Until Death Do Us Part

Opening illustration: A bride was very nervous. It was right before the service. She wasn’t sure she could even walk down aisle. Her mother gave her some words of calming wisdom. She said to her. “Honey, there’s only three things you need to focus on. If you focus on these three things, you’ll be fine. The first is walking down the aisle. Just focus on walking down the aisle of the church. I know it’s rather long, but just concentrate on that. Don’t get caught up with those on either side of the aisle. Just focus on getting to the end of the aisle. Next, focus on the altar. It is your destination today. Make your way down the aisle to the altar. There you will stand before God with the man you love and will make vows to God and him. God will also make vows to you. Focus on the altar that represents the love God has for you in Jesus Christ. Last, focus on the hymn that the soloist will sing. In poetry and song, the hymn embodies God’s love for you in Christ, your love for your husband and his love for you. So, to help you not be so nervous, focus on those three things. Walking down the aisle, standing before the altar and listening to the hymn.”

The bride was very thankful to her mom for her words of advice. The family and friends gathered watched as she walked down the aisle and noticed a look of calm determination on her face. But as she passed them, they began to chuckle quietly. For along with the look of calm determination, she was mumbling three words over and over to help calm her nerves. As she passed them, they heard her saying, “Aisle, Altar, Hymn. Aisle, Altar, Hymn. Aisle, Altar, Hymn.”

Many people come into a marriage relationship just to fix one another. Let us turn to Genesis 2 in our Bibles and revert to Godly principles for the role of husbands and wives.

Introduction: God gave man dominion over all creatures and this world. But though he was lord of the creatures, yet nothing in this world was a help meet for man. From God all are our helpers. If we rest in God, he will work all for good. God caused deep sleep to fall on Adam; while he knows no sin, God will take care that he shall feel no pain. God, as her Father, brought the woman to the man, as his second self, and a help meet for him. That wife, who is of God’s making by special grace, and of God’s bringing by special providence, is likely to prove a help meet for a man. See what need there is, both of prudence and prayer in the choice of this relation, which is so near and so lasting. That had need to be well done, which is to be done for life. Marriage is the first institution that God created and Satan has been trying …

Why did God create husband and wife?

1. To PARTNER with one another (vs. 18-20)

The passage in context suggests the principle of headship and submission by the central role of man in the account of the woman’s creation. God created man first and provided him with a garden, an occupation, and finally a wife to be "a helper (‘ezer) fit for him" (Gen 2: 18). Though the word "helper" suggests the woman’s supportive role, the Hebrew word ‘ezer (helper) does not imply submission alone but also an aspect of leaning and depending on one another. Paul reiterates this in his letter to the Ephesians (5) and Colossians (3). Neither does this imply a relationship of a taskmaster and slave. Obviously to run an organization you can’t have two CEOs – surely there is going to be a power struggle and result in a major disaster. Apparently this is what is happening in most homes in our country. We must understand here that one needs to lead and the other to follow. The passage here clearly states that man is the spiritual head and leader of the relationship and family. In the OT the Hebrew Bible most frequently employs ‘ezer to describe a superior helper–God Himself as the ‘helper’ of Israel. This is a relational term describing a beneficial relationship, but in itself does not specify position or rank, either superiority or inferiority. The OT portrays God as our Helper (Psalms 10: 14; 54: 4; 22: 11). This only serves to prove that the helper role is a glorious one, worthy even of God Himself. But this fact does not exclude submission, because the very nature of a helping role presupposes submission. Whenever God undertakes to help us, in a certain sense He subordinates Himself to us. But this does not "undo" His deity in helping us. To help us Christ emptied Himself and assumed a servant role, but this did not make Him any less God. The difference, however, between the helping role of God or of Christ and that of the woman is that while God assumes the role of Helper to meet human needs, Eve was created specifically to function as a helper suitable for Adam.