But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
-Genesis 2:20-25
A question single believers often ask is “how proactive should I be in trying to find my soul mate?“
Should I hit all the single bars?
Should I attend every singles event that my place of worship sponsors?
Should I register my profile on 20 billion matchmaking date sites?
Well, I think Genesis has the answer to that question.
We can see that God first appeared on the scene of human history as a matchmaker.
Based on chapter 2, we can derive the following principles when it comes to marriage.
1) God Himself discerned Adam’s need and initiated marriage. Minus divine assistance man cannot understand nor make marriage a part of his experience.
2) The decision to marry proceeded from God, not man.
3) God knew the kind of partner man needed. Man did not.
4) Preparing the woman for man was 100% God’s responsibility
5) Introducing the woman to man was 100% God’s responsibility. Man did not have to make an effort to seek her out via internet dating or bar hopping etc.
6) God established the purpose of marriage which was to be a harmonious and perfectly reciprocal union between the man and woman.
7) Jesus upheld the pattern of marriage established in Genesis and maintained that it was binding on all who would be his disciples.
Now am I saying that you should deliberately avoid all social situations or relationships with other singles?
Of course not.
What I’m saying is don’t be frantic and frazzled.
Instead, be deliberate and methodical in going about your work for the Lord.
I really think too many people get married because of retarded societal pressure period.
I surmise that the over 50% divorce rate in our country (I’m talking about the US) is a reflection of this panicky “I gotta get married now, so I don’t appear like a loser at social functions” mentality.
They’re afraid of being looked down on or being seen as a loser at parties or church gatherings.
Seriously, how insecure can you get?
What I can say on the authority of Scripture is that whenever man takes matters into his own hands, the results are less than pretty if not disastrous.
For example, the whole problem in the Middle East today is due to one reason.
Abraham and Sarah didn’t trust God that he would supernaturally provide a first-born son from Abraham’s own loins.
Instead, they took matters into their own hands and now we got groups like ISIS running around cutting people’s heads off.
Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself.
I’m done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
He replied, “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and that he said, ‘For this reason a man should leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two are to become one flesh’? Thus they are no longer two, but one. So then, no one should split apart what God has joined together.”
-Matthew 19:4-6
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN GENESIS CHAPTER 3
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