The idea of the family unit originated in the mind of God. It was a wise all-loving Creator that 'invented' the male and the female. Jesus said: "Haven't you read ... that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female." (Matthew 19:4). The only answer to the origin of the marriage relationship, which is universally practised, is found in the Bible. The making of man and woman for mutual companionship took place at the end of the creation week and was the crowning act of the Creator's work.

In the making of man God shared His nature with the creature. "Then God said, let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:26,27). It was God's purpose that from this original pair the earth was to be populated with beings manifesting love, peace and purity. Eternal happiness was the Creator's idea for them. Had our first parents not chosen to disobey God's will, their happiness would have been unshadowed - unspoiled. When God had completed the work of setting up a lovely world as a home for man the record states: "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day." (Genesis 1:31).

In Genesis chapter two where you have an amplification of the making of man we read: "The Lord God said, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." (Genesis 2:18). After the creation of the animals on the sixth day God made Adam and then declared that man was in need of a companion for his own good. When God designed the marriage relationship He originated the home, which in His plan was to become the happiest place on earth for the human family. The home was designed to be for the social and physical well-being of man. It was a beautiful idea and imbedded with the richest blessings.

It is of interest to read how God 'performed' as it were the first marriage ceremony. The record says: "So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman for she was taken out of man." (Genesis 2:21-24). Why was the making of a woman so unique? Adam was made out of the dust of the ground but Eve unlike any other creature was made from the bone of another created form. I believe that in this strange act God was demonstrating the binding nature of marriage. In God's sight when man and woman enter together into a covenantal marriage contract and experience the intimate privileges of marriage they are as 'one person' as undividable as the human body. In this relationship love is to be fostered and to grow. The marriage covenant binds partners together and within that union love is to nurture the happiness and well being of the other. It is important to note that it is not love that glues the marriage together. The marriage is bound together by a solemn covenant and by a divine act of the Creator.

The question arises: Why are there so many unhappy and broken marriages today? What has gone wrong with this beautiful institution, which God invented for man's highest good? In Australia according to the Commonwealth Bureau of Statistics for the year ending December 31, 1982 there were 117,276 marriages celebrated and during the same period 44,088 divorces (2 out of 5). Added to these distressing figures is the fact that many of the marriages that stay together are unhappy, living hell experiences. Happy, well-balanced families are few and far between. It would be almost a truism to say that there are more people today wishing they were not married than those wishing they were married.

Why is this breakdown in marital happiness so prevalent today? What's gone wrong? Of this we can affirm. The fault does not lie with the Designer but in the abuse of man. Undoubtedly the answer is complex but it is the conviction of the writer that a right relationship to the Sabbath day, that God made for family togetherness, would save many a marriage from wreckage.

In the beginning as soon as God made the family on the sixth day of creation week, He instituted a day which if rightly observed would bring stability and blessing to the family. "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." (Genesis 2:1-3).

God 'blessed' the seventh day of the week. The word 'blessed', is from a Hebrew word 'barach' which means to speak good of or well of. Dr Adam Clarke says: "So God has spoken well of the Sabbath and good to them who conscientiously observe it." The Creator put something special into the seventh day of the week, which is not to be found in any other day. The difference between the seventh day and any other is not that it feels or looks different but that God has said it is different. It is a blessed and sanctified or holy day by divine command.

In passing we should note that Jesus Christ was the active agent in the making of the family and He was the one who made holy the seventh day of the week. The apostle John states: ''In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made ... He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him." (John 1:1-3, 10). Similar scriptures are found in Colossians 1:13-16 and Hebrews 1:2. It is a staggering truth that the One who died for the sins of the world was the Creator. What grace and love is this! The Creator dies for the creature.

When in the beginning the Lord set apart the Sabbath it was to be a perpetual memorial to the family of men that God created the world in seven days. It would be a continual reminder of God's power, His goodness and His ownership. The Scripture says of the Sabbath: "It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested,' (Exodus 31:17). The Lord desires that we should remember Him as our gracious benefactor and bountiful provider. Had the day which Christ set apart in the beginning been faithfully observed there never would have been an atheist for all men would have remembered the Creator God.

For whose benefit was this day set apart? Jesus gives a very clear answer to this question. "Then he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27). The Sabbath is a gift of God to man. As soon as the Creator organized the family on the sixth day of the week He instituted the Sabbath for man's personal benefit. This day would be like a golden band around the family. In this day of rest, worship and fellowship, the family would reach its highest joys. Never think of the Sabbath as something tiresome. It is the very opposite. This day comes as a special gift from God to meet the deepest needs of the family and when rightly observed it will indeed be a unifying and strengthening factor to any marriage.

