(More Bible Studies Available @ www.marktabata.com)
It is written:
Genesis 2:24-Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
The Bible teaches the mankind is composed of three elements: body, soul, and spirit.
Genesis 2:7-And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
The Bible reminds us from the very beginning of the body (“formed man of the dust of the ground”), spirit (“breath of life”), and soul (“living being”).
Again:
1 Thessalonians 5:23-Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sometimes in the Bible the “soul” of man is distinguished sharply from his “spirit.”
Hebrews 4:12-For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
To understand the idea of soul ties, let’s notice the first example of one.
Genesis 2:24-Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
The word “be joined” in the NKJV are translated as “cleave” in the KJV. Let’s notice the definition of this word.
“The word “cleave” in the Hebrew language means “attaching oneself to another, to follow hard after and to join completely as one with another.” When God the Father created the first man (i.e., Adam) and the first woman (i.e., Eve), his purpose for their marriage was for both Adam and Eve to cleave, to be joined completely as one (i.e., spirit, soul, and body). Therefore, God the Father was the Creator of soul ties.” (James Edwards, The Secret of The Soul Tie, 54 (Kindle Edition): Lakeview Publishing)
Again:
“By the leaving of father and mother, which applies to the woman as well as to the man, the conjugal union is shown to be a spiritual oneness, a vital communion of heart as well as of body, in which it finds its consummation.” (C. F. Keil, Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, 1374 (Kindle Edition))
So the meaning of this “cleaving” or “joining” is far more than sexual union. It is a joining together of the entire essence of a person: body, soul, and spirit.
We find the same thing in other Scriptures as well.
Genesis 34:1-3-Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her. 3 His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman.
Genesis 44:30-31-Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad’s life, 31 it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
Ruth 1:14-17-Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.”
1 Samuel 18:1-4-Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.
1 Kings 11:1-2-But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—. 2 from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.
1 Corinthians 6:15-20-Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “THE TWO,” He says, “SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Colossians 2:1-3-For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
There are several things to notice from these passages of Scripture.
First, sometimes soul ties are good things. God Himself is said to be the Creator of these, and we see this in the first soul tie between Adam and Eve in marriage. There are many other godly examples of soul ties presented for us in God’s Word (Jacob and Benjamin, Ruth and Naomi, Jonathan and David, the Colossians, etc.). The godly soul-ties are distinguishable because of the godly character from their origin and their focus.
Second, sometimes soul-ties can be partially formed through sexual activity. This is seen in Adam and Eve, as well as in the rape of Dinah (Genesis 34:1-3), Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3), and the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 6:15-20). The passage in 1 Corinthians is especially interesting. Paul argues that because we are Christians, we are married to the Lord (“one spirit with Him” 1 Corinthians 6:17). So when we allow ourselves to be joined to an unlawful sexual union, we are “taking away” ourselves from Christ to be joined to a prostitute. In other words, we are committing adultery against the Lord when we commit sexual sin!
It is also interesting here to notice that just as soul-ties can develop through sexual activity, this is mirrored by what takes place in the human body through sexual activity. Scientists have been studying the nature and effects of two chemicals, oxytocin and vasopressin. These are chemicals that are released especially during sex, and aid in creating an emotional bond between lovers.
