A Marriage Made in Eden

06 - A Marriage Made In Eden

Wednesday, February 08, 2017

3:08 PM

Marriage is a huge issue of conflict today. I read sometime ago Bainton's Biography of Martin Luther. Luther had an interesting view of marriage. It would be somewhat outdated and I found it amusing. Bainton writes;

"According to Luther the man is the head of the wife because he was created first. She is to give him not only love but also honor and obedience. He is to rule her with gentleness, but he is to rule. She has her sphere, and she can do more with the children with one finger than he with two fists. But she is to confine herself to her sphere. If Luther did not say that children, church, and kitchen are the province of women, he did say that women have been created with large hips in order that they should stay at home and sit on them."[7]

A little over a week ago I sat among a few hundred people and watched with pride as my niece vowed along with her new husband to "love and to cherish" each other till death parts them. I thought it interesting as the groom's grandfather who was helping to perform the marriage - said, "I believe this marriage was made in heaven." That is quite an interesting thought. To think that the God we have been studying about who has created all things, who made the heaven and earth and all that is in them, would take time to pick out a mate for one young man living in Oklahoma and a young lady living in Wichita, KS and put them together. That is an astounding thought, and yet I truly believe that God knows exactly how to help those who are seeking him, find the right mate. This morning I want us to notice the first marriage recorded in history, its what I like to call "A Marriage Made in Eden"

It is found in Genesis 2:7-25

Trent Griffith a pastor and frequent speaker for Family Life's "Weekend to Remember" seminar has defined marriage like this:

Marriage is

…a holy covenant

…initiated by God

…conditioned on an irrevocable promise

…to pursue oneness

…with an imperfect person

…of the opposite sex

…for a lifetime

…for the glory of God.

Whatever else our decaying culture may say, God’s definition has never changed. Are you allowing God to define your ideas about what marriage is?"[1]

Marriage's significance is more than just the discussion of twelve individuals in black robes, pronouncing judgments and rulings, more than the opinions of popular culture. Marriage is designed and defined by God, and is at the center of God's purpose of mankind.

A Need Revealed 18-20 - I do not know how long it was between the creation of Adam and the Animals and the creation of Eve but according to scripture it was all accomplished in one day. God had spent five days creating the heavens, the earth, lights, fish and fowl. Now God is coming to the grand finale of Creation week - The creation of humankind. Now according to Genesis 2 God created Adam first and instead of giving the usual blessing of, "It was good." We find for the only time in the creation account instead of a benediction, a malediction is used. A Malediction - Now by that I do not mean a curse - but rather God declared it not good. I also want to point out that, it's not being good was not a mistake, but an intentional act of God. A Prediction - while more of a declaration than a prediction - God says, "I will make him a help-mate An Exhibition - God and Adam stand as it were shoulder to shoulder while God brings by all of the animals. The context here is that Adam would study, look at and examine each animal. See how it worked and operated, and be on the lookout for an help mate. I wonder what that must have been like as God brings the Walrus by Adam - Adam would you like this to be your help-mate? Adam looks it over and just shakes his head and smiles. No, I don't think that would work. I don't think I could look at those tusks every morning. Maybe he brought an elephant or hippo by - What do you think Adam? No I don't think that would work either. What about a cow or a donkey Finally all of the animals passed by and Adam still stood there alone, maybe in wonder, where is his partner. A Revelation - 20 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. Sometimes God has to make us aware of our need before we realize what we need. Acknowledgement is the first step to recovery for addicts. Sometimes we have a need and don't even realize it. A Need Fulfilled 21-23 An Operation We find the world's first ever operation. The Lord took his finger and finer than a microscopic laser placed an incision in Adam and took from him a rib. It is amazing that God took a Rib from Adam's side - probably most of you have heard the old story that Women have more ribs than men - that is not true. What is true is that the right lower rib if taken out correctly will grow back. Dr. Carl Wieland shares this interesting experience:

"A head-on impact with a fully laden fuel tanker at combined highway speed of 112 mph is an experience I would hope for none to share. The surprise was to have survived it—God clearly had other plans for me.

