A DEEP SLEEP

A DEEP SLEEP 

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; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. Gen 2:21-22

Sleep is comparable to death. You can therefore imagine how a deep sleep would look like. Apostle Paul in one of his epistles said, that many “slept” after partaking of the Holy Communion. In this regard, he was talking about death. When believers in Christ die, we say they slept, because, surely, at the resurrection morning we expect that they will rise again. Even the scriptures confirm that the dead in Christ will rise first. Actually sleep can be likened to temporary death. In a sincere case of sleeping, particularly, a deep sleep, the will or consciousness of the person is not at his or her disposal. The only difference between sleep and death is that the individual still breathes.

WHY DEEP SLEEP?

The question is, “why does God have to put Adam to a deep sleep?” Isn’t there another way apart from the deep sleep approach? There are so many answers to this question. God is omini-science; He knows all things. He knew from the beginning, even before the creation what approach is most suitable to bring man’s helpmeet to him. Till today, God has several approaches in bringing man’s helpmeet across his path. The most important thing is that you should have a viable relationship with God. This is crucial because it will help you to understand, and follow the leading of God, even when things do not seem to conform to your perspective.

One of the reasons why God caused Adam to fall to a deep sleep is so that His perfect plan can be thoroughly executed. God knew that if Adam was awake, he might express his disapproval at this kind of woman that He was making for him. Adam, if awake, might have seen some materials that God was putting together to make his (Adam’s helpmeet), and could have inferred what the outcome might be. In his own limited human wisdom, Adam could even have suggested to God Almighty what He should do, and what He should not. Can you imagine that? Whereas, the scriptures says,

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.   1 Cor 1:27-29

Another reason why God adopted the deep sleep approach was because He needed to work on Adam himself, and that had remained the pattern till date. Whenever God wants to produce His perfect will for any individual, He would bring that fellow to a point of total submission. Though it is not easy, but it is God’s way, and that still remains the best approach. Can you imagine a Surgeon operating a patient who is very much awake? It’s weired!     

God knew the kind of work He had already prepared for Adam.  The workload on Adam was so much that after naming all the animals, God concluded that it was time to bring his helpmeet to him. As a matter of fact, God already knew how Adam’s life would look like, and so He had equally prepared Eve to complement Adam in every sense of the word.

Eve was a produced from Adam’s rib. Adam cannot be complete without Eve, because she is actually the finished work of that part of him that was taken away. The rib is closest to the heart, therefore, the wife is supposed to be closest to the wife, and the wife should be the closest to the husband.  So for Adam’s life to be thorough and fulfil God’s purpose, Eve must be his helpmeet. That was why when God brought Eve to Adam, he was able to recognise her immediately.

The New Living Translation of The Holy Bible reads thus:

Then the Lord God said, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.

Everyone needs help.  However, this need for help varies from persons to persons. Even the area of needs differs. The area I need help may not necessarily be where you need help. The need of the blind is not the same as the need of the lame. To help means to assist or support a person to achieve something, either by doing it for them, or providing them with the right resources to achieve those things. There’s a particular help that a man needs that cannot be found in more than one woman. This is because there’s a particular man for a particular woman, and there’s a particular woman for a particular man.  Your spouse is one of the crucial needs of your life that God has provided according to His riches in glory.

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Gen 2:18

God said, “I will make him an help that is meet for him”.  Meet in this sense can be appropriate, suitable, perfectly fits. Therefore, there’s only a particular woman that is suitable, and appropriate, and perfectly fits you.  You may be saying these sets of qualities are present in these ladies, however, only one of them is an help that is meet for you. Your God 0rdained spouse is meet for you. God prepared her with you in mind. She’s not the help meet for another, and she can never be; she’s the help that is meet for you. God knows what is suitable for your original taste because He made your taste buds.

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. Gen 2:23

It was Adam who really began this idea of pet names for one’s spouse. When he set his eyes on Eve, he saw all that God had implanted in her to be a great benefit to him. That was why he said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh…”. While the bone gives shape to the flesh, the flesh covers the nakedness of the bone.  So when Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh”, He was literarily saying, “This is the fellow that will shape my life, and cover my nakedness”. Like we have “my sweetheart”, “my love” these days, what we had in the Garden of Eden was “My Bone”, “My Flesh”.  Whatever role you want your spouse to play in your life, address him or her that way. Your spouse is a blessing from God to you, therefore, address him or her with names and descriptions that tallies with your belief of his or her assignment in your life.

Your comments on this and any other posts will be much appreciated. Please send them to chrisogbebor@gmail.com, jointheirsp@gmail.com