Genesis 2:18-23

Hello, all!

This morning we come to the first time when God said of His Creation, "It is not good..." The LORD God said, "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." God saw the need Adam had for a companion, and God filled that need. First, He showed Adam that the other creatures created by God were NOT suitable! Then God performed surgery on Adam, and we know how he took the rib from Adam's side and created Eve (although she is not given her name until the end of chapter 3). Now, Jon Courson points out that Adam did not take things into his own hands, desperately searching for his helpmate - he let God provide her. He makes the point that many of us would have gone out and settled for anyone just so we would not be alone. For Adam the closest thing to "suitable" would have been an ape - which is what many, tired of being single, will settle for! :) Adam waited on God.

Courson also points out that as the first bride was made from the first Adam's side, even so the Church, Jesus' Bride, was made from the last Adam's side, when he hung on the cross and was pierced in the side for our sin. Our position as wives is to be at our husband's side - not leading nor walking ten paces behind, but standing with him. Even so, the man is to protect us with his arm around us - and he is told to love us as Christ loved the church, keeping us pure and being able to present us holy to God. (Eph. 5:25)

One of the best pieces of advise I received from a wonderful Christian mentor when I was a young bride (and which Courson also repeats in his commentary here), is that my husband was not supposed to fill all of my needs, especially emotionally, and never will. If he did, I would not feel the need to seek the LORD - or girlfriends!! When we expect our husbands to be everything we need, we put an unbearable burden on them. The reality is, for me anyway, and I would guess for most of you, our mate is often very different from us in many ways. One speaker we heard at a family camp years ago put it this way: "Opposites attract before marriage, but afterward they repel! The very thing that attracted to you to that person will drive you crazy in the marriage!" So true! We lament that our spouses often just don't "get" us - but they cannot possibly understand everything we feel. Get over it!! Enjoy and praise God for the differences, because God uses them to rub off the rough edges WE have! Courson attributes this to the fact that God removed the rib, and "men have been missing something ever since." :) And God, who created us, knows us so intimately, He DOES get us. I love that He is the only one who truly knows EVERYTHING about me - even those things buried deep within my heart that I don't even know - and He loves me anyway!! Amazing!

We finish up this chapter tomorrow with Adam's reaction to his new spouse and God's plan for the two of them! Have a great Thursday!