Marriage before the fall was a blessed and happy union. The husband and wife lived in harmony with one another and with their Maker. Adam was overjoyed when God presented him with his wife Eve. He now had a life-companion that was comparable to him; one to share his life’s joys and experiences with. We wish that story ended with these lines: “and they lived happily ever after”; but sadly that is not the case, as we all know. The story did not have a happy ending. That harmony they enjoyed between themselves and their Maker was disrupted by their sinful rebellion against Him, as they chose to listen to the voice of the adversary, Satan, instead of God.
Christ came to destroy the works of the devil and to restore unity in marriage. Through union with Christ in His death and resurrection, married couples can now live together in harmony, albeit not perfect, but one that demonstrates the power of the gospel in their lives.
In chapter two, Peter begins a series of applications exhorting believers to submit to different God-ordained human authority structures. The first one was to civil authorities, the second one to household masters.
This time our focus will be on husband and wife relations. He first exhorts the wives to submit to their husbands, even to those who don’t “obey the word” (unsaved). They are called on to follow the example of godly women in scripture like Sarah, and to focus less on trying to be fashionable and more on the inner beauty of a meek and quiet spirit. In an age where there is a lot of talk, in both the world and the church, about women’s roles, I pray that the Holy Spirit would help us to discern His voice on this matter.
