Gen.
2:1-25: “The Importance And Purpose Of The Sabbath / God Creates Adam And Eve And
The Institution Of Marriage”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study
we looked at verses 20 of chapter 1 through verse 4 of chapter 2.
1.1.1. In our previous study, we concluded the fifth and
sixth days of creation in which God created all of the animals, creeping
things, creatures of the oceans, and man himself.
1.1.2. We also saw that on the seventh day that God rested from
His creative works, and we concentrated on what we can imply from this.
1.2.
In our study
today, we are going to look at verses 1-25 of chapter 2.
1.2.1. We will take a look at more of the symbolism and
importance of the 7th day of creation in which the Lord rested from
His works, as well as the future importance of the Sabbath during the
Millennial Reign of Christ.
1.2.2. As was mentioned in our previous study, we will now
begin to look for more Old Testament types that are fulfilled in the New
Testament in each and every chapter we study, especially the many types of
Christ which we will find. There will be
two types of Christ we will discover in our study today.
1.2.3. We will take a look at the creation of the institution
of marriage by the Lord when after He has created Adam it becomes evident that
it is not good that Adam should be alone.
The Lord will cause a deep sleep to come over Adam after which the Lord
forms Eve from a rib in Adam’s side.
When Eve is brought to Adam, Adam realizes that Eve has made him complete.
1.2.4. We will look closely at several principles to apply to
our marriages from this chapter for this chapter holds many of the keys for a
successful marriage. Our world today
needs nothing more than a rebuilding of this essential institution of
marriage. Cicero, the Roman orator,
politician, and philosopher of the first century once stated the importance of
marriage in our society, “The First Bond of Society is Marriage.”
2.
VS 2:1-4 - “1
Thus the heavens and the
earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work
which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He
had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested
from all His work which God had created and made. 4 This is the account of the heavens and the
earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.” - The Lord rested from His works on the seventh
day and blessed the day and sanctified it
2.1.
In our previous
study, we briefly looked at the importance of the seventh day, or Sabbath
(“Shabat”), the day of rest after God had created all things.
2.2.
We mentioned
previously that God did not need to take a Sabbath day of rest because He was
tired, as Isaiah 40:28 tells us: “28 Do you not know? Have you not
heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord,
the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His
understanding is inscrutable.”
2.3.
There is no morning or evening mentioned on this seventh
day, unlike the previous six days, and this has led some to believe that we are
still in the Sabbath day. However, the
past tense of ‘He rested’ reveals that this was in fact just another 24
hour day just like the previous six days.
2.4.
In verse one of
this section we see that God had created ‘all their hosts’ by this
day. Every fish, bird, creeping thing,
sea monster, range and herd animal, and even man had been created during the
previous six days. However, at this
point in time of the species of man only Adam had been created. It is important to state this here because a
little bit later in this chapter we will observe that some have come to the
conclusion that besides Eve that God created other animals and creatures after
these six days when we see that the Lord brought creatures to Adam to name.
2.5.
I stated that on this seventh day that God enjoyed His
creation, and that He had created the Sabbath for man so that men would not
work day after day without rest but rather have one day in seven to rest, but
also a day to be dedicated to worship the Lord.
2.6.
I also mentioned
that in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, the author of that book makes
an allegorical application of these verses as he discusses the fact that there
is a “Sabbath rest” for those who believe in Jesus Christ and His
finished work which He completed when He created salvation from all of our sins
upon Calvary’s cross. This “Sabbath
rest” is the resting in faith upon Jesus and what He did for us alone in
order to receive the gift of eternal life, as well as a refusal to trust upon
one’s one good works to get us to heaven :
Hebrews 4:4-11, “4 For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day:
“And God rested on the seventh
day from all His works”; 5
and again in this passage, “They
shall not enter My rest.” 6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it,
and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because
of disobedience, 7 He again fixes a certain
day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said
before, “Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not
have spoken of another day after that. 9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of
God. 10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also
rested from his works, as God did from His. 11 Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest,
so that no one will fall, through following the same example of
disobedience.” So, now if it is the case that
the Sabbath day of rest of God has allegorical application in the believer
resting from all of his works to trust in Jesus’ work on Calvary alone to save
him, then the seventh day (the Sabbath) has to be considered not only a type of
salvation but also “a type of the completed work of Christ upon the cross.” Trusting by faith in Christ alone to save you
(apart from any works or righteousness of your own) is symbolized by God
resting from the works which He had created on the six days of creation. This rest for men and women is then a rest of
peace and enjoying what God has done for us, just as I mentioned previously
that I believed that God rested to enjoy His creation on this day.
