Creation and Companionship in Genesis

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Hang on to thy hats folks, gonna get direct

So, we read last week . . . Genesis 2.18-end April 3nd 2022

For by One Man’s Disobedience

Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

We will discuss what this means, “you shall surely die” when we get to the day when they . . . surely die.

But let’s move on to verse 18 and read out to the end of chapter 2 – we will note how the narrative will differ from the first version in chapter 1. So, let’s read:

Genesis 2:18 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. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Understanding "Help Meet" in Genesis

Back to verse 18

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

OR in the better Hebrew, “one opposite him” sort of like a molded mirror.

We remember that when God created in chapter one, He said everything was good. Here, in the more specific account, He now admits: “It is not good that the man should be alone, by himself or without an opposite.”

This opposite composition is, from what I can tell, a literal description. A perfect representation of His person in a mate form. And this initial representation is one of complete equality – nothing inferior nor superior.

Due to the creation of the first Man Adam, and the fact that human beings are social creations with most needing socialization, interaction with others, intimacy and communication we can see how God would say that it is not good that man would be alone. Crude as it may sound, the very existence of a penis on the first man supports this revelation – I mean, we’ve gotta do something with that thing, right?

From this it appears that there was always the intention from God to make what He describes a help-meet for man, or woman. The term, “help-meet” in Hebrew means a counterpart formed from him that will assist him and by the fact that she was made in direct reflection of him tells us that her help, which again is not inferior or superior, would be, or should be, complimentary and beneficial – in that state – and not adversarial. Verse 19 brings some of the different chronology to this version as it says:

Chronology of Creation in Genesis

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.

In the first account, God formed the fowl, we read: Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

But here we read 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; Water or mud – cannot say. But we also read (And the Lord God) brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature,

The Naming of Animals and the Creation of Woman

Apparently, and according to a Hebrew commentary I consulted, these animals once created were immediately brought before Adam to name and this was in one way a fulfillment of God’s command for Him to exercise dominion over the earth. In the naming of the animals it is said that this job was more than just calling the animals certain arbitrary things but to name them based on a transposition and explanation of the creature considered before Him. In other words, animals were named according to their various construction, capabilities and distinguishing traits.

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.

Some think that God had some things in mind when he caused man to name all the cattle and fowls. One might have been so that Adam could experience first hand the capabilities and capacities God had bestowed upon him of independence and dominion, and secondly, to show him that of every creature formed none of them would make a suitable companion for Him. In other words, among all the animals he was naming Adam could see that he was alone as none of them were created with the same capacities that he had, and in this way Moses sets us up to understand what happens next.

The Creation of Woman

21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

From this account many well meaning Christians have believed that males have less ribs than females – not true. All we can say is that maybe God gave the original model of man an extra rib which is now missing or that he replaced the rib once he took it from Adam’s side. A closer reading of this account in the Hebrew is:

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall: When He brought them [the animals], He brought before him of every species, male and female. And he (Adam) said, “Everyone has a mate, but I have no mate,” and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof . . .”

In this we have “the Lord God putting Adam to sleep deeply” and “he took one of his ribs.” The first operation on Man, right? Opening flesh, removing flesh and bone, then closing the flesh back up. Because Adam will say in verse 23 when he inspects woman, “This is flesh of my flesh, and bone of my bone,” many believe that God formed Eve from a rib with flesh attached to it.

Not that it really matters, I suppose. But the important part is that God, borrowing from the elements that He created Adam out of, builded upon those elements and formed the woman up therefrom. This is why we read:

22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

Man and Woman: A Shared Composition

We might agree that God could have formed the woman out of the dust of the earth, as he had formed the man; but had he done so, I’m not sure we would arrive at the same meaningful relationship that was intended between males and females. Had He formed her from the ground too, she might have appeared to Adam to be a distinct being, to whom he had no natural relation or driving attraction. But as God formed her out of a part of the man himself, Adam saw she was of the same nature, of his same identical flesh and blood, and of the same constitution in all respects, and consequently having equal powers, faculties, and rights and purpose – to mirror and complete Man and for Man to complete her. This composition has all the makings for man to love her as he loves himself, right, because she was of himself. Apparently, this approach was immediately received by Adam and he spoke of her with affection and esteem.

Verse 23

23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

The Hebrew reads:

23 And man said, "This time, it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one shall be called ishah (woman) because this one was taken

Creation of Males and Females

From ish (man).

