Series: Early Genesis Portraits of God

Well, good morning, my friends, and welcome to the Heritage Hour. I’m Mark Gonzales, your pastoral and soul care encourager here in Southwest Florida. And I’m so delighted to be with you on air, online, and in media ministry for about 35 years now.

So thank you for sitting with me at the feet of the Lord to listen for his heart to touch our hearts. Well, if you’ve been with us recently, you know we’ve started a 10-part series and we’re going into the third broadcast of that 10-part series today. And I’m calling it Early Genesis Portraits of God. And it’s actually tied to a video series I did, 62 three-minute or so videos of devotionals of portraits of God back in the COVID era.

So if you want to see this on a video for a three-minute intro, it’s number 50.

But today, obviously, with our 27-minute broadcast, we get to go a little bit deeper.

And so if you have your Bibles, we’re going to be over in Genesis chapter 2. And by the way, if you want to get caught up or if you want to share or just review some of the broadcasts that I’ve done over the years, and the most recent ones included, of course, just go to markpg.org. That’s markpg.org. I call it Helping You Hear God.

You’ll see the videos, but you’ll see the archives of the radio messages. And there’s some articles I’ve written and published and stuff and some quick help guides that you can see and some other tools.

Soul care tools right there at markpg.org.

So just a heads up about that. now as we get started listen for the Lord and what he has to say about today’s portrait it’s well it’s he is our mate provider last week we talked about how he is our Sabbath rest before that in Genesis we talked about how he is our creative trinity this third one is how he is our mate provider we’re going to be in Genesis 2 can’t wait to take you through this journey of discovering how the Lord loved us so much. He wanted to find a mate suitable for each of us. Oh, as we get started, let’s just go before the Lord and ask him to speak, shall we? Well, Lord, I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to come together with my brothers and sisters to sit at your feet to engage in your eyes and let you speak to us heart to heart And Lord today as we cover how you are indeed our mate provider I pray I be able to share it in a way that really touches us where we need to be touched and deepens us where we need to be deepened as we continue to walk in fullness, walk in your truths, walk by your spirit and follow your ways as best we can and abide in you to bear much fruit.

So thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to take this journey together. We pray this in the powerful name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by his precious cleansing and healing, transforming, empowering, and forgiving blood. Amen. Amen and amen.

All right, my friends. Well, let’s go over to Genesis chapter 2. Obviously, Genesis chapter 1 is about the creation of the heavens and the earth. We talked about that the last time.

And now, as we get to chapter 2, let’s skip on down to the creation of man, verse 7. He says this, the Lord, then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust. Keep that in mind, because it’s not the same thing for the woman later. The Lord formed the man out the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils.

And the man became a living being. Amazing. Our creator God, our creator Trinity, as we saw a couple of times ago, at work creating mankind, starting with the male. Then we get in verse 15 there of chapter 2, and it says this, the Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.

By the way, just a footnote, we were intended to work. God created us to work. It wasn’t a garden where you just go and prance around and eat the good stuff that he’s provided. And we don’t have any responsibilities.

It’s the exact opposite. We needed to work it or cultivate it from the beginning, watch over it and work hard. That’s the way God created us to operate best with responsibilities, with things to do.

So that’s a whole other thing, but I wanted to give it honorable mention right there. Well, then in verse 18, a few verses later, the scripture says this, then the Lord said, it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper who is suitable for him I love this This is our theme verse for this portrait He is our mate provider I love it how it says that the Lord God said it not good for the man to be alone and I will make him a helper suitable for him And then I going to share five sub points about this about what that suitable mate looks like starting with suitable mate here in a few moments But I just love the idea of how God was thinking ahead for us. And he’s the one who knew what kind of mate we needed.

One that would be suitable for us. Is that cool?

Now, to get Adam excited and appreciative about what God was going to do in providing a helpmate suitable for him. I think it’s very interesting that the biblical account tells us that the Lord did something else first to kind of get him ready.

So after saying, I will make a helper suitable for him. Verse 19 says this.

So the Lord God formed out of the ground, think dust as well, each wild animal and each bird of the sky and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. I can just imagine this parade of animals going before him. Verse 20, the man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky and to every wild animal.

But for the man, no helper was found who was like him or suitable for him.

