Genesis is all about
beginnings. Needless to say, God is the source of everything. In Him all things
find their beginning; all things except evil. The universe, the world, the
earth, the sky, the sun, moon and stars, plants, creatures of sea, land and air,
and ultimately man, find their beginning in God. The commandment the Creator
God gave to the creatures – the fish, the birds, land animals and man is the
same i.e. to be fruitful and multiply. This command would be not possible for the
man without a woman. So in these verses, Genesis 2:18-24, we see God fashioning
a woman for the first man. Amazingly, God made the woman from a rib of the man.
Woman, in a sense, is an improved model from man. So in this passage we see the
beginning of the first woman, the first marriage and the first family. We can
safely conclude then that marriage and the home are two critical institutions ordained
by God. They are to be highly honored.
God understands His
creation best. He created the fish, the birds and the animals and gave Adam, the
first man, the privilege and honor to name them. Whatever name Adam gave to
each animal it was called by that name. This tells us how resourceful he must
have been. He must have had an amazing mind, quite like God’s, to be able to
think of different names for different animals. But among the animals man
couldn’t find a suitable companion in life and for life. It’s because man and
animals were made biologically different. God was sure that it wouldn’t be good
for the man to be alone without a helpmeet. No animal could fill that gap or satisfy
his needs. So God intentionally made a woman, not only correspond him but also fit
for him. She was to be the man’s helper,
to be his mate and not his maid.
Here in this passage we
are introduced to the first surgery. God put man to sleep without general anaesthesia.
And man had a long deep sleep, enough for God to do a reconstructive surgery.
God took out one rib from the man’s side and then carefully closed up his fresh.
With that one rib He took out, God fashioned a woman for him. And God brought
her to him, and there we have the first marriage. Notice the woman was made
from a bone from man’s side. This is not a co-incidence, nor was it a haphazard
afterthought. She was intentionally made
from a bone from his side, to be tenderly loved and dearly cared for. She was
made from the man’s bone and flesh, fashioned from man to be like man, only
with a slight modification. She was made with a tender nature, and more delicate
and attractive. When she was brought to the man, he was overjoyed. Who can better
meet the needs of his life but one taken from him and made to be with him?
Verse 24 defines for us a marriage
and home. Here we see that it was God who had ordained both institutions. A
marriage is first and foremost between a man and a woman, and that excludes
same sex marriage. The man was no longer to be tied to the parents’ apron
string but to set up a separate unit of their own. He must primarily stay with
his wife and share and do life together. Cleaving speaks of complete oneness, commitment
and partnership for life. A husband and his wife must seek to be one in spirit,
soul and body to start and maintain a home together. The fact that they were
both naked and unashamed has more than a sexual connotation. It speaks of
transparency. The man and woman should live without hiding anything from each other.
And there should be nothing in between them to be ashamed about. This principle
of transparency in a martial relationship helps to build faith and trust. These
are vital ingredients to faithfulness. For us husbands, we need to bear in mind
that God had given our wives to be an integral part of us. And every husband
and wife, must remember to do life together faithfully and committedly. Remember,
a lasting marriage and a fulfilling home begins with Christ. On top of that, a
great home has Christ at the centre of it all. Let us build a Christ-centred
home for His glory!
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