Sermon Tone Analysis

18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19 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.

20 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.

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.

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.

Here we have, I.

An instance of the Creator’s care of man and his fatherly concern for his comfort,

II.

An instance of the creatures’ subjection to man, and his dominion over them

III.

An instance of the creatures’ insufficiency to be a happiness for man

I.

An instance of the Creator’s care of man and his fatherly concern for his comfort

It is not good that man, this man, should be alone

The Hebrew construction of v. 18 accentuates the negative phrase “not good” by placing it at the head of the sentence.

Interestingly, it is God who determines that it is not good for man to be alone

There is no indication that Adam himself was dissatisfied with his circumstances

God has made the man and provided a beautiful environment with honorable work, a setting men may sometimes consider idyllic, but God announces that more is to be done to achieve the ideal for the man

God’s concern is that man is “alone.”

Whether the man felt his aloneness at first is not stated; only the divine viewpoint is given

God has created human life to have fellowship with him but also to be a social entity

Isolation is not the divine norm for human beings

After making his evaluation (v.

18a), God proposes a solution

God will provide a helper for Adam

God already is Adam’s helper (but a superior helper)

II.

An instance of the creatures’ subjection to man, and his dominion over them

The animals are also Adam’s helpers (but inferior helpers)

Every beast of the field and every fowl of the air God brought to Adam

not all the animals in existence, but those chiefly in his immediate neighborhood to be subservient to his use

God brought the larger quadrupeds and birds to the man

every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens

“to see what he would call them

animal In exercising his stewardship over creation, Adam names the animals

In ancient Israelite belief, knowing the name of a thing is what enabled one to do good for the thing named or to pronounce a blessing

just a thought… is that why Moses wasn’t given his name?

Every beast of the field and every fowl of the air God brought to Adam

either by the ministry of angels, or by a special instinct, directing them to come to man as their master,

whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof

His powers of perception and intelligence were supernaturally enlarged to know the characters, habits, and uses of each species that was brought to him.

God brought them to him, that he might name them, and so might give,

1.

A proof of his knowledge

2. A proof of his power

A proof of his knowledge, as a creature endued with the faculties both of reason and speech,

and so taught more than the beasts of the earth and made wiser than the fowls of the heaven

And, 2. A proof of his power.

It is an act of authority to impose names (Dan.

1:7), and of subjection to receive them

The inferior creatures did now, as it were, do homage to their prince at his inauguration, and swear fealty and allegiance to him

If Adam had continued faithful to his God, we may suppose the creatures themselves would so well have known and remembered the names Adam now gave them as to have come at his call, at any time, and answered to their names

God gave names to the day and night, to the firmament, to the earth, and to the sea

But he gave Adam leave to name the beasts and fowls

as their subordinate lord

having made him in his own image, he thus put some of his honour upon him

in giving names to them he was led to exercise his powers of speech and to prepare for social intercourse with his partner, a creature yet to be formed

To that end, God parades the animals before Adam

The force of this is to stress that Adam himself chooses who his partner will be

Rather than force a decision on Adam, God allows the man to make a free decision

Man is not free to choose what is right and wrong, but he is free to choose his life partner

but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him

The design of this singular scene was to show him that none of the living creatures he saw were on an equal footing with himself

III.

An instance of the creatures’ insufficiency to be a happiness for man

But (among them all) for Adam there was not found a help meet for him

Observe here, 1.

The dignity and excellency of the human nature

On earth there was not its like, nor its peer to be found among all visible creatures; they were all looked over, but it could not be matched among them all

2. The vanity of this world and the things of it; put them all together, and they will not make a help-meet for man

They will not suit the nature of his soul

nor supply its needs

nor satisfy its just desires

nor run parallel with its never-failing duration

reveals him as a social being, made for fellowship, not power: he will not live until he loves, giving himself away

Jewish sentiment noted this: “Whoever has no wife exists without goodness, without a helpmate, without joy, without blessing, without atonement … without well-being, without a full life; … indeed, such a one reduces the representation of the divine image [on earth].

quoted by Sarnus in Genesis Rabbah

God creates a new thing to be a help-meet for man

a helper The Hebrew term used here, ezer, refers broadly to rendering aid

a helper The Hebrew term used here, ezer, refers broadly to rendering aid