Seven years. It is a length of time that is mentioned often in the Bible. That is how long the great famine lasted in the days of Joseph, the son of Jacob. Those seven years were preceded by seven years of abundant harvest. Seven years is how long Ibzan served as judge of Israel (Judges 12:8,9). Seven years is also the period of time that Solomon used to build the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6:38).

The thought of seven years has been making international news in recent days. According to a report that was published on the internet on 21 September 2007, a politician in Germany by the name of Gabriele Pauli has proposed that marriages should be made null and void after seven years. The exact quote from this twice-divorced woman is, "I propose that marriages lapse after seven years." According to her plan, couples that wanted to continue to be married to one another would have to renew their vows.

Well, well, well. The human mind has once again come up with a proposal that blatantly disregards the Lord God’s plan for marriage. Some people may "go for" the seven-year deal suggested by Ms. Pauli, but such an arrangement makes a mockery of the Bible’s teaching about marriage.

If the seven-years-and-done marriage plan ever becomes a reality, then gospel preachers who perform wedding ceremonies will have to adjust the wedding vows to read something like this: "To have and to hold from this day forward for the next seven years or until death do us part, whichever comes first." Ridiculous, you say? Of course. But since when has something being ridiculous and ungodly stopped the human race from plunging headlong into it?!

The Creator has spoken about marriage, and the Bible says that we must not refuse Him Who has spoken (Hebrews 12:25). Indeed, when it comes to marriage matters, the Lord has spoken, revealing His will to mankind in the Bible. God says that the institution known as marriage is honorable (Hebrews 13:4), although man’s approach to marriage is often far from what God would have it to be. In view of the suggestion to limit a marriage to seven years’ duration, let us take a look at some thoughts about the permanency of marriage.

Every marriage is a covenant that involves three parties: God, the husband, and the wife. (Malachi 2:14-16). A covenant is an agreement, and the marriage agreement that God requires is for husband and wife to stay together. What is God’s attitude toward divorce? "For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away" (Malachi 2:16).

1 Peter 3:7 clearly states that God wants husbands to dwell with their wives (1 Peter 3:7). Husbands cannot carry out such an instruction when they willfully separate themselves from them or go on to the point of getting a legal divorce. God desires that a husband and wife stay, live, and love: stay in their marriage, live together, and love one another (Ephesians 5:22-33; Titus 2:4,5). Calling for marriages to end after seven years totally disregards what God’s Book teaches.

In the Bible we learn that a woman who, while her husband is still alive, leaves him to marry another, is called by a special name. God calls such a woman "an adulteress" (Romans 7:2,3). This makes it plain that God wants her to stay with her real husband.

The Bible truths that we have noted make it plain that God intends for marriage to be a permanent relationship. Those that take vows in which they pledge to love, care for, be faithful to, and stay with their mate until death, regardless of the good or bad times that come their way, but later renege on those vows by exiting the marriage without divine approval, are liars. You can try to "pretty it up" all you want to, but this truth remains: vow-breakers are liars, and God says that liars will have their place (Revelation 21:8).

At some point in any discussion of the permanency of marriage, we must give attention to what Jesus said when He was asked about whether or not it was acceptable for a man to divorce a woman for any cause. The Master said, "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder" (Matthew 19:4-6). When a man and woman are eligible in the sight of God to marry one another, and they enter into such a union, it is the Lord God that "joins" them. He joins or glues them together. Does He intend for them to stay together? According to Jesus He does, because man is charged not be put asunder what the Lord has joined. Any effort to install a man-made plan that would nullify a marriage after seven years is an obvious violation of the Lord’s instructions.

Jesus did make it clear, though, that there is a one-of-a-kind case that would allow a spouse to bring his/her marriage to an end with his/her mate, and there is no seven-month, seven-year, or seventy-year time element to the Lord’s instruction. Jesus taught, "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery" (Matthew 19:9). According to Jesus, a man that divorces his wife and marries a second woman is guilty of the sin of adultery (against the first wife, Mark 10:11), if it be the case that the man did not divorce his first wife due to her fornication. If (1) divorce without the cause of fornication on the part of one’s mate, coupled with (2) remarriage to another (3) equals adultery, then by implication a divorce with the cause of fornication on the part of one’s mate would not result in a second marriage constituting adultery, provided, of course, that the second person married also had the right to enter into marriage.

Sadly, some people have not waited on a law that requires a marriage to be nullified after seven years. They have, without the proper scriptural reason, divorced their mate after the passing of only a few years, or a few months, or in some cases, after only a few days! Perhaps you have encountered or heard of people whose past and present marital relations have been nothing short of a disaster. They may tell you that now, at the age of 35, they are in their fourth "marriage," with none of the previous three ending because of death or fornication on the part of their mate, and none of the marriages has lasted for more than five years. Staying in a marriage for seven years would be a major milestone for some folks.

As awful as the above circumstances sound, it is not all that uncommon to hear of such taking place in America in our generation. And, as horrible as such a situation is in society in general, there are some members of the church that are right in there among those who, truth be told, could care less about what God’s truth says about the permanency of marriage. Yet, and this is equally tragic, if such brothers and sisters search long enough, in many cases they will be able to find a congregation that will openly accept them into its fellowship, despite their blatant disregard for what God’s Book says about the marriage relationship.

As far-fetched as the seven-years-of-marriage-and-then-its-over proposal may seem, if such an idea were ever legalized, then you could pretty much count on some who call themselves "Christians" backing such a plan. Before you say, "There is no way that anyone who claims to be a Christian would ever support such a wild notion," remember these truths: some that call themselves "Christians" support homosexuality, while others who tout the name "Christian" think it is okay for a person to marry, divorce, and remarry as many times as he/she wants to, regardless of the cause of the bust up of a marriage. Yes, all such notions are pathetic, pitiful, and as anti-biblical as they can be, but Satan still gets people to accept them, does he not? In view of that, I have no doubt that some "Christians" would have no problem accepting the proposal that marriages come to an end after seven years.

Placing a seven-year limitation on marriages may appeal to some, and there may be others who do not really care about the matter one way or the other. For those that respect what God has to say on the matter, though, the question is settled. God intends for every marriage to last until the death of one of the spouses. The only way for a marriage to be "cut short" before death is for some type of sin to enter the equation.

-- Roger D. Campbell