2.7.
We talked
previously about the principle of “first mention” in the Bible, and the fact
that the first time a topic is mentioned in the Bible gives us the clue to its
importance and meaning. This is the
first mention of the Sabbath, so lets talk a little bit more about what it
states here about the seventh day. It
states here that the Lord ‘blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.’ The Lord neither blessed nor sanctified any other
day. There is a principle of scripture
and that it is whenever a topic is mentioned prior to the giving of the Law of
Moses, then it is considered to be of such significance that it is to be
observed beyond any particular dispensation.
The seventh day is mentioned here before the giving of the Law of
Moses. So, the Sabbath day is ‘blessed’
and ‘sanctified,’ or set apart a holy thing unto the Lord. So this all means that the setting apart of a
day a week to the Lord is important for God’s people of all time.
2.7.1. The Law of Moses demanded Sabbath observance for those
who lived under that covenant:
2.7.1.1.The people of God were set apart from all other
peoples by their observance of the Sabbath (as well as circumcision). There are various ways in which the Law of
Moses defined the breaking of the Sabbath (the Pharisees in Jesus’ day had
added hundreds to this list).
2.7.1.2.The one who broke the Sabbath Day was to be put to
death.
2.7.1.3.It was because of not observing the Sabbattical year
(1 in 7) of rest as defined in Lev. 25:2-6 for the 490 years of their history
that the Israelites were taken captive for 70 years to Babylon (1 year for each
Sabbatical year they had not kept-- Lev. 26:34-35 warned them that
this would be the penalty if they did not observe the Sabbattical years.): “2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and
say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land
shall have a sabbath to the Lord. 3 ‘Six years you shall sow your field, and six years
you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, 4 but during the seventh year the land shall have a
sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord;
you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 ‘Your harvest’s aftergrowth you shall not reap,
and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a
sabbatical year. 6 ‘All of you shall have
the sabbath products of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female
slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens
with you.”
2.7.2. We see that the observance of the Sabbath was placed
in a much different light in the New Testament:
2.7.2.1.Jesus often healed on the Sabbath and taught that doing
good for others was not breaking the prohibition against working.
2.7.2.2.Jesus taught that the Sabbath was made for man not man
for the Sabbath. Therefore, that day was
not meant to be a legalistic burden but rather a day of rest and to help
man.
2.7.2.3.Jesus referred to David going into the temple to get
bread to feed his men on the Sabbath as proof that human need overrode the
prohibitions of the Law.
2.7.2.4.The early church began to meet on the Sunday rather
than the Sabbath after Jesus rose on Sunday and then appeared to His disciples
on consecutive Sundays after rising from the dead. Also, the day that the church was inaugurated
was the day of Pentecost, which by definition was on a Sunday.
2.7.3. Future dedication of God’s people to Sabbath.
2.7.3.1.It is clear from Ezekiel’s depiction of the Millennial
temple found in chapters 40-47 of his
book that the whole earth will go up to worship in the temple not on Sunday but
on the Sabbath (“Shabbot”) during the Millennium (see Ezekiel
46:1-5).
2.7.3.2.Zech. 14:17 states that during that time of the
Millennial Reign of Christ that any of the families of the earth that do not go
up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord shall receive no rain. By the way, when the prophet Zechariah wrote
that all of the people of the earth were to worship the Lord in
2.7.3.3.Even though it is right that we who are Christians
today worship on Sunday that we should not get too attached to it for the Lord has
declared that it is the Sabbath day that has been blessed and sanctified and
which will be the day for worship during Christ’s Millennial Reign upon the
earth.
3.
VS 2:5-6 - “5
Now no shrub of the
field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the
Lord God had not sent rain upon
the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. 6 But a mist used to rise from the earth and
water the whole surface of the ground.” - The skies
did not rain after the creation for the earth was watered by a mist that would
rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground
3.1.
Before the curse
from sin that occurs in chapter 3 when Adam and Eve eat from the Tree Of The
Knowledge Of Good And Evil, the nature of our planet was evidently much
different. The air masses over the earth
must have been very stable and the weather universally calm.
3.2.
At this time the
earth was full of artesian springs of water that had been trapped under the
land masses at the time of creation.
