The Process Of Forming The Woman Series

July 9, 2013

The Book of Genesis

By: Tom Lowe

Lesson I.B.3: The Process of Forming the Woman.

Gen. 2.18-25. (KJV)

18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

21 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;

22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

23 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.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Introduction

Adam was given power over the creatures, and as a proof of this he named them all. This may show the depth of his insight into the works of God. But though he was lord of the creatures, there was nothing in the world like him with whom he might have fellowship. God is the source of all our blessings, and if we place our trust in Him, he will make everything in our lives work for our good. God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep (since he is sinless, God will ensure that he feels no pain.). God, as her Father, brought the woman to the man to be his companion and helper.

Our first parents did not need clothes for protection against cold or heat, because neither could hurt them, nor did they need clothing to adorn their bodies. Life was easy for Adam and he was happy in his state of innocence. How good was God to him! How many blessings did he give him! How easy were the rules he must follow! Nevertheless man did not understand that these simple rules were in his best interest, and soon he became like the beasts that perish.

Commentary

18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

And the LORD God said,

“And the LORD God said” means that these are the words of Yahweh Himself.

Here we can see the attention which the Creator paid to man and his fatherly concern for his comfort. Though God had let him know that he was subordinate to Him, by giving him a command that he must obey (v. 16, 17), yet here He lets him know that he was a friend, and a favorite, and that He cared for him and wanted him to always be happy.

It is not good that the man should be alone;

These words relate to the events described in verse 22 and following; but the expression “not good” indicates that these events are not a further continuation of chapter 1 and the creative week, but are actually part of that creative week; occurring after man was created and before God rested. When God finished His creation (1:31), He noted that everything was “very good.” Therefore, until Eve was created the creative activity of God was not complete, and God could not declare that all was “very good.” This is the first time in the history of creation that God said, “It is not good.” Man needs a wife who is a help. If man is to achieve his objectives in life, he needs the help of his mate in every way.

God pitied man because of his solitude; although there was an upper world of angels and a lower world of animals, yet there was no being with the same nature and status as him, no one that he could converse intimately with, he was alone and the Lord knew he would eventually be unhappy unless He did something about it. Now, who would know more about him and what was good for him than the One who had made him. It was that Divine wisdom that resulted in the Lord saying "It is not good that he should continue to be alone.’’ Perhaps there were three reasons for this assessment: