The Cooling Stream

Gen. 2:18-25

The Garden of Eden was a place of unspeakable beauty and wonder.

It was a perfect place where God, man and the animal kingdom enjoyed perfect peace and harmony.

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When God looked at His handiwork, He declared it all good until He looked at Adam.

He saw that Adam was the only one of his kind.

This, God said, was not good.

Man had no counterpart.

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When the Lord surveyed the situation, His decision was to produce a helper for Adam.

God wanted to give Adam someone who would fill up that which was lacking in his life.

God wanted to make a woman who would compliment and complete Adam.

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God had the entirety of the animal kingdom passed before Adam.

He told Adam to look at them and give them names.

Whatever Adam called them, that was the name.

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God wanted to awaken a desire in Adam for companionship.

As Adam saw all the animals pass before him, He must have noticed that every one of them had a mate.

It must have dawned on Adam that he was the only creature who was alone.

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God satisfied Adam’s desire in His own way and in His own time.

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God caused Adam to go to sleep.

Adam was totally uninvolved in the selection process.

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God opened Adam up and took out a rib to make the woman.

There are always painful times when we consider marriage.

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Eve was made not out of Adam's head to rule over him, not out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but from his side to be equal with him, from under his arm to be protected by him, and from near his heart to be loved by him.

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God created the first marriage.

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When Adam was awakened from sleep, the first thing he saw was this brand new, absolutely beautiful, and absolutely perfect woman there with him.

Adam's immediate response was to say "Yes."

Finally here was the one that he didn’t want to live without.

Finally here was the one who was compatible with him.

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Adam had a heartfelt love for Eve.

He had the sure knowledge that God had created Eve just for him.

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The Scripture says a man is to leave his parents and be joined to his wife.

Every other relationship, except one’s relationship with God, is to be placed at a lower priority than the marriage relationship.

Every activity outside of the marriage relationship must take a backseat.

This includes things like businesses, hobbies, friends, careers, sports, and even church work.

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Couples are to stick together by strong bond.

This speaks of a lifelong pursuit. It begins at marriage and continues to the deathbed.

This speaks of total and absolute commitment.

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Marriage is worth every effort to save it!

Anything that tears marriage apart is a serious matter.

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Husband and wife are not just a couple; they are a single unit.

They are declared by God to be joined together until death rips them apart.

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Adam and Eve were naked, but they were not ashamed in their nudity.

Marriage is the only valid arena for sexual expression.

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Some thoughts.

• Let us bring our marriage before the Lord. Let Him fix it if it is broken, strengthen it if it is weaken, and make it better if it is already good.
• Let us bring our needs before the Lord if we are not married and we desire to marry. God has an individual plan for our lives. Let us come before Him and find out what it is.