God's design for marriage

Some Expositional Thoughts On Genesis 2:18-25

By Thomas L. Waters

Marriage is not a human expedience man dreamed up.  Marriage was instituted by God.  It was God Who saw man’s loneliness and said it was not good.  It was God Who made Eve and gave her to Adam as his wife.  Commenting upon Genesis 2:18-24, Christ 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?"  (Mat 19:4 KJV)

There are several reasons given in the Bible for marriage.

D.  Companionship - (Gen 2:18 KJV)  "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him."

E.   Bearing and rearing of children - (Gen 1:28 KJV)  "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."  Obviously people must  not be married to bear children, nor can all married people bear children, but one intent of marriage is procreation.

F.    Personal sanctification and satisfaction - (1 Cor 7:2-5 KJV)  "Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.  Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.  The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.  Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency."  Again, it is obvious that marriage is not necessary to have sexual relationships, but the same God who created the sexes established the rules for sexual relationships.  Marriage is the God-given setting for the expression of sexual experiences.

G.   Evangelism - (Eph 5:24-15 KJV)  "Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;" The marriage union of a Christian husband and wife is to be a living witness of the relationship of Christ and the church.  When our children, family and friends see our marriage and ask about our happy relationship, we should point them to Christ and the church.

God’s order and rules for marriage prevents sexual perversions.

1.    God’s order prevents homosexuality - Gen 2:22  And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  God made and gave a woman to man - not another man.  As it is often said, “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.”

2.    God’s order prevents bestiality. - Gen 2:20  And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.    God made and gave a woman to man - not an animal.  Among all the animal kingdom there was not found a suitable companion for Adam.  So, the Lord made a woman, not a goat or cow, and brought her to man.

3.    God’s order prevents polygamy - Gen 2:22  And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  God made and gave a woman to man - not women.  Adam said “she” shall be called woman not “they” shall be called women.  Christ said a man shall cleave to his “wife” not “wives.”

4.    God’s order prevents incest.  Gen 2:21  And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs . . .”  God made the woman from Adam’s side - not his loins.  Eve was Adam’s wife not his daughter.

In Genesis 2:24 we read, “ Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”  In this verse, there are at least three essential components of marriage mentioned: (1) leaving, (2) cleaving and (3) being one flesh.  Let’s briefly examine these three components and some spiritual implications of each.

Leaving - “A man leave his father and mother” Leaving is indicative of the priority of the marriage relationship.  Obviously this does not mean abandonment of one’s parents at marriage (See 1 Timothy 5:3-8).  Rather, it implies that the most basic and essential human relationship is in marriage.  The relationship between husband and wife is more essential and enduring than any other relationship.  Yes, I will always be a son of my parents, but my primary relationship is with my wife.  I lived with my parents for about eighteen years, but I have been with my wife over thirty years.  I will always love my children, but they are grown and gone from home, however, my wife and I are still together.  Since marriage is the most basic relationship, I must guard it and not allow other relationships to interfere with it.  I must not allow my relationship with my co-workers, or friends, or family or even children to supersede, interrupt or replace my relationship with my spouse.  Just as a believer’s relationship with Christ is primary, so should my relationship with my wife.  If marriage is my primary relationship, I properly reflect Christ’s love for His bride.

Cleaving - “And shall cleave unto his wife” Cleaving is indicative of the permanence of the marriage relationship.  The word cleave means to adhere, abide or stick.  To cleave to someone is an expression of dependance and permanence.  Marriage is about commitment - cleaving.  This is expressed in wedding vows.  We pledge to love and keep each other in sickness or health, poverty or riches until death do us part.  Just as the vine and the branch need and compliment the other, so does the husband and the wife.  Even so, true believers cling to Christ in all circumstances.  We cleave to Him, but more importantly He keeps us.