Genesis
2
18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will
make him a helper comparable to him.”
19 Out of the
ground the Lord God formed every beast of the
field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he
would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was
its name.
20 So Adam gave
names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field.
But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He
took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
22 Then the rib
which the Lord God had taken from man He made
into a woman, and He brought her to 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.”
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a
man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall
become one flesh.
God
could have made Eve from anything, or even just spoken her into being, but He
didn't. He took her out of Adam. She was formed with her husband's rib as a
base for her being. The rib was the potter's wheel where God began and created
the rest of her being.
But
why his rib?
Well,
to begin on the physical side of things, Adam had more than one rib,
twenty-four, in fact. Maybe he wouldn't miss it? Perhaps it was a floating rib?
To this day some people have varying numbers of them. But why not something
smaller?
Why
not a bone from his pinky toe, or the smallest from his ear? What's significant
about a rib?
Man
and woman were created equally. Taking a bone from his foot or his head would
symbolize either the woman being below or above the her husband. I would like
to clarify before I go further that I do not mean this equality to say that a
woman is above her husband's authority, or even equal to it. She is to love,
honor, and obey him. 1 & 2 He is to love, cherish, and protect
her.
Protection.
That word is bliss. To know you're protected is a feeling of peace. The rib
protects the vital organs, the heart, which beats life and is the very symbol
of love, and the lungs which are filled with the breath of life. The ribs, in
turn are protected by the arms. When a wife is wrapped in her husband's arms,
she can feel his protection around her, like a great fortress, she can hear and
feel his heartbeat, the rise and fall of his chest. Protection.
Ribs
are created in sets. They are joined to the spine, the center. When God took
one of Adam's ribs, I believe he left it's match, meaning that they are not the
same without one another. They are of one set, as man and woman became of one
flesh.
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 a
man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
and they
shall become one flesh.
Isn't verse
23 beautiful? It sounds like a poem for Eve. Adam claiming Eve; as his helpmeet
for life, as his own flesh and bone, as his other half. They were part of one
another, in flesh, in spirit, everything. They were literally created for each
other. There's a song that says "When God made you He must have been
thinking about me." (Newsong) They were two perfect people
living in a perfect world, without shame and without hurt, for a little while
at least. Also, in "Adam's poem" he names Eve, as he did the animals
in verses 19 and 20. God gave them the names Adam and Eve, but Adam called his
wife Woman, for she was taken out of him (man).
She was taken from his side.
They were to work side by side, to walk together in their spiritual journey,
lean on one another for support and encouragement in all things. The rib cage
is also flexible, so must a marriage
union be. Without the flexibility of our rib cage, we would die from the
constriction. In marriage you must work together, move as one, yet individually,
keeping Christ as your center, your spine.
Woman was the only living thing
created out of a different life. Female life, in turn, is the only life to
create life, but God ultimately is the one Who is the Master Creator of all
things.3
For the husband is head of the wife,
as also Christ is head of the church; and
He is the Savior of the body.
Nevertheless let each one of you in
particular so love his own wife
as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her
husband.
For as woman came
from man, even so man
also comes through woman;
but all things are from God.
All verses
NKJV
For further
reading I would highly recommend this article which explains some of the Hebrew
usage for key points, as well as Adam and Eve being helpmeets and one with each
other.
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