God’s Word for You

Genesis 2:18 A suitable partner

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, August 26, 2026

18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is a suitable partner for him.”

God plans for the woman to be a “helper” (ezer, see also Genesis 18:4), and “a suitable partner for him” (negdo). Neged in Hebrew means “in front of” or “opposite” such as in Ruth 4:4, “before those seated here and before the elders of my people.” We sometimes use the term “opposite number” when officers of identical rank from different armies encounter each other.

Here is the only “not good” expression in the entire creation account. The “not good” is not a failing or an error on God’s part, but a natural fact about living beings. They need, we all need, the companionship of a spouse.

Luther puts it this way: “God is speaking of the common good or that of the species, not of personal good. The personal good is that Adam had innocence. But he was not yet in possession of the common good which the rest of the living beings who propagated their kind through procreation had” (Luther’s Works I:115-116).

Professor Franzmann wisely said, “The Lord God states this, not because it is a thought that has come to him rather belatedly, and he now wants to remedy the oversight. No, he speaks these words for man’s guidance.” God wanted to teach the man that he needed the companionship of other people and especially of a wife.

Marriage is the normal thing for mankind, and God’s will for mankind. We must take this to heart. God wants men and women to find a suitable partner for one another. It is clear from this account and from many passages such as Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; and 1 Timothy 1:10 that God’s intention from the beginning and his will even now is that the place for sex is within marriage, and marriage is to be between a man and a woman. And while the patriarchs sometimes took multiple wives like the pagans that surrounded them, this was never praised by the Lord God. For each Abraham and Jacob who took other wives, there is an Isaac or a Joseph setting a better example regarding marriage.

In the Medieval church, marriage was looked down upon, even scorned as monks, nuns and priests elevated their positions as more godly than that of the ordinary people. They claimed that the celibate monastic life actually merited forgiveness of sins in a better way than baptism. “Formerly there had been schools of the Holy Scriptures and other branches of learning which were profitable to the church, and pastors and bishops were taken from them. Now everything [was] different.” Formerly people came to monasteries to learn, but by Luther’s time they pretended that such a life was instituted to merit grace and righteousness. It was actually said that such a life achieved a state of perfection, and monks and priests claimed that their life was far above all other kinds of life (that were, nevertheless, also instituted by God).

But they deceived themselves, forsaking marriage and by doing so bringing down upon themselves sexual temptations, sins, and perversions that still haunt too many branches of the church to this day. For when God says, “Here is a gift, use it to my glory!” such as he has with marriage, and man replies, “We hate your gift; we won’t use it,” man shows himself to be a fool, and ends up as “a fool that finds pleasure in evil conduct” (Proverbs 10:23). And again, “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15), especially when such advice is the gift of God.

“History shows that enforced celibacy has always resulted in the corruption of morals” (Edward Koehler, “A Summary of Christian Doctrine” p. 286).

There are a few people in most generations who are suited to celibacy. They are able to give special service to God, as Paul says (1 Corinthians 7:7-8). But the Apostle goes on to say, “If people cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion” (1 Corinthians 7:9). Yet even Paul maintained that he had the right to take a wife, just as Peter and the other apostles had done (1 Corinthians 9:5). It is rebellion against God to forbid people from taking a spouse.

All of these things are wrapped up for us in God’s words, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”

If there are those who cannot find a good spouse, we pray that God would bless them and ease their loneliness; that he would give them useful work to do and godly ways to give him glory.

For those who sin against God’s commands about marriage, there is forgiveness. Some have had sex before they were married, and repented, and married with a good conscience. Some have become confused or led astray by our culture that disguises perversions with words like orientation and preference and curiosity. Such words are inscribed on the path of temptation and sin. Heed the warning of Israel’s king, “Why be captivated by an adulteress?” (Proverbs 5:20), and “The prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life” (Proverbs 6:26), and the prophet complains, “The land is full of adulterers” (Jeremiah 23:10).

But for all who turn to Christ in repentance, there is forgiveness. Do not forget his words to the woman caught in adultery: “Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11).

The unmarried, the widows, and children should pray for the blessing and the success of the marriages among their own friends and loved ones, for in this way they, too, keep the Sixth Commandment, by leading a pure and decent life in word and actions. And husbands and wives should love and honor each other, for this is the will of God.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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