Deuteronomy 7:3-4, "Neither shalt thou make marriages
with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his
daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son
from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of
the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly."
This morning, certain subjects ramp up the "emotion meter" more than
others. Due to the intrinsic or inherent nature of the subject matter,
emotions sometimes run away from reasoning. Therefore, we hope to
handle the subject matter before us as objectively as possible and not
allow undue emotion to enter into the writing. Today, there are
opinions a mile wide on every hand about the subject of inter-racial
marriages. Some are for it. Some are against it. Some approve a
little. Some approve a lot. Ask a random selection of people off the
street how they feel, and you may get a dozen or so varied statements
about it. However, as disciples of the Lamb, we need only be concerned
with the Scriptural pattern to see how we should think and look at the
subject. So, what does our source material state? How should we think?
When I was growing up, I had the providential blessing of being raised
in a supremely good home. My parents attempted to bring me up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord. One of dad's favorite statements in
his exhortations to my brother and I was, "Be sure you pick out a
God-fearing woman to be your wife." He would say oftentimes that many
differences of opinion could be worked out if two people were devoted to
making it work, but one issue could never be resolved if the woman did
not believe in God. Sometimes, I even think he secretly wanted us to
find some woman of another order and help convert her. But, I digress.
The point of his statement was that any other type of woman will
eventually do what God warned the children of Israel about. The seven
nations of Canaan that they were about to dispossess from the Promised
Land were idolatrous people. They were not God-fearing. Any marriage
to them would have resulted in idolatry (and occasions in the future
showed this to be true).
The study verses before us are the prohibition that we should look for
in opposing certain marriages. Was Israel prohibited from ever marrying
someone of another nation? Previously we read from the book of Genesis
that Joseph had an Egyptian wife that bare him Ephraim and Manasseh.
Moses married an Ethiopian woman (Numbers 12), and Aaron and Miriam
spoke out against it. As a result, God's judgment came upon Miriam in
the form of leprosy. Ruth was a Moabitess, who Boaz eventually married
in the book of Ruth, which union was blessed and honored by God to
eventually bring forth King David and ultimately King Jesus. Why were
these marriages so prosperous and honored by God while the seven nations
of Canaan were prohibited as spouses for the Israelites?
We can only speculate about the Ethiopian woman that Moses married as
well as Joseph's wife, but we can see plainly confirmed on the page that
Ruth was a God-fearing woman that was honourable in all things. This
pattern seems consistent with the prohibition of the Canaanites. They
were not God-fearing nor honourable. God would not recognize those
marriages with His blessing and favour. However, He blessed the other
inter-racial unions and cursed those that cursed those unions (like He
did with Miriam). The lesson to this point seems to indicate that the
state of the person's attitude and heart towards God is of greater
concern than the particular nationality that they hailed from.
Let us consider some failed inter-racial marriages from the Bible. In
Nehemiah, we read of those that the Israelites had married after
returning from the captivity in Babylon. The nations were so perverse
and corrupt that the Israelites' children were speaking part Hebrew and
part language of Ashdod. (Nehemiah 13) The worldliness of their
upbringing was stifling and stunting Israel's spirituality, as seen
quite clearly in the lives of their children. Solomon married a great
number of women from various and sundry nations, and his marriages
ultimately led to his latter end being worse than his beginning.
Idolatry and wickedness marked his twilight rather than peace and
prosperity from the God of heaven. In both of these cases, idolatry is
seen prominently and flagrantly.
So, how should we approach the situation today? What are our
prohibitions today? Biblically speaking, I believe dad's faithful and
trusty old saying, "Make sure she's God-fearing" stacks up pretty well
with Scripture. If the prospective spouse hails from a culture and
upbringing that is quite idolatrous and shows no indication of desiring
anything else, then do not consider such as a good choice for
husband/wife. However, if someone is honourable, God-fearing and truly
wants to make things work, then consider such a one a possible choice
for a spouse.
To be fair, we cannot discount the fact that there are differences of
cultures across different ethnic groups. Just on a food and clothing
level, certain ethnic groups prefer certain types of foods and wear
certain styles of clothing. As a tame example, I would probably would
have had a hard time marrying a Scottish lass if she expected me to wear
a kilt all the time. Though our skin tones are the same, there is a
cultural difference there that would have taken extra effort to agree
upon before entering into marriage. There are many examples of cultural
differences besides food and clothing, but these should suffice to make
the point. If I were asked by an inter-racial couple to perform their
ceremony, one thing I would definitely encourage them to consider is
that they will have extra hurdles to work through than other couples
would. Every couple is going to have hurdles to work through, but
differing cultures adds another layer to the cake to sort out when
trying to make a marriage work. However, if they understood that and
were willing, devoted, and committed to making it work anyway, I would
have no problem performing their ceremony.
Beyond the cultural aspect, how else should we consider this today?
Should we stand for the idea? Against it? Indifferent? I recall many
years ago that I had a discussion with a minister who vehemently opposed
the idea of inter-racial marriage - rather he only opposed one type of
inter-racial marriage. At the time, my son was less than a year old and
crawling around on the floor. When I tried to show him the Biblical
pattern to observe, he pointed to my son and asked, "You mean to tell me
that you would be ok if your son came home one day with a black girl?"
My answer floored him. "I would rather he come home with a black girl
who is respectful, God-fearing, and loves him in a lifelong and
committed way, rather than him come home with a trashy, disrespectful,
and God-hating white girl." Considering marriage and all of its
inherent difficulties (two people living as one), why would one consider
choosing someone fraught with problems just because the race or skin
tone is the same?
Another thing that should be considered is simply this, inter-racial
marriage is something that we can only legitimately say is acceptable
for all races or unacceptable for all races. Mixing and mingling the
idea that this race is ok and that one is not is the height of
hypocrisy. God's prohibition of those seven nations was due to their
idolatrous ways. Any other nation that acted similarly was to be
treated likewise in the subject realm of the discussion of marriage.
Since the cultural differences exist between various races - even if the
skin hue does not - the extra marital hurdles will have to be navigated
in all cases. Therefore, all cases of all different races need to be
treated consistently. The race is of less importance and value as the
quality of the character of the individuals looking to wed.
Doubtless, we have all seen failed marriages between like races as well
as differing races. We have seen successful marriages between like
races as well as differing races. As previously shown, the Bible is
replete with examples of all. Similarly we have seen marriages fail
when people were of differing faiths (denominations) as well as failed
marriages of the same faith (same denominational order). Rich and poor
people have married to varying results. Young and old have wed to mixed
conclusions. Each scenario, whether race, finances, age, or order,
presents its own set of unique pitfalls and landmines to navigate
around. The point is not whether people find someone else with the same
exact background. The point is whether someone is willing to stay
committed and devoted to their spouse through thick and thin, no matter
what comes, as their vows require that they do. Therefore, it goes back
to character, integrity, and being committed which can only stem from
being God-fearing.
As long as time shall remain, there will always be a variance of opinion
on this subject. Some will go to their grave disagreeing with me, while
others will perhaps agree with these sentiments. If I ever hear a
compelling, reasoned, and - above all else - Biblical argument to change
my views, I hope that I would do so. However, no matter how high the
emotion meter may rise or fall due to a certain subject, we must always
strive as Christ's disciples to seek to know His mind upon the matter
rather than follow "my druthers." May we diligently devote our lives to
seeking His counsel from His pages of Scripture and through prayer for
daily guidance. One thing His word plainly declares is that marriage is
unto death. May our endeavors in life keep this bedrock principle
firmly in view and seek to honour the marriage regardless of any natural
circumstances, whether race or otherwise.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
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