Now when you read the Scripture you find that it is the Lord's purpose that upon this family day all work be laid aside and the whole family join together in spiritual activity. So important is this matter that God makes the following command: "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." (Exodus 20:8-11). How good God is. While work is a blessing, yet there is to be a limit to it. Six days work is enough for any man. Many families have been touched by sickness which results from over-work. In Exodus 16:22-26 it is clearly revealed that even food preparation for the Sabbath was to be attended to on the day before. Thus God in His wisdom and mercy has made a divine command forbidding us to engage in our normal work and pleasure on the Sabbath. This is the family day of rest, worship and togetherness. Don't waste its precious hours making money. Lay aside all unnecessary work. This day is for family enrichment.

Is it possible for us to know which day of the week is the one Christ has 'blessed' for the good of the family? Yes, the answer to this question is not difficult. In the New Testament we find the answer. We go to the time of our Lord's death. In Luke 23 we read: "It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin." (Luke 23:54). The crucifixion took place on Friday. We speak of that day as "Good Friday." Mark recording the crucifixion day says it was "the day before the Sabbath" (Mark 15:42). In Luke 23:55,56 you have the details regarding the burial of Jesus and how the women observed His resting place. In Mark 16:1,2 we read: "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. Very early on the first sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb." After the "Sabbath was over" on the first day of the week the women came to the grave to anoint the body of Jesus which they refrained from doing earlier because of the Sabbath. Now what happened that morning? "When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons." (Mark 16:9). Here we have three specific and eventful days. The crucifixion day, Friday, was the day "before" the Sabbath. The first day of the week, the resurrection day, Sunday, was the day "after" the Sabbath. Isn't that clear. The day between the crucifixion day, Friday, and the resurrection day, Sunday, is the day which Christ made for the family in the very beginning. From Luke 23:54-56 we see that Christ's closest friends remembered to keep it holy.

When you read the book of Acts of the Apostles, the history book of the New Testament, the story is the same. Such texts as Acts 13:14, 42-44; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4, shows that the early apostolic church remembered to keep this day holy for worship also. Naturally it couldn't be otherwise for the Sabbath given to the family was a memorial of creation and you can't change a memorial day any more than you can change your birthday.

When I look to Jesus I find that He who made the Sabbath "for man" gives me an example of how I should remember it. He spent sometime in worship on that day. "He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read."(Luke 4:16). He spent some time in doing acts of mercy and healing on that day. After healing a man with a withered hand He stated: "Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:12). Jesus didn't spend all His time in worship at the synagogue on the Sabbath but spent times out in the open door of nature. It says of Him: "One Sabbath Jesus was going through the cornfields, and as his disciples walked along they began to pick some ears of corn." (Mark 2:23).

Here we have a perfect example of how we can get the best out of this blessed day. Lay aside all your work and spend some time in congregational worship. Such an act will enrich your life and your family more than you can imagine until you experience it. Then as Jesus did, spend some time out in God's great open-book of nature, especially where there are children in the family, to observe the works of creation. And where possible visit the needy, the sick, the shut-in, the lonely or the aged.

I want to testify to the blessing God's family day has been in my life. Like millions of others I have found it to be the best of all the seven days. How much sorrow and heartache could be averted if in every home God's family day was kept as His word says. All who do remember it, find it as one of God's beautiful gifts to enrich our lives.

Dear reader, God has given the Sabbath to the family of men as a means of increasing our health and happiness. In God's design it is to be a special blessing for the family. Don't for a moment think that your life will be better off by rejecting God's holy day. All of God's commands are for our good. He commands you to "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" not for His benefit but for yours. Note carefully the words of the Psalmist: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise .... Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands." (Psalm 111:10, 112:1). In order to receive the rich blessing that God is waiting to bestow upon you and your family, you may need to make some changes in your life. If you find your life is out of harmony with God's will, then change your life. The rewards are not only to be found now but also in the life to come. Jesus said: "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21). Don't go on living a life that is in conflict with God's commandments. The best thing that you can do to find peace and joy now as well as happiness in the future is to heed the Lord's appeal: "If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea." (Isaiah 48:18).


C.R. Stanley….Emeritus Minister.