We Are blessed to have the Godly wisdom of Pastor Don Kimbro with us. Don has served God’s people for many years in New Mexico and is currently the host of the radio program “Nuggets of Truth” weekday mornings at 7:30, 5:30pm and 7:30pm in the evenings on KKIM AM 1000 in Albuquerque. Love this picture of Pastor Don and his lovely wife Dorthy. Don and Dorthy have been close advisers to me and Sharon over the years, strong prayer partners. Don has taught me much. Here’s a powerful message from Pastor Don:
REDEFINING THE SACRED
And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bonesand flesh of my flesh;she shall be called Woman,Because she was taken out of Man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. – Genesis 2:23-25
Preaching to the choir? Probably. But did you know that even the best of choirs need to learn a song well so that they can sing it together? This may not come as a surprise or even a shock to many, but the first mention of marriage is found in the Bible where marriage is described as a “joining together,” a relationship between a man and a woman who are instructed by God to leave their natural parents and be joined together to “become one flesh.” This describes a unique relationship of personal intimacy with procreation in mind to establish a family and populate the earth of which they are to rule (Genesis 1:28).
Marriage between a man and a woman is also the first institution established by God involving human relationships. The word institution is best defined as, “a custom, practice, or law that is accepted and used by many people.”1 It also may not surprise you to know that the word marriage in its various forms is used fifty times throughout the Bible. Nowhere in Scripture do we ever find that “custom, practice or law” altered. Never is it implied, changed, interpreted or considered to be anything other than a recognized moral and sacred union between a man and woman. So sacred is marriage in the eyes of God that one of the Ten Commandments is the prohibition of adultery which violates that union (Exodus 20:14) which under the Law was punishable by the death of both parties (Leviticus 20:10). Thank God for the grace of the New Covenant when embraced in faith and obedience (Galatians 3:23-26).
The seal of approval was placed on marriage by Jesus, in the same manner that God pronounced in Genesis. When a group of religious leaders attempted to test him on the subject of divorce, Jesus said, referring to the passage in Genesis, “Have you not read that He who madethem at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” – Matthew 19:4-6 (Mark 10:6-9).
As you know, the understanding of words means everything in interpreting the Bible. So let me define a couple of important ones in the Genesis account above to make sure we know what is being said. Two words stand out right away, “Woman” and “Man.” The Hebrew word for woman is ishshah which always refers to “a woman of every age, whether married or not.”2 In like manner, the Hebrew word for man is iysh which is simply the word for “a man, a male, as opposed to a woman.”3 The word for wife is also ishshah. A wife is always a woman and a husband is always a man. The New Testament also makes no exception as the Greek word for wife, gune, used by Jesus, always refers to a woman or wife or both.4
Marriage, therefore, in biblical terms is defined as a sacred relationship between a man and a woman, a husband and a wife, a male and female. There are no exceptions. The sacred cannot be redefined. – Pastor Don Kimbro
1 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/institution
2 Gesenius, Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament, 1979, Baker Book House, p. 84.
3 Ibid., p.40.
4 Zodhaites, The Complete Word Study Dictionary, New Testament, 1994, The World Book Publishers, P. 386.
