"And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?"
Matthew 19:5
Part 2
Yesterday:
“And said, For this cause.”
Because of the Creator’s work in the first man and woman.
“Shall a man leave father and mother,”
“Leaving,” the married couple’s dwelling changes.
Today:
This change of residence, by “leaving” mom and dad also implies a difference in their routine. In living at home, their needs have been provided for by their parents. Now, no longer do the man, or the woman look to their parents for their provisions. These married children’s roles have changed, they are now “man and wife.”
“The marriage connection is the most tender and endearing of all human relations more tender than even that bond which unites us to a parent”1 (Barnes).
“And shall cleave to his wife:”
After the “leaving” is the “cleaving.” This word “cleave” is much different from the way the word is used today. In the kitchen drawer is the big heavy-duty knife used to chop things apart, a “cleaver.” This is not what we mean by “cleaving.” Both the Old and New Testament words carry the idea of clinging together. Of having a bond tightly joined like a joint “glued together.” The Bible idea is that the husband and wife are “cleaving” to each other, together, in an inseparable bond.
“A beautiful metaphor, which most forcibly intimates that nothing but death can separate them: as a well-glued board will break sooner in the whole wood, than in the glued joint”2 (Clarke).
“And they twain shall be one flesh?”
This inseparable bond the couple has entered into means they each have abandoned their individual “singleness” and have joined each other as a “single unit.” This weaving together is a “one flesh” relationship.
“…they two, or they that were two, shall be united as one – one in law, in feeling, in interest, in affection. They shall no longer have separate interests but shall act in all things as if they were one – animated by one soul and one wish”3 (Barnes).
“Husband and wife should be not only one flesh but also one heart and mind”4 (Hedinger).
“Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6).
What can you do to continue to build a stronger marriage bond in your home? How can you encourage young husbands and wives to keep their commitments to their marriage covenant? Believers let’s honor the Word by honoring our marriage vows!
1. Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
2. Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
3. Barnes, ibid.
4. Hedinger, as quoted by The Biblical Illustrator, the electronic version in eSword.