Love and Marriage Part 3 The First Marriage

Whose idea was marriage? Why are so many disillusioned, even angry and bitter, after only a few months of marriage?  We are looking at God's Word to find answers. 
Welcome to part 3 of Love and Marriage and Voice of Gospel Radio.  God's blessing be upon sister WenWen as she proclaims the gospel through internet radio.
Most husbands and wives believe their greatest marital struggle exists OUTSIDE of their own self.  If only my husband..or if only my wife...Complete this with your own thoughts of what needs to change in your spouse.  However, this is not the true problem.

Our greatest struggle in the marriage relationship lies in our own self!  We are sinners. 

We do and say wrong things because we live to please ourselves.  Sin in its fundamental form is anti-social.  Sin whispers in our ear that we should love ourselves more than we love anything or anyone else.  We are attracted to that beautiful woman or that handsome man because we think that this person loves us as much as we love ourselves!  We are not attracted to that man or that woman because we actually love them!  Please review Part 2 of this series about true love.  We must conclude the truth.  I am my greatest marriage problem!
Has marriage always been full of conflict and problems?   Please look with me into Genesis chapter 1 through chapter 3 to find truth. We will learn that God is the creator of marriage!  Genesis 1 tells of the creation of mankind.  Verses 27 through 29 read as follows. Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that  moves on the earth." Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;" NASB.
This is the overview of the creation of mankind.  Next in chapter 2 we read the details of this account from chapter 1.  Notice verses 7, 8, 15 through 25. Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.  The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;  but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not  eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."

 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him."   Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.  The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for  Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God  fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man 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." For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." NASB.

We must understand these words to know how to have a marriage without regrets.  Notice in verse 27 and 28 of chapter 1 that mankind was created in the image of God.  God is a spirit and so we cannot see Him.  He is self existent which means God has no creator.  God exists outside of time and is all knowing of what we call the past, present and future.  The image of God means that mankind was made to know God in an intimate way, to have the ability to communicate with God and to enjoy this relationship.  Mankind shares some of the attributes of God.  For example man is able to love.  Animals cannot love as a man can. Man can show patience and express joy and give to another without thought of any personal benefit.  Man can demonstrate compassion and show mercy to an enemy. Both the male and female are made in the image of God.  The woman is not made lower than the man. Both are given their life work. This is to exercise dominion or rule over all the rest of the created earth.  Mankind is to steward or be God's representative rule over the world that God created.  Man will be held accountable or responsible for how well he does this work. Mankind is also told to be fruitful in their rule.  They are to produce children and fill the world.  God did not create multiple mankind.  From only two, the first man and the first woman, all the peoples of the world are descended. I don't look Chinese, however, I am sister to the Chinese!

In chapter two we read of how exactly God made the male part of mankind.  God did not speak the man into existence.  No, God formed from the dust of the ground.  God fashioned with great care and expertise the human body.  Then God breathed into the nostrils of man the breath of life.  Man became a living soul.  Man has three parts, the physical body, the soul which is the mind, will and emotions and the spirit, which is the part that is in the image of God.  The soul expresses the life of the spirit.  The body allows us to move about and interact with our environment, to reproduce after our kind and to enjoy with the physical senses the beauty and majesty of the creation of God.  Our physical bodies also allow us to express our joy and love and gratitude and praises to our Creator God. God took the male body He made and put him into a garden to work the garden.  One simple rule was given the man.  Man was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or he would die.  We will study this in another lesson.  So the man was given his work of naming the animals.  To name someone is to have authority and rule over that which is named.  Why was the woman or female made? God said it is not good for the man to be alone.  God would make a helper suitable for the male.  Now many do not understand this.  God did not make a slave or servant for the male. Remember, chapter one says that both male and female are in the image of God and both were given dominion over all the earth.  Notice also that the female was not made from dust. She was taken from the body of the male, from his rib.  God then fashioned the body of the female from this rib of the male.  Also, God brought the female to the male.  Adam recognized that the female was from his own body. The woman was not taken from the feet of the man. She was from the part of his body nearest his heart.  The woman was not to be as a slave or to be beaten and kicked around in anger.  The woman was to complement the man.  The man was not complete without the woman. 

Now we read of the first marriage and how all other marriages must function to make for a harmonious life.  Chapter 2 verse 24 states that For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.  At first this seems strange.  The first man, who is named Adam, has no mother or father! God created Adam.  However, God is here establishing the way the families of the earth are to form new families.  Let's look at the two words, "leave" and "cleave".  A young man who decides to marry must also purpose to form a relationship with his wife that honors his wife. What do I mean? Simply this.. to cleave to the woman, to become one flesh is much more than sexual union.  A young man's parents are still to be available for counsel, but the man must share the intimate things of his heart life with his wife..no longer with his mother or father.  Yes in a happy marriage, some things will be shared only between the husband and wife.  The wife is not the servant of her mother in law or her father in law.  Remember, to leave.. this is to start a new home.  The wife and the husband will have the responsibility to train their own children. This is not the job of the grandparents.  Adult children still honor and respect the elderly parents; however,  the son must tell his parents that his wife is the Queen of the home and there is only one Queen.  The grandchildren are not to be pampered and spoiled as young Emperors or Empresses. Certainly grandparents play an essential part of the family. We will talk of this in another lesson.

The first marriage was perfect. Adam and his wife knew no shame.  What happened? Next post, we will talk about how sin entered the world.