1. Where did marriage originate?

Marriage, along with the Sabbath, were two of God’s best gifts given to humanity in Eden. God created Adam, then Eve, joining them in matrimony. Marriage is described in Genesis 2:24: “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves [clings] to his wife, and they become one flesh.” JTL14 2.1

Marriage was intended by God to provide the joy of belonging, of intimacy, and companionship. It is the foundation of the family and of society itself. The same Hebrew word translated “cleave” is also used to describe soldering or sticking together. JTL14 2.2

God chooses the sacred bond of marriage to illustrate the closeness of the bond between Himself and His people. In Scripture the promise by which married couples are bound together is spoken of as a “covenant”—the term used for the most solemn and binding agreement known in God’s Word. The relationship between husband and wife is to be a pattern of God’s everlasting covenant of love with His people, the church. As God is faithful to His people, so the married man and woman are to center their covenant with each other on faithfulness and love (Psalms 89:24; Lamentations 3:23). JTL14 2.3