Today is the day of new beginnings. I was reading in Gen. 2 in my Life Application Bible where it talks about three fold meaning of marriage. Something new I picked up today was that God wants us to be responsible for each other's welfare in marriage and He also wants us to protect each other. My Bible says in verse 2:24 Life Application footnote "Marriage was instituted by God and had three basic aspects 1) The man leaves his parents and in a public declaration, promises himself to his wife. 2)The man and the woman are joined together, by taking responsibility for each others welfare and by loving their mate above all others. 3) The two are joined together in intimacy and commitment.
Gen. 2:18-25
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” 19 So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man[c] to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. 20 He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs[d] and closed up the opening. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.
“This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”
24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
25 Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.