Marriage Made In Heaven

“Then the man said, 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.” – Genesis 2:23.

We just finished the Ideal Family series.  There’s the ideal family and then there’s reality. There’s a gap and it’s one that’s not exactly expected to be filled. When it comes to family, what does the “ideal” family look like? Well, there is Adam and Eve.

If ever a marriage was ideal, it was Adam and Eve’s. If ever a marriage was made in heaven, it was Adam and Eve’s. It was perfectly planned and perfectly performed by a perfect God. First God made Adam in His image (Genesis 1:27). He was physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually perfect.

And what about Eve? “So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.” (Genesis 2:21-22). Adam must have been in love at first sight when he saw Eve. She was God’s creative genius at its best, unblemished grace and beauty, fashioned by the hand of God Himself. And like Adam, she was made in God’s image. She ended his loneliness. She was just exactly what he needed. 

Their home was located in Eden. “And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.” (Genesis 2:8). Eden was a luscious green paradise, blanketed with every beautiful and edible growing thing (Genesis 2: 9-10). Side by side they lived and labored in perfect harmony, sharing a sense of mutual interdependence, enjoying a freedom of communion and communication. There was no sin in them. There was no strife between them. They were at peace with God, at peace with themselves, and at peace with each other. This was truly the perfect marriage. This was paradise. But obviously, something happened and the ideal became all too real.

Everything changed with the entrance of sin. The subtle tempter questioned the Word of God and the goodness of God. Satan’s methods have not changed much through the centuries. We know them well—the doubts, the distortions, the denials. Yet we too fall prey to them. We can identify with Eve in her moment of weakness. We know what it is to yield to temptation. When Adam and Eve yielded to temptation there were devastating consequences for both of them and the serpent. (Genesis 3: 14-19)

This would be the saddest story ever told were it not for a Savior born so many year later. Speaking to Satan he said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Genesis 3:15). God promised that the seed of the woman, a child born into the human race, would destroy the works of the devil. This is the first biblical prophecy of the coming Redeemer. Jesus died for the sins of the world. His perfect blood covers the sins of every human being who will accept Him as Lord and Savior. He offers to forgive us freely and restore us to His favor. And He makes available to us His strength to help us live above temptation.

Discussion Questions:

1. What can we learn from this ideal marriage?
2. In what ways can Satan use temptation to undermine marriages and families?
3. What can husbands and wives do to help keep from blaming their problems on each other as Adam and Eve did?
4. Is the issue of eternal salvation firmly settled in your mind? If not, is there any good reason why you should not settle it right now?