In the last few posts we have focused on the single life. Starting with this post, we now want to consider marriage. We want to consider marriage because many are married. We also need to think biblically about marriage in the midst of a culture which is increasingly rejecting God’s definition of marriage. So today we begin with creation where we find marriage defined in Genesis 2:18-25:
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
From this passage we see that marriage is defined as:
Close Companionship – It was not good for man to be alone. He needed a companion. Marriage is about companionship. Living life together. Loving each other. Doing things together. Talking and listening.
Mutual Help – God said he would make a helper fit for the man. Marriage is about mutual help, as each spouse helps the other. Often each spouse will bring different strengths, abilities, and interests to the marriage that complement each other and allow them to help each other. The husband and wife each have different roles that they are to fulfill, and in doing so, help each other. When one is sick or tired or overwhelmed, the other can help. There should be a willingness to serve the other.
Between a Man and a Woman – These verses are very clear that marriage is between a man and a woman. Much of our culture rejects that idea, but God is very clear about what he defines as marriage. Enough said.
Leave Parents – A man shall leave his father and his mother. Marriage entails leaving one’s parents. Not neglecting or ignoring, but a real leaving. The couple is forming a new family. Neither one can keep going back to Mom or Dad. One’s spouse must now be that primary relationship.
Hold Fast – The man is to hold fast to his wife. Marriage is about a commitment. The couple is to hold fast to one another. The KJV uses the word cleave. They are to cling to each other and never let go. They are glued to each other. It is to be a permanent thing. As Jesus says in Matthew 19:6 – “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” This puts the commitment in a whole new light. It is not just a commitment between two individuals, but rather God himself joins them together.
One Flesh – They shall become one flesh. It is within the covenant of marriage that sex is to take place. Again much of our culture has rejected this, but God is very clear. And this one flesh relationship is very important in marriage. Paul reminds us in I Corinthians 7:3-5, that sex is to be a regular part of the marriage relationship. What’s more, each one belongs to the other. They are truly one.
Possibility of Children – In Genesis 1:28, God blesses Adam and Eve and calls them to be fruitful and multiply. The one flesh relationship of a husband and wife brings the possibility of children as God blesses.
In Creation then, God defines marriage as a close companionship of mutual help between a man and a woman who leave their parents, hold fast to each other in a one flesh relationship with the possibility of children. Is this your view of marriage? And if you are married, are there areas where you need to grow in living out this definistion more fully?
Brian J. Mikul 
We are facing so many difficulties in our world today simply because we have not totally grasped a comprehensive insight into the very things we seek to redress. Marriage is one such area we have totally confused ourselves right from the beginning; hence its abysmall outcome.
From the post above you see that we have confused Creation with Marriage. Even in Creation, we have got the story about the creation of the man and the woman twisted so badly it even sounds funny.
If God created the man FIRST, and alone, and went on to create the animals in twos, male and female, then God is telling us that He did not require a woman. So what made God to see that He has made a mistake? For God to say that ‘it is not good for the man to be alone…’
If the woman was God’s remedial plan to stabilize the man, then I think God destroyed marriage even before it was consumated. UNLESS we have got the origin of marriege wrong in the Bible: Which in fact we have.
As you know if the foundation is wrong,nothing good will come out no matter how hard we try.
So if we want the institution of marriage to succeed, let us go back to the Bible and look for the stone the builders rejected, the true origin of marriage, and teach it properly, so we could work it from that point. I assure you, when we get the premise right, the rest will be just sweet.
The origin, or definition, of Marriage is not in Gen 2:18-25. Because Gen 2:18-25 is a lie. It is a Jewish male chauvenistic lie that crept into the Bible to make the woman inferior to the man.
Thanks for your comments, though of course we disagree on several points. Let me suggest the following:
First, I simply don’t see the creation accounts in Genesis to be chauvenistic. Indeed I mentioned your thoughts to my wife, and she said her take on it was that Eve was God’s crowning achievement! At any Genesis 1:27 is the foundation for the equality of man and woman for both are made in God’s image.
Second, I would disagree with your idea that these passages are lies that crept into the Bible. Several passages in the New Testament point to the Old Testament (which would include this passage) being the very words of God (for instance 2 Peter 1:19-21). It is a very serious thing to suggest that a part of the Bible you simply don’t like is wrong and a lie.
Third, you reference that the stone the builders rejected as the true origin of marriage. But when asked about marriage, this stone (Jesus) goes right back to the definition of marriage in Genesis 2 (see Matthew 19:1-9).
how could you say that the man and the woman were both created the same time, from the dust of the ground, Gen 1:27; therby making them equal; And at the same time say the woman was created from a rib taken out of the man, after how many years the man was created: When God saw that he had made a mistake to have created the man alone?
Can you not see that Gen 1:27 makes the story in Gen 2 18, 21-25, sounds rediculous and male chauvenist?
I dont think I ever told you that there are parts in the Bible I do not like. Please. I am just suggesting to you to read it again, to rightly divide the word of truth.
I said the true origin of marriage is not in any of the verses we are discussing.
When God created the man and the woman the same time in the beginning, God did not put them in different houses; for the man to leave his house and go to the woman’s house to look for her. They were together from the beginning.
Therefore shall the man leave his fathr’s house……………. (this statement did not come from God)
If you are very interested, we will search the Bible and we will be able to locate the very point in time the ‘beginning of marriage occurred. Then you will be able to see where that statement ‘therefore shall the man………… came from.