Vowing a vow unto the Lord

“We’ve seen biblical women deal with the issue of infertility in different ways,” reads an entry in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Bible. “Sarah loaned her handmaiden to Abraham. Rachel bartered with Leah for aphrodisiacs and husband ‘time shares.’ Lot’s daughters got him drunk and slept with him. But Hannah stands out. She went to the house of God and prayed. She promised that if she could have a son, she would give him back to God for a lifetime of service. She was so fervent in praying that Eli, the priest, thought she was drunk and reprimanded her. But when she explained, he gave her his blessing."

I Samuel I reads, [13] Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
[14] And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
[15] And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

*****

Another Idiot’s Guide entry reasons, “As Adam went through the process of naming animals, he probably couldn’t help noticing peculiar behavior among the birds and bees. Adam was a singular, one-of-a-kind creature when he surely longed to be two of a kind.”

“When God talks about two becoming one flesh, hey, that’s what makes marriage marriage," says Jordan. "And when you go into that (mate) you’re doing the ultimate. Now, there’s a lot of things going up to it. There’s vows, companionship, but the covenant of agreement that you make to become one, husband and wife, and the companionship and the sharing and the molding together that you have, it all consummates and finds its ultimate expression in something that (today) is casually plagiarized.

“I Corinthians 6:16 illustrates the heinousness of illicit sex. They’re doing what constitutes marriage and it’s a light thing to them. In our society people object to what I’m saying because they have a light attitude toward the sinfulness of what we’re talking about. God Almighty means for 'one man, one woman, forever, ’til death do us part.' That’s the length of it and anything else is a violation of His intent and His will and His instructions and it’s sin.

“I Timothy 3, when it says the bishop is to be the husband of one wife, he’s supposed to be a one woman man just like this passage says he is. I know a lot people say if you got a divorce in your background you can’t be a pastor. Well, now wait a minute. You mean, if you went down before a judge and got separated from one wife and so forth . . . if a judge can destroy a marriage, a judge can make a marriage, can’t he? You see it isn’t a ceremony. Marriage and divorce isn’t something made like that.

“God takes Adam’s hand and Eve’s hand and places them together and He pronounces the marriage vows over them. He pronounces them one flesh and Jesus Christ said what God has joined together let no man put asunder. You see, it’s God joining you together!

"You’re joined together on the basis of what God said in God’s institution and that’s God doing it. And a society and a people and a church and an individual that disregards that; it’s just going to bring wreck, ruin and havoc on himself, his family and his nation because we’re talking about the very basic bedrock upon which all social order among human beings is to be based. So when you attack the family and marriage you’re attacking the thing that’s going to destroy everything.

*****

Genesis 2:25 says, [25] And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Adam and Eve didn’t have any physical clothes; they just had a complete openness without any fear, without any problems. Perhaps they had a garment on.

Psalm 104:1-2 says, [1] Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
[2] Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

"Notice there’s a garment of light involved in God’s clothing," explains Jordan. "They were clothed in a raiment of translucent light that actually did cover them. They weren’t standing there with the wind blowing by and getting them cold. Of course, the guy didn’t sweat too much because sweat didn’t come ’til after the fall.”