Sunday School Lesson
Lesson:
Genesis 2:18-25;
Golden
Text:
“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).
INTRODUCTION.
In these modern times we live in, the natural and normal
relationship between man and woman has been distorted by society.
The normal sexual relationship has been perverted in the minds of many to
something sinful and discouraging to the sincere Christian. We can
only recover the right viewpoint by learning how God established the human
relationship at the time of Creation. When God created mankind as
male and female, He also established their relationship. This was
not only the right relationship; it was also the most rewarding and fulfilling
of all possible relationships. Although it has been perverted by
sin, it is still God’s pattern for mankind.
II. ADAM BY
HIMSELF (Genesis 2:18-20). Background for the
Lesson: In
Genesis chapter 1we have the steps by which God created the heavens and earth
and prepared the earth for mankind (see Genesis 1:1-25). When
everything was ready, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness” (see Genesis 1:26). Before creating man, God took
counsel with the words “Let us.” Some have concluded that by using
the plural “us” God was consulting with angelic beings. This is
highly unlikely, because angels don’t have the power to create; they are created
beings themselves. Instead, the use of the word “us” refers to the
Trinity, for all three persons of the Godhead were present at the creation (see
Job 33:4; Psalms 104:30; Colossians 1:13-16).Genesis 1:27-28 are
summary statements that are expanded on in chapter 2 from which comes our lesson
text. However, in Genesis 1:27 Moses writes that “in the image of
God created he him; male and female created he them.” The
reference to humans as “male and female” signifies that neither sex is complete
without the other. Life resides in the male and female, and only
through their physical union can life be reproduced. God’s plan
for human life therefore, leaves no room for homosexual relationships (see
Romans 1:26-27). In verses 28-30 God commands the created couple
to “be fruitful and multiply,” and also gave them dominion over the created
order. In chapter 2:1-3, Moses writes that after God finished the
creation, He rested on the seventh day and sanctified it. Verses
4-6 tell us that the garden was watered by a “mist from the earth.”
Verses 7-17 give details for the formation of man from the “dust of the
ground, the presence of both the “tree of life” and the “tree of knowledge of
good and evil,” and God’s direction to Adam that he could eat from any tree in
the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If he
ate of that tree he would “surely die.”
A. Adam’s need (Genesis
2:18).
Our lesson text begins with
“And the
Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make him an help meet for him.”
Throughout the creation
process God had declared everything He made to be good (see Genesis 1:10, 12,
18, 21, 31). But now God says that
“It is not good
that the man should be alone.” In other words God declared that man’s solitary
existence was “not good.”Note: This statement does not
contradict the statement in Genesis 1:31 that the entire creation God made was
“very good.” Chapter 2 simply expands on how God created
humanity. The creation of woman occurred on the sixth day which
was before God’s observation that everything was “very
good.” Man’s solitary
existence or being alone was considered “not good” because God
had created him for physical, social, and spiritual union with another.
His life would be incomplete without that union. In
addition, man could not be fruitful and multiply by himself.
Knowing Adam’s need, the Lord also declared,
“I will make him an help meet for him.”
The word “meet” means corresponding to, or a
counterpart, and here it seems to mean someone suitable, fitting, or like
Adam. God was saying that He would make man a helper who was like
him. Woman is man’s counterpart. She is agreeable to
him physically, mentally, and spiritually. God didn’t make someone
of lesser quality to be with Adam. He made someone comparable to
him. God knew Adam needed someone equal and compatible.
Note: In God’s plan, the woman was absolutely
necessary. While many cultures today devalue women and treat them
as owned property or worse, in God’s eyes they have always been valuable and
loved and deserving of respect from the opposite sex. Man needs
her and she is in every way his
equal.
B. Adam’s decision (Genesis 2:19).
This verse
says “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.”
Moses writes that after God
made animals and birds out of the ground, He “brought them unto Adam to
see what he would call them.” Notice that God didn’t
command Adam to name them; He merely observed what he would call them.
The very act of naming God’s creation shows that Adam was an intelligent
being. By naming the animals, Adam was asserting his authority
over them. He was exercising dominion over creation just as God
had commanded him to do (see Genesis1:26). Then we are told that
“whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name
thereof.” This implies that Adam no doubt, watched the
animals closely noting their habits and then gave them names to reflect the
nature.
