’50’s).
What are the
problems and/or results of today’s crumbling marriages?
· God’s
plan was for children
to be raised by two loving parents (“go forth and multiply”) with
one parent to nurture and the other providing support & leadership? “And you, fathers, do not provoke your
children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”
Eph.6:4 NKJV Is that happening? What happens to children after multiple
generations of broken families, and missing fathers?
· God
scolded them/us
in Malachi, last OT book - “You
weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or
accepts them with pleasure from your hands.
You ask, ‘Why?’ It is because the
LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because
you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage
covenant.” Malachi 2:13-14 NIV
· God
considers marriage
to be an agreement between a husband and a wife as well as a covenant between
the couple and Him. The wedding vows
were also vows to the Lord, or should have been!
I have authored
books but my favorite that I consider to be most important, is “Biblical
Marriage – His plan for Courtship, Engagement, Wedding and Marriage” – Available
at Amazon (search “Biblical Marriage Yosef”).
BTW – Why do we
renew Marriage vows? They don’t
expire. (>:
In
closing,
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the
church and gave himself up for her” Eph.5:25 “Wives, in the same way be submissive to
your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won
over without words by the behavior of their wives” 1 Peter 3:1 BTW, that is how I came to Christ!
Point(s)
to Ponder
What
impact do “broken homes” have on the next generation?
(Have you noticed that the bulk of dysfunctional people are from “broken
homes”?)
Do
children’s TV, media, Hollywood, etc. support Biblical Marriage?
(Too many examples to list of programs, etc. with ungodly content!)
If
you have had a divorce in your past, please remember that
God is more concerned about your future
than your past.
We are the “Bride
of Christ” by covenant! Hallelujah!
Yosef a.k.a. Joe Brusherd
January
14, 2025 (Originally published - April
12, 2022)
Author: “Hebraic Insights –
Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)” Weekly
“Hebraic Musings” at InsightsByYosef.blogspot.com
Following is a little more to say
and ponder on this critical topic:
“Marriage
in 2022” by Johanna Hocker & The Epoch Times - March 30, 2022
The marriage rate
in the United States is 6.1 per 1,000 - the lowest ever. Marriage is one of the
worst prospects imaginable for men. Society has moved from a convent marriage
to a contractual marriage. It is the worst legal contractual liability a man can
enter into. A contractual marriage is
based on mutual support and insurance and assurance that this support will
continue even if the marriage itself dissolves. This began with no-fault divorce, that opened
the flood-gates for divorce in our culture.
Women are
demanding more; they claim that 80% of men are unattractive. A man must also be economically attractive. Women want a 6 - 6 - 6, which means he is 6
feet tall, has a 6 figure income and sports a 6 pack.
70% of divorces
are initiated by women. Educated women
have a 90% divorce rate. Women are now
60% of all college students. These
college women are even pickier with higher standards that one might say makes a
slave of the sucker who might marry her.
Statistics show
that people who are married tend to live longer, are healthier, have lower
stress levels, and are less prone to suffer from depression, but there is
little to no incentive to marry, which is seen as a no-win situation.
For those who are
truly committed to each other, marriage still works and is the best and only
way to raise healthy children.
More stats from Google search (2021):
Also, 70 years ago
a large majority of U.S. households, approximately 80 percent, were made up of
married couples. In 2020, the proportion
of households consisting of married couples fell to 49 percent.
Some of the major
factors behind the long-term decline in the marriage rate have been female
education and labor force participation, women’s economic independence and
gender equality. America is also experiencing growing numbers of women and men
living alone as well as increasing unmarried cohabitation. In addition to the
15 percent of U.S. adults living alone, no less than one-quarter of those aged
25 to 34 years are living with an unmarried partner.
American attitudes
about childbearing and marriage have also changed markedly. For example, whereas in 2006 about half of
U.S. adults said it was very important for couples having children together to
legally marry, by 2020 that proportion had fallen to 29 percent. Today, the proportion of U.S. births to
unmarried mothers is about 40 percent, double the percentage in 1980.
“Biblical
Marriage” cover (Published
2012; available @ Amazon - “Biblical Marriage Yosef”)
