June 30, 2007

• Marriage: Why Marriage? The relationship between a Man and a Woman

  (This is Part  1)

  This year is a special year! Our youngest daughter, Shannon, was married June 16th……our eldest and remaining daughter, Jessica will be married on September 1st of this year. Shannon’s wedding went without a hitch (except of course for Shannon and Tim…they’re hitched!). It was simply beautiful….and I was proud, as I know my son-in-law’s family were proud. We were blessed to have their family pastor, Randy Pucket from Eagle Heights Church in Sugar Land, Texas fly in just to marry them! Shannon and Tim left again for Turkey for at least another year. I will miss my baby……but I know that she is in good hands! Both are stationed at Incirlik Airbase in Adana, Turkey (near Tarsus).

  This is the first in a study on the covenant relationship of marriage. This first part actually opened up many more questions than it answered. As I looked closely at Scripture I was surprised somewhat by what I found, yet, I was reassured that God’s words…..Scripture, to us….. His children, are wise and ultimately contain what we need to know in order to be reconciled to Him and to each other. Let’s look first at Genesis 1:27 through 28.

  Genesis 1:27-28
  27 God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

  The first thing that jumped out at me was the Hebrew word for man….”adam“. This word does not refer to male or female, but for all of humankind……humans in general. Additionally, the word for “him” in verse 27 is strictly a reference to the word “man” used before it. This is called a pronominal suffix. The English translation could be “it” or even in some cases, “she”. As an English speaking people, we read a translation of the Hebrew, and must understand this fact in order to grasp the original intended meaning. So…Genesis 1:27-28 would read like this:

  “God created humankind in His own image; in the image of God He created humankind ; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

  We know that God equally created men and women, male and female, both in His image (Genesis 1:27). We know that the complementary nature of both male and female was intended not just in marriage, procreation and family life, but was also intended for life in general. The differences between male and female should be celebrated as God intended, not used to feel that one gender should subordinate another. Both simply have complimentary purposes. We should celebrate with joy, appreciation, openness, honor, service, and fidelity, the complimentary relationship which God created in His wisdom. To further illustrate this, let’s look at Genesis 2:18-25:

  Genesis 2:18-25
  18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
  
  21 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 closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 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.” 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

  The phrase “suitable helper” has often been misunderstood, and used to support a distorted view of marriage as well as the nature of the male/female relationship in creation. The word for “helper” in Genesis 2:18  is “`ezer”, and means “a support,” “a helper,” or “an assistant.” However, this very same Hebrew word, “`ezer “, is used in Exodus 18:4 to describe God’s relationship to man….. in other words, the word “helper” does not imply subordination. This strongly supports the equal and complimentary nature of men and women. Only one who is “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” and thus fully shares the human identity, could possibly meet anyone’s deeper needs. In its original conception, then, marriage was the union of equals, each respecting as well as caring for the other, and each committed to be the other’s helper.

  I recognize that this opens a can of worms in some cases. I also recognize that there are other Scriptures that must be looked at closely, in their original language and context, both historical and cultural. I believe that there are no contradictions in Scripture, as all Scripture is inspired by God….there are only contradictions of our interpretation and understanding of Scripture.

  What do you think?

  • 11:13 am
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