This artesian spring network must have interfaced at some point with the
oceans and lakes in order to provide a continual source of water. The internal pressure of the earth must have
forced up the springs of water to the surface every day. It could be that geysers such as Old Faith in
3.3.
We saw previously
in our study that before the fall of mankind that the nature of the animal life
upon this world was very docile and all were herbivores, including man (Adam).
3.4.
Previously we saw
that the plants, trees and vegetation had grown up all over the earth. Verse 5 tells us that for some shrubs and
plants that they hadn’t been able to grow because they needed some cultivation
(even in that day before the curse that is pronounced on the earth after the
sin of man in chapter 3 of Genesis).
4.
VS 2:7 - “7
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
formed man out of dust and them breathed into his nostrils the breath of life
and man became a living being
4.1.
In this chapter
we are introduced to a new Name for God:
‘LORD’ (all capital letters).
The word ‘LORD’ is used whenever this Name is found in the Old
Testament and that it is because the Jews believed that the Lord’s Name was too
special and holy to be spoken. The Name
of course is the word that is either pronounced “Yahweh” or “Jehovah,”
though the first word is the more accepted pronunciation of this word. The name means, “The Existent One.”
What makes the pronunciation of this word difficult is the fact that the vowels
are always left out of it and so it is conjecture as to what those might
be. So, the title ‘LORD God’ is
pronounced “Yahweh Elohim,” and is used throughout the rest of this
chapter to refer to God.
4.2.
The soil on the
earth contains every single compound that the human body is made up of. Therefore, it is perfectly logical for us to
read here that the Lord made man ‘of dust’ and ‘from the ground.’
4.3.
The chemical
composition of the human body is Oxygen 65.0%, Carbon 18.5%, Hydrogen 9.5%,
Nitrogen 3.3%, Calcium 1.5%, Phosphorus 1.0%, Potassium 0.4%, Sulfur 0.3%,
Sodium 0.2%, Chlorine 0.2%, Magnesium 0.1%, and trace elements who combine
together less than 0.1% of boron, chromium, cobalt, copper, Fluorine, iodine,
iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, silicon, tin, vanadium, & zinc. All of these however are found right in the
earth’s soil.
4.4.
We saw previously
that the Lord had to create all of the animal life species, including man, as
full adult types. However, we are told
here that Adam was formed out of the dust and initially was an inanimate or
lifeless creature, the mixture of the chemicals noted above. Mankind has a unique “spirit” within
them we saw earlier. Now, we are told
that God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the ‘breath’ or “spirit”
(Hebrew is “nashama”) of life, causing Adam to become to ‘living
being.’
4.4.1. The New Testament reveals to us that the scriptures
were inspired by God or, “God breathed,” (2 Tim. 3:16), and in John
20:22 Jesus breathed on His disciples after He had raised from the dead and
said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
4.5.
We could break
down the nature of man at this point and discuss whether or not a man consists
of a spirit, soul, and body or spirit, soul, body, and mind, etc. But, we will discuss that at a later time.
5.
VS 2:8-14 - “8
The Lord God planted a garden toward the
east, in
5.1.
The word ‘
5.2.
The description of
where the Garden of Eden existed has always created more questions than
answers. We see that there was a river
that flowed right out of the Garden of Eden, and then that that river divided
into four other rivers:
5.2.1. Pishon.
5.2.1.1.The Pishon river flowed around the whole
5.2.2. Gihon.
5.2.2.1.The Gihon river flowed around the whole
5.2.3.
5.2.3.1.The Tigris is stated here as flowing ‘east of
5.2.3.2.According to the Wikipedia online encyclopedia: The Tigris is the eastern member of the two
great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows
from the mountains of
5.2.4.
5.2.4.1.The
5.2.4.2.According to the Wikipedia online encyclopedia: The Euphrates (IPA: /juːˈfreɪtiːz/)
(Turkish: Fırat, Assyrian: ܦܪܬ) is the western of the two great rivers that define
Mesopotamia (the other being the Tigris) which flows from
5.3.
The problem with this
description of the Garden of Eden is the fact that the location given for these
rivers does not relate to rivers of the same (or even different) names
today. These rivers had to be existent
prior to the Great Flood during Noah’s time, and this flood evidently changed
the entire landscape.
5.4.
We believe that
because of the general locators used for the Garden of Eden that it existed
somewhere in “The Fertile Crescent,” which is in the land of present day
5.5.
