WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CLEAVE?
Part 3

“His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”
(Song of Songs 5:16).

We continue looking at the words to describe cleave.

5. FOLLOW CLOSE

God warned the people through the prophet Jeremiah that He would send them to Babylon. This was God’s judgment upon them because of their sin. However, they thought they could avoid judgment by going down to Egypt. But Jeremiah spoke the word of the Lord in Jeremiah 42:16: “The sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close (dabaq) after you there in Egypt.”     

This time the Bible uses the words “follow close.” This is also a lovely meaning of “cleave.” We must follow close to our husbands. We don’t allow rifts to come between us. Life is not perfect and neither husband or wife always say or do everything that is right. Often an aloofness can come between you because you feel hurt by the way your spouse has spoken to you or treated you. But we must not allow this aloofness to become a “cold font.” Even if we don’t feel like it, we all must do whatever we need to do to bring back the closeness. This is what it means to cleave, and this is what marriage is all about.

We don’t automatically stay close. We work at staying close together. Have you allowed a distance to come into your relationship? What can you do today to bridge that gap again? It won’t be easy, but this is what you must do. For your own sake. For the sake of your marriage. For the sake of your children. And for the sake of generations to come!

6. STICK TO/CLING TO

Psalm 119:31: “I have stuck (dabaq) unto thy testimonies: O LORD put me not to shame.” The psalmist sticks to and cleaves to God’s Word. This word is used in the context of sticking to our marriage, sticking to God’s Word, and sticking close to God. That’s why marriage is a picture of our relationship with God. Our marriage relationship reveals to all around us what our relationship with God is like.

What does it mean to stick to God’s testimonies and stick to our marriages? Other translations say: “hold tight, hold fast, and cling tightly.”

7. TAKE

The word dabaq is translated “take” in Genesis 19:19: “I cannot escape to this mountain lest some soul take me, and I die.” As we read this, we realize that “taking” is not a little tap on the shoulder but the complete capturing of someone.

We now look at another nuance of this word. When we marry, the husband captures his wife and she becomes his. She belongs to no one else but him! The wife captures her husband and he belongs to no one else but her! That’s it. Period.

We confess this word in our vows on our wedding day. Do you remember?

“I TAKE thee to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, and in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, and to obey, till death do us part according to God’s holy ordinance, and thereto I pledge thee my troth.”

By the way, you may not have said the word “troth” on your wedding day. These are the original wedding vows. But it’s a good word and means “faithfulness and loyalty when pledging a solemn agreement.”

“Cleave” or “take” is a verb. It’s not passive. Not only on our wedding day, but each new day we “take” our husbands again for better for worse! I think it is more exciting to think of capturing our husbands. Why not capture your husband today and let him know tangibly how much you love him?

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, please teach me how to follow close to my husband and to reveal to all around me a picture of the relationship of Christ and the church. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION

I take my husband without reservations today, tomorrow, and each new day.