“Here is where the new research about oxytocin becomes even more interesting. When two people touch each other in a warm, meaningful, and intimate way, oxytocin is released into the woman’s brain. The oxytocin then does two things: increases a woman’s desire for more touch and causes bonding of the woman to the man she has been spending time in physical contact with. This desire for more touch and the bonding that develops between a man and a woman often lead to the most intimate of physical contact, sexual intercourse. With sexual intercourse and orgasm, the woman’s brain is flooded with oxytocin, causing her to desire this same kind of contact again and again with this man she has bonded to, producing even stronger bonding.21 But there is more. The oxytocin bonding that takes place in the normal male-female relationship often results in long-term connectedness. For example, in America, when a marriage is intact, it is rare for a woman to have sexual intercourse with anyone except her husband.22 This remarkable stability is undoubtedly in part a result of the effect of oxytocin. And the significance of this is that the bonding of a mother and father (part of the reason marriages often last for many years) greatly increases the chance for a child to be raised in a nurturing two-parent home, which studies have shown provides a child the most advantageous environment for growing into his or her potential.…Women are not the only ones who bond during intimate physical contact. The neurochemical responsible for the male brain response and synaptic change is called vasopressin. It plays a role in many body functions such as blood pressure regulation and, through its influence on kidney function, fluid regulation in the body. Vasopressin seems to have two primary functions related to relationships—bonding of the man to his mate and attachment to his offspring.28 Due to the remarkable structural similarity between oxytocin and vasopressin, it should come as no surprise that these two neurochemicals share similar activity. Often referred to as the “monogamy molecule,” vasopressin seems to be the primary cause of men attaching to women with whom they have close and intimate physical contact. Vasopressin has been studied through research on prairie voles, small mammals that live in the grasslands of the Midwest and that are amazingly monogamous. These studies have shown that if the flow of vasopressin is blocked, male voles did not bond to females with whom they were sexually active.29 However, when the male vole’s brain is being flooded with adequate amounts of vasopressin, a condition that is normal for such voles, he shows increased attention and attachment to his young.…Though vasopressin has not been studied as much as has oxytocin, we know it clearly plays an important role in sexual bonding and bonding between fathers and children. As with oxytocin, this mechanism is extremely important for the proper care of children. If a man and woman are emotionally bonded when pregnancy is achieved and then children are born, the children have a greater chance of being raised by their two biological parents—both of whom are attached to them—increasing their chance of survival, good health, and a productive future. Therefore, just as with oxytocin, vasopressin is vitally important to our survival as a race. Just like dopamine and oxytocin, vasopressin is values-neutral. If a male enters into a physical relationship with a female unwisely, he could bond to her. This bonding could lead to a long-term relationship that is unhealthy and destructive because it was an unwise relationship to start with, yet the bonding keeps the couple together, even if the man is being abused by the woman. As with dopamine and oxytocin, vasopressin has a powerful impact on human behavior. Yet most people are totally unaware of it. Men may question why they keep going back to a woman who treats them poorly or may wonder why they never seem able to feel, deep inside, a commitment to a woman after having sex partner after sex partner. Sadly, they simply do not know that their brains are flooded with vasopressin during sexual intercourse and that this neurochemical produces a partial bond with every woman they have sex with. They do not realize that this pattern of having sex with one woman and then breaking up and then having sex with another woman limits them to experience only one form of brain activity common to humans involved sexually—the dopamine rush of sex. 31 They risk damaging a vital, innate ability to develop the long-term emotional attachment that results from sex with the same person over and over. This transition can be seen in the brain studies of individuals who have been involved with each other for a period of months. 32 The individual who goes from sex partner to sex partner is causing his or her brain to mold and gel so that it eventually begins accepting that sexual pattern as normal. For most people this brain pattern seems to interfere with the development of the neurological circuits necessary for the long-term relationships that for most people result in stable marriages and family development. The pattern of changing sex partners therefore seems to damage their ability to bond in a committed relationship. 33 Their inability to bond after multiple liaisons is almost like tape that loses its stickiness after being applied and removed multiple times.” (Freda McKissic Bush, Joe S. McIlhaney Jr, Hooked: New Science on How Casual Sex is Affecting Our Children, 36-43 (Kindle Edition): Chicago, IL: Northfield Publishing)
Third, whether godly or ungodly, soul-ties will bring forth the same types of characteristics in the person involved. Here are some of those characteristics.
• There will be a strong emotional connection. Sometimes that connection can be one-way.
• Other strong emotions will be at play. Love, desire, lust, grief, shame, guilt, etc. All are possible emotions connected with soul-ties.
• Devotion is often manifest. Godly examples include how Ruth was willing to leave all because of her soul-tie with Naomi: Jonathan was willing to leave great gifts of love to David. Ungodly examples include how Shechem raped Dinah; and how king Solomon departed from serving God and made pagan temples for his foreign wives.
• Soul-ties can often bring out the best and worst in each other, depending on if they are godly or not. Jonathan was a constant friend who helped David’s faith when he was in such terrible circumstances. (1 Samuel 23:16-Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God.)
Godly soul-ties are a blessing while ungodly ones are not. We need to seek the Lord with all of our being.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.