We read of the dilemma of man. In the creation Adam had his duty, caring for the garden. Yet as he was caring for the garden he saw that he was one of a kind in a world where all the other living beings were reproducing and filling the earth. Adam's realization of this loneliness is something the Lord knew and stated in advance.
What do we see about husband and wife in this passage? First that the man and woman are compatible. This is a match which is good and right. We are made to be in community, including the community of marriage between a man and a woman.
Second we see that the man leaves his parents and holds to his wife. There is a separation from the parental authority. There is distinction. Even in a culture such as we commonly see in the Bible where families don't move far away, we see the idea of the young man taking authority for his family.
Third we see that the man's loyalty is to his wife. God clearly intends monogamy. He does not intend us to involve ourselves with multiple partners or to engage in any of the "alternatives" our culture urges upon us. He intends marriage to be between one man and one woman, that it should be a faithful and fulfilling relationship, and that it should show unity, not chaos.
Finally we see that the man and wife were not ashamed. They had no need to hide from one another. There was nothing furtive about their relationship. They were to remain unashamed before one another for the rest of their lives. There is no need for husband and wife to hide from one another. Theirs is a relationship of disclosure.
Our Lord, through the apostle Paul, compares the relationship of a husband and wife to the relationship of Christ and the Church. May he work in us, teaching husbands to lay down their lives as Christ laid down his life for the Church. May he work in us, teaching wifes to submit to the loving leadership of their husbands as the Church submits to the loving leadership of her Lord.
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