During the 5½ months in hospital, and for years afterwards, I had a series of operations to reconstruct various parts of me, particularly the bones of my face.

These operations often required using my own bone for grafting. I noticed that the plastic surgeon would keep going back to the right side of my ribcage, through the same horizontal scar, actually, to get more bone for these procedures. One day, I asked him why he hadn’t ‘run out of bone’. He looked at me blankly, and then explained that he and his team took the whole rib out, each time. ‘We leave the periosteum intact, so the rib usually just grows right back again’.

Despite having trained and practiced as a family doctor, I was intrigued; I had never realized this before. The periosteum (the literal meaning of this word is ‘around the bone’) is a membrane that covers every bone—it’s the reason you can get things stuck between your teeth while gnawing on a leg of lamb, for instance. The periosteum contains cells that can manufacture new bone. Particularly in young people, ‘rib periosteum has a remarkable ability to regenerate bone, perhaps more so than any other bone’.

Thoracic (chest) surgeons routinely remove ribs, and these often grow back, in whole or in part. A lot depends on the care with which the rib is removed; it needs to be ‘peeled’ out of its periosteum to leave this membrane as intact as possible. A major reason why the rib is the ideal situation for such regeneration is that the attached intercostal muscles provide it with a good blood supply."[5]

He took one of the ribs no doubt for a greater and better unity, but also because Eve had to be a descendant or a part of Adam. Perhaps help-meet isn't the best term - maybe "rib-meet" Along side of…Adam didn't have to walk around with a defect nor a missing rib.

Everett Chambers was one of our ministers, I believe from the West Coast. Held a revival at our church in Peace Valley back in the 90's when my brother Russell was pastoring there told When he was a boy he was quite a trick rider on horses, and spent many hours riding all kinds of ways. One day he was asked by his parents to bring a pitchfork on his way back from the barn. I'm not sure why but he grab the pitchfork climbed on his horse without a saddle and started toward his parents. The horse slipped as they were coming across a culvert of sorts knocking the pitchfork and Everett to the ground. The boy landed on top of the fork impaling him through the lung and heart. A doctor was called, which was fine for the family but they also believed in prayer. By the time the Doctor got there many of the church folks had gathered too. The Doctor was an atheist who said, if you all are going to pray, I'm going to leave. They opted to pray for Everett who was unconscious and bleeding out on in the family room. So the doctor left. Whether it was the doctor or the family I'm not sure but they pulled the old rusty pitchfork from Brother Chamber's and began to pray. I don't mean they said a few words they were desperately praying on behalf of the young man. They were bombarding heaven, and after sometime of praying young Chambers opened his eyes and you talk about shouting, they shouted and jumped and ran and had a grand old time. He recovered and lived many years. After he was older he began to have heart trouble. He went to the doctor who ordered a surgery. After the surgery the doctor asked Brother Chambers if he had been in the war? No he responded why do you ask? Well he said, "there is a hole on both sides of your heart but it looked like a doctor had reached his hand in there and patched it up, almost like it had never happened. [6]

If God could do that in more modern history why couldn’t he do it back then. We have a wonderful, amazing God.

A Presentation - Adam must have been extremely moved when he opened his eyes and saw this helpmate God had provided for him. I like the word help-mate but it is more than just a partner. One has translated this word as "Sustainer beside him."[2] The term "help-meet" actually comes from two Hebrew words one meaning "helper" and the other "suitable" It is interesting that usually "the noun form of the word found in this verse as used elsewhere refers almost exclusively to God as the One who helps his people."[3] That is why I like the term "help-meet" in the KJV it is a partnership a working together that leads to oneness. Adam was so moved he began to recite or create poetry. It is beautiful - V. 23 "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." A Need Unveiled 24-25 While the need of Adam was revealed, and fulfilled we now have a look at an unveiled need for true marriage. You know the story and we will deal more with that tonight - how Adam and Eve did not remain in the Garden forever but in their fall were cast out. I'm sure they faced some issues after that they had never faced before. Whether or not this is Adam's advice or Moses as he is writing and presenting it to the People of Israel as they are in the Wilderness Wanderings - I think it is the Perfect Recipe for a Biblical Marriage. It's not about who is in charge, it's not about who makes the mistakes, it's not about who is the smartest, or makes the most money. This idea of a marriage of "oneness" goes beyond physical intimacy to include emotional and spiritual togetherness as well. Three Simple ingredients to a "Happy Marriage" You ready. I really want especially our young people to listen. The picture we are presented for marriage in the world even in the church today falls so short of our privilege. God has a plan a purpose and a blessing for marriage - bound up in three little ingredients.