C. Adam’s solitude (see Genesis
2:20). In this verse, Moses makes a
summary statement of Adam’s act of naming the animals. He wrote
“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.” This summary lets us know
that Adam successfully completed the job that God had given him.
There were three categories of animals that Adam named: (1) “all
cattle” which in Hebrew refers to large four-footed animals and are
considered to be animals that can be tamed or used to assist people in field
work (2) “fowl of the air” of course refers to flying animals
and (3) “beast of the field” which identifies those animals
that live in the wild and are not generally tamable. In the last
phrase of this verse, Moses comments on the fact that “but for Adam
there was not found an help meet for him.” Adam observed
the animals as being male and female no doubt causing him to realize that he had
no companionship. He was the only created being that was truly
alone. This experience probably served to emphasize the vacuum in
Adam’s life and to increase his appreciation for his mate when God finally gave
him one.
III. ADAM WITH A
COMPANION (Genesis 2:21-25)
A. God’s
work (Genesis 2:21-22).
1.(vs. 21).
Here Moses writes “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.” In
preparation for what God would do next, He “caused a
deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept.” This was not
ordinary sleep. It was a supernatural induced
unconsciousness. Indeed God used this sleep for an anesthetic
purpose in order to keep Adam unconscious while He “took one of his
ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof.” The word
“rib” can mean “side” but here it surely refers to a
“rib” since God is said to have taken “one of” them (see
Genesis 2:21). While Adam “slept” God took one of
his ribs and then closed him up again.
2. (vs. 22). This verse says
“And the rib, which the
Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought
her unto the man.” Using the rib that He had taken from Adam, God
“made he a
woman.” Eve was a
direct creation of God, but unlike man, she was made of tissue from a living
being. She was not made a separate being from the earth in the way
Adam was, nor was she made from any other existing beings. Eve was
made directly from Adam, indicating intimacy and oneness. The
Hebrew word translated “made” means “built.” It
implies that God used some effort in fashioning the rib into a woman.
The fact that God exerted His power to do this testifies to how important
He considered the finished product to be.
Note: The dignity
of womanhood was established not only by the fact that God made her from the man
but also by the part of man from which she was formed. She was not
formed from his head (indicating superiority) nor was she formed from his foot
(indicating inferiority), but she was formed from his side, signifying
equality. She would be Adam’s perfect companion. The
order of the creation, first man and then woman, has significance as
well. If God had wanted to, He could have shaped them both at the
same time from the earth. The significance of the order in which
man and woman were created, according to the Apostle Paul, was God’s way of
establishing an order of authority in the family and ultimately in the church
(see I Corinthians 11:3, 8-9; Ephesians 5:22-24; I timothy 2:12-13).
This order does not deny woman’s equality with man any more than the
order of the Trinity negates Christ’s equality with the Father (see I
Corinthians 11:3). In both cases, there is subordination, but this
does not mean inferiority (see John 5:18; 10:30; Philippians
2:6). After God formed
Eve, He “brought her unto the
man.”In doing this, God placed His enthusiastic
approval and blessing on the union of husband and wife.Marriage
of man and woman is not a human invention, it was willed by God, and He
officiated at the first wedding. Note:
Adam and Eve were to be the basic unit of
mankind, one man and one woman for life.This is the natural and
normal course of life for human beings. Romans 1:18-32 details
what can happen when mankind rebels against God, especially regarding
relationships. God cannot bless sin in any form. He
will not bless relationships that go against His
clearly expressed
will.
B. God’s will (Genesis
2:23-24).
1. (vs. 23).
After God brought the woman to the man, Moses writes
“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.” When Adam saw the woman, he saw someone just like him, yet
different. He then said “This is now bone of my bones, and
flesh of my flesh.” She was like him and compatible with
him because she was formed from his own body. Adam called his
partner “Woman because she was taken out of Man.”
This statement contains a play on the words for “man” and
“woman.” We don’t know what words Adam actually used because we
don’t know what the original language was like. However, in
writing this statement in Hebrew, Moses used the words “ish” which means man and
“ishah” which means woman. The similarity of the words can be seen
in both Hebrew and English. It seems clear that whatever words
Adam used, he called his mate by a name that signified her likeness to
him. This was appropriate “because she was taken out of
Man.”
