Genesis 1-3

January 1: Genesis 1-3

I was recently been approached by a family member to officiate her wedding in September. This would be my first wedding, if I do it. So with this consideration on my heart, the opening Genesis took on added importance. I could spend time noticing why God wrote "after their kind" so often when speaking of the propagation of His created things. Was He offering a rebuttal to the evolutionist argument even from the first few words of Scripture? I could ponder over what the Jews thought as they read "Let US..." Were they to believe they had more than one God? Is this really a foreshadow of the Trinity? But instead I want to think briefly on the institution of marriage.

God states in Genesis 1 that both male and female are created in the image of God. Then Genesis 2 begins again with the special creation of the man, Adam. It is interesting that God parades before Adam every animal so that he might name it. For it is in this he shows his place of authority over them and, in spite of their abundance, the absence of a suitable helper from among them. Humans need humans. There is no substitute in the animal kingdom for them.

I took my little boy to see Charlotte's Web last night at the movie theater. The little girl takes on the responsibility of seeing after a little pig. As the year goes on the child visits with the pig and the other barnyard animals on the farm. She spends countless hours reading to them, playing with them, drawing pictures of them. At one point, she even regards them as her friends. Yet one day, later in the film, a boy catches her eye. It is not long before the girl is shown running off to play with him, leaving the little pig behind.

Just this simple fictional story reminded me that though we may love pets or barnyard animals, they can never replace, nor should they replace, the positions in our lives for which other humans have been created. God looked on Adam and said that it was not good for man to be alone. This is the only time in the creation accounts that God says it is not good. From Adam the woman is taken and molded, specially prepared and designed to be a suitable helpmate.

It is immediately after this that the institution of marriage is first described. Man shall leave father and mother and they shall become one flesh. The marriage concept came before the onset of sin. It is the way God originally intended for us to establish communities. It should be understood as the socially expected norm. Not getting marriage, I believe, is only for a select few. And those, as Paul discusses, are set apart for focused gospel ministry where they are given added grace to override their desire for an intimate relationship with the opposite sex.

A few more words quickly concerning the constructs of marriage as portrayed in Genesis 1-3. First, Adam still names the woman "woman," and later "Eve." I believe this is again a demonstration of authority, just as God shows His authority naming the man, Gen 5:2. Confirmed in the NT, man is given the responsibility of leading the home. The wife is the helpmate, responsible to have input and guidance within the home, but ultimately, I believe, Scripture teaches that the man is responsible before God for the direction of his household. What a weighty reminder of our high calling!

Now, a look at the curses. It is interesting what sin ushers in. To the women God says that her desire would be for her husband, yet he would rule over her. Is part of sin's effect that women would desire to lead, to take their husband's role? And yet that man would still seek that authority and even distort it by "ruling" over her? I think this reveals sin's assault on marriage even from the beginning.

Even at the onset of a new marriage there is an innate enmity between husband and wife that must be overcome by grace. This is true for nonbelievers, as well as believers. Sin attacks the marriage bed. It is no wonder that divorce is so rampant.

Finally, God calls us within the marriage context to procreation... to fill the earth. It is the first command given to the family. It seems counter-Biblical that Christians are choosing to drastically limit the number of children they wish to have. Our culture has created a disregard for children. Children are limiting, expensive, and career-stifling. I am not arguing for 17 kids (my wife would shoot me first!), but I am asking whether or not God has called us to such a constricting pattern of behavior. Children, as Scripture over and over points out, are a blessing! May we always view them in this light.

From the opening chapters we learn so much about God's design and hope for His creation. We who profess His name must prayerfully seek tHis construct offering to the world the true understanding of marriage, relationship, and family. God bless.