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Cultivator’s Wife -tmp(Genesis 2:18-25)

But before entering into the next scene I?m impressed by another problem in the midst of an amazing story. God recognizes the need for Adam not to be alone?an amazing thing in itself. It is God recognizing the need, not man, and it is God who puts into effect a plan for man to be complete and to recognize his need!

But before entering into the next scene I?m impressed by another problem in the midst of an amazing story. God recognizes the need for Adam not to be alone?an amazing thing in itself. It is God recognizing the need, not man, and it is God who puts into effect a plan for man to be complete and to recognize his need!

God decides to make a helper for man before man even realizes he needs a helper?so God purposefully exposes man to his need. It?s so striking because that?s exactly what God did with Jesus and the cross. God recognized the need before man even realized he needed help and involved Himself in time for the saving of men and having them one day be conformed into the very image of the Son. This plan in place God went about to systematically show man his need in the giving of a conscience, in the giving of governmental rule, in the giving of the promised people (Israel), in the giving of the Law, in the giving of grace?all showing man?s tremendous need and repeated failure. It is by God?s mercy and grace that mankind hasn?t been decimated but God keeps reaching to save and saving those who believe on Him after recognizing their tremendous need.

But back to Genesis, God forms out of the ground every beast of the field and every bird of the sky. Here?s another problem?isn?t this in direct contradiction to Genesis 1:21 and Genesis 1:25? I mean, Day 5 God created birds for the sky and Day 6 God created earth-animals before He created man and here we have man before the creation of these animals.

Well, I have some possible solutions

Solution 1: This is a rehash of the creation event that selectively places man over the creation by showing his position over it whereas the last section showed the importance of man by placing him at the height of creation?the end?so to speak.

Solution 2: These creatures are specific types of creatures of the land. So the creatures of the land spoken of in Gen 1:25 are earthbound creatures but are not beasts of the field (although this has an immediate problem with cattle mentioned in Genesis 1 and the birds too).

Solution 3: These creatures created here are for the express purpose of being before Adam and being named by Adam. They are already created creatures but these are a specific group created in the garden as part of Adam?s training.

These solutions all have their problems and one of them was so glaring that I had to note it but in the end, the point is that Adam recognized his need. There was no helper suitable for him in the creatures of the earth.

So then God puts man to sleep and pulls woman from his side. Not from his head, not from his feet, not from his hand or pelvis?but from his side. She?s to be his helper, right next to him, in the calling that God has given them. Yes to cultivate the ground but also to be fruitful and multiply and subduing the earth and ruling over all the animals.

It is not surprising then that when Adam first sees her and calls out ?Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh?! Closer than a sister, closer than any relationship of flesh and blood, this woman becomes the very fiber of man?s bone and for this reason; this type of relationship, the man leaves his father and mother and becomes one with his wife?becoming something new.

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