Thursday, June 3

Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.
Many waters cannot quench love, rivers cannot wash it away.
If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.
Song of Songs 8:6-7

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:31-32

Famous Chicago Cubs broadcaster, the late Harry Caray, used to love to scream “Holy Cow!” when something great or unusual happened in a baseball game. While that’s not the most theologically correct use for the word “holy” it does point to that which is “different” or “set apart.” In the Biblical sense, “Holy” is that which is set apart for God’s purpose. So when we refer to marriage as “Holy Matrimony” – we are saying that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman that is set apart from all other relationships. And what makes marriage distinct is that it is a covenant relationship.

In these verses, Paul is actually quoting from both Genesis and Jesus – and he is referring to the unique and binding covenant that is God’s provision for marriage. A man and a woman become united and then they become one flesh.

Now we all know what one flesh means! That is God’s way of referring to sexual intimacy between a man and a woman. And we all know that our culture is obsessed with sex! But how often do we think of sex as “holy?” Do those two words – holy and sex – go together in your mind? My guess is probably not! But the truth is that the Bible teaches that sex can be and is intended to be holy.

But for sex to be holy - for one flesh intimacy to be what God created it to be - it must be protected by a covenant. Just as a house is only safe and secure if it has four walls and doors that lock from the inside, so also a relationship is only “holy” – set apart, safe and secure – if it is protected on all sides and locked from the inside. A “covenant” is simply a “holy promise” – a promise that this relationship, this love, is set apart from all others and that nothing can violate its boundaries. And notice that for one flesh intimacy, sex, to be all it can and should be, the covenant must be established first.

Think for a moment of the wisdom and grace of God in establishing this truth way back in the book of Genesis! Long before the world knew of STDs, HIV and unwanted pregnancies – God provided for both our protection and enjoyment – through the provision of the covenant of marriage.

If you are married, thank God for the beauty and joy of the covenant you share. Thank God for the gift of one flesh intimacy that is protected and enriched by that covenant! If you are not married, ask God to help you trust his guidance and plan when it comes to that area of your life – don’t settle for anything less than “holy sex!”

Brian Coffey