Bible Basics

A New Family

Genesis 2:24 says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” This passage reveals four guidelines for marriage between a man and a woman according to God’s original plan: severance, permanence, unity and intimacy. To “leave father and mother” means to break the parent-child bond; to sever the tight, emotionally dependent strings that once provided security, protection, financial assistance, and physical needs. This parent-child relationship must be severed effectively. Obviously it is not severed completely, for we are always to “honor” our parents (Deut. 5:16; Eph. 6:2). But if the parent-child relationship is not severed effectively a new family unit cannot be established, as God would have it. This often presents a challenge for parents, for they must willingly release their child. We must understand that the most basic and significant family relationship is not the parent-child relationship, but the husband-wife relationship. God ordained this as He put a husband and wife in the garden, not a parent and child. Our society tends to reverse this order and make the parent-child relationship more significant to the detriment of the home. Before a man can “cleave unto his wife,” he must first “leave his father and his mother.”

                                                                                                               -- Clark Dugger

Bible Basics