Marriage
So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place. And the LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. And the man 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” (Gen 2:21-23).
Because loneliness is the first thing God said was not good, if we are seeking to love and help our neighbors, we should especially watch out for the lonely. This does not just mean those who are living alone. You can be in a crowd and be lonely. Loneliness is the result of not having fellowship that goes beyond the superficial to touch the soul. Deep, meaningful fellowship is essential for our mental, physical, and spiritual wholeness. The fellowship that we were created to have is not an either/or situation between God and men, but rather both. If we are lonely, it is because we have not kept the balance between them properly.
Even so, many try to find the fulfillment that they can only find in their relationship to God through their mates, or theirs, and even those in the church. Usually, this will lead to frustration that will damage our relationship to our mates and others, because we will begin to feel that they are not enough for us. They aren\’t, because they can never take the place of God in our lives.
God\’s remedy for the one thing about His creation that was not good was to make a helper that was “suitable” to man. The Hebrew word that is translated “suitable” here is neged (neh\’-ghed), which could have been translated “opposite part” or a “counterpart.” To be a helpmate, the woman needed to be different from the man—not a difference that conflicted with him, but rather one that complimented him. She would have the part that he was missing. To be whole he needed her, and she needed him.
As soon as the man saw the woman, his heart leapt and he knew she was the one! The man looked at the woman and was charged, but it did not appear to have done the same for Eve. Men tend to be stimulated more by sight than women. Just looking at Eve was enough to convince Adam, but just looking at Adam probably did not do much for Eve. However, the words that Adam spoke probably did mean something to her.
God created romance and sex, and both are to be a wonderful and intimate expression of love between a man and woman. However, He created mankind to be body, soul, and spirit. Romance was created to be more than sex. It was to be a union of spirit, soul, and body, in that order. If the order is reversed so that the union of bodies is esteemed first, then it is unlikely that the union of spirit and soul will take place, and the loneliness will continue.
This is why the Lord created the institution of marriage, and sanctioned that sex outside of marriage is a sin against Him. It is also a sin against the very nature of man that God created. Mankind was created to be creatures of lofty intelligence and spirituality. They were also physical creatures who were “wonderfully made.”
- Ask God for forgiveness against the sexual revolution that has gone out in various nations.
- With the legalizing of homosexuality in other parts of the world, some African nations are pushing for the legalization of polygamy. These all are forms of sexual immorality that displease the Lord and defile the land. Legalizing polygamy, allowing men to marry without consulting other spouses and recognizing cohabiting, or \”come-we-stay\”, relationships where people live together without getting married in a religious or civil union are evil.
- Bring repentance for these ungodly unions which have caused increased defilement of the land and the release of a vagabond spirit upon the people.