Now, if this
detailed description of the landscape and location of the Garden of Eden
described the world before the flood, who then wrote this chapter of the book
of Genesis. Many good Bible scholars
today believe that chapters 2 through perhaps 4 were recorded by Adam. We see in verses 19-20 that Adam possessed
language at the time of his creation for he named all of the animals and birds
in the garden. He most likely was
created not only with an inbred language set with which he could speak but also
a written form of it. If Noah could
understand this language Adam had written and later compile Adam’s account with
his, many believe that the language that Adam understood and could write after
being created had to be Hebrew (the language of
5.6.
Chuck Missler
points out that description of this garden states that it is east, but what is
west of “The Fertile Crescent” is the land of “
6.
VS 2:16-17 - “15
Then the Lord God took the man and put him into
the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 The Lord
God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;
17 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.”” - The Lord God put the man into the garden of
Eden to cultivate it and keep it, and warned him that he could eat of any of
the trees in the garden however he was not to eat from the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil for he would die in the day that he ate from it
6.1.
Note here that
even in his pre-fall existence that Adam was given divine work to perform. He was to ‘cultivate and keep’ the
garden, or tend to it and manage it.
There will never be a time when mankind does not have work and tasks
which the Lord wants for them to fulfill, even in Christ’s kingdom we shall
reign and be administrator over cities according to Jesus’ parable of the
talents.
6.2.
The Lord gave
Adam plenty of warning about what tree not to eat of here in this garden he was
placed in. Adam could eat of any of the
trees in the garden, including that of the Tree of Life, the one which will be
planted on both sides of the river that shall flow from the temple and water
the earth the eating of which will cause a person to never age. However, there was only one stipulation, Adam
was told to never eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
6.3.
Not only was the
warning given to not eat of this tree, but Adam was told that if he ate of that
tree that he would die.
6.4.
Eating of the
fruit of this one tree would be rebellion and cause the end of the age of
innocence ushering in the present one where good and evil are understood.
6.5.
The death that
sin produces is one which is first and foremost “spiritual death”
because fellowship with the Lord is broken.
The spiritual connection of Adam and Eve with the Lord was severed, and
since that time this spiritual connection can only be achieved by any man or
woman since that time through receiving Jesus Christ through saving faith as
one’s Lord and Savior. However, “physical
death” will eventually also result from the eating of this tree (as of yet
there had never been any death upon the earth), as will “eternal death”
(men and women separated from God and His heaven form all eternity in eternal
hell). Only the redemption that Jesus
Christ will provide when He comes will be able to save mankind from the death
that shall result from the eating of this tree.
7.
VS 2:18 - “18
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the
man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” - The Lord determined to make a helper suitable
to Adam since the Lord realized that it was not good for the man to be alone
7.1.
Notice here that
it is the Lord’s notion and idea to create a wife for Adam. Marriage is the first institution that the
Lord ever created and marriage was His idea.
7.2.
The Lord was not
caught off guard and suddenly realized that it was not good for Adam to be
alone and that he needed a help-meet.
From all eternity God’s plan included the creation of both a male and a
female of every species, and He planned for Adam to have a wife He would create
for him, as well as children and descendants.
He planned from all creation to send Jesus Christ to be born of a virgin
and live among us and die on
7.3.
Notice here that
the woman was created to be a helper for the man, not visa versa. The headship of the man over his wife has a
basis right here in God creating a wife for Adam that was to be a helper for
him. Eve was created to respect Adam and
help him as head of the family to become the man of God that he was created to
be, and Adam’s responsibility as Paul
defined the responsibility of the wife in Ephesians is to love his wife as
Christ loved the church:
7.3.1. Ephesians 5:23, “23 For the husband is the
head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being
the Savior of the body.”
7.3.2. Ephesians 5:25, “25 Husbands, love your
wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”.
8.
VS 2:19-20 - “19
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. 20 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.” - The Lord God brought every beast of the field
and every bird of the sky and brought them to the man in order to name them,
and the man named each of them
8.1.
The man Adam was
given the task by the Lord of naming each of the beasts of the field and the
birds there in the Garden of Eden, as the Lord brought them to him one at a
time.
8.2.
We can intimate
many things from these verses, including:
8.2.1. God created Adam with a built in language. The Lord is talking with Adam and Adam is
choosing names for the animals.