Stepping back a bit, it is thought that in the process of naming the animals Adam saw animal couples as they passed him by. But now, instead of naming woman with a name unrelated to himself, Adam saw her as literally the flesh of his flesh and the bone of his bone. Prior, no help meet, or partner was there for him. But when the woman came, formed out of himself, he felt a great affinity for her, if not an attraction and named her woman (ishaw) after his very own being (ish).

And he says, “she shall be called, woman (or ishaw). A literal version of the Hebrew would appear strange, and yet a literal version is the only proper one. See, “ish” signifies man, and the word used to express what we term woman is the same but with a feminine termination, ishshah, and this actually and literally means, “she-man,” and/or “man with a womb.” Due to some really bad eisegetical interpretations of this, some people have supposed that Wo-man means a being that brought “woe to man.” That is a joke and has no basis in sound etymology. Here, the names are perfect representations of each other, on a perfectly fitting and equal basis. And because of this Adam says of her:

Importance of Unity

This creature is flesh of my flesh, and bone of my bones; therefore shall she be called WOMB-MAN (or she-man or female man), because she was taken out of man. And this revelation is incomprehensibly important to how God created human beings. The importance is brought forward to us in the next verse where Moses decides to add some interpretation and application of all of this for us when he says:

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Original Plan and Modern Implications

From Moses's interjection here, we are able to discover a number of really important things that God intended in His creation of males and females. Let’s talk about them since we are here. Right off the bat, we note that God said it was not “good” for man to be alone. From this we know that in God’s mind Man is intended to co-exist with others (partners of their flesh) intimately. In this we can see that celibacy was never a consideration at the start – that God created male and female, and they were created for each other and in reality, one for the other.

This is the set up at the start, in the beginning, when all things were good. This bothers people greatly in the world today, when some of us have never married, are divorced, or are homosexual. Remember, those situations are the product of the Fall and any reasonable person knows that the original approach, while it does not include all of the alternative approaches we take in this fallen world, is the approach that repopulates the world and sets the standard operation in the original plan.

We cannot help the fact that some of us never want to marry, have children, or are attracted to the same sex. All of the aberrational situations – yes, that is what I said because they are not part of the established plan – present after the Fall do not reorder in anyway what God initially established. And I personally think that the original plan has tremendous value. If someone asks me, I plainly tell them this because to do otherwise is to contradict what we are shown and told.

I suggest we run into problems when we attempt to rewrite or reorder what was from the beginning, even if we do it in the name of compassion, but that we instead stick to the original narrative and then step forward and address all the exceptions that have come into play thereafter. Is it fair that some people do not fit the Genesis description of a couple? I suppose not. But the Fall made nothing fair and all of this brings us back to the place everyone of us have to examine life by – what was intended and where are we in relation to that.

Not because we need to worry about God’s love for us in our fallen state or the fact that we all fall short and miss the mark of His original intentions, but because knowing His intentions and admitting to them, we are all put in a place to see ourselves for what we truly are, in our flesh, before Him, and to

Exploring Choices and Traditions

Choose this day whom we will serve – the dictates of our fallen fleshly mind, will and emotion – or Him. A heterosexual person can just as easily see their carnal nature reflected in this depiction of Moses as we can readily see that God did not begin by creating two or three or ten woman from Adam’s side nor did He create one woman to serve the needs of several Adams. So all the orgiastic living is put to rest as well. The plan is plain and set forth and it is the basis for which all souls to ultimately look IF (IF) they want to pursue Him in spirit and truth with the lives that they have been given.

I can guarantee you here and now that a homosexual's desire for the same flesh is no stronger than my desire for lots of flesh – but all of it runs contrary to what God originally established in the beginning – which is the point, folks. I do not believe that the point is made so we can police and criticize people who take divergent approaches to relationships and intimacy in this world. That was done away with by the efficacious work of Christ on our behalf, overcoming all the effects of the Fall. But I do believe that this template does serve to show all who seek that there is an order and way originally established and that divergence from it will never lead to peace – quite the opposite.

The Central Role of the Heart

I have to admit here and now that the desires and even the choices of every individual is not the issue here. It's the heart toward God. I have watched people go from having a heart for God and all that He says to turning away from that and promoting their own heart and desires for same-sex partners and open marriages etc. Again, the humble heart, the broken spirit is central to the walk and not necessarily the lifestyle itself. Other parts of scripture affirm that all alternative paths have the capacity to bring us to a place of disbelief – if we are not super attentive to Him and His will.

