Lesson 11: Marriage

Read Ruth 1

After Elimelech died, Naomi had only her two sons to help her, to provide for her. Ruth married Mahlon, the younger of Naomi’s sons, and came to live with Naomi.

Marriage in Bible times always meant the woman went to live with her husband’s family. Only in one situation was this not true – if a father had no sons. Then the man who wanted to marry this father’s daughter would raise children for his father-in-law’s inheritance rather than for his own father’s estate.

For this reason, it was common for the father of the son to choose the son’s bride for him so he and his wife could know what kind of person was coming to live in their home.

All this is a beautiful picture of how we who are true believers, called the “Bride of Christ,” are also treated by God. We are removed from our earthly family to be joined to the Father’s family as we accept Him – see John 1:12. Then, as Jesus promised in John 14:1-4, He will come to take us to His Father’s House one day soon, so that where He is now we will also be. And in John 17:24 Jesus says that all true believers are people whom God has chosen to be part of this “Bride,” also called the Church.


Even the case of the adopted son becoming the one to inherit is a picture of who we are in Jesus. We are adopted into God’s family so we are all inheritors of all He has – see Galatians 4:5-7. Usually only the oldest son inherited from his father; but an adopted son could be an equal heir with the oldest son. Therefore, each of us being adopted into God’s family means we can equally share in all that God has.

But God’s inheritance is not like man’s inheritance, where what the father owns is limited in money or value or possessions. God’s value is without limitation, so God is able to give everything to us and still have just as much as He had before. For example, He has eternal life. If He gives us eternal life, He does not have less life than He had before. He is love; so if He loves us with perfect love, there is no less love with which He can love every other child of His.

Ephesians 5:22-33 gives us Jesus’ pattern for marriage here on earth, especially for believers. Wives are to respect and be submissive to their husbands, and husbands are to love their wives as Jesus loves the Church – He gave His life for the Church. This, too, is Jesus’ picture of what marriage should be – between one man and one woman, both believers in Jesus, both committed to each other with a love that ends only in death, both willing to give themselves completely to the other.

*How does this lesson change your view of marriage?