Troublesome Topic: Marriage Is a Covenant
Lesson 7 of 7Genesis 2:24
Translation
On this ground
Go to footnote numbera man
Go to footnote numberleaves behind
Go to footnote numberhis father and mother and clings
Go to footnote numberto his wife,
Go to footnote numberand they become one body. (See comment below.)
Paraphrase
Based on the pattern that was established back then, a man moves out from under the direct authority of his father and mother and becomes closely united to his wife and they become one family and one body [when their love produces their first child.] (See comment below.)
Marriage Is a Covenant
A covenant is much more than the contracts with which we are familiar. Remember that a covenant was a relationship that resulted in either life or death.
I think it is unfortunate that we sometimes hear the word covenant used in relation to church membership. People become members of a local church with the knowledge that, if they ever need to change their membership to another local church, that option is available and acceptable (although everyone hopes it is not necessary). Therefore, it is not a covenant. Therefore, we should not speak of church membership as a “covenant” because it cheapens and weakens this rich and powerful word.
Marriage was called a covenant because God wanted us to know it is a special relationship with carefully constructed regulations that have serious consequences. It was intended to be for life, not something that could be gotten out of easily. God allowed for the dissolution of a marriage in extreme cases because of man’s wickedness, but it was not His original plan. His plan for marriage was a close, committed, self-sacrificial relationship between one man and one woman. God takes marriage seriously; so should we.
To see other topics that are related to this one please see: What Made Sexual Sins Wrong? Why Did God Allow Polygamy? Solomon’s Many Wives.
The next lesson from Genesis by Chapter is: When Animals Could Talk
The next lesson in the topic Marriage Issues is: A Healthy Marriage is Refreshing
Footnotes
1: “on this ground”
This verse contains principles that appear to have been added later by someone else such as Moses when he wrote down the oral tradition that had been handed down from generation to generation.
The phrase used here basically means “on this ground,” and it fulfills the role of our English phrases “based on this, or on account of this.”
What is based on what? The leaving to establish a new household is based on the fact that God provided a companion that was perfectly suited for man; the closeness of their relationship was based on the way the woman was taken out of man, one became two, and now two would become one again.
2
Once again this is not “the adam,” but the other word for “man.”
3: "Leaves behind”
When a man and woman get married, the relationship they establish replaces the relationship of parent to child as the new priority of top importance. Because it is now the most important relationship it requires both man and woman to leave their parents, otherwise there may be a confusion of the authority structure. Dad may want to continue exercising the level of authority he always has, or something close to it, therefore the new couple must leave to establish their own family unit with their own authority structures.
4
This word means “to cling to, to stick to” as the tongue sticks to the roof of your mouth when you are desperately thirsty. “Clinging and sticking” bring with them a picture of great closeness, thus it becomes a picture of the closeness desired from a marriage relationship. There is also a hint in this verse that loyalty and continued closeness are expected.”
5: “his wife”
This is simply the word for “woman,” the word that sounds like the word for man and emphasizes the fact that she was taken out of man. Context in cases like this tells that it is a woman who is in a special relationship with a man, thus a wife.