Origins: The Beginning (Genesis 1–11)Sample

By Danny Saavedra

“The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.’” Genesis 2:21–23 (NASB)

The Lord said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18 NASB). Humans were not made for isolation; we were made for relationship. We were made for connection, to experience life in community and unity. Why? Well, as we established yesterday, as beings with the imago dei, we were made for fellowship, just as God is in constant fellowship. So God, looking on at lonely Adam, decided to give Adam a “helper (companion, equal, partner) who is just right for him.” 

So God put Adam to sleep and took out a part of Adam, one of his ribs. My favorite commentary on this verse, written by theologian Matthew Henry, tells us, “She was not made out of his head to surpass him, nor from his feet to be trampled on, but from his side to be equal to him, and near his heart to be dear to him."

God brought the woman to Adam. And his reaction? The most accurate translation of his words is “At last!” Excitement, joy, wholeness. This is what Adam experienced. After having every manner of creature brought before him, at last before him he found someone, as Ellicott wrote, “in whom he recognized a second self, and he welcomed her joyfully.” 

I can imagine Adam saying, “At last! The search is over. I have finally found someone with whom I belong.” Man was home. Man was whole; so much so that he wrote the very first love poem the moment he laid eyes on her.

Knowing this brings a new layer of depth to Adam. It instantly makes him more relatable and accessible to me. He reacted as I think I would have. He reacted the way I did when my wife walked down the aisle and stood in front of me. The union of man and woman, the beautiful relationship God established in the Garden of Eden, is truly two becoming one. In this we see the two parts becoming whole again—a unity of the body, soul, and spirit. 

The union of man and woman also is a symbol for the union of God with believers. We are unsatisfied, lonely, empty, and incomplete apart from Him. We can never be truly whole until we enter into a relationship with Him. And just like Adam said when He saw Eve, when we are joined to Christ, we can joyfully say, “At last! I am whole. I am complete.”

DIG: Why is it not good for people to be alone? 

DISCOVER: Why is it important to note that God chose Adam’s side from which to make Eve?

DO: Think about the moment you received Jesus. Did you have an “at last!” moment?