The First Marriage II: The Ceremony

In the previous article, we considered that the first marriage was the fulfilment of a prophecy, that the coming together of a man and woman is never by chance but for the fulfilment of the will of God. We concluded that God wants to make your marriage a home for him.

In this second episode, we consider the peak of the marriage ceremony at Eden and what we can learn from it. It was the first garden wedding, and though it was void of paparazzi and a populated venue, I believe the host of heaven filled the venue, and there was spiritual jubilation at the ceremony. Who needs a physical crowd when all of heaven is present?

Here are some highlights from the wedding ceremony, since every reader of this piece never got the chance to attend the wedding. Loool!!!

God walks the bride to the Altar

First, God himself walked the bride Eve naked and brought her over to Adam. She came packaged as a virgin gift, pure and without blemish before Adam. There was no money spent on a glamorous wedding gown; no jewellery or anything to amplify her beauty - she was covered in the essence and glory of God, so much that Adam was moved in the spirit.

Inspired to Prophesy

Secondly, this move of the spirit in Adam and the elegance of the beauty of Eve led him to give the first marriage vow ever. This was not a carefully thought-out vow, nor did he have time to memorise his lines; it was a Spirit-led and inspired declaration that captured the mind of God.

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 shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Gen. 2:23-24

How did he know that Eve was taken out of him? It could have only been by the inspiration of God. And this declaration is very essential because it captures the fact that Adam understood that Eve and he are one. Though they are two separate individuals, they must become one flesh. It was a marriage with a clear understanding.

Very interestingly, there were no fathers or mothers yet, and no child had yet been born, yet Adam was prophesying what must happen in posterity. Stating that men must leave their parents and cleave to their wives. This inspiration could only have come from the spirit of God.

Covered in glory

Finally, the grandest of events in this ceremony was captured in verse 25 of Genesis 2,

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

They had nothing to hide, no secrets, no masking of past lives, no artificial makeup to cover past sins and blemishes - they were naked, vulnerable and not ashamed. It seems to me that the clothes, as we have them today, were never the original intention of God from the beginning. Not as though clothes are bad, but who needs clothes when the glory of God covers you? This marriage was not about physical looks or whether they were sexually compatible, and Adam was not sizing Eve and checking her hour-glass config, he was just glad that here was his help mate on the journey of life. He was seeing what God sees in Eve.

We know that from Gen. 3:7, until sin came, they did not know they were naked, so the attraction Adam had for Eve was nothing physical; he was attracted to the glory of God upon Eve. His eyes saw the glory of God on her, and that was more than enough.

Further thoughts

Give me your eyes O Lord!!!

So, is it not very interesting that the first marriage had all these attributes? We should learn from these three important details about the first marriage: first, that God should prepare the spouse and do the unveiling (this is not a physical unveiling; it was a revelation). God prepared Adam by making him sleep, and he also moulded Eve. Both men and women must be prepared by God for marriage. Secondly, God gave Adam a clear understanding of what marriage entails; therefore, having a clear understanding from God about marriage is very key. Not from the perspective of Hollywood but from the lens of God.

And finally, just like Adam's eyes were only open to see what God sees, my prayer is that every man and woman alike will see beyond the physical, mundane features and seek to see what God sees in their spouses.

Selah!!!