God's Grace in Marriage

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Shortly after the account of God’s creation of Adam from the dust of the earth, God speaks a word that had not yet been heard in creation.  Up to this point, God’s concluding word after each day’s creation work was, “And God saw that it was good.”  Now, in Genesis 2:18 God says: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” God recognized Adam’s need for a partner, but even more, He wanted Adam to recognize his own need.  Therefore, God brought before Adam all the “beasts of the field and all the birds of the air” that He had created in order to have Adam exercise his dominion by naming them.  I cannot help but believe that God had them pass by Adam in procession two by two, each with its partner, in order to drive home Adam’s unique aloneness. Thus, the conclusion, “But for Adam no suitable helper was found.”  God, of course, already had His plan in place and immediately He caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, as though he were anesthetized, and took a rib, which He used to create a partner for the man.  Once again, this is the grace of God at work, providing for Adam’s deepest needs.  His kindness is expressed well in the words of a song by Eddie Carswell and Michael O'Brien, that I use as the ringtone on my iPhone for my wife, Diana. 

Oh I wonder what God was thinking, when He created you.
I wonder if He knew everything I would need,
Because He made all my dreams come true.
When God made you, He must have been thinking about me.

Obviously, God was thinking of Adam when He created Eve, and the moment he laid eyes on her, Adam realized what a gracious gift he had received from God.  “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” The highlight of this story in my mind, however, is the lengths to which God went to help Adam appreciate His grace.  How often do we simply take God’s loving kindness and His gracious gifts for granted?

Along with the gift of a suitable partner for Adam in Eve, God’s grace was also evident in the gift of marriage.  Verse 24 describes the marital union God established between one man and one woman:  “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” In amazingly simple language God articulates the threefold bond of marriage.  First it is a societal bond in which a man leaves his father and mother to establish a new family unit.  This is the bedrock institution of all human society.  Second, it is an emotional and spiritual bond in which a man cleaves, clings, holds fast, stays close, or is joined to his wife in heart, mind and soul.  Finally, it is a physical bond that provides the security and commitment necessary for a safe and beneficial expression of our sexuality, as well as care and nurture for the children who are the God-blessed result of the sexual union.  With such a gift in place, the concluding statement of Genesis chapter two makes perfect sense:  “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”  All of this was because of God’s grace.

Copyright by the Author.