How did Adam say in Genesis 2:24 that a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, when he was the first man on earth? How did he know about fathers and mothers?
Let’s read Genesis 2:21-25 so that we might answer your interesting question. That says, “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” There is no doubt that verse 23 is a quotation of Adam as he speaks of Eve after she was formed from one of his ribs as being the “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” Is verse 24 a continuation of Adam speaking, or is it an inspired interjection from the author of the book of Genesis? I believe it is the Lord speaking through Moses, speaking of the proper institution of marriage. We might say that Adam and Eve became one flesh because Eve came from Adam, but the Word of the Lord is teaching us here that in all marriages, the husband and wife become one flesh in His eyes.
The Lord Jesus credits the Lord, Adam’s creator, with those words in Matthew 19:4-5, “And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that HE WHICH MADE THEM at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?”
The Lord’s words in Matthew 19:4-5 should make it clear to us that Genesis 2:24 are not the words of Adam, but the words of the Lord as given to us through Moses.
Let’s consider Genesis 2:24 a little deeper for it is rich in instruction. “Genesis 2:24, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
* At marriage, the man is to work with the wife to institute a new family unit, with the man as the head of the home. 1 Corinthians 11:3 tells us, “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” It would not do for a man’s mother and father to try to rule the home of their son and his wife. While we should respect and learn from the teachings and examples of our parents, as adults, we must establish our households as an individual unit.
* At marriage, the man cleaves unto his wife. He ‘leaves’ his father and mother and ‘cleaves’ (clings) to his wife. A man and his wife. The Hebrew word for wife in this verse is “’ishshah”. It is often translated as ‘woman’ or ‘female’. This clearly shows us that the Lord’s creation of marriage was intended for a man and a woman.
* At marriage, a man and his wife become ‘one flesh’, never to be parted. We read in Matthew 19:6, “Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” This speaks of the permanence of marriage. (293.6)