Genesis 2:21 - Meaning and Application

Here we have the making of the woman, who was to be a helper suitable for Adam. This took place on the sixth day, just as Adam had been placed in Paradise, though it is mentioned here after the account of the seventh day’s rest. What was said in general before, that God made human beings male and female (Genesis 1:27), is now given in more detail.

Notice, first, that Adam was formed before Eve (1 Timothy 2:13), and that she was made from the man and for the man (1 Corinthians 11:8-9). Paul uses this later as a reason for humility, modesty, quietness, and submissiveness in women in general, and for the respect wives owe their own husbands. Yet since man was made last among the creatures, as the best and highest of them, Eve’s being made after Adam and out of him also gives honor to her sex, as the glory of the man (1 Corinthians 11:7). If man is the head, she is the crown, a crown to her husband, and a crown in the visible creation. Man was dust refined, but woman was dust refined again, one step farther from the earth.

Notice, second, that Adam slept while his wife was being formed, so that no one could think he had guided the Spirit of the Lord or advised him (Isaiah 40:13). Adam had already felt his need of a suitable helper, but since God had taken charge of providing one, he did not worry about it. He lay down and slept peacefully, having cast his care on God and trusting his Maker’s wisdom. “The Lord will provide” whenever and whoever he pleases. If we rest in God with grace, God will work for us with grace and bring everything to good.

Notice, third, that God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, so the opening of his side would not hurt him. While he knew no sin, God saw to it that he should feel no pain. When God’s providence brings his people through something that is hard on the flesh, he not only plans for their good outcome, but by his grace he can also calm their spirits so they can endure the sharpest actions in peace.

Notice, fourth, that the woman was made from a rib taken from Adam’s side. She was not made from his head, as if she were to rule over him, nor from his feet, as if she were to be trampled on. She was made from his side, to be equal with him, under his arm for protection, and near his heart to be loved. Adam lost a rib, but without any damage to his strength or appearance, for the wound was surely closed without a scar. In its place, he received a helper suited to him, which more than made up for the loss. What God takes from his people, he will in some way restore with greater blessing.

In this, as in many other things, Adam was a picture of the one who was to come. From the side of Christ, the second Adam, his bride, the church, was formed. This happened when he slept the deep sleep of death on the cross. His side was opened, and blood and water came out, blood to buy his church, and water to cleanse it for himself (Ephesians 5:25-26).

Second, we have the marriage of the woman to Adam. Marriage is honorable, but this was surely the most honorable marriage ever, because God himself had a direct hand in it all the way through. People say marriages are made in heaven, and we know this one was, because the man, the woman, and the union were all God’s work. By his power he made them both, and now by his ordinance he made them one. This was a marriage in perfect innocence, and no marriage since has been like it.

God, as her Father, brought the woman to the man as his other self and a helper suited to him. When he had made her, he did not leave her to choose for herself. She was his child, and she was not to marry without his consent. Those are most likely to settle well who, by faith and prayer, place themselves under God’s guidance. That wife who is shaped by God’s special grace and brought by his special providence is likely to prove a true helper for a man.

Adam then received her from God as from his Father (Genesis 2:23): “This is now bone of my bones.” In other words, “Now I have what I needed, what all the creatures could not give me, a helper suited to me.” God’s gifts should be received with humble thanks, acknowledging his wisdom in fitting them to us and his favor in giving them. It is likely Adam learned in a vision while he slept that this lovely creature presented to him was a part of himself and would be his companion and wife under covenant. Some have even used this to argue that glorified saints in heaven will know one another. In proof of his acceptance of her, Adam gave her a name, not unique to her alone, but shared by her whole sex: she shall be called woman, meaning a she-man, different from man only in sex, not in nature, made from man and joined to man.

Third, we have the institution of marriage and the settling of its law (Genesis 2:24). The Sabbath and marriage were two ordinances established in innocence, the one for preserving the church, and the other for preserving the human race. From Matthew 19:4-5 it appears that God himself said here, “A man must leave all his family ties and cling to his wife,” though it is uncertain whether he spoke through Moses, who wrote this, or through Adam, who had just spoken in Genesis 2:23. It seems these are Adam’s words, spoken in God’s name, laying down this law for all his descendants.

See how strong a divine ordinance is, since its bond is stronger even than nature’s bonds. Who should be closer to us than the father who begot us and the mother who bore us? Yet the son must leave them to be joined to his wife, and the daughter must leave them to cling to her husband (Psalm 45:10-11). See also how necessary it is for children to have their parents’ consent in marriage, and how wrong those are who marry without it. They wrong their parents, and they act without duty, because they take what belongs to them and give it to another in a dishonest and unnatural way.

This also shows how much prudence and prayer are needed in choosing this relation, since it is so close and so lasting. What is meant to last for life should be carefully done. It also shows how firm the marriage bond is. It is not to be weakened by having many wives (Malachi 2:15), and it is not to be broken by divorce for any reason except sexual unfaithfulness or willing desertion. Finally, it shows how dear the love between husband and wife should be, like the love we have for our own bodies (Ephesians 5:28). These two are one flesh, so let them be one soul.

Fourth, we see proof of the purity and innocence of the state in which our first parents were created (Genesis 2:25). They were both naked. They needed no clothes for protection from cold or heat, since neither could harm them. They needed no clothes for ornament, for Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of them. They also needed no clothes for modesty, because they were naked and had no reason to be ashamed.

They did not know what shame was, as the Chaldee version puts it. Today, blushing is often seen as the mark of virtue, but at that time it was not the mark of innocence. People whose consciences were free from sin could rightly have no shame on their faces, even though they had no clothes on their backs.