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The Pastor's Pen
Words Of Inspiration From Our Pastor
And
Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten
a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel.(Genesis 4:1, 2A)
The
Lord has laid it upon my heart to write some articles about the "The Family."
We will be writing about the natural family and about the spiritual family. What
is a family? Webster defines the word, FAMILY as parents and their children; relatives;
all those descended from one common ancestor; and/or lineage. The beginning of
every family can be traced back to the Book of Beginnings, Genesis. Adam was the
first man formed and his father was God. (Genesis 2:7) says, And the LORD God
formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life; and man became a living soul. In (Luke 3:38) he declares that Adam was
the son of God; "Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which
was the son of Adam, which was the son of God." And out of one blood (Adam's
blood) God made all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth.
Read (Acts 17:26 A). After God made man he created woman (Genesis 2:18) says,
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make
him an help meet for him. The word MEET as it is used here is more than just someone
to stand beside him, or be with him, but it means someone who is suitable, proper,
and compatible to the man, Adam. We believe this is the first God designed marriage.
It is prepared by God himself and it is the beginning of the first family. The
concept of the family begins with marriage between a man and a woman. Nothing
else will work because this is God's way and his plan for the human family. There
are at least three things we believe this scripture (Genesis 2:18) means man needed
someone to be a companion for him. God did not want him to be alone. There were
plenty of animals in the earth, but none were compatible or comparable to Adam.
God wanted man to have someone to help him to face all the problems, responsibilities,
and difficulties he would face in his life. God wanted the man and the woman to
be a comfort to one another. God had made the Edenic Covenant with Adam and Eve
and both of them were necessary in order to fulfill it. Man could not reproduce
his own kind and replenish the earth without a woman. Read (Genesis 1:27, 28).
And so the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and God
took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof, and the rib, which
the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Read (Genesis 2:21, 22). Please note here that the woman was made from the rib
of the man. She was not created from his head to top him; or from his feet to
be trampled on nor abused. She was made from his side so she could be equal to
him. They were created as partners or companions who could walk beside one another,
and help one another. We always have this great debate about men ruling over women,
but it is a Bible fact that in the beginning of their creation this was not so;
but when sin entered into the world, God cursed the serpent, the woman, and the
man. Read (Genesis 3:14 - 19) notice especially (Genesis 3:16).
When Adam
saw the woman for the first time, he was happy and it was love at first sight.
Adam said in (Genesis 2:23), This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh:
she shall be called woman (Hebrew: Isha), because she was taken out of man. Woman
was created from his rib beneath his arm so she could be protected by him, and
from near his heart so she could be loved by him. (Colossians 3:19) says, Husbands,
love your wives, and be not bitter against them. So we see that it was God who
initiated the first marriage; God was the father of the bride, and he gave her
away to Adam, and it was God who blessed this first wedding which was the beginning
of the first family. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and
shall cleave (be faithful) unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh (Genesis
1:27) (Genesis 2:24). But marriage was not the complete family that God wanted;
he wanted the first family to also include children. Adam and Eve were husband
and wife, but now it is time for them to become father and mother. (Genesis 3:20)
says, And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
They needed to have children in order to fulfill God's covenant which he had made
with them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply,
and replenish the earth (Genesis 1:28A). And so in our scripture text for this
article (Genesis 4:1, 2A) Adam knew his wife, and she conceived, and bare Cain,
and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel.
The first family was Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel (a father, a mother and their children).
Finally there is a great warfare today which is designed to destroy the family.
It is being carried out by Satan and his helpers. He wants to destroy our marriages,
our homes and our children. Don't let him use any of us to carry out his purpose.
Let us work to maintain the family!
May God Bless You!
District Elder Charles Smith
