Marriage is God's Idea

Genesis 2:18-25 New King James Version (NKJV) 18 And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. • God is the One who noticed that it is not good for man to be alone (man was satisfied and he was not looking for a partner for life) • There is only one thing that can meet the man’s need, from God’s point of view, a woman (just 1, not more) • God creates the woman to be exactly what the man needs (the way that she is created physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally) • There is a clear process to marriage here: o man leaves his father and mother (creating a new family unit) o he first joins to his wife (the literal translation is cemented together, this is the bond of marriage) o then the 2 become 1 flesh (through the act of sexual intercourse, marriage first, then sexual relations) o the 2 were together and not ashamed (shame comes when sex comes before marriage, or when marriage is anything other than 1 man and 1 woman) • Someone may say, “but that was the Old Testament., we live under the New Testament. so things are different, right?”. That is a good point so let’s see what Jesus says on the topic, since He is the Mediator of the New Covenant or Testament. • He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. (Matthew 19:4-5)