The bridegroom from heaven

 I always thought Genesis 2:24 should have read differently. The books of Moses clearly advocate a male dominated culture. In my view it should have been "... a woman will leave her father and mother ...". That was in fact the practice in Israel and the Middle East. A woman was under the guardianship of her father until she got married when her husband became her guardian. In South Africa, until 1984, a woman married in community of property was regarded a minor in law. Her legal rights were the same as those of an under age child.

So why does Genesis 2:24 read: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife ...". When 'therefore' is encountered in a reading one should read the sentence before it to see what it's there for! Genesis 2:23 contains Adam's exclamation: "... bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh ...". But what has that to do with a man leaving father and mother?

In the books of the prophets Israel is referred to as the wife of her Maker. Genesis 2:24 gives us a clue that her heavenly husband would leave his home and take on flesh and be joined to her, becoming one with her.

The most famous rabbi of all time used parables to explain the Kingdom of Heaven. In one of them he said it is like a man who discovered a treasure hidden in a field. He covered it up and was so delighted that he sold all his possession and bought the field. This parable can be explained as follows:

The field is the earth which was given to man as described in Genesis 1:28 and Psalm 8:6. All plants and animals were given to mankind to care for. We have not been very good at it. For the most part we have been fighting over which man would be in charge. The treasure is the righteous people, the elect, the chosen ones. The new owner sold his position in heaven to live with his bride.

But how does she become bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh? For this to happen he had to shed his blood and obtain a new body. This he did, and when his people are resurrected they receive the same type of body: "... when he appears we shall be like him ..."!

The above thoughts are not original. They were first hinted at by the second most famous expounder of the Law of Moses who said Genesis 2:24 contained a mystery.

The Curse

When God breathed into Adam he became a spiritual being. Breath is air or wind and the Hebrew word "ruach" can be translated "spirit" or "wind".

The devil tempted Eve and Adam to become "like God", although they already bore his image. When they sinned God told them "You are dust and to dust you will return". They tried to reach for the stars, independently from their source, but ended up below the earth.

What was God to do? He had told them they would die if they ate of that tree. Could he go back on his word? He could come down and throttle them to death but we know he did not. So he cursed the world they lived in. This world would then bring about the death they deserved. Sickness and the ageing process entered the planet and eventually takes its toll on every human who does not die violently. God made sure that we could not live forever in this sinful state by keeping us away from the tree of life which was also in the Garden of Eden.

Is it God who makes us sick? He put things in place that bring about disease. He also helps us to overcome disease by science as well as prayer. But we all know we shall ultimately be overtaken by the curse.

One man did not have to die. He could forever live on earth but did better than that by dying and rising again. He expects us to
(1) not regard this world as all there is, wonderful as it may be;
(2) have faith that he will help us with how to live in a cursed world and
(3) call on him regularly to overcome the negative effects of the curse.