A Sacred Union

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to Fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam 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. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." (Genesis 2:18-25)

There is so much to consider and to learn from these passages; where to begin?

We are shown by God almost immediately in His written Word to us, exactly what it was that God intended when He created Man and Woman.

First of all, He intended for man to be obedient to Him. He then intended for man to leave his father and his mother. Having fulfilled this responsibility, God next intended man to cleave unto his wife (cleave means "to adhere firmly and closely, or loyally and unwaveringly").

Then God intended, upon the obedience of the man in accomplishing the first two things (leaving father and mother and then cleaving to woman), for the man and woman to become one flesh. In fact, He designed their separate and unique bodies specifically for this purpose. And God never intended for that "one flesh" to later be "torn asunder"…or ripped apart.

If a man "adheres firmly" to a woman, that would indicate he is stuck like glue to her; not in a dysfunctional, desperately needy adherence, but in a whole and healthy "til death do us part" adherence; a "for better or worse" adherence; a "no matter what…I will never leave nor forsake you" adherence. How many men do that these days? How many men have "stickability" in their relationships with their wives, no matter what life throws at them? There are some, but the numbers are becoming smaller every day.

That "cleaving" involves something else as well; it involves a man "loving" a woman as much as he loves himself….because his wife is in fact, himself…they are ONE….ONE FLESH! In some supernatural way that God has ordained, a miracle of this sacred union takes place, turning two into one!

Listen to what Paul tells husbands in Ephesians 5:25-29:

"Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word. That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church..."

 What Paul is saying basically is "What man is there who gladly inflicts harm or neglect or abuse upon his own flesh? How then can he do so to his wife who IS his own flesh?" No wonder adultery or divorce are such horribly painful situations for both parties; the pain is similar to the tearing of flesh, perhaps even more so since it is supernaturally joined flesh! Often the pain and suffering associated with such a tearing is felt for many years to come, and in some cases, relief from the suffering is never found; indeed, this tearing of supernaturally joined flesh would require the skill of the supernatural Great Physician…the Lord Himself!

The main thing here is for us to see what great responsibility is given to man and how obedience to his God-given responsibility will produce such good for him; whereas man's disobedience to God can only bring pain and suffering...beginning with the man and continuing to all of those closest to him, such as his wife and his children. [Woman has been given responsibility of a different nature that we will explore when we get further into Genesis.]

Meanwhile, there is a great need for men in this day and age, at least, to comprehend what "loving" that one special woman that God has given them…really means…instead of looking down upon or constantly finding fault with…their own flesh. But that will never change until God is the center of a man's life. Then and only then, will things line up according to the will of God…

...then and only then will it be "good" for man.