Conditions for Marriage

¹⁸ The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”- Genesis 2:18

Conditions:

1. Be in a with God
   1. Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. – Genesis 2:8
      1. Eden literally means “A good place”
      2. Adam was in a good place with God
2. Understand your
   1. for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground. – Genesis 2:5b
   2. ¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. – Genesis 2:15
      1. Adam knew and was committed to the ministry/work God had for him
3. Give “” of yourself up
   1.  Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib^[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.- Genesis 2:22
      1. You must be willing to give up a part of yourself
         1. Time
         2. Money
         3. Interests
         4. Responsibility

*If you do not know what God’s job for you is, if you are not in a good place with God, or your unwilling to give up part of yourself, it is entirely good for you to be alone!

• ¹⁸ The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”- Genesis 2:18
• But for Adam^[f] no suitable helper was found. – Genesis 2:20b

*Notice there were many available, but no one suitable. You may find someone who is a “good” girl, but they do not share your passion or calling for ministry or not in a good place with God then they cannot “Help” you in your task God has given

*Some men chase the “helper” before knowing what they are coming in to Help with!

Failure in Marriage

Adam and Eve lost sight of the purpose of marriage

*Note: Marriage serves not to make you happy, but to serve God fully. Eve was brought in to help Adam in the job God gave Him. God created marriage for God, not for man.

• We all know the story
  • Genesis 3
  • ¹⁴ And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. – 1 Timothy 2:14
  • However, Paul states in Romans 5 Adam sinned first
• What happened to the marriage?
  • The marriage started good
  • Adam communicated the rules, and even set “fences” to combat any temptation
    • God Said:  And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” – Genesis 2:16-17
    • Eve said (Through Adam): but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ – Genesis 3:3
  • Observations:
    • Eve was deceived when she ate, Adam was not. Adam knew what he was doing
    • If Eve ate out of the temptation first, how did Adam sin first?
    • Often its said, Adam sinned because he knew more than Eve, but Eve explicitly states she knew the boundary from Adam
  • Explanations:
    • Adam knew he was disobeying YWH, but he was obeying his idol…Eve
      • More sadistic view is he was waiting to see what would happen to her
      • More legal view is that because they were “one flesh,” when she sinned Adam sinned.
    • Adam set-up his idol before Eve ate. Adam’s heart was turned over to Eve
    • Adam stood in greater awe of Eve than of God
      • Adam had great affection for Eve as in Hebrew language of Genesis 2:23

*Modern day, to name her “woman” seems generic or abstract, and even offensive. The language of the Hebrew actually paints a more intimate moment. Adam says, “she has a part of me, she belongs to me, she is mine”

• • • • ²⁵ Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. –Genesis 2:25
        • Hebrew word for “naked” is “Amor,” meaning literally “a state of shame.”

Leadership after Failure

• The First fight
  • Eve the Influencer, Adam the Blamer
    • ¹² The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” – Genesis 3:12
      • First blames the woman, then blames God
      • This must have made a huge impact on the marriage

*Adam built his idol, rejected his vocation, then refuses to take responsibility in it

How Adam Led after Failure:

• • and Eve (Changed her name)
    • ²³ The man said, “This is now bone of my bones
          and flesh of my flesh;
      she shall be called ‘woman,’
          for she was taken out of man.” – Genesis 2:23
    • ²⁰ Adam^[c] named his wife Eve,^[d] because she would become the mother of all the living. – Genesis 3:20
      • Does not hold it over her, or against her, but encourages her
      • He lifted her up in that time
  • Placed God at the of his marriage
    • First name: He defined and identified her in relation to Him
    • Second Name: He defined and identified her in relation to God

*Adam quickly realized that Eve, and his marriage we not about Adam, it was about God

• • Put the family back on
    • Adam^[a] made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.^[b] She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth^[c] a man. – Genesis 4:1
      • He raised two priestly sons: temple priest (Cain) and priestly Shepard (Abel)
    • ²⁵ Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth,^[h] saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him. – Genesis 4:25
      • Adam and Eve showed resolve in the mission and promise of God

How do you lead after catastrophic failure?

Answer: Adam centered his family on , and anchored on His