Day
Three: Gen. 2:18-25 Then the Lord God said, “It is
not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.” So
the Lord God formed out of the ground each wild animal and each bird of the
sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the
man called a living creature that was its name. The man gave names to all the
livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man
no helper was found who was like him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to
come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh
at that place. Then the Lord God made the rib He had taken from the man into a
woman and brought her to the man. And the man said: This one, at last, is bone
of my bone, and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called woman, for she was
taken from man. This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with
his wife, and they become one flesh. Both the man and his wife were naked, yet
felt no shame.
GROWING UP, my parents
had a way to make sure I understood the things they deemed important. Whenever
they wanted to make a point, they would do so by stating the same thing over
and over. I remember on many occasions my mom would remind me of something she
wanted me to do upwards of five times. I remember thinking, “I get it! You
don’t have to keep saying it over and over!”
Truth
be told, I often times still didn’t get it. The point is that when our parents
want something to stick they tend to repeat themselves over and over. God does
the same thing in the story of Genesis. He says, “It is good,” over and over.
He makes the point that what He does is good and is an extension of His
goodness. This repetition is so consistent that when we see a different message
communicated, we must take notice.
A
different message comes in Genesis 2:18. Instead of once again seeing, “It is
good,” we find God stating, “It is not good!” For the first time in Genesis
something isn’t good. Why would God break His normal pattern of repetition? To
make the point that Adam alone was not good. Adam alone misses a piece of
reflecting God’s image. The best reflection of the image of God is an intimate
community of two people bound together in marriage. Marriage was not designed
merely for our happiness or companionship. God created marriage so that we may
better reflect His image.
PAUSE
AND REFLECT
▷▷What caused God to declare, “It is not good!”?
▷▷How does marriage help reflect God’s
image?
▷▷What can you do now, as a
student, to prepare yourself for a future marriage?
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