{"id":4619,"date":"2019-02-28T11:21:53","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T17:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nafwb.org\/?p=4619"},"modified":"2019-02-28T11:21:53","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T17:21:53","slug":"marriage-gods-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/marriage-gods-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Marriage God’s Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Steve Ashby<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marriage has come a long way since Adam and Eve said “I do” in the Garden of Eden.<\/p>\n

The First Marriage<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several years ago my Dad told me a\u00a0story about Adam and Eve in the garden.\u00a0It seems that one evening they\u00a0were talking and Eve said, ‘Adam, do\u00a0you love me?”<\/p>\n

And Adam said, “Who else?”<\/p>\n

Of course, this is not the beginning\u00a0of the story. Before Adam arrived at\u00a0the conclusion that Eve was his suitable match, he had some unusual\u00a0events to confront him. We realize\u00a0when we consider this garden scene\u00a0that a great deal differs in that context\u00a0from what we find in our own.<\/p>\n

The environment there was perfect;\u00a0fellowship with God was unhindered\u00a0by sin; labor was not toilsome.\u00a0And yet, we are told that something\u00a0was missing . . . Adam was alone and\u00a0this was not good.<\/p>\n

ln looking at the account of Genesis\u00a02:18ff, we see that God set out to\u00a0remedy this situation by making “an\u00a0help meet (i.e. a helper suitable) for\u00a0him.” Having thus declared His intention,\u00a0what immediately follows looks\u00a0to be out of place\u2014God brings the\u00a0animals of the field and the birds of\u00a0the air before Adam to be named.<\/p>\n

However, it only looks out of Place\u00a0until we consider the end of v. 20. Evidently, God brought all the animals\u00a0before Adam for the naming ceremony\u00a0so that he could see if there\u00a0was one that was suited for him. But,\u00a0alas, “for Adam there was not found\u00a0an help meet for him,”<\/p>\n

Adam needed one who was special\u00a0from among God’s creation. He\u00a0had been created in God’s image\u00a0(1:27) and only one who bore like\u00a0character could complement him. So\u00a0God created Eve. And then, we see\u00a0God acting like the father of the bride,\u00a0“bringing her unto the man,” (2:22).<\/p>\n

Adam’s response was immediate:\u00a0this is it, now, finally, at last! After\u00a0looking over all those animals and\u00a0finding none suitable for him, his\u00a0sense of relief at seeing Eve must\u00a0have been unbounded. He had finally\u00a0found his suitable match.<\/p>\n

So God performed the first marriage in v. 24 with those words that are\u00a0still so familiar to us: “Therefore shall\u00a0a man leave his father and his mother\u00a0and shall cleave unto his wife: and\u00a0they two shall be one flesh.”<\/p>\n

The Only Constant<\/strong><\/p>\n

While all this seems fairly apparent\u00a0from the account in Genesis,\u00a0there are many things today that\u00a0don’t seem apparent to people at all.\u00a0Man-woman relations, finding a suitable\u00a0match, principles of marriage\u2014the\u00a0only constant seems to be that\u00a0everything is constantly changing.<\/p>\n

And for many of us, it doesn’t look\u00a0as though things are getting better, either\u00a0in the world or in the church.<\/p>\n

Where’s The Delight? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Hostility between the sexes is not\u00a0waning but rather is increasing. At\u00a0every level of society we can see that\u00a0as God’s prescriptions are diluted in\u00a0our thinking, we desire to dominate\u00a0one another in our practice. Every\u00a0sort of institution, whether governmental,\u00a0educational, business or religious,\u00a0has had to think through the issues\u00a0of sexual harassment, sexual\u00a0discrimination and sexual abuse.<\/p>\n

I wonder sometimes how much\u00a0farther this can go, how much worse\u00a0it can get. What has happened to the\u00a0delight that once existed between\u00a0the sexes? Where is the delight that\u00a0could take a man used to tending the\u00a0garden and caring for the animals\u00a0and turn him into a poet at the mere\u00a0sight of a woman\u2014a poet who says,<\/p>\n

Finally, <\/em><\/p>\n

Bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: <\/em><\/p>\n

She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. <\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, how far we have fallen!<\/p>\n

