In paradise, where everything was “very good”, the Lord saw that it was not the best thing for the man to be alone. Instead of a single individual, He considered it better to have a partner who could not only understand, respect, help and love each other, but also procreate and populate the earth of other intelligent and loving beings. As the Scriptures report, He created both of them and united them in marriage, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Genesis 2:24. Being both in the image of God, they lived so happy in Eden, that they enjoyed mutual understanding between them, with God and with nature.
“God celebrated the first marriage. Thus the institution has for its originator the Creator of the universe. “Marriage is honorable” (Hebrews 13:4); it was one of the first gifts of God to man, and it is one of the two institutions that, after the Fall, Adam brought with him beyond the gates of Paradise. When the divine principles are recognized and obeyed in this relation, marriage is a blessing; it guards the purity and happiness of the race, it provides for man’s social needs, it elevates the physical, the intellectual, and the moral nature.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 46).
That happy living would have continued indefinitely if sin had not intervened, ruining the atmosphere of mutual understanding and service. Disobedience brought serious changes in human nature with imbalance and disharmony in the individual and matrimonial life, “thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Genesis 3:16. However, despite the conditions had changed, the Lord did not tell Adam to leave his wife or the wife to leave her husband. Faulty and changed by their sin, they should continue to appreciate love, respect and harmony as God had set it. Considering this divine relationship, even centuries later, Jesus restated: “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Matthew 19:6.When He stated these words, sin had already caused much infidelity, lack of confidence and misunderstandings, but His words still set our course of action.
By Antonino Di Franca
