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 So, God gives another command, lets pick up the text in Genesis Ch 2 Vs 16 &17

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

(Gen 2: 16-17)

The critical thing that is said here is, that in the day you eat it, you will certainly die. This phrase “you will die” refers to two things. 

Firstly, it means you are going to die physically, but also that he will die spiritually. So, with all the trees of the garden to choose from except one he is commanded not to eat from. I wonder how that will work out in the longer run?  But in the meanwhile in the remainder of this chapter He gives Adam a companion. Ladies this is where you come in. So, lets pick it up again in verse 18

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

(Gen 2: 18)

Now it is interesting to note that after God had made everything so far, he has repeatedly said that it was good. But, He then creates man and puts him in paradise, and he does not say, “it is  good”, because man needs something extra. Man is not good yet, because it is not good for man to be alone. You see we were not designed to live alone. This passage talks about the fact that God gives him a mate, and this has to do with the marriage. 

Before I unpack this, I want to state very clearly that there are exceptions. God does not expect everyone to marry. 1 Cor Ch 7 tells us that some people have a special gifting where it is a spiritual advantage not to be married. They are then able to travel or commit more time to the Lord’s work. But even recognising that, we still need to understand that God does not wish us to live in isolation even if we are unmarried. It may be God plan for some of us not to be married, but it is not his plan for anyone to be isolated or alone. He says to Adam it is not good for a person to be alone. So, God says to Adam I am going to create a helper for you, a companion. But please note carefully. God did not create woman to be a servant for the man. Hear that ladies you are not his servant God created you to be his helper and a companion. A lot of husbands need to understand that. A lot of wives need to understand that. A companion and a helper, not a slave. Not a judge or a controller either and not inferior. In fact, the word translated helper in the Old Testament is the same used to describe God’s relationship to us. 

As a matter of fact, in the New Testament when God the father sent the Holy Spirit, the old KJV version says he is going to send a comforter and the Greek word comforter is the same word as the Hebrew being word used here. So, the woman is supposed to be the husband’s helper and comforter. Now, to fully relate to that statement we need to read the next couple of verses.

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

(Gen 2: 19-20)

Here we get a flash back to chapter 1 and Adam is seen to be naming the animals, which is a way of telling us he had authority over them. But when it comes to lifelong companionship for humankind only another human will do. Verse 21 onward then tells us

21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”

(Gen 2: 21-23)

Please note the woman is not created out of the dust of the ground. She was taken from the rib of a man, she was taken from him and formed for him. The fact that she was taken from his side says that she was neither superior or inferior to him. She came from his side, to stand by his side as his equal. And all the woman said…. Amen. 

And that is the model for true Christian marriage, and we will unpack more of what that should look like in the next episode.