So we go through all the beasts, all the animals and Adam discovering none of these are suitable. now he was set up to receive what god had in store for him verse 21 so the lord caused a deep sleep to come over the man and he slept god took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place there’s the first surgery right there right then verse 22 then the lord made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. Here’s another footnote. I’m just intrigued that this is the only time when a woman came out of a man from then on. Men and women would come out of women.

And thank God and kudos to all the women out there, the child bearers.

Somebody has quipped or many have quipped, you know, we’re up to men to bear the children. We’d have half the population that we do now because it’s just too hard.

So thank you to all the women who have the gift, have the calling have the ability and have the heart to bear children in this world All right Well God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to man And man said and here the first love poem in the scriptures Here we go And life says this, this one at last is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. This one will be called woman for she was taken from man. Oh, there’d be people who’ve commented on this. I love it saying, you know what?

The reason she’s called a woman is because when the man first saw this brand new creature that God had created, he went, whoa, man, because he was so excited. Hence woman.

Okay, I’m sure it wasn’t like that, but anyway, it’s nice to think about. Well, verse 24 says, This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. And both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

So this is the classic biblical portion of scripture that tells us about the institution of marriage, how God designed it, and what he did.

So here’s the sub-portraits or the sub-points I want to share with you about what that suitable mate looks like. We’ll start with the word suitable. if you’re a note taker the first of the five is that our mate provider gave us or had in mind for us a suitable mate a suitable mate and we saw the passage how there was not a helper suitable for him when the animals came by and so the lord put him to sleep and took the rib and formed the woman and introduced her to him. A new type of woman, a female, was introduced into the world. God had in mind a suitable mate to be opposite genders, male and female.

Both are unique counterpoints to each other. Both were designed to become faithful partners to each other. And by the way, you know the rom-coms like and hallmark and stuff well those are fun to watch you know those are redemption stories and by the way hallmark you know it’s like the old uh uh portrait what were they called uh now i can’t remember that the early 30s the uh well that’ll come up a little later anyway uh hallmark is about encouraging things is about positive things they’re heart they’re hallmark cards and stuff so their movies are going to be that way and so we have these nice rom-com stories and they’re good starting points however they can be too idealized right in the way we think about it because at the end of the day the Lord wanted to put a suitable mate together to be counterpoints to be able to push each other, to challenge each other, to put their heads together.

Because life is so complex, so multi-layered, so multi-faceted, having two heads together, especially different types of head, two different types of humans together, not to mention procreation needs, which we get elsewhere in scripture. This was the design that God had for marriage, a beautiful thing. And let me just also say this. For those of you that are single, whether you’re young and still single, hoping for a mate, God may do that, but he may not.

Some have been single for their whole lives. And if that’s a calling, they’re both callings. And just understand this for those of you that are single. Your calling to be single means that the Lord himself will be your mate.

I know you’ve probably heard that a thousand times and doesn’t always soothe your heart.

However, when you see it as a calling and you see the Lord as the one who is right by your side, someone who will never leave you or forsake you and is perfect at it, as opposed to human mates, both male and female, we do our best to work things out till death do us part and grow together and all those things, but none of us are perfect and we’ll have those challenges.

So it’s a divine calling either way. And I love the idea of how the Lord made it very clear from the beginning that a suitable mate will be one of the opposite gender. As time has gone on, man thinks he has better ideas than God does. And he starts doing and designing things culturally and throughout society that goes into the same-sex marriages and things like that.

My friends, let me just say this about that. You know, there are times when we think as human beings that we’ve got a better idea and we violate God’s design. And every time there are consequences deeper than we can think of that come about. I mean, easy examples would be like trying to clean something.

You put ammonia and bleach together because that’ll be a double cleansing thing. Well, that’s toxic, but it sounds good at the beginning. And you could go on with many, many examples of things that seem like they’d work together.

But then you find out down the road that was one of the worst things we could have done. Like the lady that worked in a hospital when I was a young seminary student. I was working in a hospital and she had a big bandage over her arm. I said what that Well I have an infection What happened Well I got a burn and I you know I put butter on the wound and that on the butter on the burn to make it feel better like I was always heard But then it got all infected And that what the nurse told me when I went to see the nurse She said, that’s the worst thing you could have done.

