word “ alone” means “ to be disjoined or separated.” Man, without a suitable helper is separated. Later on, after God created the woman, the statement is made that man and woman constitute one flesh; that is, woman eliminates man’s separated condition. A second thing about God’s statement is man’s need for a helper. The expression “ help meet for him” is literally a helper like h im .” I t has the idea of corresponding to him. It is actually “ a couterpart.” To put it simply, it means a wife. With the need for a suitable helper being so clearly spelled out in verse 18, one would think that the next verse would read simply, “ So God created a helper for him.” But it doesn’t. Instead, verse 19 says, “ Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field . . . and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” The most obvious question which could be asked at this point is, “ What does naming the animals have to do with getting Adam a wife?” There seems to be no connection whatever. However, the connection lies in the scriptural concept of the name. In sc rip tu re the “ name” could denote a variety of things about ADAM NAMES THE ANIMALS TH E SCR IPTURA L CONCEPT O F TH E NAME
It is not uncommon for Christian teenagers to turn off when the Old Testament is mentioned. Many feel that it is not relevant and have no desire to trip through the desert with Moses or fight the giant with David. To convince them that the Old Testament contains truth that is as up to date now as it was the day it was written is almost impossible. If you want to put the regular Sunday School student on the spot, ask him this question which at first seems so simple and yet at second glance is not so simple. The question is: “ Why did God give to Adam the job of naming the animals?” Be prepared for an answer such as, “ It was to give Adam something to do” ; or, “ It was to help God out.” He might suggest that it was to show Adam that he had dominion over the animals. All of the answers usually indicate that he really does not know. The occasion for naming the animals arose in Genesis 2:18 when God made the statement, “ It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” When you finally get through the “ King James English” and understand it, two very interesting things will be noted. The first notable thing is that God recognized the important fact that the man could not function properly being alone. A more accurate translation is, “ Not good is the man in his separation.” The Page 8 MAN WAS NOT CR EA T ED TO FUNCTION ALONE
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