DID GOD “FORGET” TO CREATE EVE?

by Shawn Brasseaux

When God created the animals, He made them male and female. The Bible’s language is that male and female animals came into existence simultaneously. Adam, however, was created alone. Why?

Genesis chapter 2 relates the matter: “[7] And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. [8] And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man [alone!] whom he had formed. [9] And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil…. [15] And the LORD God took the man [alone!], and put him [alone!] into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. [16] And the LORD God commanded the man [alone!], saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: [17] But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

“[18] And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. [19] And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. [20] And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”

Here is one way this passage is handled. The LORD God noticed lonely Adam and confessed a fault: “Oops, I was so busy making him that I forgot to make Eve!” Surely, this is most ridiculous. How could the omniscient (all-knowing) Creator God not foresee the problem in making a single person? Adam’s first moments alive were spent without another person present. It was only later that Eve was created. Why did God wait to form Eve, instead of making Adam and Eve a pair right from Adam’s very beginning?

Adam and Eve were both created on the sixth day, but Adam was created first and Eve was created later that same day. By the time of the seventh day, the Sabbath Day, all of God’s creative work was finished (Genesis 2:1-3). Chapter 2, serving as a review, concludes as touching the sixth day: “[21] And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; [22] And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto 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 shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. [25] And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”

Bible skeptics, or those approaching the Scripture from an immature perspective, will wonder how God could create Adam but “accidentally” forget to place Eve with him. Such is no accident! The arrangement was for Adam’s benefit. It was to reinforce in him the understanding that there was more to his life than his own existence. He should be living for another! Adam could see all the animals with their mates, but he was by himself. Again, he should be living for another! Once God formed Eve and brought her to Adam, then Adam learned firsthand the lesson he would not have known otherwise. Human existence—especially marriage—is not about isolation. We are social beings for a reason.

If we look at life in the Godhead, we will see the absence of selfishness. The three Members of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—live for the benefit of the other two Persons. For example, the Son was submissive to His Father’s will rather His own will: “And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). Jesus Christ went about doing His “Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). The Son said, “I honour my Father” (John 8:49). “The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself” (John 14:10). “It is my Father that honoureth me” (John 8:54). “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was” (John 17:5). “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). “For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name” (Psalm 138:2), Father God said of the words the Holy Spirit wrote. The Son said of the Holy Spirit, “The Spirit of truth… shall not speak of himself… He shall glorify me” (John 16:13-14).

Genesis 1:26-28 asserts that the Creator God designed mankind to function in a similar capacity. This is the idea of man being made in God’s image, after God’s likeness: “[26] And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. [28] And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

Of course, Adam did not walk in that selfless identity, thereby leading to the Fall of man into sin. Today, with the entrance of sin, we behave selfishly. Man is not about living for others; alienated from the life of God, he is all about living for self. Rather than worrying about God forgetting something (which He did not), it is more important we recognize that we have forgotten the lesson God taught Adam using Eve.

Also see:
» Why did God ask where Adam was?
» Did Adam die or did he not die in Genesis 3?
» Could you explain 1 Timothy 2:15?