In my preparation for a speaking engagement on Father's Day 2011. I was looking at videos that could help illustrate the points the team would want to communicate and I came across that, which was totally unrelated to the message next week... but very powerful.
A few weeks ago I had an assignment that required me to prepare a sermon, on a passage of my choosing. I chose Genesis 3. Though the focus was on Genesis 3 I read two chapters before and one after, in order to fully understand the passage. However, I must confess that my interest in Genesis 3 emerged from discussions with my friend and mentor.
During preparation and research I had a question - “Why did God make woman from man’s rib and not from the dust, like he did man?” I posted the question to my facebook wall and I did get a few interesting responses...
“…makin us from the man's rib makes us similar to him, able to identify with him but at the same time having our own identity” - Shivonne Johnson
“So that we are all connected... every man is born from a woman... who in turn was created from a rib” - David Soutar
The Perfect Help Mate
The Lord God exclaims “It is not good for the man to be alone…” (Gen 2 v18) and initiates an exercise in which man names all the animals. However, when he’s done the author makes note that “no suitable helper was found.”The Creator of the universe now puts on his scrubs, injects a divine sedative and begins surgery. Sculpting the perfect mate for Adam, from his rib. In essence he creates both male and female from the same lump of clay. This would be the second time in this account where we see Yahweh take a hands on approach - the first being in Genesis 2 v5-6, after bringing everything into being by the power of His word.
The woman was created as man’s co-equal. Being from Adam, Eve would share a common bond, including “the breath of life.” She would also complete Adam by providing companionship and share in his responsibilities - “work the garden and guard it” (Gen 2 v15).
Matthew Henry puts it this way, woman was “Not made out of his head to top him, not out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side be equal with him, under his arm to be protected and near his heart to be beloved.”
Battle of the Sexes
Like all Yahweh’s creations, man and woman were to be fruitful and multiply (see Gen 1 v22- 28), with the exception that we should have dominion over all the other creatures, not over each other.The conflict of man ruling over woman and the fight for wives to submit came about as a result of man’s disobedience to God’s word (Gen 3 v16). I do believe that in God’s perfect world man is the head of his family but that is no reason for him to lord it over his spouse for “the two have become one”.
I close with the words of Adam, she is “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh”.
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