8.2.2. It must have taken a very long time for Adam to name
each of these species of animals in the Garden of Eden. There are millions of species of animals in
the world.
8.2.3. I think that Adam probably had to have a written
language that the Lord had also given him at creation, in order to have a
record of each of those names.
9.
VS 2:21-22 - “21
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. 22 The Lord God fashioned into a
woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.” - The Lord God caused the man to fall into a
deep sleep and then He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the flesh, then
the Lord fashioned a woman from the rib which He had taken from the man and
brought her to the man
9.1.
The way that the
Lord brought about the creation of Eve is very interesting. Notice that the Lord caused a ‘deep sleep’
to fall upon Adam. Sleep is a metaphor
later in the scripture for death itself, and many have believed that the Lord
may have caused Adam at this point to die temporarily. The symbolism then for Adam (who is a type of
Christ who is called the second Adam in the New Testament) is that Adam died
and had his side pierced so that through his pain he might have a bride with
which he could dwell forever, just as Jesus Christ died and had the sword
pierce his side so that He could purchase a bride in the church with whom He
will spend eternity.
9.2.
The Hebrew word
translated ‘woman’ here is “Ishaw” and means a woman, female or
wife.
9.3.
The Hebrew word
translated ‘fashioned’ here which is used in relation to how the Lord created
the woman means “twice refined.”
This word indicates the fact that the woman was made twice as
sophisticated or refined as the man.
9.4.
It is interesting
for us to consider that it was the Lord who created each of the personalities
that make up a man and a woman. Both are
the magnificent product of His personal creative work and energy.
9.5.
Those who want to
unite a belief in the creator God of the Bible and the secular theory of
Darwinian Evolution have a total train wreck trying to reconcile their belief
with this story. If mankind evolved from
inferior species of apes, then this story is a total fabrication and the Bible
is errant and cannot be trusted. One has
to perform ridiculous allegorizing in order to try to somehow reconcile
Darwinian Evolution with the creation of Adam and Eve. Yet, we must also realize that the New
Testament also tells us specifically that these events occurred just as the New
Testament tells us:
9.5.1. 1 Timothy 2:13, “13 For it was Adam who was
first created, and then Eve.”
9.5.2. 1 Corinthians 11:8, “8 For man does not
originate from woman, but woman from man.”
9.6.
Notice here also that God did not create Adam and
Steve. No, the Lord created marriage to
be between a man and a woman.
9.7.
God also did not create Adam and Wanda, Julie, Amanda,
and Eve. Polygamy was never in God’s
plans for marriage for mankind.
10.
VS 2:23-25 - “23
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
10.1. When Adam sees the woman, he says ‘This is now bone
of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” and this communicates the fact that he
had never seen anything so beautiful and graceful in his entire life. Adam now felt completed.
10.2. Issues regarding marriage
need to be taken right back to this foundational chapter 2 of Genesis because
it tells us what God’s plans for mankind are regarding marriage. When the Pharisees tried to trick Jesus and
asked Him if it was OK for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all,
Jesus immediately referenced them right back to chapter 2 of Genesis and the
institution of marriage by the Lord.
Stating what God’s plans concerning marriage for men and women were from
the beginning, Matthew 19:3-9 says, “3 Some Pharisees came to Jesus,
testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for
any reason at all?” 4 And He answered and said,
“Have you not read that He who created them from
the beginning made them male and female,
5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father
and mother and be joined to his wife, and
the two shall become one flesh’? 6 “So they are no longer two, but one
flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” 7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her
away?” 8 He said to them, “Because
of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from
the beginning it has not been this way. 9 “And I say to you, whoever divorces his
wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”” From this scripture which references our passage in
Genesis, the principles for a marriage which are according to how God intended
marriage to be then consist of:
10.2.1.Jesus states that
marriage consists of a “male and female,” one of each.
10.2.2.The woman was taken out of the side of Adam because
she was meant to be a co-heir with him, to share with him all of his life, and
to be an equal with him though in submission to his headship.
10.2.3.Leave.
10.2.3.1.A man is to leave his
father and mother, and I think by implication the woman is to leave her home as
well. In other words, the man is not to
move in with his wife’s family, or visa versa.
10.2.3.2.One of the big problems in some marriages is that the
couple did not leave their parent’s home and form their own household, and what
comes along with that in the establishing before God of the rules and
expectancies for their own house. Living
with parents causes compromise with your own convictions and the opportunity
for meddling into your affairs by in-laws.
