When To Embrace A Second Chance Marriage.

Over the past couple of months, we’ve been working through a theme: “Every Season Of Life“

We spent some significant time, unpacking each stage of life that someone may walk through, and what the Bible has to say about it.

As we near the end of these seasons, recent topics have been retirement from a Biblical perspective, our responsibility to care for widows and widowers, and today we begin discussing second chance marriages that happen later in life.

Before I begin, I should add a CAVEAT: Our focus this week is specifically on remarriage after being widowed. If interested, a couple of months ago I covered the Biblical and cultural perspectives of divorce and remarriage.

Free To Marry

1 Corinthians 7:39 states the following:

“A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.” (NIV)

“39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.” (ESV)

The first thing that seems very clear from this passage is that remarriage is absolutely acceptable for those who have been widowed. But just to make sure, let’s look at a supporting passage: Romans 7:2

“For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him.” (NIV)

“For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.” (ESV)

Here, Paul is writing to the Roman church and speaks in a more legal sense. But I think the verdict is clear: A widowed person definitely can remarry!

Getting a 1st Century Mindset

This actually makes a lot of sense, when we look at Biblical culture, bringing our mind back to first century church. It makes complete sense why Biblical instruction would be in favour of remarriage who have been widowed.

This culture was a patriarchal, male-dominated society that these folks lived in, where men worked and women stayed home.

Therefore, men would not be very well-trained in cooking, cleaning and in general, making a house, a home. A man who remarried received love and companionship again, but he also received a second chance for his house to become a home again.

For the widow, any woman who lost her husband would be in survival mode, scraping by to feed and clothe herself. Remarriage in Biblical culture was truly a second chance at survival, especially for an elderly widow.

So clearly, there were good reasons for the widowed to remarry!

But what about our culture?

In our culture, we can’t make any assumptions. In this day and age, we can’t assume that any widow or widower is financially cared for. We can’t assume that any widow or widower can fully take care their home.

But it doesn’t really matter!

Because what we can assume, is that anyone who loses their spouse will feel loss and loneliness; regardless of the gender. And therefore, if they desire remarriage, to have a second chance at love and companionship, Biblically it’s acceptable.

But there is one stipulation!

Find out this week, as we explore the Biblical foundation for Newlyweds 2.0! If you’d like to receive these posts straight to your inbox, click the green “Subscribe Now” button below.

As a thank you for subscribing, you’ll receive a FREE copy of my eBook, “Lead Well: 30 Days of Growth for the Biblical Leader“.

Audio & Video Options

As a Pastor, my blog content is often connected to my preaching. If you prefer audio or video content over blog posts, feel free to subscribe to sermon podcasts by clicking HERE or subscribe to video sermons on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Join the Conversation, Leave Your Thoughts

Do you know anyone who has received a second chance at marriage, after being widowed? If so, what have you learned from them?