By
Shelby G. Floyd
After the Lord God had united Adam and Eve in marriage and planted then in the Garden of Eden, he made a statement about the nature of man and woman and marriage: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).
I know this is a generic statement concerning marriage because Adam did not have a father and a mother to leave. Adam did not ever have a father and mother. God was his father. So, this is a general statement that was drawn from the institution of marriage: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh (Genesis 2: 24).
We notice here that marriage is for the mature. Often, young men and young ladies get married too young. They are not ready to leave their fathers and mothers. If you want to marry, you had better be ready to leave your father and your mother, and you had better be ready to assume your responsibilities. When you get ready to marry, you can’t let mom and dad support your home. Marriage is for those who are mature enough to leave mom and dad.
In the second place, marriage is for those who will cleave to their wife. A leaving and a cleaving must take place in marriage. The word cleave, means to glue or bond. The reason marriages today are not surviving is because the husbands and the wives are not adhering to each other. They are not cleaving to each other until death separates them. Then scripture says, “They shall be one flesh.” I do believe Moses meant that in marriage they are one flesh by their cohabitation, and by the fact that they both produce an offspring. But, marriage is more than that my friends.
The words one flesh here means that in marriage there must be an affinity of spirit. If the marriage is to continue and survive, there must be a conjoining of spirits in love and affection, and not just some kind of animal attraction. Those marriages that survive 50 or 60 years, or more, do so because there has been an affinity of spirits between the husband and wife. They have grown into almost one personality, because they have a kindred spirit in serving God and in serving their homes.
We ought to try to make our homes like God intended for them to be from the beginning.
Shelby G. Floyd
Heartland Church of Christ
1693 West Main Street
Greenwood, Indiana 46142