Daily devotion – Who created and designed marriage?
Marriage: Who Invented It?
Genesis 2:18, 21–25
“And the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.’” (Genesis 2:18)
“And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:21–25)
Who invented marriage? The answer is simple—God did.
Genesis gives us the historical record of the first marriage. Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, recorded these events exactly as God revealed them. Because these words come from God, they are truth. This passage forms the biblical foundation for marriage and, indeed, for human society itself.
Marriage was never man’s idea. It was God’s.
Why did God create marriage? Throughout the six literal days of creation, God repeatedly declared that what He had made was “good.” Then, for the very first time, God identified something that was “not good.”
“It is not good that man should be alone.”
Adam’s aloneness was the only aspect of creation that God declared incomplete. Therefore, God said, “I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
Unlike Adam, who was formed from the dust of the earth, Eve was uniquely created from Adam’s side. God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, took one of his ribs, fashioned the woman, and then personally brought her to Adam. What an incredible moment that must have been! The first wedding was officiated by God Himself.
From the very beginning, God established marriage as the covenant union of one man and one woman becoming one flesh.
Throughout history, the world has attempted to place its sinful fingerprints on many things that belong to God. The rainbow is one example. Marriage is another. Yet no matter how society seeks to redefine it, God’s design has not changed because God Himself is its Creator.
Since God created marriage, He alone knows how it is to function. The Scriptures provide clear instruction for both husbands and wives. The Apostle Paul beautifully explains God’s design in Ephesians 5, while Peter gives practical encouragement in 1 Peter 3. When God’s pattern is followed, marriage becomes the loving, Christ-centred relationship He intended it to be.
If you are thinking about marriage, begin by discovering why God created it. Then learn from His Word how marriage is designed to flourish. Finally, commit yourself to working at it daily, asking the Lord to help you build the kind of marriage that honours Him and reflects His love.
A marriage built on God’s design is not only a blessing to a husband and wife, but also a powerful testimony to a world searching for lasting love.