By Design, Pt. 5

Families matter. They are highly valued, blessed, and exalted by God. Within the family, we have our identity and personality greatly shaped and formed.

By Design, Pt. 5

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

(Genesis 2:24)

Genesis 1:28 says God blessed Adam and Eve and then spoke to them. He also blessed the animals and commanded them to multiply generally in Genesis 1:22, but in verse 28, there is a difference: God personally speaks to them. Part of being in the image of God is to know Him, hear Him, and serve Him. God blesses this first family of Adam and Eve that He created. The Hebrew word here is barak and has various meanings like praise, fill with strength, and (I like this one) to adore. (Source: Brown, Driver, and Briggs in Logos.)

In Genesis 2:24, we read that God unites this first couple. They are valued separately as human beings, but when they come together as husband and wife, this too is God's idea, and it is blessed, for He created this union. The first institution or sociological establishment involving humanity was the family. Jesus quotes Genesis 1-2 in Matthew 19:4-6:

"And He answered and said to them, 'Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

This union of one man and one woman is designed by God and blessed by God.

Families matter. They are highly valued, blessed, and exalted by God. Within the family, we have our identity and personality greatly shaped and formed. But as we all know, after the fall of man in Genesis 3, when sin enters the world, everything changes. And all the deviations and perversions we read about after Genesis 3, all the way to our modern day, reveals how broken we are and in need of redemption.

God loves you, and He loves your family. He created the family and designed it to consist of one man and one woman, a husband and wife for companionship, fellowship, and procreation. It is His blueprint by design, highly valued by Him, exalted in Scripture, blessed, and defended by those who follow God's plan.

Some reading this devotion are single or perhaps a couple that cannot have biological children. Do not be discouraged. God loves you and has a great plan for you. Seek Him, wait on Him, and see what wonderful things He grants to you as you pursue Him.