Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School Class, April 19, 2025.

Main Theme: This week, we will explore different ways the Word of God talks about marriages, good and bad. We can then draw lessons from these examples to better understand how God relates to His people, even when they fall short. We can also learn some truths about His love that can help us better grasp last-day events.

Read in Class: Genesis 2:23-25 and Ephesians 5:29-32. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: In what ways does a human marriage mirror Christ’s bond to humanity?

Apply: Read Matthew 19:7-9. Seeing how sacred the marriage bond is, what does this tell you about how sacred our relationship with Christ should be?

Share: Can you share how your spouse helps you better understand God’s love? Can you share ways you have seen the love of God in other people’s families?

Read in Class: Hosea 1:2, Hosea 3:1, Revelation 17:1-12, and Revelation 18:1-4. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: What is the harlotry mentioned here? What lessons can the Christian church learn from the story of Hosea? In what ways has the church repeated the sins of the Old Testament?

Apply: What are the ways today that any church, even our own, can be dallying with spiritual fornication?

Share: Your friend asks, if Hosea was supposed to forgive his wife’s unfaithfulness, should I have to forgive my wife if she cheats on me? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Genesis 24:-14, 57-67. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: Why would it be so important to Abraham that his son not marry “ ‘from the daughters of the Canaanites’ ” (Gen. 24:3, NKJV)? What lessons can we glean about Christ and His church from some details we find in this story? What is there to learn, for instance, about our fallen state from the fact that Rebekah was a distant, separated relative to Isaac?

Apply: Yes, God loves us, His bride, more than we love Him. What are the choices we can make, and should make, every day that can strengthen our love for God? At the same time, what choices will only deaden our love?

Share: Your friend says he is marrying a woman outside of the church, because there is no one he is attracted to in the church. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 19:1-9 and Revelation 21:1-4. Ask the class to share the main idea of these passages.

Study: Two things are celebrated simultaneously: the end of the harlot and the marriage of Christ with His bride. How is it possible that both events are actually demonstrations of God’s righteous and loving character at the same time? What does the marriage imagery here mean, and why is it full of hope and promise? What is our assurance of the hope presented in these verses?

Apply: Read 1 Peter 1:18-19. What are we told in these verses that gives us the assurance of the end depicted in Revelation 21:1-4?

Share: Ellen White writes, “Marriage, a union for life, is a symbol of the union between Christ and His church. The spirit that Christ manifests toward the church is the spirit that husband and wife are to manifest toward each other.”— Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 46. Even if you are single, how can you affirm, encourage, and strengthen your married friends this week?