“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said the them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” Genesis 1:27-28
Can there be a better introduction than God’s first statement about man’s role on this earth? It is masterful, giving a clear and purposeful intent for man (male and female) on this earth. Notice that His intent is not for one man but for mankind, for them. They are to be fruitful and multiply, have children to fill the earth; they are to have dominion over all of the fish, the birds and the all the animals that roam the earth. Nothing is above them, all is for them. God continues on to set a precedent for marriage in the second chapter of Genesis, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Again it is evident that God’s desire for mankind was to have a help-meet, someone to partner with and do life with. A beautiful plan for dominion and fellowship with the Creator.
Then the plan was suddenly and abruptly compromised by their disobedience. As a result of their disobedience they create a separation from their Creator. And because of this disunion of fellowship a rift was created between what was meant to be one flesh. In Genesis 3:14-19, God’s curse on mankind is enacted – pain in childbirth, toil of working the land and the disassociation from God’s full glory and presence. God’s intent for man was to be in a partnership with woman to bring glory to the Creator and have dominion on the earth. This intent was perverted in the Fall, and the result was a imperfect portrayl of a perfect mechanism for God’s Glory. In Ephesians, Paul challenges the saints at Ephesus to mirror the relationship of Christ and the church. He brings us back to the perfect model for marriage using Christ’s love and sacrifice for the bride (the body of Christ). This is the model that was intended at Creation and the model that must be the goal of every marriage.
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27
The next few pages will focus on ten marriages of the Old Testament and attempt to address the problems in the relationships, include a means for intervention and then conclude with a treatment plan based on the findings. It will seem at first unorthodox as I will use the model of Christ and the relationship between Christ and the church, and God and His Son in prescribing a means for intervetion and a treatment plan. In this context the relationship is viewed as an example and the solutions will be recommended on the basis of the problems not the specific person(s). I am not trying to rewrite the Bible. Nor is it my intent to project my opinions and bias during this process, but I cannot say that this will happen. There will be a need to draw some assumptions that are not explicit to the text, and in doing so I prayerfully hope that the conclusions drawn are not heretical but instead helpful to any marriage or relationship in today’s dysfunctional society.
Adam & Eve – Genesis 1-4
Presenting Problems
There are two problems that plague Adam and Eve’s marriage, the passivity of man and the desire to usurp by the woman. These are evident before the official ‘Fall of Man’ (bite of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) which prompts me to think that man had freedom of choice from the moment he was created and in this freedom the seeds of evil were planted before the decision to eat of its fruit. The decision to eat was the manifestation of their choices.
The passivity of Adam
In the moment the serpent began to tempt Eve, Adam stood idly by his wife as she took the fruit off the branch, fondled it in her hands and brought it to her lips. He then took a bite of the fruit offered by his wife. This passivity is one of the greatest problems in many marriages today, no doubt initiated by Adam and continued down the line.
The desire to usurp by Eve
This is not clearly evident before the Fall, but can be assumed that Eve did not seek Adam’s counsel, before eating of the fruit. Whether or not Adam’s consent was assumed by his passivity is not the question, but rather was Eve trying to take the lead that was rightfully Adam’s? It is known that in God’s curse He mentions that, “Your (Woman’s) desire shall be for you husband, and he shall rule over you.” Not a sexual desire as some have preached, but a desire to take control of the husband, to supplant, to assume the role of leader that is the husband’s right and responsibility.
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This sounds like a very intriguing paper. A lot to think about! For instance, how much did Eve have to usurp at that point? She was tempted before the curse to be “ruled over” by Adam, so how much headship did he have at that time for her to crave? Eve was created because it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone and without help, but indications from 2:24 and 1:28 point to a pretty level playing field between the two of them. This is all just for the sake of conversation, of course — I don’t have strong feelings either way. But perhaps instead of a usurpation of power, Eve was involved in a breach of partnership?
yeah… i have thought about that too. a breach of partnership in which both were not upholding their end of the deal. a conversation is all i want as i have found this last year of bible school to be very eye opening to how much i thought i knew and how much i don’t know. i believe the partnership is the way in which they were created but i also think that there is a clear indication that man was to lead (servant-leadership as Christ modeled) his wife. in this way adam may have failed and the outcome was a wife leading the way. probably gonna think about this for a while it is most intriguing… thanks for the comment – as always!