In the beginning.

In the beginning, God.

In the beginning, God created the heavens, and the earth.

In the beginning, God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness: and let them have dominion....

In the beginning, God said, It is not good that the man should be alone.

Out of God’s deep well of infinite wisdom came these words. The man has a need, though made in the image of God, though made in a perfect state. God saw deep into the heart of the man that He had made, and said, “I will make him an help meet for him.” A helper suitable for him.

It seems that Adam must have had a sense of his need also, for he had just finished naming all the animals. Two by two they passed before him—male, female, male, and female. “But for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”

In the beginning, the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam.

And while the man slept, God drew a rib out of his side. God took up that rib in his creative hands, and like a wise master builder He made a woman. He must have breathed into her His very life just like He did with Adam, and the woman became a living soul. The Bible says that God brought her to the man. Adam must have known that something was different or that something was missing when he awoke from his deep sleep. Let us put ourselves into the persons of Adam and Eve for a moment and see what we can learn from the first home. Imagine how Adam felt. His heavenly Father presents him with a beautiful wife. She is like him but not quite. She was taken out of him and now stands beside him. A suitable companion, and now he is not alone. “Oh, thank-you, Father, for this precious gift. I will care for her and provide for her. I will tell her all about you and we will keep the garden together for you.” Imagine how Eve felt. She was not. God made her for the man. She understood from the start that she was to be a suitable helper for the man. The purpose of God for her was clear. “Oh, thank-you, my Father, for a husband who is like me, who will care for me. I will help him and stand beside him and support him. He is the reason for my existence.” Truly it was a marriage made in heaven, as we say today. We are not given a lot of information about this first marriage in the Genesis account; however, our Lord Jesus opens it up to us more clearly in the New Testament. He uses words like “they are no more twain but one flesh”, and “what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” The mysterious union of husband and wife has many deep implications. It takes a lifetime to explore its deep meanings. Let us consider a few of them in this article.

1. God set the pattern at creation. One man, one woman, for life. If He had wanted it any other way, in the beginning would have been the time to give a different example.

2. God created the man and the woman differently, and gave them different functions. They are alike and yet not alike. And all the husbands and wives said, “Amen.” This can be humorous at times and that is OK, however, there is a great wealth of wisdom in these differences and we do well to consider them soberly and lovingly in our marriages.

3. Because of this union that was made by God, there is a oneness of spirit that is sensed very clearly in the marriage. Each partner knows when it is there, and when it is missing because of a hurt or disagreement. We all do well to be sensitive to this awareness. Communication is very vital when that oneness is missing.

4. Because of the order of the creation of man and woman, we can see clearly what the Bible later defines as the headship of the man and the subordinate place of the woman. We live in a day and an age when these two roles are being challenged, reversed, and even mocked. But from the beginning it was not so.

5. Lastly, how refreshing to see how they must have received each other there in the garden in the presence of their Creator and God. I’m sure this brings back memories for most of us. Remember your wedding day. She was a gift from God. How precious and perfect she was for you. You were very willing to love her and care for her. He was your man. How fortunate you were to have him for your husband. You were very willing to be his helper suitable for him. The vows flowed freely from each of your hearts. This was the Lord’s doing and he wants us to return there if we have lost the spirit of our wedding day commitment. Well, we have one last beautiful thing to look at in this Genesis account of the first home.

In the beginning, God said, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over it.

Let us consider the aspect of our precious children. What would the home be like without them? What would the purposes of life be without them? In the Bible we get a beautiful picture of this couple standing before their God. We read that God blessed them. Can you picture it, it’s like their wedding day, and they are together, and they are happy, and God blesses them: Hallelujah! As they are before Him being affirmed by their Father, He also gives them a powerful command with many other commands in it. God’s words are like that. One small simple statement, yet a lifetime, yeah, many generations of lifetimes, included in it. He tells them to have children. In fact, the very word replenish means to fill. Fill the earth with your kind. And as you are filling the earth with your kind, subdue the earth with the children that are given to you.

These words are pregnant with purpose, and that purpose pregnant with activity. This is a bit of an overwhelming commission when you look at it through the eyes of one man and one woman. Let me amplify what God was saying to them that beautiful day when they stood before him. God was saying to Adam, you are the leader, this is what I want you to do. God was saying to Eve, I have made you a helper suitable to help him reach this goal. To both of them He was saying, bear children, and train them to know me, and train them to join you in subduing the earth. Beloved fathers and mothers, the Bible is full of the histories and instructions of obeying this command, yet the basics remain the same. Let us get back to the basics, and launch out with purpose into the reason why we have been brought together as husband and wife. We may also feel overwhelmed at times as they did, but let us remember that the God, who spoke those words in the beginning, has hidden within them all the power and wisdom needed to carry them out.