TODAY’S SCRIPTURE Genesis 2:18-25
It has been said that dog is man’s best friend. It is certain that Adam had a dog; after all, he is the one who first called a dog a “dog.” However, even man’s best friend was not “a helper fit for him.” Adam needed someone more compatible. Surely it was worth a rib! God took a rib from Adam’s side and made it into a woman.
One only has to read Adam’s exclamation in Genesis 2:23 to hear his excitement and sense his bond with the woman. God has instituted marriage and the family in the Garden of Eden. Eve truly is the First Lady of the world.
An ageless principle is then stated in Genesis 2:24: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” This statement is ageless because it is repeated by Jesus (Matthew 19:5), by Paul (Ephesians 5:31), and by preachers in wedding ceremonies ever since.
Leaving one’s parents to be joined to a wife is a symbol that marriage is to be even a stronger bond than the parent-child relationship. Far too many marriages have been weakened by in-law involvement because the newlyweds lived too close to Mother and Daddy. Well-intentioned yet destructive parental interference has destroyed many marriages.
Being joined, or “cleaving” in some translations, comes from the idea of being glued together. Eve was not able to run home to mother but young wives since that time have been doing just that. Parents can give excellent, guarded advice; however, sometimes it is best to have third-party counsel from someone not as emotionally involved with the couple as a parent.
Leaving and cleaving is an ageless rather than an eternal principle. It cannot be an eternal principle because there are no marriages in Heaven. However, as long as this world stands, the ageless principle of leaving and cleaving rings true every time.
Today, I will…pause and pray for newly married couples. The first year of marriage is a year of adjustment and many divorces occur in the second year. Encourage without being pushy.