Genesis 2:4 – 2:25
This is only my second post, but a lot happens in the beginning of the Book of Genesis. God was busy! This particular verse in Chapter Two details the creation of the first man and the first woman. Believe it or not, it contains a little controversy and some romance.
Summary
God took dust from the ground and formed man. God created the Garden of Eden, and this garden provided food for man. The Lord created the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden. He also created a tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil. Man was instructed not to eat fruit from this tree. The man could eat from any tree but not from this particular tree. Throughout the garden were four rivers: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. Pishon had gold, bdellium, and onyx. It does not specifically state when or why God named the man Adam, but the name suddenly appears in the verse. The Lord did not want Adam to be alone, so he brought all the animals to Adam and let him name them. God did not feel as though any of the animals were an adequate “helper” to Adam, so He created woman using the rib from the man. Adam woke up and said, “I will call her woman because she was taken out of the man.” This passage goes on to say that when a man leaves his father and mother, he will be united with his wife. “[T]hey shall become one flesh.” Neither Adam nor the woman were ashamed for being naked.
Sidebar
It is a romantic notion to be considered “one” when marrying someone. Many of us hope to find that one person that you can share your life with, to create a family with…a partner. I can’t help but notice the word “helper” come up in the text when considering a partner for Adam. In the first mention of a woman in the Bible, she is referred to as man’s helper and a part of the man, leaving some to conclude that the man is superior. Physically, that is hard to deny, and you could infer that because woman was made from man, she would be a smaller version of human. Throughout history, women have fought hard to prove their equality to men in the general sense. Women can work just as hard, are just as smart, are just as capable as men. In fact, women do some things better than men, and vice versa. I choose to see the word “helper” not as a worker to a man, but as someone who can help man make it in this life. To become one doesn’t make either partner more superior to the other. It actually makes you equal to one another – the other half. In fact, God is even referred to as a helper in the Bible…so it is safe to conclude that a helper can be a very powerful resource in your life.
Intention
“The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.”
-Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible
So beautifully said by this 17th century British minister! Make sure to see your partner as your equal. Neither of you are inferior. Love your partner with compassion, respect, support, and acceptance.
