Drollinger: Societies Embrace Same-Sex Marriage at Their Own Peril
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that overturned the abortion-affirming Roe v. Wade decision has paved the way for the high court to question the legitimacy of its similarly overreaching rulings. D.C. insiders know that one of those past rulings ripe for being overturned is on same-sex marriage.
In response to the vulnerability of the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage decision, last year the House of Representatives rushed through legislation to make same-sex marriage the law of the land. On Dec. 13, President Joe Biden signed the misnamed “Respect for Marriage Act,” which allowed homosexual marriage in every state in the nation.
But what does the highest authority in the universe — God Almighty as revealed in his Word — have to say about this matter?
One need not look very far into Scripture to learn God’s singular definition of marriage and his subsequent sweeping disapproval of same-sex marriage. To the point, in no way is God’s Word pro-homosexuality. Only a Scripture twister could reason otherwise.
In addition to the narrative of Adam and Eve, who are specifically identified as husband and wife in Genesis 2:24 (cf. 1:27), Proverbs 12:4a underscores God’s testimony regarding his design and definition of marriage: “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband.”
As in English, the Hebrew words used in these ancient manuscripts are unmistakably clear: Wife (ishshah) means “female,” and the word for husband (baal) means “male.”
In one sense, I need not argue further. But Scripture is replete and unswerving in this regard, and this Bible study goes deep.
Pro-homosexual “Christians” cite Genesis 19:4-13 when arguing their point, so let’s examine that Scripture to determine the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah.
“Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.’ But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, and said, ‘Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.’ But they said, ‘Stand aside.’ Furthermore, they said, ‘This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.’ So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.
Then the two men said to Lot, ‘Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.'”
The pro-homosexual interpretation says that the sin in evidence is not sodomy, but inhospitality.
Proponents claim that the Hebrew word for “have relations” or “know” (yada) has an unknown or ambiguous meaning. Secondly, sexual activity, they claim, is not indicated in the passage; this is supposedly supported by Ezekiel 16:49-50, which will be addressed next.
To the contrary, the word yada appears 943 times in the Old Testament and is not ambiguous in meaning: “To gain knowledge or become better acquainted with someone or something” is its meaning. However, context strongly indicates that yada is used in Genesis as a polite euphemism for sexual intercourse.
Yada is used euphemistically in Genesis 4:17 (KJV), wherein Scripture states that Cain knew his wife and she conceived. To think of this word usage any differently leads to interpretive problems in both Chapters 4 and 19.
To illustrate, why did Lot plead with them not to act wickedly (19:7)? Why did Lot panic, offering sexual substitutes (v. 8)? Is it not somewhat contradictory to attempt to break down someone’s door (v. 9) in reaction to their inhospitality? It is apparent that Lot understood well that their advances were not friendly in nature.
Furthermore, the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah brought the following response from God: “And the Lord said, ‘The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave'” (18:20). In 19:13, God’s angels stated, “For we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”
All these references argue against the sin of Sodom being inhospitality.
The pro-homosexual community also cites Ezekiel 16:49-50 in support of their inhospitality argument, but this passage hinders, not helps, their argument: “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.”
Arrogance, slothfulness and blindness toward the needs of others are certainly sinful behaviors worthy of admonishment. But an additional iniquity listed in this passage is the word “abomination” (toebah), which is translated elsewhere as “detestable acts.” Leviticus 18:22 uses the same word to mean homosexual activity: “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.”
Ezekiel 16 and Leviticus 18 serve to identify the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah as homosexuality.
Leviticus 20:13 is also unambiguous: “If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.” Notice the phrase “detestable act” is the same Hebrew word as “abomination” (toebah).
The Bible study also addresses the OT practice of putting homosexuals to death and shows, through Scripture, how this practice is not to be followed under the new covenant of the Church Age. Also addressed are the false claim that Jesus never addressed homosexuality (he did, in Matthew 10:14-15) and the apostle’s teaching against homosexuality (Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 1 Timothy 1:9-10, among others).
Don’t be fooled; know your Bible on this matter!
All societies that digress from male-female marriage do so at their own peril. Same-sex marriage is not God’s design. Rather, it is human folly, and it leads to an overall dysfunctional society like we are now experiencing.
To learn more about the biblical perspective on this issue, read the full study here.
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