The second account of the creation presents another spiritual truth.

Genesis 2 says that God first created man. He also commanded the man to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And he said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” God then created the animals and the man gave them names – showing his dominion over them. The story continues to say, “but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him.”

We know the story. God put the man to sleep and took a rib from him and formed the woman. When the man woke up, God brought the woman to the man and the man said, “Wow!” or something more poetic than that.

Then scripture says, “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Interesting that the man leaves his father and mother. It is not the woman who leaves the father and mother. I think this means that the man should be on his own and take responsibility for his wife and family. The woman he marries is to be his responsibility. The children from this union are to be his responsibility.

One thing to note also, the word translated as cleave means something like to be bonded so tight that it cannot be torn apart. It is like mixing coffee and cream. Before mixing coffee and cream, they are separate things. But when mixed together, you cannot separate one from the other.

The dictionary defines the word cleave as: to adhere firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly.

Marriage therefore is a not only a relationship between two persons, it is two persons becoming one. It is a covenant between the man and woman made with God as the witness.

We said that the man is the image of God. The woman is the image of God. The union of man AND woman is the image of God.

Just as the Father and Son are different persons, the man and woman are different persons. Just as the Father and Son are one, the man and woman are one. Just as the Father loves the Son, the man should love the wife. Just as the Father and Son are co-equal, the man and woman are co-equal.

Just as Jesus submits to the Father – and this is politically incorrect but it needs to be said - the wife should submit to the husband. The man should be the head of the family.

Being head does not mean that the man is to be dictatorial.

1 Peter 3:7 says, “Likewise you husbands, live considerately with your wives, bestowing honor on the woman as the weaker sex, since you are joint heirs of the grace of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered”. To be the head, the man is to be considerate to his wife, treating her with honor.

Honoring one's wife is a condition for a man's prayer to be heard.