City Life Starter

Written by Nate Warren

The Word

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Genesis 2:18-25 (ESV)

“though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Philippians 2:6-8 (ESV)

Reflection

Marriage is instituted by God’s separation of one being into two parts; two parts derived from one flesh. The man is so impressed with the results of his surgery that we hear his words for the first time about her, in poetic verse!

Jesus uses verse 24 to teach that marriage is for life. Anything less than “till death” does not meet God’s purpose for marriage. He continues, “What God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Paul uses the same verse to teach how Christian wives and husbands should act toward one another, but then he follows up the quote with a curveball:

“This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”

Ephesians 5:2

Paul hints that verse 24 is ultimately about Jesus, who “leaves” His father (in heaven) and His mother (at the foot of the cross). As Paul writes in another passage:

“though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Philippians 2:6-8

Finally, in verse 25, we see the picture of perfect humility – naked and unashamed. No pretense, nothing hidden. Free. This is not only the pair’s posture toward each other, but also with the creatures and with God. 

Application

Genesis, and all the rest of the scriptures are full of wonderful mysteries and depths that hold enormous beauty, spiritual treasure, and hidden wisdom. Homer, Shakesphere, Tolkein, etc.–none of these hold a candle to the scriptures, even in its literary depth. The scriptures are designed to be memorized and mediated through the mind over and over, prompting questions and revelations and more questions as new mysteries become apparent.

My application? Go deeper.

Prayer

Father, 

Help us to know You through Your Word. May we see a new angle of Your glory in each interaction with our Bible, by the power of God’s Spirit within us, and for the sake of the Name of Your Son, Jesus, our King.

Amen