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Before Sunday

October 4, 2009

Proper 22

When Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees with a question about divorce, He didn’t answer with what was permissible because of sin and hardness of heart.  Rather, Jesus draws our attention back to God’s original plan and design for marriage. 

Marriage finds its origin, institution and meaning in God.  Our only understanding is revealed in scripture, beginning with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God.  In Genesis chapter two, God first created Adam from the dust of the ground (Adamah in Hebrew means ground).  God breathed the breath of life into Adam.  Adam became a living being with a soul, created in the image and likeness of God.  Adam received spiritual life with a conscience, life with moral and ethical understanding.  He was created to love, serve and obey God.

In Genesis 2: 18, prior to the fall, God declared, “It is not good for man to be alone”.  To meet this God given need, God chose to make a helper suitable for Adam.  The word translated “helper” is a Hebrew word used most often in scripture to describe God Himself (Ps 46: 1; Ps 54: 4).  It does not describe someone who is passive or subservient.  Prior to the fall there were no hierarchical relationships. The word “suitable” literally means “corresponding to Adam” or “according to his opposite”.  So the helper God would provide for Adam would be his complimentary counterpart, his opposite.

God’s solution for finding a suitable helper for Adam was not to create another Adamah, another independent being formed from the dust of the ground.  Instead, God chose to build a complimentary being from Adam, using a portion of Adams own body.

The Hebrew word translated “rib” suggests God tore a handful of the bone, flesh and muscle from Adam’s side, perhaps half of Adam’s entire ribcage.  Woman, then, is not a replica of Adam.  Woman is from Adam.  She is his opposite, the complimentary and corresponding fit; physically, spiritually, emotionally, socially and sexually.

Since Adam knew God’s character and trusted in God’s goodness and sovereignty, he was able to receive Eve enthusiastically as God’s perfect provision. 

In Genesis 2: 24, we find God’s foundational principle for Marriage: “Therefore, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh.”

God’s plan for marriage is that of a permanent merger, the union of one man and one woman.  They become one flesh, for one life, held together by God.  God’s plan requires total commitment and transparency, where a man and woman give all that they have and all that they are.  A man and a woman are together and complete, complimentary opposites are reunited, without guilt or shame.    

However, God’s plan is not simply about what’s best for men and women.  The permanence, union and commitment in marriage reflect the relationship between Our Lord and His people.  As disciples of Jesus we are united to One Lord, in one hope, one faith and one baptism, forever.  We are also confident in His fidelity toward us knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8: 38 - 39).  Our relationship with Him, His commitment to us is permanent, it is eternal.

God’s plan for marriage also reflects the reality of the church’s relationship with Jesus.  The church is the Bride of Christ, Jesus is the groom.  As C. S. Lewis observed, “we are all, corporately and individually, feminine to God”.  The Lord Jesus will return to rescue His bride.  There will be a tremendous wedding feast of the Lamb, of which the Eucharist is a foretaste.

Clearly, divorce is not God’s plan. Scripture says God hates divorce (Mal. 2: 16).  Jesus said divorce is permissible because of sin and the hardness of men and women’s hearts; it is permissible because of immorality, abuse, abandonment and infidelity.  Divorce is painful and it devastates everyone involved including children and children’s children.

For the most part, the church has turned a blind eye to divorce.  We’ve avoided the subject, perhaps because of embarrassment.  Divorce is so painful and intensely personal.  Perhaps we’ve simply been confused about what scripture teaches and how to apply this teaching.  As a result, we’ve abdicated leadership to the media, to Oprah, to the ABC Family Channel (A New Kind of Family), or the Disney Channel.  We must rededicate ourselves to strengthening marriages.  We must be deliberate about instructing our children in God’s plan, purpose and pattern form marriage.  The future of the church and the future of the family in this nation are in our hands.