So that is the first thing we see in this – celibacy absent – polygamy absent – homosexuality absent – from the original ways God said was Good. The second thing we discover comes through Moses interjecting his commentary when he adds a "THEREFORE." He tells the story (verse 23) and then gives us application. (verse 24)

23And man said, "This time, it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one shall be called ishah (woman) because this one was taken from ish (man)

THEREFORE . . . (Moses adds)

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Relationship and Connection

In other words, there is to be a far more intimate connection between a man and woman (who were part of the Nation of Israel when Moses wrote) than between the individual and the parents that brought them forth into this world. Therefore, Moses seems to say, “there is a time when a man should "leave mom and dad and cleave to his wife and THEY shall be one flesh." Man and parents are one flesh, right? But in the case of Adam, we have this couple being of "one flesh" since Man came from the dirt and she came from his side.

So, Moses steps forward and uses the creation of the two from one, which is so highly symbolic, and He ties parents into the scenario for the COI around Him to learn a principle. Again, it’s a super important principle brought forward in just the first 50 or so verses of the Bible.

And with this in mind, I am going to step forward and take some liberties, reading and interpreting what Moses chooses to say for us today. First of all, it is Jesus who gives clarification on this passage which, if we didn’t have the passages could be used to justify polygamy. Let me explain.

In chapter one we read:

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Because of the way that this passage is worded, there is the question, how many of thems did God make according to this accounting. Of course, most read the second account from Genesis 2 and conclude one man and one woman are the them– but that

Biblical Perspective on Marriage

Therefore, there is a time when a man should “leave mom and dad and cleave to his wife and THEY shall be one flesh.” In other words, THEM and THEY open a window in some peoples mind to justify multiple partnerships because Moses doesn't write, “and the two of them.” But because Moses writes them or they some jump to a conclusion that this could mean more than one wife – because Moses doesn’t say, “and the two shall be one flesh,” but instead, “they shall be one flesh.”

So, we jump out to the Apostolic record and read it from the Greek, we have Jesus say in Mark 10:6-8

6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
8 And they twain or the TWO shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

And here there is no getting around the Greek because the word DUO is used – meaning two (male and female) and not they. Just a little insight. Now the command for the two to become one flesh appears to have application in a few ways.

The Meaning of Becoming One Flesh

First, these two shall be one flesh, shall be considered as one body, meaning they are to take the two parts and become one flesh sexually. We get that. It also means that because they are ONE the two have no separate or independent rights, privileges, cares, concerns as each of them are equally interested in all things that concern the ONE. Paul touches on this view of the two being one in his epistles with the line from 1st Corinthians 7:4 “The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.” Of course, this troubles people today, but the gist of the message hearkens back to this settling of the two being one.

Finally, the words can also refer to the two in production of one flesh; meaning from their physical marital union a child or children, composed of them both parts and resembling themselves as they do each other, would come forth. The Jews saw and see this view readily in the words. In any case and back to the point, Jesus quotes these words in Matthew 19:5 with some variation from this text as it reads: “The TWAIN shall be one flesh.”

Modern Interpretations of Marriage

Finally, and most appropriately, we have in Moses words a biblical definition of marriage. And from everything we have seen so far this is a TREMENDOUS endorsement of it. Unfortunately, most pastors and religionists use this as a way to promote marriage ceremonies created by Man. I do not and because they do I see the world suffering due to misuse of the misinformation.

Most of you know what I am about to share so it will come as no surprise but I stand by it completely and wish we would embrace this view as a whole. And while this certainly is a description of the first marriage (so to speak) it was not accomplished by way of ceremony, licenses or pastoral involvement. Instead we see Moses defining for us what marriage is in God’s eyes – when two become one flesh. Folks, this is how God sees marriage. When the two become one. No other biblical definition is available.

Of course, this is not how we teach it, is it? And as a result we are met with a world fraught with problems. And because we think we are so wise we approach the subject of sex and marriage with our children through a whole bunch of lousy sidebars, and they fail to bring about the best results.

Now this interpretation really bothers some people – they refuse to see marriage as the fleshly consummation of two becoming one but insist on wrapping marriage us in ceremonies, licenses, classes, counseling and ring exchanges. It was “not so” from the beginning. And here is where we discover the ingenuity of God when it meets the foolishness of Man. Again, God (through Moses) clearly says, right here:

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

We read nothing referencing the word, “marriage, wedding.”

