A. INTRODUCTION
"And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18).
1. The last act of God in creation was making the woman.
a. "The last and best of all God’s works." John Milton.
b. Creation was unfinished, therefore imperfect.
c. First time the phrase "not good" occurs." Man was incomplete.
d. Animals had been made male and female (6:19).
e. Instructed to Bring forth and multiply (Gen.1:22,24).
2. God made a woman.
a. Divine determination. "I will make" (v.18).
b. Help meet has deep meaning. Co-responder," or "a helper like him" or "complementing him" or "as his counter part."
c. Woman created second. "For Adam was first formed, then Eve" (I Tim. 2:13). "For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man" (I Cor. 11:8).
3. Why did God wait and not make both at the same time?
a. To demonstrate man’s aloneness, "not good that the man should be alone."
b. To emphasis completion. "Adam named the animals.
c. To emphasis productivity. "replenish and multiply" (1:28).
d. To demonstrate submission in duties, but equality in nature "submitting yourself one to another in the fear of God, wives submit yourselves unto your own husband" (Eph. 5:21,22).
B. THE FIRST MARRIAGE
"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" (Gen. 2:21-25).
1. Why sleep?
a. Not necessary to prevent pain.
b. A spiritual reason.
c. A picture of death to give life.
2. Woman made from a rib.
a. Hebrew word tsela means "side."
b. Taken neither from head (superiority) or feet (inferiority) but his side, (equality).
c. Taken from next to his heart. (affection).
d. It is unscientific to say man has one less rib than woman. "acquired characteristic are never inherited."
e. A picture of Christ and His bride. "Members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones" (Eph. 5:30).
3. Why a woman? Evolution still cannot explain the source for the difference between the sexes.
4. The woman is both made and created. "Made he a woman" (1:22). The word for made is "sculptured" or "formed" which emphasizes the physical. God also created Bara her soul/spirit in His image. "So God created man in his own image . . . male and female created he him" (1:27).
5. Introduction. "Brought her to the man."
a. To be with man. "To cleave" (1:24).
b. To help man, "help meet."
c. To complete man, "aloneness."
d. To fulfill man, "They shall be one" (1:24).
e. To be one. "Bone of my bone," and "They shall be one."
6. "What does this mean? They shall be one flesh"?
a. Intimacy
b. Children
c. Marriage unit
d. Spiritual
7. Marriage. "Shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife" (1:24).
a. Permanent.
b. Decision to separate and bond.
c. Because of the entrance of sin into the world, there are many distortions, i.e., polygamy, concubinage, easy divorce, homosexuality, adultery, promiscuity, etc. "From the beginning it was not so" (Matt. 19:8).
d. God’s Provision. God has planned for love, companionship, sexual union, conception, birth, protection of babies, and growth in every area. Marriage is an evidence of God’s plan and wisdom. Paul described it "This is a great mystery" (Eph. 5:32).
C. CONCLUSION:
Jesus believed this was our model. "Have ye never read"
(Matt. 19:4). "From the beginning of creation God made them male and female" (Mark 10:6).
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Please contact me at eltowns@liberty.edu and tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you.
