The Institution of Marriage - Genesis 2:18-25

13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah 14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. 15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah

Genesis 2:18–25 ESV

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is 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 his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Introduction

I will be shortly commencing a series of studies in the Song of Solomon. It is a wonderful book that teaches us about the relationship between a man and a woman in marriage and also the glorious relationship between Christ and his church. In preparation I want to look at what marriage truly is. It is vitally important that we do this as we live in a society where both marriage and the family are under violent attack.

1. God’s Initiative v18

Genesis 2:18 ESV

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Genesis 2 is an amplification of Genesis 1. A creation ordinance

Creation Ordinances

Rule

Genesis 1:28 ESV

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Sabbath

Genesis 2:3 ESV

3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Work

Genesis 2:15 ESV

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

Marriage

Genesis 2:24 ESV

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

a. Not Good

This is the only place in these opening chapters of the OT where “not good” is used. God has made us to need someone, even beyond fellowship with Him! Man could not fulfil his role to rule over creation without the companionship of woman, nor could he fulfil the command to multiply and fill the earth.[1]

b. Helper

Therefore I suggest that we translate Genesis 2:18 as “I will make a power [or strength] corresponding to man.” Freedman even suggests on the basis of later Hebrew that the second word in the Hebrew expression found in this verse should be rendered equal to him. If this is so, then God makes for the man a woman fully his equal and fully his match. In this way, the man’s loneliness will be assuaged.[2]

2. The Inadequacy of Animals v19-20

Genesis 2:19–20 (ESV) — 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.

Adam named all the animals but none were found to suitable to fulfil his God given need.

Here was a man in deeper sympathy with nature than any have been ever since. H C Leupold[3]

3. The Creation of Woman v21-22

Genesis 2:21–22 (ESV) — 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

The point is that man and woman together share a commonality and partnership observed nowhere else in the created order. To emphasise this closeness, God actually took a real part from the side of the man as he brought to life for the first time this new creation called woman.[5]

That the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved. Matthew Henry [6]

4. What a Woman v23

Genesis 2:23 ESV

23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

a. Amazing

I wish I could have been there to have seen that first woman. What a woman she must have been! ...man in his original state must have been a most extraordinary specimen. Luther thought he must have excelled the animals even in those points where they were strong—power greater than the lion’s or bear’s, eyesight sharper than a lynx’s or eagle’s. But if that was true of Adam, what are we to say of the companion God now created for him? Luther thought Eve would have been as strong, fast, clear-sighted, and brilliant as the man, and in addition to that she must have had a beauty and grace that excelled him. What a woman! [7]James Boice

The Hebrew words for woman(ishshah) and man (ish) sound alike[8]

b. Equality

What God did is not without significance. He teaches by the way he does things. Woman is a special creation, just like the man. God is as personally involved in her creation as he was in the creation of man. He created her from man’s side. She is not his master; she is not his slave. She is his equal, one corresponding to him, a companion suitable for him. The differences between the sexes and the different roles they perform must not be so emphasised as to suggest that the male is essentially different from the female. They are both human beings. Neither must we so emphasise the similarities that we fail to appreciate the differences. There is no biblical or scientific warrant for the unisex mentality. Philip Eveson [9]

Genesis 1:27–28 ESV

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

c. Order

Headship does not necessarily imply inequality. The God who created human beings, male and female, in his own image has an order within his own being. There is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—three Persons, one God. Though each is co-equal and co-eternal, the Father has the position of authority and headship so that the Son is sent by the Father and always does the will of the Father. The Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son and glorifies the Son, who in turn glorifies the Father. Man and woman together, two distinct persons yet one in nature, reflect something of the relationship that exists between the persons of the Godhead. Philip Eveson[10]

Conclusion

Genesis 2:23 ESV

23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

[1]@book{Utley_2001, place={Marshall, Texas}, series={Study Guide Commentary Series}, title={How it All Began: Genesis 1–11}, volume={Vol. 1A}, publisher={Bible Lessons International}, author={Utley, Robert James}, year={2001}, pages={48–49}, collection={Study Guide Commentary Series}} [2]@book{Kaiser_Davids_Bruce_Brauch_1996, place={Downers Grove, IL}, title={Hard sayings of the Bible}, publisher={InterVarsity}, author={Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. and Davids, Peter H. and Bruce, F. F. and Brauch, Manfred T.}, year={1996}, pages={93–94}} [3] Leupold, H. C. (1942). Exposition of Genesis (p. 131). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House. [4]@book{Boice_1998, place={Grand Rapids, MI}, title={Genesis: an expositional commentary}, publisher={Baker Books}, author={Boice, James Montgomery}, year={1998}, pages={130–131}} [5]@book{Kaiser_Davids_Bruce_Brauch_1996, place={Downers Grove, IL}, title={Hard sayings of the Bible}, publisher={InterVarsity}, author={Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. and Davids, Peter H. and Bruce, F. F. and Brauch, Manfred T.}, year={1996}, pages={95}} [6]@book{Henry_1994, place={Peabody}, title={Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume}, publisher={Hendrickson}, author={Henry, Matthew}, year={1994}, pages={10}} 2 Luther, Luther’s Works,vol. 1, 115. [7]@book{Boice_1998, place={Grand Rapids, MI}, title={Genesis: an expositional commentary}, publisher={Baker Books}, author={Boice, James Montgomery}, year={1998}, pages={131–132}} [8] @book{The Holy Bible: English Standard Version_2001, place={Wheaton}, publisher={Standard Bible Society}, year={2001}} [9]@book{Eveson_2001, place={Darlington, England}, series={Welwyn Commentary Series}, title={The Book of Origins: Genesis Simply Explained}, publisher={Evangelical Press}, author={Eveson, Philip H.}, year={2001}, pages={79}, collection={Welwyn Commentary Series}} [10]@book{Eveson_2001, place={Darlington, England}, series={Welwyn Commentary Series}, title={The Book of Origins: Genesis Simply Explained}, publisher={Evangelical Press}, author={Eveson, Philip H.}, year={2001}, pages={80}, collection={Welwyn Commentary Series}}

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