Loneliness and Marriage (Genesis 2)

 Loneliness and Marriage

On the sixth day God created men. But this did not make it perfect and very good yet.

Something was missing.

[Gen 2:18 NKJV] 18 And the LORD God said, "[It is] not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."

Adam, the first man, was still alone.
To put this loneliness into perspective Scripture gives this context:

[Gen 2:19-20 NKJV] 19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought [them] to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that [was] its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

The animals could not relate to Adam. They could not be His ‘helper’ or sustainer.

No one was comparable to him. Not only are animals a different species, they were on a different level too. They did not have his intelligence and social capacity. 

A dog or cat may be a good friend, but it is not comparable to men. People cannot be replaced by animals since and this has been the case from the very beginning.

Adam was quite alone this way and he had no one to relate to.

God wanted to change this and He did. He made someone comparable to Him. And to show the close relation this being would have with him, He would create it from his very ribs:

[Gen 2:21-24 NKJV] 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: "This [is] now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

It was the woman, Eve. Now there was someone similar to Adam. The relationship was so close that Adam called her bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. And to show that this meant more than just being of the same species, it says that the two would become one flesh.
Marriage is here presented as a token of independence from the parents. The man would leave his parents and be joined to his wife. A new household would begin.

There are many lonely people in this world who have not only despised social life, but marriage too. Though not getting into such a relationship is not bad in itself, such people would perhaps benefit from it.
They may have despised marriage or they may have been scared of it.
But the first cure God had given for such men being lonely was marriage. It was then that creation was called very good.

But a few things must be noted.

The thing that made the woman different from the animals was that Adam could relate to her. She could sustain and help him in a way an animal never could. She was comparable to him and his equal. They would even become one flesh.

Such principles must also be remembered when going into a relationship with someone. We can extend it further than just comparing it with animals.
Can you become one flesh? Can you relate to one another? Do you have values and interests in common that may be important to you? Would this woman actually help you?

Such a relationship would be the cure to loneliness. If this cannot be said, generally speaking, would she be comparable to you? Would you be one flesh?

If a relationship goes natural, however, it becomes a huge blessing.

Though we live in a sinful world and sometimes mistakes will be made and many struggles will be there, the two will be joined together. They could say that they are one flesh. When one is hurt or in pain, the other feels it. When one is happy, it is so for the other.

These principles do not only count for men, but for women as well.