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Tuesday Devo

Scripture Reading:

Genesis 2
23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.
“This one is bone from my bone,
and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
because she was taken from ‘man.’ ”
24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

Commentary from the ESV Study Bible:

2:23–24 When no suitable companion is found among all the living beings, God fashions a woman from the man’s own flesh. The text highlights the sense of oneness that exists between the man and the woman. Adam joyfully proclaims, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” This terminology is used elsewhere of blood relatives (29:14). This sentence and the story of Eve’s creation both make the point that marriage creates the closest of all human relationships. It is also important to observe that God creates only one Eve for Adam, not several Eves or another Adam. This points to heterosexual monogamy as the divine pattern for marriage that God established at creation. Moreover, the kinship between husband and wife creates obligations that override even duty to one’s parents (therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, 2:24). In ancient Israel, sons did not move away when they married, but lived near their parents and inherited their father’s land. They “left” their parents in the sense of putting their wife’s welfare before that of their parents. The term “hold fast” is used elsewhere for practicing covenant faithfulness (e.g., Deut. 10:20; see how Paul brings these texts together in 1 Cor. 6:16–17); thus, other Bible texts can call marriage a “covenant” (e.g., Prov. 2:17; Mal. 2:14). Paul’s teaching on marriage in Eph. 5:25–32 is founded on this text. The sense of being made for each other is further reflected in a wordplay involving the terms “man” and “woman”; in Hebrew these are, respectively, ’ish and ’ishshah. As a result of this special affiliation, Gen. 2:24 observes that when a man leaves his parents and takes a wife, they shall become one flesh, i.e., one unit (a union of man and woman, consummated in sexual intercourse). Jesus appeals to this verse and 1:27 in setting out his view of marriage (Matt. 19:4–5).
2:24 Divorce is a deviation from God’s design in creation (Matt. 19:4). The marriage relationship anticipates the relation of Christ to the church (Eph. 5:22–33).

Study Questions:

  • On Sunday, we explored the DEPTH of partnership. Genesis 2:24 talks about a man leaving his father and mother and being JOINED to his wife... then the two are UNITED into one. This is speaking of consummating a marriage. Many people fall short of God's best for their lives by doing married things without being married. When this happens, and when you end up breaking up, there are lasting, significant effects. What are some ways that moving from partner to partner, without being married, can negatively affect your future relationship with a spouse? How can it do damage to your relationship with God? 

  • Marriage is a COVENANT, not a CONTRACT. A contract is, "You do your part, I'll do mine." It's conditional. A covenant is unconditional. It says, "I'm all in, regardless of the other's performance." What has your mentality been about marriage? Do your words and actions in your relationship say that you are all in regardless of the other's performance? Are you truly committed for a lifetime? How do you know?

Pray:

  • That, if dating, you would remember God created sex for a marriage covenant relationship.
  • That, if you are married, you would prove you are committed for a lifetime with your words and actions.

This Week's City 7:

Try to commit to memory!

6. Is the Bible God’s word? Jesus proved He is God by rising from the dead and said the Old Testament was God’s word and gave authority to the Apostles to write the words of the New Testament under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so that all the words of the Bible are God’s Word.
(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)

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