Genesis 2:4-25
Adam and Eve
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth[a] and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams[b] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the LordGod formed a man[c] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin[d] and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.[e] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g]and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LordGod made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
God created the world and as he looks at it, it is full of good things.
Sheep = good.
Trees = good.
Sunsets = good.
However, he realises that something is wrong. It is not good for man to be alone.
This is not talking just about marriage (that isn’t to say that it isn’t talk about marriage - it is!), this is talking about the importance of connection. It is not good for you to be alone, it is not good for you to be isolated. It is not good for you to work all day and all evening building a career that leaves you disconnected. It is not good for you to be surrounded by people and yet keep yourself hidden from the people around you. It is not good for you to drift from one place to another, never settling down roots. You were not made to stand alone.
Often we look at heroes and pioneers and see people who take a stand and stand out from the crowd. There is a myth that they stood alone and battled the odds. We miss the fact that there is always a group of people who fight alongside them, quietly, faithfully, consistently. Standing alone isn’t heroic, it is dehumanising.
Heroes stand in community.
What is interesting is that this story takes place before sin enters the world. Adam has a perfect connection with God and yet there is still something that is missing. There is no substitute that can fill the hole inside us that longs for connection with other people. You were created for connection. The partner that he creates for him is one that he can connect to on the deepest level. God creates a woman, different to him and yet complimentary. An equal, taken from his side no his shoulder to be above him or his foot to be below him. She is made from the same substance as him and is to be his partner.
When we think about loneliness, it isn’t so much about having a lack of people around us. We can be strangers in a crowd as easily as in a wilderness. It isn’t so much about quantity, its about quality. We need the right connections. Think about it, Millennials are the most connected generation and yet are the most likely to feel extreme loneliness and disconnection. Connection with other people is all about depth. The question isn’t how many people are you friends with on Facebook or how many people do you rub shoulders with but who do you really know and who do you allow to know you?
That device will never feed you.
That job will never feed you.
That bonus will never feed you.
Because what we hunger for is found in our relationships.
