What It Means That Eve Was A Helpmeet Suitable for Adam

The way in which the first woman was made is curious. You might even call it bizarre. God causes Adam to fall into a deep sleep, then removes one of his ribs. And this rib from Adam’s side becomes the raw material for fashioning that first man’s bride to be, Eve.

Adam was made from the dust of the Earth, then formed by the hands of the Almighty, then breathed the breath of life into by God Himself. 

Are we curious at all why the difference? Do the distinctions in the creation of the first man and the first woman give us any pause? They should, since nothing God does is accidental or a mistake. 

Since this is true, we have to at least agree that God had a particular purpose for making Eve how and when He made her.

But the text is not so mysterious as it is difficult in our day to agree with when it says God made the woman because “it is not good that the man should be alone,” and described her purpose as “a helper fit for him” – that is, her husband.

Our rebellious hearts react immediately at this, complaining inwardly that being a helper is demeaning. But just as surely as we grapple with the implications, it can’t be demeaning for the Christian to embrace God’s design for humanity, male and female, particularly in the context of marriage. Just so, to understand God’s design we have to in some measure consider carefully what the text tells us about the timing, manner, and stated purpose of each creative act in relation to the others.

“Then Yahweh God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.””

This is the way the Biblical narrative introduces the first woman, Eve. This is her prologue. She is made after the first man Adam, and indeed she is made after every other created thing.

These facts cannot be demeaning, or else we risk finding fault with our Creator. At the same time, these facts must just as surely have profound meaning and importance.

Last but certainly not least, woman is a kind of crowning glory not only of man but arguably of all creation. And such could never be demeaning unless we hold in contempt the one or ones of whom it is said we are the glory.

Don’t take my word for it. The Apostle Paul says as much in his first letter to the church at Corinth when he writes,

“[Man] is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man.”

Therefore, how can we fail to embrace the fact that Eve was made for Adam and not the other way around? The answer for the Christian is simply that we can’t.

More to the point, there is a kind of theological and anthropological Jenga tower to contend with here. Evidence abounds what happens when we pull pieces out from down below on that tower and place them haphazardly up above. Soon enough, the whole tower topples over and the pieces go everywhere when we reject the teleological and hierarchical nature of the Genesis account as it pertains to God and man, and between male and female.

On the other hand, if we study diligently and exegetically what the Word says here about all these things at their root, we are much nearer a good and praiseworthy goal. And that goal should be, at least for the purposes of my book, to understand and approach marriage and family and all of life in a way that is peaceful, harmonious, righteous, fruitful, and blessed.

Also in this episode:

‘The Decline Of The American Family Shown in 4 Statistics’ – Ben Zeisloft, The Daily Wire 

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