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Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
Prov 18:22
Previously we have seen the issue of obedience being raised, as man was assigned with tasks to do, and things to avoid. We also saw God’s generosity, ultimately expressed in His requirement to avoid the false “Light Source”, as inferior to Himself.
Now we’ll see God further demonstrate His ability to render earthy wisdom as foolishness, as He meets the problem of man’s solitude.
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
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.
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.
Gen 2:18-20
“..It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”
God points out that solitude was not good for the man. Based on this fact, He decides to make a suitable counterpart for him.
“..out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air..”
The quest begins with God forming creatures from the same ground He used to form man. Compositionally similar, they were brought before man for his consideration. One could almost picture God enquiring about each one's suitability as Adam named them.
“..but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”
What a tragic figure. God had expressed man's need for suitable companionship, and yet there was no one for him. Again God seems cruel, in that He has created a need within man that cannot be met. As we will see, God is leading man closer to walking by faith and not sight. The choice was there for man, in his solitude, to trust the God's plan, without being told what was to come, or eat of the "tree" to acquire the knowledge of good and evil.
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;
And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto 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.
Gen 2:21-23
“..God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam..”
And so man is brought into a deep sleep. Images of a general anaesthetic before surgery and children going to bed before waking to their birthday presents come to mind. Both would be equally valid, when we consider what is coming next.
“..the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”
God had proven Himself faithful. He had identified a need in man, promised to meet that need, and then carried out His perfect way to meet it. God had already shown man the inadequacy of all the beasts of the field and the birds of the air to meet his need for companionship. The answer was within man all along.
The only suitable counterpart for man had to be formed from him. It was as if God had broken the mould when he formed man, and nothing else would do. Somehow man recognised the perfect suitability of his counterpart...
“..Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh..”
One could say that this was a perfect match. The woman was one who could be his peer. She was of the same substance as him, not only biologically, but she was also a living soul.
Next post : Theocracy - Part 5 "The Birth of Sin"
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17
We've seen the introduction of man, as a being formed of that which was created, and containing something of the presence of God's Spirit with him. We've also been introduced to two trees, each serving as an alternative to the provision of God, as “Life-giver” and “Light-giver”.
Now we are shown man's duties, and obligations as we begin to ponder God's logic in His placement of the Trees in the middle of the garden.
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
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.
Gen 2:15-17
“..God..put (man) into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it...”
Man's placement in the garden wasn't purely for the man's material benefit, but the garden gave man the opportunity to be obedient. Man was given the task of tending the garden. The task was twofold; he was to “dress” the garden and to “keep” it. Dressing carries with it the sense of bringing something under subjection. The garden wasn't to just do its own thing, but as man laboured over the trees, there was intention that they would yield food for the man to eat. Keeping, on the other hand, has implications of guarding and protecting. Man was to maintain the health of the garden, so that it could continue to thrive.
“..Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat..”
God's generosity is revealed in the multitude of trees that He allowed man to eat from.
“..the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat..”
Again, the issue of obedience is raised, only now it is a matter of a restriction. Earlier there was something that God would have man do, but now there was something to avoid. Of all the trees in the garden, there was one that was not to be eaten of. Of the two trees which were given prominence, one was to be specifically avoided, while no direction is given regarding the other.
Consider again the difference between the two trees. One offered “life” while the other offered “light”. As I mentioned earlier, it is of interest that, while the “light source” was not to be partaken of, no such direction was given regarding the “life source”.
It would seem that, although God had put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden Himself, He would have no other source of light but Himself. At first it appears to defy logic. Surely man could do his task of dressing and keeping the garden far better if he had access to the knowledge of the “good”, so he could utilise it, and the “evil” so he could avoid it. Isn't it cruel of God to withhold such information, leaving man to feel around to work it out on his own?
The thing is, God never intended for man to be “on his own”. The logic of man being left on his own to figure out life and fend for himself, should remind us of the testimony of the slothful servant in the parable of the talents, “Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.” (Mat 25:24-25) The servant displayed a distrust of his master, fearing punishment if he did something wrong with the wealth entrusted to him. This resulted in him living off of another's sustenance so that he could return his master's wealth, as received. How can I make such an assumption? The word which is translated as “servant” would be better translated “slave”, and slaves have no possessions of their own.
Just as God was able to breathe into man's nostrils the breath of life, causing to become a living soul, He is able to “breathe” light into his consciousness, causing him to become a “righteous soul”. Could it be that the reason that God never gave direction regarding the tree of life was that He had already given man His “life”, and so life from “the tree” would only fortify the life already given, where eating of the “other tree” would introduce a earthly logic, producing a carnal morality?
“..in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
With great sobriety we should read this. The fatality of choosing a “tree” to acquire the knowledge of good and evil rather than trusting God to provide the wisdom needed to obey, as required. The life freely given to man when He breathed into his nostrils would be revoked in the event of man's partaking of the forbidden tree. And yet the tree remained as an enduring reminder of the existence of a carnal light source, residing alongside the tree of life.
Next post : Theocracy - Part 4 “Finding the Good Thing”
