Genesis 2:24-25

There are two threads of profound truth that weave throughout the book of Genesis. First, we learn about the powerful Person of God. Second, we see how this powerful God personally works in the lives of people just like you and me.  I want to remind you that God is at work in your life. I don’t know what you are going through today, but I do know that if you are a follower of Jesus, he is writing your story. He never wastes our experiences. He never wastes our pain. He never wastes our time. And he is writing an amazing story.

To this point in our study of Genesis, we have seen the Creator at work. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God spoke the world into existence. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all involved in the process. God created order, life, and systems to support life in an environment that was formless, dark, and empty.

On Day 6, God formed man from the dust and stooped down to breathe into him the breath of life. Man became a living being with a perfectly functioning body, soul, personality, mental capacity, and emotions. God declared everything he made was good, except it was not good for the man to be alone. So, God completed the man by creating a woman. Both the man and the woman were made in God’s image, which means that God shared some of his attributes with them. Together, they could do what they could never do alone. Today, let’s focus on the marriage relationship that God ordained for the man and woman.

Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible during the period that the nation of Israel was wandering in the desert. By that time, marriage was the common practice in Israel. Our passage today gives the basis for marriage and why it is so important. These verses explain that man is to leave his father and mother. Obviously, Adam and Eve had no father and mother to leave. So, writing years later, Moses is, in essence, explaining to Israel (and us) the “why” of marriage.

Genesis 2:24-25
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.

This passage begins with the word “therefore” which means what is going to be said is based on what has already been said. Anytime we read the word “therefore” we must look back in the text to find the basis for it being said. In the previous verses, God remedied Adam’s loneliness by creating a woman, a “helper fit for him.” The woman was made to complete the man, and the man was made to complete the woman. When Adam saw the woman, he exclaimed, “This at last…she shall be called Woman.” The Hebrew word for “woman” is issah. When I teach marriage seminars, I like to ask a couple to remember their issah moment; the time when they realized their spouse was the one they wanted to spend their lives with. For Adam, it was an easy decision. There was only one woman. She was perfect inside and out. And best of all, no in-laws!

Genesis 2:24 is repeated by Jesus in the Gospels and by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. It is the primary passage about marriage in the Bible. This verse provides five essential components of the marriage relationship.

Marriage Essential #1: Man and Woman
God ordained marriage to be between a man and a woman.  When Jesus taught about marriage, he started with this foundational truth, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female” (Matthew 19:4). Practically, humanity cannot continue to exist unless a man and a woman who God created for each other have children. And when a man and woman are not committed to raising their children together, the child and societies suffer.[1]

Marriage Essential #2: Relationship Priority
The man and woman are to leave their father and mother. Parents are primary influencers in the formation of their children, and rightly so. However, when a man and a woman get married, this new relationship is primary. It takes priority over all former relationships, whether parents, siblings, or friends. Unfortunately, many marriages fail because the couple has not cut the primary emotions tied with past relationships.

Marriage Essential #3: Lifelong Commitment
The husband and wife are to be committed to each other for life. The Hebrew word translated “hold fast” is dabaq. It means to “cling, stick, cleave, hold.” It is used in Job 19:20 to describe the skin clinging to the bones. In 2 Samuel 23:10, dabaq is used in a story of a warrior who fought so long and hard that his hand was frozen to his sword. So, it is in the marriage relationship. Through the great joys and inevitable challenges of marriage, the man and woman are committed to cling to each other and never let go.

Marriage Essential #4: One-Flesh Relationship
The man and woman are to be committed to a one-flesh relationship. This one-flesh relationship speaks to an exclusive commitment and involves five areas that must be nourished and guarded.

• Spiritual Oneness: The man and woman must grow individually and together in their love for Jesus. As much as they love each other, only Jesus can satisfy the deepest longing of their hearts.
• Physical Oneness: The man and woman must be committed to an exclusive sexual relationship with each other. The marriage bed must be “undefiled” (Hebrews 13:4).
• Emotional Oneness: The man and woman must be committed to exclusive feelings for each other.
• Mental Oneness: The man and woman must keep all other relationship options off the table.

• Missional Oneness: The man and woman must be committed to go the same direction at the same time for the same reasons.

Marriage Essential #5: Vulnerable and Safe
In the garden, the man and woman were both naked and felt no shame. This speaks to vulnerability and safety. In a God-ordained marriage, the man and woman must feel safe with each other in order to share their feelings and dreams. Marriage is the place where we can share our hearts and know there will be acceptance and encouragement.

Marriage is God’s idea. It is ordained by him. It is to be a lifelong commitment for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death. Of course, in Genesis 3, sin enters the human race, and as a result taints everything in our lives. We’ll talk about that next time.

We would love to help you in your journey of marriage. Go to ronmoore.org for resources, and make sure to ask any questions you have about marriage in the box below. Our team would love to interact with you personally.

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read Genesis 2:24-25—Reflect on the essentials of marriage. If you are married, reflect on how you are doing in each of these essentials.

Read Ephesians 5:22-33—Reflect on the role of husband and wife in a God-honoring relationship.

Prayer and Application
Reflect on the five essentials of marriage. Honestly assess how you are doing in each essential. Ask God to help you be the husband or wife that he desires you to be. Prayerfully determine to seek the help you need.

Have Questions?
We’d love to help! If you have any questions about today’s reading or teaching, please feel free to ask. Our team is here to assist you as you explore God’s Word. Simply submit your question below, and we’ll get back to you soon.

[1] See Wallerstein, Lewis, and Blakeslee, The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: A 25 Year Landmark Study (New York: Hypeion, 2000).