The Bible records, “And the LORD God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him…And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 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. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” Genesis 2:8-24).
The Lord created for Adam a companion. He made a “help meet for him”—a helper matching to him—one who was fitted to be his mate, and who could be united with him in love and fellowship.
God, planning to create Adam’s companion from his body, made him to fall into a deep sleep as being under anesthetic. And God performed a surgery on Adam during his sleep, taking out one of his ribs and filling its place with flesh. Adam’s rib formed the basic material from which his companion was “built.”
Significance of the rib
The fact that Eve was created from a rib taken from the side of Adam, suggests that she was not to control him as the leader, nor to be trampled under his feet as an inferior, but to stand by his side as an equal, to be cherished and protected by him.
Eve was a part of man, bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. She was his second self. This shows the intimate union and the loving attachment that must take place in this union. The apostle Paul wrote, “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church” (Ephesians 5:29). And he added, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh” (Ephesians 5:31).
Thus, the woman was formed for inseparable unity and fellowship of life with the man, and the method of her creation laid the actual foundation for the moral order of marriage. She was to stand by his side as an equal.
And marriage is a type of the fellowship of love and life that exists between the Lord and His church (Ephesians 5:32). God’s love for the church is a mystery (John 3:16). Though a revealed truth, it is still beyond our complete apprehension; we still “see through a glass, darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
