Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

"IT IS NOT GOOD"

This entry was posted on 01-12-2010 and is filed under STUDIES IN GENESIS.

"And the LORD God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him" (Gen. 2:18 KJV).

Today we come upon something interesting. This is the first time God has made something and then said, "It is not good." Up to now everything that God made, He declared to be good. But now, seing Adam alone in the beautiful garden, God says, "It is NOT good . . . it is not good that the man should be alone." This teaches us that we were not made to be alone. We need friendship, relationship, and companionship in life. In the movie Cast Away, a man (Tom Hanks) is stranded on an island after the plane he was on went down in the ocean. He is so starved for companionship that he forms a strange friendship with a soccer ball (that survived the crash) that he dubs "Wilson." For years he converses with "Wilson" and when "Wilson" is lost at sea, Hanks cries his name over and over again in genuine anguish.

So God looks at Adam and says, in a sense, "This is not good. This man needs someone to be his friend and companion." And the result was woman. God created woman from a rib He takes from Adam so that she would stand by his side. Adam names her "Woman" because she was taken from Man. Then the Scripture says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Gen. 1:24 KJV). The Ryrie Study Bible says, "This verse emphasizes the complete identification of the two personalities in marriage. The passage tells us that God instituted marriage and that it is to be monogamous, heterosexual, and the complete union of the two persons." The Hebrew word for "cleave" means "stick like glue." This union was intended to be indissoluble. Jesus cites this passage in the New Testament and adds divine commentary. "For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man no separate" (Mark 10:7-9 NIV). What you have here, then, is a leaving, a cleaving, and a weaving. The man leaves his parents. The two cleave to one another. God weaves their total beings together, making them "one flesh." That is why divorce hurts so much. That is why the death of a mate is one of the greatest pains experience on earth.

Prayer: Holy Father, thank You for the wonderful design of godly marriage. Bless those today who have suffered the hurt of divorce or the pangs of losing a mate. May we who are still "one flesh" rededicate ourselves to those we promised to cherish and honor until the day we are parted. Through Christ we pray.