Genesis 2:18 Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner." 19 So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken."
It is not good, indeed, for a man to be alone. (I think most women would agree with this wholeheartedly!) Men make messes and get into trouble.
Actually, women make different messes and need help with their shortcomings too.
Men have strengths. Women have strengths. Men have weaknesses. So do women. And the point of one of the first passages on marriage is that sometimes it helps to have partner.
I love, though, how Genesis 2 is told. God creates a man. And it grieves the Lord that this poor fellow is all alone. Therefore, God in his grace starts creating more and more.
I can imagine God, therefore, making a stubby bird with a round beak and bringing it to this first man: “Here you go, Adam. Here’s your ‘helper as [a] partner.”
And I can imagine Adam looking down at this dodo bird … and then up at God. Down at the big round beak … and then up at God again.
“Lord,” I suspect the first man said, “I’m going to name this thing a dodo, and I’m pretty sure I don’t want him as my partner.”
So I can imagine God creating again. An alligator! And I can imagine Adam looking down at the fierce reptile … and then jumping back six feet in fright. “Thank you, God, but I don’t think I want a partner with such big teeth.”
So God keeps trying. By attempt three hundred seventy-two, I can imagine God making a porcupine. And I can imagine Adam looking down at the prickly creature, and saying, “Lord, for a partner one of the things I want is someone I can curl up with on a cold night. I really don’t want a pin-cushion.”
The point of this story is not that God didn’t know what Adam (or any of us) needed. The point is that nothing fits a man like a woman. We’re cut from the same cloth (or made from a common rib – “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”).
Man and woman are the only two creatures made in the image of God himself (Genesis 1:27). We’re the same – in one sense. And yet we’re totally different … in wonderfully complimentary ways. In exciting, intriguing, practical, and helpful ways. The point of this story is that we’re made for each other. And that marriage is part of God’s plan – not necessarily for every individual, but for this world!
Question of the Day: see below
In Christ’s Love,
a guy who’s glad
to not be partnered
with a piranha
Question of the Day
· Getting Married and Newlyweds: You have strengths and weaknesses. So does your beloved. But how do the two of you complement and complete each other as partners? Thank God for his generosity!
· Married: You have strengths and weaknesses. So does your spouse. How do the two of you complement and complete each other as partners? Thank God for his generosity!
· Not Married: Who are your partners? Who are the people that help you do big and small things? Thank God for his generosity!
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