Lesson 9 for March 2, 2013

Before man was created, God said that everything He had created was good (Gn. 1: 10, 12, 18, 21, 25) Nevertheless, when He created Adam, He found something that was not good (Gn. 2:18). That situation must be solved so everything could be very good (Gn. 1:31) How did God solve that problem (Genesis 2:18-22)?

THE PROBLEM It is not good that man should be alone

THE SOLUTION
I will make him a helper comparable to him Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them
He made a woman

But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him

If we study the story of Creation we may find out that man has no common origins with any other animal (even with those similar to us). Man and woman are a unique species and share no ancestor with other creatures.

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man (Genesis 2:21-22)

God wanted Adam to feel the need of a companion like him; thats why He presented all the animals by couples to Adam.

What can we learn by studying the process God used to create the woman?

God cloned Adam by taking a rib from Him.

God created both man and woman from the same flesh because He wanted them to join together in one flesh and on an equal basis.

How did sin affect the marriage relationship?

It altered the equal basis of the marriage, Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you (Gn. 3:16)
It generates abuse within marriage. It destroys the relationship between husband and wife by using infidelity. Marriage is still a divine institution from Eden despite sin. As believers, we must protect marriage from the harmful effects of sin.

God celebrated the first marriage. Thus the institution has for its originator the Creator of the universe. Marriage is honorable (Hebrews 13:4); it was one of the first gifts of God to man, and it is one of the two institutions that, after the Fall, Adam brought with him beyond the gates of Paradise. When the divine principles are recognized and obeyed in this relation, marriage is a blessing; it guards the purity and happiness of the race, it provides for mans social needs, it elevates the physical, the intellectual, and the moral nature E.G.W. (Patriarchs and Prophets, pg. 46)

Marriage is still an institution God established; it is protected by the seventh commandment, You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14) Jesus was very clear about it; Any sexual relationship (either real or imaginary) out of wedlock is a severe sin that makes us lose our right to enter the Heaven. That includes adultery, pre-marriage relationships, prostitution, pornography, etc.
You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell (Matthew 5:27-30)

THE IDEAL FOR MARRIAGE

There is a reachable ideal for marriage in the Bible.

1. Man and woman must form a unit that is independent from the rest of the family.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife (Mark 10:7)

2. There must be physical and purpose unity between man and woman. Everything that affects one spouse affects the other too.

and the two shall become one flesh; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh (Mark10:8)

3. Marriage is a relationship for a lifetime.

Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate
(Mark 10:9)

THE IDEAL FOR MARRIAGE

There is a reachable ideal for marriage in the Bible.

4. Man and woman must submit to one another.

submitting to one another in the fear of God (Ephesians 5:21)

5. The woman must accept her husband as the responsible head of marriage, always with common consent.

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord (Ephesians 5:22)

6. The man must love his wife like Christ loved His Church!
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her (Ephesians 5:25)

The Lord Jesus has not been correctly represented in His relation to the church by many husbands in their relation to their wives, for they do not keep the way of the Lord. They declare that their wives must be subject to them in everything. But it was not the design of God that the husband should have control, as head of the house, when he himself does not submit to Christ. He must be under the rule of Christ that he may represent the relation of Christ to the church. If he is a coarse, rough, boisterous, egotistical, harsh, and overbearing man, let him never utter the word that the husband is the head of the wife, and that she must submit to him in everything; for he is not the Lord, he is not the husband in the true significance of the term
E.G.W. (The Adventist Home, cp. 17, pg. 117)

Home should be made all that the word implies. It should be a little heaven upon earth, a place where the affections are cultivated instead of being studiously repressed. Our happiness depends upon this cultivation of love, sympathy, and true courtesy to one another. The sweetest type of heaven is a home where the Spirit of the Lord presides. If the will of God is fulfilled, the husband and wife will respect each other and cultivate love and confidence
E.G.W. (The Adventist Home, cp. 1, pg. 15)

Return, O backsliding children, says the Lord; for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion (Jeremiah 3:14)

1. An unfaithful church is compared with a prostitute, an unfaithful wife (Jer. 3:20; Rev. 17:1-2) 2. A faithful church is compared with a pure woman, a faithful wife (Is. 62:5; Rev. 19:7)

God compares His relationship with His people to a marriage relationship many times in the Bible.

God is the husband of His church. The church is the bride, the Lambs wife. Every true believer is a part of the body of Christ. Christ regards unfaithfulness shown to Him by His people as the unfaithfulness of a wife to her husband. We are to remember that we are members of Christs body (Letter 39, 1902) The church is the bride, the Lambs wife. She should keep herself pure, sanctified, holy. Never should she indulge in any foolishness; for she is the bride of a King. Yet she does not realize her exalted position. If she understood this, she would be allglorious within (Letter 177, 1901)

E.G.W. (SDA Bible Commentary vol. 7, EGW Notes, Revelation 19)