Genesis 2:4-25: formed by God

Immediately after the story of creation comes…another creation story?  Some say that these are two different accounts of creation, because what other reason would there be for the story to repeat itself?

I would argue that rather than simply repeating an account of creation, Genesis is focusing in on a specific part of the story in order to elaborate on some very important truths as evidenced in the change in language.  For example, the narrative begins by speaking of the “earth and heavens” rather than the “heavens and the earth”.  The perspective has changed from cosmic, to very much down to earth.  This shift in perspective, considered together with the sudden addition of “Lord” before God, signals that the story is moving to a relational level.  Each part of creation will no longer exist in isolation, but instead in relationship with one another.  That relationship is demonstrated not only in the fact that humankind was created, but how humankind was created.  “Formed”, the word used for God’s creation of humankind, is more intimate than simply “created”.  It brings to mind a potter sitting at his wheel, carefully and painstakingly fashioning something.  However, this is no mere ornamental, inanimate object, but something that is very much alive.  Humans are said to have the very breath of God in their bodies.   This is likely the reason why they are referred to as living beings, or souls.  Humanity is placed in a garden possessing that which is both good for food, and delightful to the eye.  Work is part of humanity’s lot even before the fall, and was given as a blessing.  The fullness of humanity is described as both male and female.  God’s statement that it was “not good” for man to be alone is set in the emphatic position, so that man’s need for companionship is stressed.  It is for this reason that God creates Eve.  While our culture has conditioned us to see the word “helper” as pejorative, here it is meant to signify woman’s essential contribution.  Without the help of women, humanity’s task could never be complete.  This is confirmed by the Hebrew word for suitable, which actually means “equal and adequate”.  The Bible makes it clear, here and elsewhere, that true marriage is the equality of the husband and the wife, as they work together to fulfill their vocation.  Woman may be taken from man, but that means that she is forever a part of man, their destinies being entwined.  This is certainly the way the Apostle Paul sees it, when he tells the Ephesians that “husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.” (Ephesians 5:28-30)   There is something beautiful, something divine even, when a man and woman decide to invest as much in one another, as they do in themselves.  Bruce K. Waltke would say it this way, “a man and woman are never more like God than on their wedding day when they commit themselves unconditionally to one another.”  It’s not random, that the covenant commitment made in marriage is used to depict God’s relationship with His people on more than one occasion.  It’s the deepest expression of love possible between a man and a woman, and our greatest way of relating to God’s love for us. 

What does this story teach us about humanity?  First of all, it reaffirms what each one of us already knows deep down inside, that we are unique among God’s creation.  God does not just “create” humanity, God “forms” us.  We also learn that we bear the breath of God.  Finally, we learn that we can only find true companionship in other humans. 

We don’t just learn about humanity from this story, we also learn about God.  We are told of a God who takes great care in forming humankind, specifically because of His desire to have a relationship with us.  We are told of a God who gives to man not only the gift of creation, but specifically the gift of the ideal companion to work alongside him. 

Finally, what we learn of humanity and what we learn of God come together to teach us something about marriage.  In the Biblical view of marriage, husband and wife are shown to be equal.  An adaption of Matthew Henry’s words has often been quoted, that woman “is not made out of his head to top him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near to his heart to be beloved.”  Henry’s statement is a reflection of what the Apostle Paul would write to the Ephesians, particularly the Ephesian men:

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” – Ephesians 5:25-27

What a beautiful thing, that God creates us not alone, but to live in communion with one another.  While that communion can come in diverse forms and have many functions, it reaches its zenith when a man and a woman surrender a part of themselves, in order to become one.