To build a house we need a design and a blueprint from an architect. We want the design to be both beautiful and comfortable, a house that fulfills our dreams. To build a beautiful, satisfying marriage to fill that house we also need a wise designer’s plan.
Group discussion
How would you design the foundation for a satisfying marriage? What essential materials would you use?
Personal reflection
Talk to God about your desire to enjoy marriage as He intended you would. Ask Him to help you appreciate marriage as He designed it.
God the master Creator, reveals His design in this section of Genesis 1:26-2:17 (NIV) which reads 26Then God said, “Let
make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27So God created
; male and female he created them. 28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31God saw all that he had made, and it was
. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. 1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. Chapter 2;2By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. 4This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7Then the Lord God
from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Q1 God created man and woman in His image (1:26). What various male and female characteristics help you understand what “the image of God” is? Use the blue box below to write your response.
Q2 God declares all He has created is very good (1:31). This includes being male or female. How can God’s “very good” help you accept and respect the uniqueness of your gender?
Q3 What responsibilities and resources did God give to the man and woman (1:26-30, 2:8-9, 15-17)?
Now we’ll read Genesis 2:18-25 (NIV) 18The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22Then the Lord God
from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is
, and they become one flesh. 25Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Q4 For the first time God declares something in his creation “not good” (2:18). Put yourself in the man’s place. How would the parade of animals intensify your loneliness?
Q5 What was the man’s part and God’s part in meeting Adam’s need?
Q6 What tone of voice do you think the man used in his reaction to the woman (2:23)?
Q7 What marriage principles do you draw from 2:24?
Q8 God created marriage primarily to meet our need for companionship. But sometime a child or a parent can thwart that purpose. How can you guard your companionship in the midst of the pressure of family responsibilities?
Q9 Why was there no shame or self-consciousness between the man and woman (2:25)? And why do you think that fact is noted in this verse?
Q10 How has this passage helped you see that God provides for our emotional, physical and spiritual needs in His marriage design?
Q11 Write down your prayer for a deeper understanding of what the creation account has to say about building a Christian marriage.
Q12 Write down your reflection on God’s design for exclusive, permanent, oneness and companionship in marriage. Consider the steps you can take now to prepare for or to enjoy His design.
