Now the word "cleave" means to pursue hard, stick to, or be joined together. And notice it says that the man shall cleave unto his wife, not unto his girlfriend or to anything else. It says that a man shall leave and then cleave, talking about marriage.

But here's another interesting thing about cleaving: It implies that the man is supposed to chase the woman.

The man is supposed to chase the woman, and the woman is supposed to keep the man chasing her. She's supposed to keep him chasing her by what she wears, how she smells, and so forth. And it's not supposed to stop after they get married, either.

If you're a married woman, don't let your husband stop chasing you. Keep on doing the same things you did before you were married. Before you were married, before every time you saw him, you'd throw on some makeup, put on a little perfume, and make sure you had on the right outfit. You wouldn't even let him see you unless you were totally together.

So don't change once you're married and say, "Oh, well - whatever," walking around the house with your hair a mess, an old housecoat on, and a beauty mask on your face all the time. (I don't know about your husband, but I know if that happened to me, I sure would be "trippin.'")

It's important for the woman to keep the man chasing her even after they get married. That's what keeps marriage exciting.

At the end of Genesis 2:24, God said that "the two shall become one flesh." That happens, obviously, in the sexual act. However, this is also referring to how they operate in the marriage.

As I said, marriage is a teamwork concept. Each person has a role that he or she must play to keep the team working. And whenever one or both don't do their part, they're not only going against God's Word, but they're asking for trouble.

So there's a lot more to cleaving than what most people think.

Source: God's Plan For The Single Saint by Keith A. Butler, II
Excerpt permission granted by Word Of Faith Publishing