An Example of Biblical Marriage from Adam and Eve.

When I think of a biblical marriage I think of an elderly couple walking down the boardwalk arm in arm. The woman still smiles when she looks up at her husband and the man still has a proud expression on his face to be seen with his lovely bride. A vision like that is inspiring and shows me that love can succeed the test of time. However, this will never be the case with many couples today. Instead of love succeeding the test of time, love will come to a screeching halt in divorce court. It is sad, but it is true that over 50% of marriages will end in this way. There has never been a more crucial time to seek the wisdom of God on how to have a biblical marriage.

Let's look at the Biblical example of marriage of Adam and Eve. There is a saying that I have heard preachers talk about called the law of the first mention. The first time a thing or circumstance appears in the Bible we can use it as a pattern to compare other Scripture verses and life situations. Whether it is true or not I do not know but I believe we can learn a lot about biblical marriage by looking at the first example of a marriage in the Bible, Adam and Eve.

The first thing we can learn from Adam and Eve in their biblical marriage is to see marriage as God sees it. God loves marriage; he sees it as a holy thing and a sacred thing. It is just as much His creation as the trees and the stars. Marriage is the first institution ordained by God. Before there was a church, before there was government, God created the family. Strong marriages have been backbone of all successful societies throughout the history of the world. That is why it is so important that we all learn from God's Word his plan for married couples.

When God made Adam and Eve he said that the two shall become one flesh. Becoming one flesh with another human being is not something to be taken lightly. Yet many people today see marriage as something they will try and if it does not work out they can always get out of it. This is not the biblical view of marriage. We must see marriage as Holy Matrimony. We must get back to the idea that what God has joined together let no man put asunder if we are going to get back to the biblical blessing on marriage.

After God created Adam he began looking for a partner for him. (Genesis 2:20) The reason a lot of marriages fail is that they don't let God be the matchmaker. They hunt and hunt for that perfect one but how will they know when they find him or her. There is no for sure way of knowing except for trusting your own instinct. Why not let God be the matchmaker like he was for Adam. If there is anyone who can match up personalities, it is God. He knows us more than we know ourselves.

When God was looking for a companion for Adam he said that no suitable helper could be found (Genesis 2:20). When God looks for a suitable helper for your mister or miss right will you measure up as a suitable helper? Many people while they were young spent so much time stressing over relationships and trying to find the right person that they neglected building their own character, talents, and skills. Being a youth minister for nine years has allowed me to see firsthand how dating can waste thousands of hours of valuable time that a young person could spend developing character, talents, and a relationship with God. Instead of discovering themselves and finding out who they really are (which is what they are supposed to be doing during adolescence), they spend countless hours stressing over whether or not he or she likes me and they neglect becoming that person God wants them to be. God made Eve just for Adam and God will mold and make us for that perfect someone if we let Him. A biblical marriage starts way before the wedding vows are said.

Just because you are with your perfect match, it doesn't mean that you will have no problems. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit things got real ugly real fast. They lost their home in the Garden of Eden, Adam lost his good job tending the Garden of Eden and would now have to work a tough job earning his food by the sweat of his brow, Eve would have health problems by experience great pain in giving birth and to top it all off Adam blamed Eve for all of it by telling God that woman that you gave me made me eat it.

Now if anything could break up a successful marriage, an experience like that could. Perhaps in your marriage, you have experienced some strenuous circumstances. Odds are that if you live on planet earth you have more than one strenuous circumstance and probably your spouse even blamed you for it or you blamed them. In these circumstances we must follow the biblical marriage example of Adam.

The Bible says in Genesis 3:30, "Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living." You see, Adam gave his wife a good name. He could have held on to his bitterness and talked to all his buddies about all the bad things she had done. He could have talked ugly about her and completely smeared her name. But instead Adam took a higher path. I truly believe that after much thinking and talking that Adam and Eve, because of their love for each other, forgave each other. It makes no sense otherwise for Adam to give his wife such a good name. She technically, brought death into the world by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam could have given her a name that meant she brought death. Instead he gave her a wonderful name that means she gives life. In a biblical marriage the spouse always upholds the name of their mate.

For many who are reading this article I know you cannot go back and change past mistakes, but you can get forgiveness and receive the favor of God right now in your life. So if the things I share are water under the bridge for you and impossible to change, don't ignore it, but consider how God can heal the past to create a better present and future.

The Bible goes on to say about Adam and Eve in Genesis 5:3-5, "When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died." Adam and Eve were possibly together for around 900 years. If that is not love succeeding the test of time, I don't know what is. God's model for biblical marriage works. It worked for Adam and Eve and it will work your you and your spouse.