When God said “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18), He knew exactly what Adam needed. A light reading of the verses following this statement might give us the impression that God tried to meet Adam’s need for suitable companionship through the company of animals and with the occupation of naming them. But this was not the case.
Adam, in his pre-fallen state, was of supreme intelligence. He did not randomly make up names for all of God’s creatures based on whim or fancy. More likely, he kept careful record of what we call the animal kingdom. Carl Linnaeus with his classifications: kingdom, class, order, genus and species, had nothing on the (as yet) sinless Adam, who no doubt found great delight in the work God gave to him. He joyfully sought to please Him with every effort. Yet, with all his fascinating work, the wonder of God’s creativity, and the blessing of having dominion over all of it, at the end of the day, Adam still felt alone.
We should consider what God did not do as well as what He did for Adam. Adam’s ultimate need for companionship was not for another man. His hunger was for the perfect companion – one who would be bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. Imagine the astonishment he felt when the woman was presented to him by God – to Adam this was God’s superb creation. Here was one with whom he could share intellectual, emotional, and physical intimacy as he could with no other. They would enjoy Paradise together; individually, yet as one. And even more wondrously, together they were to share in the joy of their own children and eventually learn the joys of various kinds of human companionships.
Let’s consider too that God did not create one hundred, fifty or even ten women for Adam to choose from. Adam did not need to view, smell, touch, kiss, nor have physical relations with an array of women to know which one he preferred. God knew who he needed and brought her to him. Adam did not need more than one female companion to ease his loneliness and fulfill his emotional and physical needs. If he had needed more than one wifely companion at a time, God would have given him more than one at a time. Finally, God made no proviso for their choosing to terminate their union because of ‘irreconcilable differences’ (Mark 10:2-9; Matthew 19: 8-9).
The account of Adam and Eve’s love story in Genesis is not a fairy tale. Yes, to Adam, Eve was a princess. To Eve, Adam was a prince. They delighted in each other, perhaps as no married couple has since. But fairy tale romances don’t tell us of the origin of man or of the origin of both spiritual and physical death (Genesis 2:17 & 3:19). Maybe what has been said is true: we all like epic stories with beautiful and romantic themes because our own beginnings involved both. Thus the music and movie industries thrive, in great part, by working with these themes.
There are several questions we can ponder with careful study of Adam and Eve’s story. A few come to my mind. What is marriage? Is casual dating pleasing to God? Is homosexual desire natural? What about divorce – is it ever an acceptable option? Polygamy? Are all people meant to marry? Is it absolutely necessary to have what our time calls a ‘significant other’ to be content? From what human need does loneliness stem? Do we often come closer to worshipping the gift rather than the Giver? If so, what might be the ramifications? For Adam, it was deadly (see Genesis 3:17-19). The mindset reflected in the following lyrics (very popular for a reason) is ingrained in mortal man – we seem determined to always learn the most important lessons in life ‘the hard way.’ Some seem to never learn them at all.
“I’m still alive but I’m barely breathing
Just prayed to a God that I don’t believe in
‘Cause I got time while she got even…”
(From Breakeven by Script)
These questions require more than a simple answer in our society. For Biblical answers we will have to search beyond Adam and Eve’s story (although some questions are answered, at least in part, through a careful study of what is revealed of their lives). Finding Biblical answers will require time, energy and a submissive spirit before God (if we believe the Bible to be His Word and that by which we will be finally judged). As Christians we cannot come to resolute answers through our own surmising and opinions. We can’t form sound convictions of faith and practice from sentiment, tradition, the modern morality, country music lyrics, church hymns or through the ‘what works for me’ approach. We must seek truth for our walk with God from Him alone (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
In this wintry month when we all can use some distraction, many of us will think (at least momentarily) of romance, Valentine cards, and gifts ranging from candy to diamonds. With mass marketing schemes aimed at celebrating yet another ‘holiday,’ how could we not? But let’s be careful out there!
All the ‘love bait’ thrown out at this time of year can make one especially vulnerable. All that glitters is not gold. More often, it is cheap plastic, coated with craft store glitter. Real gold endures the testing by fire which will come. Real love will do the same. Let’s remember that even a serpent can be quite convincing when he (or she) tells us what we want to hear. The subtle liar will throw in plenty of truth with the lie, making it all the more alluring. Eve succumbed to the enticements of what she saw as a preferable choice because she thought it was good for her fleshly desire, it was pleasing to her eyes, and above all, it would make her wise. Any sin I can think of can be traced to one of these headings: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life (I John 2:16).
Whether of romance or familial love, may our true love stories be blessed by God and protected from all the flaming missiles of the Evil One, with which he seeks to destroy all that is good. ~ DLA
(Be sure to read Genesis 2 & 3!)