2.
(vs. 24). This verse
draws a conclusion with the words “Therefore shall a man leave his
father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one
flesh.” This statement was not made by Adam because any
reference to leaving father and mother was totally foreign to him since he did
not yet know what “father” and “mother” meant. This statement was
parenthetical, added by Moses to explain marriage practices to Israelites of a
later generation. The word “Therefore” indicates
that what happened in the previous verse led to the conclusion stated in this
verse. In other words, the relationship that a man and woman are
to have in their marriage is based on this first union between Adam and Eve,
which was a union established by God. As a result, “a man
(shall) leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife.”
In other words, in marriage, a man leaves his father and mother
to seek the intimacy of an even stronger relationship, one established by God
when He formed woman from and for the man.
Note: The idea of
leaving one’s father and mother does not negate the biblical command that a man
should honor his parents; it means that while he continues to honor them, his
first priority will now be to his wife. The concept of cleaving
carries the thought of clinging and adhering to someone. A man is
to stick to his wife above all others, including his parents.
Husbands and wives are considered to be one flesh, meaning that they are
so completely joined together that they make up one totally united whole.
Children are a great blessing from the Lord, but a parent should
never put a child ahead of his or her spouse, as long as both parents are
involved in caring for the children and operate as a unit. One of
the greatest sources of security for any child is knowing that their father and
mother love each other dearly and that nothing will ever separate
them. In the marriage union the man and the
woman “shall be one flesh.” This means that in
sexual union and personal identification, they are fulfilling the purpose for
which they were created. Moses stressed this monogamous
relationship for Israel at a time in which polygamy had become common.
Jesus used the same statement to stress another point, that when God
established the “one flesh” relationship through marriage, He
established a permanent relationship.
Divorce is dissolution of the marriage. God said in Malachi
2:16 that He hates divorce. In His eyes, the putting away of one’s
spouse is an indication of unfaithfulness to marriage vows. Therefore, man or
woman should never break the bond God created in Eden. God never
advocates divorce; it arises out of the hardened hearts (see Matthew
19:3-8). However, if a person is in an abusive relationship and
the abuser refuses to seek help, guided by wisdom the one being abused has the
right to determine whether they will remain in the relationship or end
it.
C. Man’s innocence (Genesis
2:25). Our final verse says
“And they were both naked, the man and his wife,
and were not ashamed.” Moses added one more detail to
show the perfection of the union God had formed. He wrote that
“And they were both naked… and were not ashamed.”
In their perfect environment “the man and his
wife” didn’t need any clothing for warmth; but more importantly, they
felt no shame in their naked condition. There was no reason for
shame. Earth’s first couple faced no anxiety regarding their
nakedness. Shame arises from guilt and since Adam and Eve had done
no wrong, they experienced no shame. Only when sin robbed them of
their innocence did they seek clothing to cover up their newly discovered
inadequacies (see Genesis 3:7). Note:
Hebrews 13:4 says that “marriage is
honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God
will judge.” Nakedness before one’s mate is not embarrassing
within the bonds of marriage, but should be embarrassing in any other type of
relationship. Noah’s son Ham saw him naked and as a result Ham’s
son Canaan was cursed (see Genesis 9:22-27). Under the Mosaic Law,
which came later, God gave Israel a more clearly defined policy about looking on
unclothed people (see Leviticus 18:6-30).One can surely imagine that in
nakedness Adam and Eve stood staring at each other in total amazement.
It can be said that the two of them were literally “made for each
other.”
IV.
Conclusion. Before
the Fall, Adam and Eve were innocent and there was no
shame in their relationship. They complemented each other
completely. In Adam and Eve, the high standard for marriage had
been established once and for all. God had created them both, and
they now had become one flesh and were to cleave to each other.
All that time they were both naked and unashamed. Marriage
was God’s idea. Through a monogamous, heterosexual relationship
God planned the procreation of children. The family, based on
their creation foundation, was God’s plan for a human race that would obey His
commands and glorify Him.
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