I know it’s a popular wife’s tale to put butter on a burn, but that’s the worst thing you could have done. Hence the eventual infection.

And so there are all kinds of examples about that and why God’s way is the best way. And when man tries to twist it or turn it or reverse it or things like that, there will be consequences. And my heart goes out to all of us because there’s not any of us that are immune from doing what we think is right. And then we find out, oh, my goodness, it wasn’t so good after all.

So the Lord, our mate provider, created suitable mates for us. males and females being one in marriage as he designed and now let me give you a second thought it’s a it’s a harmonizing excuse me i’ll get it out a harmonizing mate this is what i pick up when uh the man says in genesis 2 23 at last this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man again it’s a different note is a different kind of human, female.

So we have a different note. Harmonizing. When you think of harmony, if you know music at all, you go to an orchestra, you go to hear a band, you have the different instruments, they’re playing different notes and they’re singing in harmony. You can have four part quartets, barbershop quartet and stuff.

And it’s the different notes together that make all the beauty.

So in marriage, the Lord not only has different notes manifested as different genders, when they marry, but we all have different gift sets and different abilities and different inclinations. And very often God chooses to put opposites together. Why?

So that you can have a different set of eyes to view life and do life together. He will have differing perspectives, different lenses. He’s viewing life through because of the gender, because of the gift set, because of the abilities, because of inclinations, she will have the same thing, different set of eyes, different set of lenses, she’s viewing through life. And when you put your heads together, you compare notes, you share hearts, you share views and blend them together, you’re more likely to get the truths and get a better look at life and what God is doing, what God is saying.

Isn that cool I mean even Rocky Balboa understood that When he talked about Adrian He says well you know I thinking you know like Adrian you know Adrian we got gaps and she can feel my gaps I can feel her gaps You know what I saying And I love that. That’s actually great biblical theology right there. A harmonizing mate. That’s a different note.

Meant to produce a beautiful harmony.

Now I know, and in real life, unlike the rom-coms that make things seem pretty easy live happily ever after no sometimes those different notes are sounding together and they sound it sounds like a discord it doesn’t harmonize you know well sometimes we have to get on the same key and play in the same tempo if you’re listening to a symphony orchestra you have to have some unity to make the different notes and the different instruments sound incredibly beautiful. What kind of a symphony concert would it be if you had 80 tubas instead of 80 instruments with strings and percussion and woodwinds and brass and all playing different notes, but yet they still have to be on the same piece of music, playing in the same key, you know, whether it’s E flat or whatever it is, with the same tempo and having a conductor, who we call Jesus, right? Conducting the orchestra, conducting the marriage. Isn’t that a beautiful thought?

The Lord wants you to have a harmonizing mate. And if you’re single, he’s your harmonizing mate, right?

But he wants us to have a harmonizing mate and to not be threatened with different notes and different perspectives and different gift sets and different views and abilities and all that, but to embrace them and pull them together to be able to do life better. All right.

So he is our mate provider who wanted us to have a suitable mate and a harmonizing mate.

Now we get to this passage that says, for this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. Well, there’s three things I want to take out of this for you. The last three of the five, I want to talk about a leaving mate and then a cleaving mate and then a weaving mate. Make it easy to remember.

Alright, so we’ve talked about a suitable mate, a harmonizing mate. Let’s talk about a leaving mate. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother This is incredibly important A leaving mate is one who has left his father and mother emotionally and recognizes that he or she will now have to have a greater loyalty to the new mate rather than to the father and mother Both will have to have a primary focus on their new mate rather than the father and mother. You have to launch.

There should be no failure to launch. I know that’s typically used from somebody who’s not moved out of the physical home, but you can also fail to launch emotionally, even when you have moved out of the home, even when you have married. You fail to cut the apron string from mom. You fail to cut the tight tie you might have with your father, but it has to be done.

It’s the only way for you to build a brand new marriage with a unity and a loyalty where the man and the woman see each other as the new number one. There’s new bonding that needs to begin, a new focus that needs to begin, a new interdependence between husband and wife rather than parent and child that needs to begin a new loyalty that needs to surpass the former loyalty you had as a son or daughter to the parents. It is the only way to get a greater love to emerge from this brand new marriage that God has created between a man and a woman. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother.

