OUR DAILY BREAD : IT IS NOT GOOD

[cimi]

December 29
Saturday



IT IS NOT
GOOD

READ:
Genesis 2:15-25
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The LORD God said,
"It is not good that man
should be alone; I will
make him a helper
comparable to him."
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In one prison system in the US, 25,000 of the most dangerous inmates endure solitary confinement in small concrete cells. They have virtually no contact with the outside world. An inmate at Oregon State Penitentiary said that the most difficult part about such isolation is "not being able to see somebody face to face...to communicate, to touch, to hug, to feel loved, to feel human." This man's words seem to scream, "I'm lonely! This is not the way it's supposed to be."

The writer of Genesis would have agreed. After God created man, He acknowledged Adam's loneliness, and said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." In essence, God was saying that the man needed another person with whom he could be fully human. Although the immediate setting is companionship, in the larger context God is telling us that being fully human means enjoying relationship with other human beings.

No matter the cause of loneliness--sin, loss, shame, sickness, depression--God says this is "not good." He created us to be in close relationship with others (Eccl. 4:9-12) and with Him (Rev. 21:3). Reach out and develop those needed friendships--for your sake and theirs. __ Marvin Williams
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FOR FURTHER STUDY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~What is God's solution for our loneliness? You may~~~~~~~
~~~~~~enjoy reading Lonely But Never alone on the Web

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Friendships can help dispel loneliness

**************Today's Bible Reading __ Genesis 2:15-25************

15 Then the LORD God took
the man and put him in the
garden of Eden to tend and
keep it. 16 And the LORD God
commanded the man, saying,
"Of every tree of the garden
you may freely eat; 17 but of
the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil you shall surely die."

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

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.

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.

25 And they were both
naked, the man and his wife,
and were not ashamed.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

The word helper (vv.18,20) is not demeaning. It is used to describe
God in Psalm 33:20 and 70;5. The phrase "helper comparable to
him" (Gen. 2:20) could also be translated as "helper matching
him" __ one who supplies what is lacking. __SKT