The Union of Marriage

What Moses says hearkens back to the creation of the couple in the first place. They started from one source – the dust. God joined in, breathing into Adam His breath, and Adam became a living soul. God then took Adam, put Him to sleep, removed part of Him, “builded that part up of His flesh and bone into an opposite replica of himself and from the one came two.

Then Moses adds His instructional insight to the whole compilation, saying, yes, one more time:

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Two flesh becoming one. And when this act is consummated marriage occurs in the eyes of God. In the case of Adam and Eve these two becoming one is literal – they were from one source. When Moses appropriates this to the Nation of Israel He gives them their definition of marriage.

Put it this way, Adam could have sprinted out of the garden to Nairobi and Eve could have ran the other direction to Alaska but no matter where they went in the world, and no matter what distances, time or differences came between them, they were from the same source and NOTHING would ever change that. They were one.

The Biblical Definition of Marriage

THEREFORE . . . therefore, Moses says, WHEN two people become one flesh, that is forever, in God’s eyes, the same thing happening that was innate to Adam and Eve the first couple – the UNION (not a ceremony) of two becoming one which is an imitation of Adam and Eve, the first couple.

Nowhere do we have God in the Bible describe marriage in terms of a man officiating over a couple making vows. Nowhere do we have God describing under the law rites or rituals to define a marriage OTHER than when . . .

The two become one. Who are the two? Male and female created He them. Two and only two. Male and female. And Moses tells the Nation of Israel that in a similitude of this model men were “to leave father and mother and to become one flesh with their wife” (which, in the Hebrew is still ishaw, so to become one flesh with the woman).

Gender and Unity in Marriage

When any Old Testament person took on a wife it was via this consummation or the two reflecting Adam and Eve in their singleness BY and THROUGH becoming ONE. Two people of the same gender cannot become one. No matter how creative they get. They are not Male and female, two components that together make one flesh when united and they lack the capacity to create one flesh (a child) between themselves and their union.

Look – the template is here. We cannot get around it. This was how God designed things from the start so to suggest otherwise is to reject His will and ways and to assume our own. This is not to say that people cannot have companionship – even lifelong committed companionship with people or others of the same gender. That is their choice. But they cannot ever redefine the way God established the way TWO becoming one from the start.

It is literally IMPOSSIBLE.

So we come to our day and age. We have sex before we agree to having a ceremony. But we have made the ceremony the focus, the celebration, the meaningful act, and our becoming one with many is diminished. Similarly, we teach that marriage is a ceremony, and not sex, and when someone has sex with someone not viewing it as super significant, they are open to having sex with many, because they have not been taught what sex really mean – marriage.

People will say, “That is foolish to teach teenagers that sex is marriage. They will think they are in love, justify sex with each other, then find out that they were just lustful.” This might be true. But if we emphasized to our children how great an act sex is, and what it really means to God, the result would NOT amount, at least, to promiscuity. The result would amount to consideration, and remorse if they misappropriated the act to others.

I maintain that marriage is defined by God and there is no way of getting around the facts. People who have become one with many people have married many people. And same sex couples no matter what they do

The Concept of Marriage Before the Fall

If we are looking to the way God sees and designed things PRIOR to the Fall, it's right here. Because of this, I suggest that what we call marriage today is a substitutionary lie. To me, we ought to teach our children from a very young age that marriage is when we choose to become one (choose) to become one with the flesh or body of a person of the opposite sex. When that commitment is freely made, a marriage is done. And the couple can run away from each other in different directions all their lives but will never escape the fact that by becoming one, they are in God’s eye, one. And, there is no room for more or another.

Teaching the Value of Unity

If we would gently reiterate to our children that becoming one is perfectly good and given by God, but the breaking up once that decision is made is what goes against God, we would ultimately approach the subject with much better outcomes. The word cleave here is dawbak, and means to stick to like glue, look to, rely upon, conference with and in exclusive unity, not open community. The principles are here, and without question in light of the Fall, they all become really hard to navigate. But we would and could do well to look to the original template and operate from what was long intended instead of trying to carve out for ourselves our own unique exceptions to the rule and to try and see them in another way.

The State of Innocence

This brings us to verse 25 where Moses writes:

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

There was no knowledge of Good or Evil within them yet. They were in the surroundings in which they originated and could look upon each other without that shame that nakedness can only produce. All of this was about to change – in chapter 3.

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