Also, one cannot learn to be responsible before the Lord when they are
living under the parent’s house.
10.2.3.3.It is important for couples to draw lines limiting the
interference that in-laws can have in their marriage. A well intentioned mother-in-law or
father-in-law or other family member can destroy the oneness of marriage. A husband and wife must determine before the
Lord what their convictions are in their marriage and family and not allow
others to keep them from fulfilling those convictions.
10.2.4.Cleave.
10.2.4.1.A man and a wife are to become “one flesh”
together before the Lord. They are no
longer to act as if they are on their own or responsible only for
themselves. They are to learn to act
with one mind and resolve in everything.
10.2.4.2.One of the big problems in marriages occur when
couples violate the principle of cleaving and one or both spouses begin to act
independently or at the expense or detriment of the other.
10.2.4.3.Husbands and wives need to realize that if you tear
down your spouse you are tearing down yourself.
Course or inappropriate jokes or sharing about your spouse will tear
apart your oneness and thus the foundational stability of your marriage. Be wise, discreet, and respectful of your
spouse.
10.2.4.4.Husbands if you concentrate upon building up your wife
you will be wise and in the end be building up yourself for whatever happens to
your wife will affect your life equally.
Likewise, wives if you concentrate upon building up your husband you
will be wise and in the end be building up yourself.
10.2.4.5.Husbands and wives need to involve their spouse in all
of the major decisions in their lives.
Your spouse was given to you by God to help you because they see your
blind spots and have a unique perspective which you need to receive and learn
from.
10.2.4.6.If a husband and a wife have any sort of rift between
them then their children will find that rift and take advantage of it for their
own benefit, pitting one parent against the other or trying to stir up strife
between their parents. Likewise if you
and your spouse determine that it is never acceptable for your children to be
disrespectful or disobedient to the other spouse then your children will grow
up to be respectful and obedient to their parents.
10.2.4.7.When you speak of your spouse to others you should
always cast them in a positive light as this is one way to demonstrate and
build “oneness” in your marriage.
10.2.5.Marriage is meant to be for life.
10.2.5.1.In the world today, most people stay married as long
as they “feel” like they are in love.
Marriages in America today typically last around 6 years and the divorce
rate among couples Christian and non-Christian is greater than 50% (some
suggest it may be as high as 65%).
10.2.5.2.It was never God’s plan for a man and a woman to
divorce. Divorce is allowed if there is
fornication (any sex outside of marriage) committed by a spouse or if an
unbelieving spouse leaves a believer.
However, even in these situations it is often better for couples to
reconcile than to divorce.
10.2.5.3.When two people have been made one and then later
split apart the effects of that separation are very damaging. The ability to trust and to be open and
transparent is greatly effected, and the pattern of divorcing when things get
rough or you don’t feel in love makes it easier for a person to divorce once
again. From the webpage, http://www.smartmarriages.com/marriage.quotes.html,
Bill Doherty is quoted as saying, “Divorce to
like an amputation. Sometimes it's necessary but it should be avoided if at all
possible because it brings about a permanent disability.”
10.2.5.4.The greatest victims of divorces are the children that
are raised in broken homes. Again from
the webpage, http://www.smartmarriages.com/marriage.quotes.html,
H. Jackson Brown, Jr is quoted as saying, “Live so that when
your children think of fairness, caring and integrity, they think of you.”
10.3. Before the introduction of sin into our world, this
first man and wife wore no clothes and had no shame about this. Their hearts and motives were pure and
innocent and it is only sin that changed their condition and necessitated the
wearing of clothes.
11.
CONCLUSIONS:
11.1. Keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember to set apart one day a week (not
necessarily Saturday however) and not work but dedicate that day to worshipping
and serving the Lord.
11.2. Remember if you are married or hope one day to marry
to follow the principles of marriage found in this chapter:
11.2.1.The woman is the helpmeet, and man is the head.
11.2.2.Man must love his wife as Christ loved the church and
gave His life for her.
11.2.3.Remember that the wife is an equal-heir in all things.
11.2.4.Leave your parents and establish your own family
convictions before the Lord.
11.2.5.Cleave to one another and learn to become “one”
in all that you do.
11.2.6.Remember marriage is meant to be for life, therefore
don’t enter it recklessly or thoughtlessly and don’t consider divorce unless it
is the only sane option left.