A question from the internet world:
Just wondering why the Bible says that “a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife” rather than “a woman leaves her father and mother…..”
It is interesting why pretty much the entire history of civilization has us going opposite of what Scripture says on this issue. Balance and complementarity within uniqueness and differences seems to be God’s route to harmony and unity. We see it in 1 Corinthians 11:8-12.
8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. (TNIV)
So we have the first woman being formed through/with the body of the man; from then on all humans are formed through/with the body of the woman. So, though we must be independent in some senses having full authority over our own bodies and being responsible for our own actions and beliefs, yet we must acknowledge that we cannot live without each other. Finally, we must remember that ultimately God is the source of everything and the support that all must rely upon.
So in a marriage because there is a strength that men have to begin with and that women seek, the balance comes by men recognizing their need of the woman to fulfill, enrich, and nourish their lives. Thus, man gives up his strength to cleave to the woman. In the end, they are both cleaving to each other in different ways and by that we have true unity of the two becoming one. And this is why I believe that God set the stage for the first human to experience aloneness. He needed to comprehend the importance of companionship by experiencing aloneness.
Just a bit of philosophical thinking. :)
TL,
I find solace in this emphasis. It is particularly noteworthy that the saying reappears in the New Testament several times in the speech of Jesus and then in a letter of Paul's. Not only is it the first biblical thought on marriage, it seems nothing is said more often about marriage than this. But it is such a familiar saying that we don't always notice how counter-cultural it is. Thank you for your post.
Deb
Posted by: Djs429 | Sep 07, 2013 at 12:04 PM