The Bride of Christ Is Not a Baby

Marriage is biblically defined as a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, yet there is no end to the variations which are introduced every day.  Apart from the foundation of biblical authority, we should not be surprised to continually find new distortions of God's glorious plan for men and women.  For example, same-sex marriage, which once seemed inconceivable, is currently growing in acceptance and enjoying legal sanction in California.  Now we discover that marriage between an adult man and an infant girl is not only conceivable, but has an outspoken advocate.

Saudi marriage officiant Dr. Ahmad al-Mu'bi recently informed Lebanese television viewers that under law "there is no minimal age for entering marriage."  He added, "You can have a marriage contract even with a one-year-old girl, not to mention a girl of nine, seven, or eight."

Consummating the marriage would vary according to environment and traditions, according to Dr. Al-Mu'Bi.  He said, "The Prophet Mohammed is the model we follow.  He took ‘Aisha to be his wife when she was six, but he had sex with her only when she was nine." 

In a further defense of his position, Dr. Al-Mu'Bi added:

People find themselves in all kinds of circumstances. Take, for example, a man who has two, three, or four daughters. He does not have any wives, but he needs to go on a trip. Isn't it better to marry his daughter to a man, who will protect and sustain her, and when she reaches the proper age, he will have sex with her? Who says all men are ferocious wolves?

While I have never met Dr. Al-Mu'Bi personally, I grieve for young girls or infants who will suffer being married according to his directions.  Some men are indeed ferocious wolves, and all men are sinners.  It is distressing to think of men following this counsel and carrying an infant girl in diapers to the altar to enter into a "marriage."  The personal consequences of such distortions of God's plan are appalling.

But marriage to infants, same-sex marriage, cohabitation, or any other illicit variation on the covenant of marriage has a broader negative impact.  The meaning of biblical words such as "husband," "bride," and even "covenant" are being slowly drained away.

What would a nine-year-old girl who is married to a 52-year-old man (as in the case of ‘Aisha and Mohammed) understand when she read in the Bible, "For your maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the holy one of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of both the whole earth he is called" (Isaiah 54:5).  If a man lifts a swaddled baby girl from the arms of her mother to marry her, is that what it means for a man to "leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife" (Genesis 2:24)?

Marriage is a gift to mankind that allows a man and a woman to represent the relationship of Jesus Christ to the church -- and the bride of Christ is not a baby.