Of course, we all know the story of creation and the fall of mankind. But I will be the first to admit that I never quite saw things this way! My first touch of pink that I added to my Bible was in Genesis 1:27 where it first mentions God creating male and female. Simple enough, right? :)
The very first commandment in the Bible is to be fruitful and multiply and FILL THE EARTH! Of course, this means children! For those of you who have children we all know what a true blessing they are to us! I have a 1 year old son named Aaron and we have our second little one on the way (due the end of March 2013). Yes! We are excited! No, it is not easy having children. But, before the commandment God blessed this first couple! And no matter how tough raising children can be we must remember that they are a blessing from God himself!
In chapter 2 verse 18 we get to my favorite part where God created Eve! I think this is such a beautiful picture of how the husband and wife relationship is supposed to be. I know it has really helped me (even today) to once again show me where I am lacking in my "help meet" responsibilities to my husband. It begins by God actually saying "it is not good that the man should be alone." How true! What would our husbands do without us?? How boring their lives would be!! I know, some of you might be thinking that your husband might enjoy some time away from you! lol! But the honest truth is that if you are truly seeking to be the kind of wife that your husband needs, he will miss you terribly and will gladly anticipate the moment when he can pull you into his arms again and just be near you! The key is if you are seeking to be his 'help meet" (verse 20).
What is a "help meet?" I have a study Bible and I love how it describes this! A "help meet" is a helper fit for him! "Helper is one who supplies strength in the area that is lacking in 'the helped.' The term does not imply that the helper is either stronger or weaker than the one helped. 'Fit for him' or 'matching him' is not the same as 'like him:' a wife is not her husband's clone but compliments him."
Verse 23 I think is just beautiful! Adam is speaking and he says, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Such a beautiful portrayal of the oneness that exists between husband and wife. Having been married for only 5 years, I am definitely not an expert on marriage, but because I am married I can say I do sorta understand this oneness! My husband has learned to read me. I don't have to say much, he just understands me in a way that no one else does. Why? Because we have shared a closeness with each other that I have never shared with anyone else. And because it is a picture of how marriage is supposed to be. Marriage is the closest of all human relationships.
In verse 24 lies the key to having a oneness in your marriage. It can be tough for both the husband and the wife, but it is crucial to a thriving and strong relationship...what is it you ask? Leaving the parents and cleaving to your spouse. What does this entail? Well, before you were married your parents were like home base so to speak. You went to them for advice and sometimes they were the final say on things. You were under their authority. Once you are married you turn from your parents authority in your life (while still honoring them) and your husband is then your authority in place of your parents. Does it mean moving far far away from your parents? For some, they might need to in order to properly follow this command. But, that is not what it means for everyone. In Bible times, sons did not move away after they got married. Instead, they lived near their parents and eventually inherited their father's land. Wow! Can you imagine living near your in laws for the rest of their lives? :) For me, that wouldn't be horrible, I love my mother in law. But I know for others it would be a disaster. Again, it would mean truly practicing the leave and cleave part of the marriage covenant.
Wait...did I just say covenant? Yup. That is what the marriage vow is. It is a covenant. When you promised your husband that you would honor and cherish and love him till death do you part you entered into a covenant that cannot be broken aside from death. There is no escape clause. When I got married I was determined to love my husband no matter what. I knew there were going to be days when we didn't necessarily like each other, but I would always love him and I was committed to making it work out and to work through whatever situation might arise. I believe more couples need to understand this and go into marriage with a similar attitude.
So, there was Adam and Eve in the garden, fulfilling God's covenant and command, when disaster struck. Adam and Eve disobeyed God. But I think there is a deeper lesson to be learned from this for us wives. I believe it goes back to Eve's heart and her belief's about God's word. We all know the story, the serpent came and tempted Eve with the forbidden fruit. But if you look closely, there was a flaw in how Eve viewed God. In chapter 3 and verse 2-3 the serpent questioned what God had said concerning the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. To which Eve replied in a way that actually changed how God originally stated his command. In chapter 2 verse 16 God says "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." When Eve answers the serpent regarding what God had said she changes the words: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die." What does this say of Eve? Possibly that her view of God's instruction was open to human modification. As Christians we know this is not truth. What happened next? She ate of the fruit of that tree and she gave some to Adam.
As wives (and wives to be) we need to be very careful that we are not making our own interpretations of God's commandments. If we are they could have serious impacts on our relationships with God and our husbands. We could hinder our husbands walk with God, we could hinder our husbands testimonies, and we could ruin our marriages.
What were the consequences for Adam and Eve and ultimately us? Pain in childbirth, a desire by the wife to oppose her husband and assert leadership over him, a desire by the husband to abandon his role of leading and guiding and caring for his wife and pursue "ruling" over his wife, a struggle for the husband to provide, and ultimately death.
We can see these struggles in the marriage relationships today still. But if we follow God's commands for marriage and strive to put away these sinful desires we can have strong, healthy, and Godly marriages. Those are the ones that are most fulfilling!
It was exciting to see how much I was able to learn in just the very first 3 chapters of my Bible in my journey to Paint my Bible Pink! Were they new things? No. But they are important truths that I need to apply to my life today and everyday!
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