Keith Battle - The Power of a Rib

If you have a Bible, turn to Genesis chapter 2. Last week, there was a pretty strong challenge to men to stay on post. A lot of the sisters were standing up and clapping, «Amen!» Today, I want to talk about the sisters and see if y’all will stand up this time for the brothers to clap. What I’m about to share with you came as a result of a conversation my wife and I had while sitting around a table with my daughter and her boyfriend. They are not engaged yet, but they just went through a premarital class with Pastor James Marshall. They completed the 12-week class, and I think it would be very helpful for people to attend that. As a result of finishing that class, they have assignments to interview couples, and they wanted to interview Vicki and me and ask us questions. It was already late, and I was tired, so I asked how long it would take. They said that the last couple they met took two hours. I said, «Without an angle, I can’t work tonight,» thinking it might be over. Chris, which is his name, then asked, «Can I ask you one question?» I said, «Go ahead.» He asked, «Why did God take a rib from Adam to make Eve?» I told him, «You know, I’ll look, because I never even thought about it or been asked that question.» I tried to look like I was thinking or praying, but I didn’t know how to answer. I looked at Vicki and said, «Do you have maybe a word for him about that?» She didn’t have anything to say, so I just told him, «I really don’t know.» The next day, I came across something that reminded me of his question. I’m not saying I have the mind of God on this, but I want to share a little revelation here and tell you what I’ve discovered. I don’t know if this was God’s intent regarding the rib, but I do have a better understanding. Somewhere within this information may be an answer to why the rib is significant. I’m calling this talk «The Power of the Rib.» Genesis chapter 2 says this, going back to verse 18. This will come up on the screen, but it says that God says it’s not good for the man to be alone. Adam was the only person God had created at that time; there was nothing else in creation that was living, neither human nor animal. So God said, «I will make him a helper suitable for him.» The first thing God started doing was creating animals, male and female versions of all the animals. Adam’s job was to name each animal. When Adam had finished naming all the animals that God had created, the Bible says there was not a helper suitable for Adam. Then, in verse 21, God says, «I will make him a helper that is suitable for him.» Here’s how God did it: Verse 21 says, «So the Lord God caused a man to fall into a deep sleep,» and while the man slept, the Lord took out one of the man’s ribs. Everybody say «ribs.» He closed up the opening. In verse 22, the Lord God made a woman from the rib and brought her to the man. At last, the man exclaimed in verse 23, «This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She will be called 'woman' because she was taken from man.» So, I began to think, «Why the rib?» Matthew Henry says something that is easy to remember and has some truth to it. It’s usually repeated, and I like it, so I’ll share it. He says God took the woman from the rib, not from the head, so that the woman would not rule over the man, and not from his feet, so that she would not be trampled by the man, but he took her from his side so that she could walk beside him. She is under his arm for protection and near his heart to be loved. That’s what Matthew Henry says. However, I’d like to go deeper into it. When you go back to verse 21, there is clearly some kind of operation that takes place. It seems to be the first medical operation in history. God used some kind of divine anesthesia to put Adam into a deep sleep. While he was sleeping, God created an incision, opened up Adam’s side, and took a rib from him. Then, the Bible says He closed his flesh up, which means He closed the wound, letting me know that everybody talks about what came out of him, but nobody talks about what he went through. You cannot open a person’s side, take something out of them, and close it up without them having a scar. I’ve never heard anybody talk about that. Here’s what you need to know: It costs to be married. In order to get a wife, Adam had to be cut open. Do you know what post-operative pain feels like?