Finding A Suitable Match <\/strong><\/p>\n

Obviously, finding a suitable match\u00a0should not present us with the same\u00a0kind of quandary with which Adam\u00a0was confronted. Although, one might\u00a0wonder, given the stnnge and perverse\u00a0appetites that people are seeking\u00a0to satisfy today. There is no shortage of\u00a0people, both male and female, all created\u00a0in God’s image, among whom\u00a0we might search. But is just anyone as\u00a0suitable a match as is everyone else?<\/p>\n

I had an interesting conversation\u00a0with a Christian student at Ball State\u00a0University. His name is\u00a0Jesse and he is preparing himself for\u00a0ministry (He is currently involved in\u00a0ministry, both evangelism and discipling\u00a0on his secular campus).<\/p>\n

We were talking about how he met\u00a0his girlfriend. He had been praying with\u00a0Jay (his accountability partner who is\u00a0another Christian student). As they\u00a0prayed together for several months\u00a0about finding a suitable match, they\u00a0put together a list of qualities from the\u00a0scriptures that they should be looking\u00a0for in a girl. They were serious in their\u00a0study of the Bible, and they were serious\u00a0in their praying.<\/p>\n

What some would call happenstance,\u00a0Jesse calls providence. It was\u00a0God who brought him and Amy into\u00a0the same class on this secular campus.\u00a0And, as he had been praying,\u00a0she had also been praying. Once\u00a0they met, each recognized in the other\u00a0the spiritual qualities they had\u00a0prayed God would show them in the\u00a0one who was suitable for them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Principles To Follow <\/strong><\/p>\n

When God married Adam and Eve,\u00a0He gave certain principles that were to\u00a0characterize the marriage relationship:\u00a0Ieaving<\/em>, cleaving <\/em>and one flesh<\/em>. It is evident\u00a0that this was intended to be a\u00a0model for marriage for all time.<\/p>\n

We know this because of the principle\u00a0of leaving<\/em>. A man is instructed\u00a0to “leave his father and mother.” It\u00a0must be a model for future generations\u00a0since Adam had neither father\u00a0nor mother.<\/p>\n

The leaving<\/em>and cleaving <\/em>are two\u00a0sides of the same coin. He is leaving\u00a0behind one familial relationship to\u00a0begin a new one, and the new one is\u00a0to take priority. He is to “cleave unto\u00a0his wife.”<\/p>\n

Finally, God gives the principle\u00a0that the two “shall be one flesh.” The\u00a0one flesh<\/em>principle of intimacy was\u00a0given by God for marriage.<\/p>\n

The order of these principles\u00a0which God gave must not be reversed.\u00a0Satan, who deceived the first\u00a0couple in the garden, is still deceiving\u00a0couples today. The tendency that\u00a0is so prevalent today is to try out the\u00a0“one flesh” part first. If that and\u00a0everything else goes well . . . well,\u00a0then we’ll think about “cleaving.”<\/p>\n

The consequence of not following\u00a0God’s principles is often seen in the\u00a0“leaving.” God said to leave father\u00a0and mother; what’s happening today\u00a0is that spouses are leaving each other.\u00a0God’s principles will still work today.\u00a0But only if they are followed.<\/p>\n

Article adapted from Contact<\/em>magazine, November 1999.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Steve Ashby Marriage has come a long way since Adam and Eve said “I do” in the Garden of Eden. The First Marriage Several years ago my Dad told me a\u00a0story about Adam and Eve in the garden.\u00a0It seems that one evening they\u00a0were talking and Eve said, ‘Adam, do\u00a0you love me?” And Adam said, “Who else?” Of course, this is not the beginning\u00a0of the story. Before Adam arrived at\u00a0the conclusion that Eve was his suitable match, he had some unusual\u00a0events to confront him. We realize\u00a0when we consider this garden scene\u00a0that a great deal differs in that context\u00a0from what we find in our own. The environment there was perfect;\u00a0fellowship with God was unhindered\u00a0by sin; labor was not toilsome.\u00a0And yet, we are told that something\u00a0was missing . . . Adam was alone and\u00a0this was not good. ln looking at the account of Genesis\u00a02:18ff, we see that God set out to\u00a0remedy this situation by making “an\u00a0help meet (i.e. a helper suitable) for\u00a0him.” Having thus declared His intention,\u00a0what immediately follows looks\u00a0to be out of place\u2014God brings the\u00a0animals of the field and the birds of\u00a0the air before Adam to be named. However, it only looks out of Place\u00a0until we consider the end of v. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4619"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4620,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4619\/revisions\/4620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}