Wednesday, May 25 – Genesis 2:22-23

And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

 

“At last this is bone of my bones,

And flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called ‘woman,’

Because she was taken out of man.”

When we see a perfect match, a common phrase to say is, “They were made for each other!” We use this phrase to describe how a pair compliments each other, as if something inside us lights up when we realize two things naturally fit together to make a whole.

In this passage, we see for the first time how two people were truly made for one another. As God brought all the animals to Adam for him to be named, there wasn’t a suitable partner for Adam. Nothing made him complete or whole. It was not good for Adam to be alone; he needed a partner, and God knew exactly how to design the partner for Him. The Hebrew noun for woman that Adam called Eve simply means “opposite of man,” carrying with it the connotation of completion. When Adam saw Eve, he declared, “You complete me!”

Our struggles with sin in life are often connected to isolation. We think we’re not worthy or good enough, so we pull away from others. People don’t live up to our expectations, so we push them away. The truth of God’s Word at creation calls us back to His design of relationships. He created us for community, and He set apart the relationship of marriage to be a special reflection of His image.

• How do you see God’s design for man and woman in your everyday life?
• What are some relationships you feel prone to shut out?
• Pray and ask God to help you run from the temptation to move toward isolation when you face conflict.