Texts: Genesis 2:18-24; 35:1-7; Psalm 127:3-4; Proverbs 18:22; Ephesians 5:25-33
Today we want to remind ourselves that God has very good intentions for us all (Gen. 2:18-24). He wants us to be happy in marriage and to enjoy the bliss that goes with it (Gen. 2:18). He wants a strong cooperation between the husband and the wife to achieve the purpose of God (Gen. 18:24; Pr. 18:22; Mt. 19:6). There will be strength when the two come together in unity, with their offspring, to overcome their adversaries (Dt. 32:30; Isa. 8:18). He gave the order of their behavior so that the union which He established will prosper.
For Wives:
Marriage is meant to be a complimentary union of one man and one woman; the partners should not isolate one another (Dt. 32:30; Eccl. 4:11). To eliminate the loneliness, God provided a help that is suitable in such situations. Note that the word help in this context means “to give or provide what is necessary to accomplish a task or satisfy a need; to contribute strength or means to ; to render assistance or to cooperate effectively with; to aid; to assist: to make easier or less difficult; to contribute to; to facilitate”. The moment the woman (wife) neglects this aspect of this divinely-ordained institution, then the life or health of that marriage and indeed, of that man (husband), begins to take a plunge or a nosedive (Pr. 18:22; 14:1). When the man (the husband) is denied the joys or the fruits of the marriage, then the purpose of the marriage is defeated and his life usually begins a downward or a negative spiral (Eph. 5:22-24). When he is relegated to the background because he is no more what he used to be physically, financially or otherwise, then that union will also begin to deteriorate (Rom. 7:2).