![[#31] Genesis 2:18 – It is Not Good to Be Alone](https://redeeminggod.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/not-good-to-be-alone-genesis-2-18-150x150.jpg)
So far in Genesis 2, we have seen that God has set up his temple. The temple was finished in Genesis 2:17, which means that beginning with Genesis 2:18, the biblical story really begins.
In Genesis 2:18, we see something foundational for how God wants us to live life, and something shocking about God’s role in that life.
The Text of Genesis 2:18
Genesis 2:18. And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
In this discussion of Genesis 2:18 we look at:
- The first thing in God’s creation that is not good
- The first foundational truth about the human experience
- What God did about Adam being alone
- Seven truths from Genesis 2:18 about loneliness
Resources:
- Buy my Book on the Atonement
- Genesis 2:4-6 – The Second Creation Account
- My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?
- Was Moses Divorced?
- fm Interview with Kathy Escobar
- Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes
Downloadable Podcast Resources
Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.
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Because there was no one to pick up after Adam, or make him sandwiches.
Adam’ lack of companionship was because the creation was not yet complete. The creation was not complete until the seventh day. Man AND woman were created on the sixth day.
We’re in Genesis 2 here. The first creation account talks about 7 days. The second creation account does not. Note as well the difference in the order of events. In Genesis 1, birds and animals are created before man and woman. In Genesis 2, man is created, THEN the animals, and then the woman.
Gen. 1 specifies that Adam and Eve were created on day six but this is not a contradiction of Gen. 2. Eden is a special creation made for Adam on day six AFTER the rest of the world was populated with animals. The contradiction exists only if you are looking for it.
I don’t think it’s a contradiction either, as I have clearly explained in my Podcast.
To be honest, the normal Creationist approach is quite convoluted and both reads a bunch of stuff into the text that is not there, and ignores several key terms and ideas that are there.
The order of events you describe seems to be this:
Day 3 – God forms plants and trees on the whole earth (except for a small portion somewhere … which the text doesn’t mention in Gen 1:11)
Day 5 – God creates all the birds and fish for all the sky and waters of the earth (except for a small portion of the sky somewhere else, which is not mentioned in Gen 1:20)
Day 6a – God creates all the animals of the field (except for animals in a small portion of land somewhere, which is not mentioned in Gen 1:24-25).
Day 6b – God creates man.
Day 6c – God creates plants and trees in the Garden.
Day 6d – God creates animals and birds in the Garden.
Day 6e – God has the man name all the animals.
Day 6f – God creates the woman.
Note that none of 6c-6e is mentioned in Genesis 1, and the order of events described above is completely contradicted by the fairly clear terms in Gen 2:4-6, 9 that man was created before there were any plants or trees on the earth (not just in the Garden), and then the terms in Gen 2:19 say that God formed “every” animal and bird after Adam was formed and before Eve, not just the ones in the Garden.
Again, the way of reading Genesis 1 and 2 I share in my Podcast is able to maintain inspiration and inerrancy so that there is no contradiction in the text and no convoluted way of reading it as presented above. It simply allows the text to say what it says in light of the cultural context of Moses’ day.
[sigh] Plants and animals had already been created before the Garden was made as a special creation. Perhaps it was made after the creation week. But it was a special place made for Adam, not a second (and thus contradictory) description of creation as a whole.
Matthew,
I understand your point of view. But your comments reveal that you have not listened to any of these podcasts on Genesis 2. This means that you do not know what I am saying about them or how I explain them. I am more than happy to discuss differing points of view on Scripture and objections to how I explain the text, but only if those who disagree with me first know and understand how I explain the text. So before disagreeing or accusing me of teaching that the Bible has contradictions (which I don’t teach), please make yourself aware of what I actually teach.
What translation is that? “Comparable”?
It’s the NKJV.
Hi Jeremy,
I’ve been enjoying all of the podcasts, they are always thought provoking, informative and encouraging.
With this message you offered a biblical perspective on loneliness that I’ve never heard in church. I appreciate your honesty in speaking about the loneliness of marriage. I am also glad that you said God is not enough when we are alone, because that is how he made us. We need relationships. And I like your recommendations for overcoming loneliness. Excellent message.
Thanks for the note of encouragement, Faith! I am glad people are listening and finding them helpful.