Happy Valentine’s Day
Genesis 2:24 "sTherefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." [1]
I. Leave
A. Deliberate
B. Departure
II. Cleave
A. Deliberate
B. Decision
III. Believe
A. Deliberate
B. Discovery
Introduction: So where in the world did this thing called Valentine’s Day start? There are very strange and weird notions. NPR or National Public Radio says; “The ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of our modern day of love. Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.
That’s one bit of trivia. Those Romans had a really crazy ritual that apparently was done on the same day later to commemorate February 14. It might be where the modern day term of hitting up a woman might have come from. Men would go and find a woman that they were attracted to and actually hit her. They somehow got the idea that the fear of the beating would increase the woman’s fertility so that there would be a greater chance for the man to have offspring.
The conclusive reason for Valentine’s Day is unknown. Someone said that Hallmark and Whitman’s Candy Company probably invented it. I expect if that’s true then the florists might have had a hand in it too. In any event it is good that we remember that God placed in us the want and need to be attracted to the opposite sex. If God had not done that, I wouldn’t be here.
Today we are reaching way back to Genesis as we consider the real first couple. Have you ever walked on the beach as a couple knowing that there is a crowd of others there but feeling in your heart that it’s just the two of you together? Can you imagine walking together in the garden with God and you truly are the only ones there?
Interesting that God had just informed Adam that everything was OK for him in the garden except one thing. The fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil was off the OK list. All the things that God made here on this planet were good except that tree’s fruit and that Adam was alone. Now imagine what Adam thought when he woke from rib extraction surgery to find God standing there with Eve. Adam needed a help meet. God gave him Eve.
Scripture: Today’s scripture is Genesis 2:24-25. When you have found it please rise to your feet for the reading of God’s written word.
Prayer: Please be seated
Message: Follow as we read Genesis 2:18-23. After God created the man Adam he brought the animals that He had created for Adam to see? Actually the KJV here says that God brought the animals to see what Adam would call them. God gave this place we call earth for us to inhabit and take care of even to the point of naming the creatures that God created. Adam was in lock step with God.
Notice there at the beginning of a new paragraph in verse eighteen that of all God’s creatures there was not a help meet or mate for Adam. It is not good for man to be alone even though we were at home with God. God is not now alone and He never is or will He be. The Heavenly Father is with The Son Jesus and with the Holy Spirit. Adam needed a bride.
Adam had to lose something to gain something. God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam. Anesthesiologists are still pretty important people. When they mess up it’s a real mess. Of course God knew what He was doing because the surgery was a success. When Adam came out from under, God brought his help meet. It cost Adam a rib. That which covered his heart was weakened so that his heart was more exposed than it had been, but the one who made him complete was about to be introduced to him and she would enter his heart of hearts.
Who called her a woman? There in verse twenty-three it says that Adam called her Woman with a capital “W” because she was taken out of a Man with a capital “M.” The first Man and the first Woman; the parents of us all!
The focal text today is referenced many places in the Bible including Psalms, the Gospel accounts, and even some of the Pauline letters. For those who speak against the truth that marriage is ordained by God to be between a man and a woman, it is irrefutable that the Bible is very clear about what marriage is.
Jesus Himself explained that not all people are cut out to be married and that’s OK. In fact Paul said that to be married to the ministry is good unless a person cannot control their desires otherwise. Those of us who are to be married should take this ordinance very seriously. Many of today’s problems are attributable to our allowing this awesome responsibility to be weakened by our inability to be faithful.
So what shall we do with this thing called marriage? First it says that a man should leave his father and his mother. So that must go for the woman too. A new union is formed with new responsibilities. Does it mean that people are to leave and forget their parents when they find the mate God intended for them? No! Of course not. The commandment with a promise for a long life to the one who keeps it is Exodus 20:12 "pHonour thy father and thy mother: qthat thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” [2]
So what is it about our parents that we are supposed to leave? Once a person becomes an adult they are to leave the supervision of their parents. When the investment that parents have made in the child has reached maturity it is time for the new adult to leave the nest so to speak. Get out of their basement. Find your own insurance. Getting to contemporary now…
It’s like a savings bond. You remember them? Once a bond reached maturity you cashed it in. You invested and saw it to maturity and now you are ready to see a return on your investment. If you leave it in a drawer after it’s matured it will only accumulate dust. Who wants dusty kids? Enough chasing rabbits…
To become married to a spouse that you know God alone has led to you is a deliberate act. It is a departure from having parents to serve you so that you are now ready to become parents who serve their own offspring. It is a deliberate time of departure from being served to service.
That word cleave is one that is not used much in today’s language. It means to join. Not like joining a club or something that you can decide to leave once you tire of the dues that you must pay to stay in the thing. This word cleave is to join two bodies so that they actually become one body. There is no clearer picture of this then what happens when God forms that child as a result of marriage between a man and a woman; a husband and a wife; a father and a mother.
Preacher is going to meddling now… Pregnancy is not a haphazard accidental thing. There is a reason we call it conception. That which God has used you to accomplish from that which He thought of should be a deliberate decision. Once a couple has decided to become parents nothing could ever happen to change the outcome. A child has been conceived by God and no matter what other decisions might be made after that, a child has been conceived by God.
As the song says, I can only imagine what it will be like to see those children that I did not have the chance to know in this life. What a marvelous eternity we will have together with God and those we never got a chance to know and love in this short earthly life.
What greater earthly gift has God given us than marriage? Why does Jesus call the relationship that we, His church, have with Him marriage? Cleave to the spouse that God chose for you.
Finally, believe! When you believe that God only has your best in his mind for you it takes away the notion that you have something to hide from Him. That is called faith! It is not a faith that everything will be OK as long as you remain a better person than that other person that is your bad example. It is not faith that everything is going to be OK because you deserve better than those other people who have problems that they have brought on themselves. NO! It is only a belief and a sure faith in God that He is, was, and always will be God.
We really don’t have anything to hide from Him because He knows even our thoughts. As long as the first couple was deliberate in their devotion to the relationship that they had with God they were free. Discovery is the act of uncovering something that has yet to be revealed. They were already discovered; by the One true God who already knew all that there was to know about them. God was deliberate in His instructions. There was no truth that they needed to be discovered and they were not ashamed. The shame came later.
Prayer: Let us pray
Invitation: We are going out to the fellowship hall to remember our parents. As a member of the family of Merry Oaks Baptist Church it is good that we remember those God brought here to build us into the family that we are today. Today let us celebrate them.
We are also here to celebrate this thing called Valentine’s Day. It is a celebration of marriage. God conceived marriage to be the thing that brings families into this world. My mom was a mess. I still laugh at some of her observations about life. She often said that if God had created anything better than love between a man and a woman He would have kept it for himself.
Well God didn’t keep us for Himself. He gave us to each other and He even gave us Himself because He did love us that much. As we sing our song of invitation let us be reminded of just how much God has for us. The best Valentine’s gift ever! The best gift ever! Amen…
s Ps. 45:10. Cited Matt. 19:5. Mark 10:7. 1 Cor. 6:16. Eph. 5:31.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ge 2:24–25). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
p Lev. 19:3. Jer. 35:7, 18, 19. Cited Matt. 15:4. & 19:19. Mark 7:10. & 10:19. Luke 18:20. Eph. 6:2.
q So ch. 23:26. Cited Eph. 6:3.
[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ex 20:12). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
