One Flesh - Mark 10:8

Mark wrote how, “the Pharisees came to” Jesus “and asked”, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife”, and in chapter ten and verse eight of his book, Mark shared how Jesus said “they twain shall be one flesh” where we read:

And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

The verse reads, “And they twain shall be one flesh:” Mark began with the words, “and they twain” which means “and the male and female married couple” “shall be one flesh” or “will be as one body”. Mark shared how a man and a woman who marry become as “one body”.

The verse continues, “so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.” Mark added the words, “so then they” which means “therefore, wherefore and so that the man and woman who marry” “are no more twain” or “are no longer two people”, “but one flesh” which means “yes rather one body”. Mark shared how a man and woman who are married are no longer as “two people” but are as “one” before the Lord.

When we think through Mark's words in this verse, we see how intimate the relationship of marriage is in the eyes of God. When a man marries a woman, those two people who were once separate and apart are now as “one person”. When we consider this carefully, we can imagine how much damage is done when there is a “putting away” or “divorce”. Like two pieces of paper that are glued together, when the glue dries attempting to tear them apart does tremendous damage to each piece. God loves people, and His original design for marriage is for a man to “leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife”. Because of the “hard-heartedness” of people, many people have been greatly damaged by “divorce”. God knew this would happen, and He sent His Son Jesus not only to pay for the “sin and error” within people, but also to demonstrate His willingness to “heal” and “restore” those who have violated His way. We only have to look at the story of the Samaritan woman to see how Jesus treated people who have left God's perfect way and followed their own. (See John 4)

Next time Mark shares how Jesus says, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".