Art Toombs Ministries
Online Bible Commentary
Marriage Should be Honored
Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. 5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 6 So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (NKJV)
The early Eastern Church (Dionysius and Clement, both of Alexandria), from the second century, claimed Paul was the writer of Hebrews. The Western Church later agreed.
Luke translated the letter to the Hebrews into Greek, according to Clement in the second century. Luke was with Paul during his second Roman imprisonment and was his amanuensis during Paul’s final days (2 Timothy 4:11).
It is likely that Luke was also Paul’s amanuensis for this letter. My conclusion is that this was Paul’s last writing, written in late A.D. 67-early A.D.68
In this letter, Paul is writing to Hebrews who have converted to Christianity from Judaism. Family and friends are likely pressuring them to return to Judaism, so Paul is writing to these Hebrew Christians to encourage them to remain steadfast in their faith and not to return to Judaism.
The book of Hebrews is divided into two main topics Through Hebrews 10:18 the topic is the superiority of Christ to Judaism. The rest of the book is devoted to exhortations to obedient living, a fitting conclusion to Paul’s writings.
Initially, in this second topic, Paul gave examples of great men and women of faith who were honored for their obedient living. Now, he is exhorting Christians to obedient living.
In this passage, he is instructing us on obedient living in our home life. He begins by addressing the subject of marriage. Paul writes “Marriage is honorable among all” (v. 4a).
Looking at a literal translation of the original Greek often helps us to understand better the point that the writer is making. The literal Greek translation of verse four is: “Honorable marriage is in all, and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”
God created marriage. After creating man, he saw a need for man to have a “helper” (Gen. 2:18).
He put Adam into a deep sleep, took one of his ribs, and made a helper for Adam (Gen. 2:21-22). He called this helper “woman”, which means “taken out of man” (Gen. 2:23).
God then said “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). Notice that God created marriage as man “united to his wife”.
God also created family. Man was to live with “his father and mother”. God ordained two parents, a man and a woman, and their children as the family unit.
The man and woman were created to “become one flesh”, a reference to sexuality. This union was blessed by God: “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame” (Gen. 2:25).
Paul continued with “and the bed undefiled” (v. 4b). God created the marriage bed. The Greek word for bed is “koite”, which means “a couch, or bed, by extension cohabitation, by implication male sperm” (Strong’s).
So, the marriage bed defines God’s design for sex as being in the context of a man and woman who are married. Any other sex is outside of God’s design. This marriage bed is to be kept pure, or “undefiled” (lit. Greek).
This is what Paul calls honorable marriage. It is a marriage that honors God’s design. It is the only marriage, in God’s eyes.
Next, Paul writes “but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (v. 4c). Sex outside of God’s marriage is sin. It is described as adultery, or fornication.
This sin, as in the case of all sin, must be forgiven. If you think that God will forgive you while you purposely remain in the sin, think again.
Repentance, renouncing the sin and turning away from the sinful lifestyle, is required for forgiveness. So, if you cannot control yourselves, you should marry (1Cor. 7:9).
Next, Paul turns to the subject of contentment. He writes: “Let your conduct be without covetousness” (v. 5a).
Paul previously wrote: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:11-13).
He also wrote “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1 Ti. 6:10).
So, God gives us the strength to be content. Also, contentment will keep us from wandering “from the faith”.
In contrast, the love of money can cause us to wander from the faith, which causes “many griefs”. We should seek contentment over money, because our faith is the most precious commodity we could ever hope to have.
God will provide everything else, if we keep our faith in Him. Paul writes “For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you" (v. 5b).
God will always be there for us. God will always provide.
Paul brings this point home by declaring “So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (v. 6). Mortals can take things from us, even our very lives.
But only God can take our soul, which is the only part of us that lives eternally. We should fear disappointing God. We should not fear men, or the things of men.
These two subjects, adultery and money, are the two main causes of divorce. Paul has covered both in this short passage.
We can go a long way towards divorce proofing our marriages if we follow God’s instruction on these two subjects. First, we must keep the “marriage bed” pure.
Sex must be reserved only for our husband or wife. It is good, as are all of God’s creations.
Secondly, we must keep money in its proper perspective. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
It can cause us to bring evil, from worry to coveting to greed, into our marriages, destroying them. We must remember to put first things first.
When we put God first in our marriage, He provides everything else that we need. When it comes to marriage God knows best, because He created it. Marriage should be honored.