So when I do pre-marriage counseling over the years and stuff, this is one of the first things I hit because the scripture does. Talk about the relationship with the mom. What is your mom like? Talk about the relationship with your dad.

What is your dad like? Are they trying to hang on? Are they tend to be dominant? Are they wanting to call the shots?

You know, that type of thing. And it’s done often, especially with a mother with good intentions. Oh, it’s just because I love them. I want to make sure everything’s okay.

And they can continue to hover and smother. And it just really becomes toxic to the new marriage. You have to have a leaving mate.

So you need to talk about that before you tie the knot that both are willing and understand how they have to leave that dependency and interdependency with the parents and begin to focus on one another. In doing so, we need to be a cleaving mate. The scripture there in Genesis 2, 24 says, for this reason, a man shall cleave to his wife. In the Hebrew, that word’s kind of a picture about two pieces of paper kind of glued together.

And that’s very, very close, very tight. When we cleave in that way, it’s a covenant wantonness that we’re entering into. That if you try to separate two pieces of paper that have been glued together, you’re going to tear both. And that’s the tragedy of divorce.

It just tears each other up. And even when you part, you got a whole lot of healing to do. when it would have been better in most cases to stay together to work it through till death do us part in sickness and in health for better for worse for richer or for uh for richer or poorer one day a young soldier in our church asked to talk to me we were at a fellowship at a farm and we uh i said sure you want to talk let’s take a walk so we took a walk around the farm and he said man, when I come back from deployment, my wife is just so clingy and she’s just complaining that I just, I’m not, when I’m there, I’m not there and all this other stuff.

But man, I mean, you know, I wish you wouldn’t be so naggy. And I said, well, let me ask you a question. When somebody when you deployed is injured on the battlefield and need help do you leave them behind No no leave no man behind That the code I said well maybe your wife not nagging She trying to make it through and raise those kids while you on deployment and this difficult battlefield called Earth. She gets hurt.

She gets wounded. She gets lonely. She’s just crying out on the battlefield for her husband. Are you leaving her behind emotionally?

You might be there physically, but not all in. and boy did the scales fall off his eyes. Ah, wow. Marriage till death do us part, doing life together, the battleground of earth, it’s brutal. There’s a lot of challenges, sickness and finances and family feuds and all kinds of things will happen.

But if you have somebody together that you know will never leave you behind, if the soldiers can get it and their code, certainly we should get it in our covenant marriage. where you are one and you have said to one another on that wedding day, everything I have, all that I am, I give to you till death do us part.

But you know, you can get even closer than that. That one flesh part, I call it the weaving mate. What our list A suitable mate a harmonizing mate a leaving mate a cleaving mate A weaving mate Those two hands glued together If you interlock the fingers now you weaving But that takes time. And that takes focus over the years.

Let’s work on our marriage. Let’s continue to keep the communication lines open so we can be weaving, not just physically, so that we can have babies and for intimacy in marriage, which is perfectly appropriate. but it’s weaving spiritually, mentally, emotionally. And guess what? If you do that, it leads to a great physical relationship of intimacy.

Because beyond glued hands, there’s the interwoven hands, a weaving that the Lord wants us to experience in this marvelous institution of marriage that he created, that he designed, no matter what culture is telling you, God had a way. God had a design. And anything in this life, if you don’t use it what it’s designed for you will ruin it If you want to hammer a nail on the wall you don take a priceless lamp and use it as a hammer You use a lamp as a hammer you going to destroy it Right And you can come up with many similar illustrations Use the things that God has given us in the way that they are designed and you will be blessed. If you depart from that design, you will destroy that thing that you are trying to do.

Oh, the Lord is so gracious. He is our mate provider. And when you look at that mate that God has placed in your life, what a treasure and gift from above. Thank God they’re different from me in many ways.

Thank God we can put our heads and hearts together to figure out life together. That was his design. And if you’re single, God bless you for that divine calling. He’s wanting you to do that with Him even more intimately.

Because He’s a God who can do all things and make you feel loved, treasured, and cherished. Well, Lord, we thank You for this journey. Thank You for loving us in Jesus. Amen.

Well, I’m Mark Gonzales. Until next time, fall in love with Jesus, our mate provider. Thank you.