Introduction

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready.

REVELATION 19:7

The first marriage, the Bible tells us, was performed by God:

“So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh” (Genesis 2:21). From that rib God made the first woman, and He brought her to the man to be his bride, his companion and his helpmate.

When he woke, the man shouted with joy: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (v. 23). Scripture makes it very clear that in marriage, “a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (v. 24).

Is that not echoed in the beauty and majesty of the wedding ceremony? The procession of the groomsmen and bridesmaids to the altar, the arrival of the bridal party, the groom eagerly waiting as the girl he loves approaches him in all her radiance and beauty. There can be applause, or a reverent hush.

Either way, this is a beautiful, sacred moment… and everyone knows it.

What does it mean when man and wife join in holy matrimony?

The ceremony is, at its heart, the recognition that the married couple are now a single unit. The two have become one, made to love and cherish each other, and bring forth a new generation into the world. It is more than an institution; it is a holy union, brought forth by God Himself.

This is what we mean when we speak of marriage as ‘holy matrimony’, and why cultures all over the world celebrate it with ceremonies, special customs and much rejoicing. Is that not a reminder how special it is? For something to be ‘holy’ is for it to be set apart and above the commonplace, and so it is with the joining together of man and woman as one flesh. It is holy, because a holy and life-giving God calls it into existence!