Genesis 2:18 states that “The Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” This verse comes after God had created Adam and given him the responsibility of caring for the Garden of Eden. However, God saw that Adam was alone and needed a companion. So God decided to create a helper suitable for Adam.
There are several ways the woman was a suitable helper for the man according to Genesis 2:
- She was created by God to be a perfect complement and companion for Adam. Genesis 2:18 and 21-22 describe how God fashioned the woman from Adam’s rib to be alongside him.
- She shared the same human nature as Adam. Genesis 2:23 states “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.” The woman was made of the same substance as man.
- She was created to be Adam’s equal partner and helper. Though taking different roles at times, the man and woman were created equally in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) to rule together over creation (Genesis 1:28).
- She brought completeness to God’s creation. Genesis 2:18 notes it was “not good” for man to be alone. The woman brought relational completeness as a companion made for intimate relationship with Adam.
- She enabled procreation as commanded by God. Genesis 1:28 gave a command to “be fruitful and multiply.” The woman enabled obedience to this command through bearing children.
- She brought joy and unity to Adam’s life. Genesis 2:23 expresses Adam’s joy at the woman’s creation from his own flesh, declaring her “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”
- Her differences from Adam enabled her to provide strengths he lacked. As a more relational being, the woman brought emotional and social strengths Adam did not possess on his own.
In summary, the Genesis account shows how God carefully crafted the woman to be the perfect helper and companion for Adam. Her shared human nature, equality, and complementary differences enabled her to complete God’s creation and aid Adam in fulfilling God’s purposes. The “suitable helper” described points to God’s ideal model for marriage – a loving union between equals who jointly carry out their God-given responsibilities.
Genesis 2 gives insight into God’s original plan for marriage by showing that:
- Man and woman are designed for companionship with each other. It is “not good” for man to be alone.
- The woman was carefully crafted by God to meet the man’s need for a companion and helper.
- The first marriage was monogamous – one man and one woman becoming “one flesh” (Gen 2:24)
- Husband and wife are to share an intimate, exclusive, permanent union.
- Marriage involves joint dominion over creation to fulfill God’s purposes.
- The differences between man and woman complement each other.
- The marriage union brings completeness and joy.
Genesis 2 gives no support for polygamy, same-sex unions, or casual divorce, but rather defines marriage as a sacred lifelong covenant between one man and one woman.
Some key responsibilities implied for the man and woman in marriage from Genesis 2 include:
For the man:
- Cultivating and keeping God’s creation (Genesis 2:15)
- Exercising wise, servant leadership by ruling over creation in a God-honoring way
- Providing for and protecting his wife and family
- Valuing and honoring his wife as an equal yet wonderfully different partner
For the woman:
- Being a faithful companion and friend to her husband (Genesis 2:18,22)
- Supporting her husband’s leadership through insight, wisdom, and partnership
- Managing household affairs and nurturing the family
- Respecting and valuing her husband’s differences and strengths
These roles are not identical but instead complementary, together reflecting the full image of God (Genesis 1:27). When lived out according to God’s design, they enable both partners to fulfill their shared mission of responsible stewardship over creation.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul upholds this Creation model for marriage in passages like Ephesians 5:21-33. He instructs husbands to love and serve their wives sacrificially as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). Wives are called to submit voluntarily to their husband’s leadership, just as the church submits to Christ (Ephesians 5:22-24). But again, these are roles of loving, selfless service by both partners, not overbearing domination by the man or demeaning subjection by the woman.
Male headship and female submission are often distorted or misunderstood today. But Genesis 2 and Ephesians 5 present God’s beautiful original design for marriage. Mutual love, service, trust, unity, and joint fulfillment of God’s purposes in harmony with our distinct roles as men and women. God created marriage, and His design for it is good.