Leave - There has to come a separation between the children and the parents within the bounds of honoring them. They can no longer control your life, and make your decisions for you. Give advice, counsel, instruction, even tell you what you should do - but ultimately, and this is expressed emphatically for the man - you are responsible for the decisions your home makes, not your parents. Why must a man leave, why must a woman leave parents - without a dependence upon each other - you will never learn to love and respect each other as you should. Cleave - Now the word "CLEAVE" is an old English word. Today, maybe because my brother is a butcher, when I think of cleave my first thought is a 'Meat Cleaver" I don't really think this is what the scripture is trying to convey. To take a meat cleaver after each other. The word has two meanings 1.) Separate (meat cleaver) and 2.) Probably the one intended means to weld or glue together. (Brother Jerry Schenck's Talent as a welder and builder. The Ochelata dining hall beams) In order to have a Godly Happy marriage there must be a commitment to each other. I sometimes chuckle at Dr. Dobson's saying, "My wife and I never mentioned divorce. In all our years together it never came up. Murder often, but divorce never." While I hope you aren't really to that point - Marriage is at its core a covenant, a vow, a promise that until death come wealth or poverty, health or sickness, good times or bad I am staying with you. I am pledging you my love. Do you know one of the worst lies we are telling the current generations is, "you have no control over who you fall in love with." With sayings like: The heart wants what it wants. There's no logic to these things. You meet someone and you fall in love and that's that. Jackson Browne wrote, "Very often it's really inconvenient - who you fall in love with. You can't really control it." [4] What a sad, heartbroken, lust driven people we are producing. It's not about falling in love Love is not something you fall into - and it just happens to be what God intended. Love is something you make - the two working together. Listening, learning, understanding. Depending trusting, forgiving, Weave - when you leave all and burnt the bridges behind, and you learn to cleave or you are welded or glued to each other Then the final product or result can be seen that of ONENESS or what I call to WEAVE together two. Oneness 24 c - They shall be one flesh. Notice it is only after the leaving and the cleaving. Verse 25 is not being dirty or awkward - I think there is great significance to the fact that they were both naked and not ashamed. By chapter 2 that changes but something had happened something had come between them, there had no doubt been a disagreement over the forbidden fruit. But in verse 25 they were one. It's not just about clothes, it's about nothing between to hinder the oneness.

Walt Disney can talk about and promote a "happy ever after" the current generations can claim to be falling in love and they can't help it - no matter who or now days what they are falling in love with, but they are going to fail, it's going to be a disappointment. It's going to leave them empty and may in the end doom their soul.

If you want what God really intended, follow his plan. If you want a marriage made in Eden, follow God's playbook. It won't let you down.

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[M]From < https://trentgriffith.com/resources/what-is-marriage/> [M]Alter, R. (2017). Genesis: Translation and Commentary [Kindle Android version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com [M] Walton, J. H. (2017). Genesis, The NIV Application Commentry [Kindle Android version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com[M] http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-very-often-it-s-really-inconvenient-who-you-fall-in-love-with-you-can-t-really-control-jackson-browne-91-33-32.jpg[M] From <http://creation.com/regenerating-ribs-adam-and-that-missing-rib>[M] Relayed to me by Jeff & Russell Brother Chambers held a Revival in Peace Valley back in the 90's[M] ROLAND H.BAINTON. HERE I STAND A LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER (Kindle Locations 4916-4919). ABINGDON-COKESBURY PRESS.