That's the Truth! - "One Is the Loneliest Number"

“The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.”  -Mother Teresa

Happy Monday to you, and welcome to "That's the Truth!" Some time ago, I was given the challenge to present a "lean and mean" Bible study that could be easily followed without too many complications! I thought long and hard about this, but finally accepted. So, without taking up any more of your time, here's the first, of what I hope will be many more studies. May you find them useful to help you grow in faith, knowledge, and God's love!

Topic: God Created the Best Partner - (Genesis 2:15-25)

Opening Prayer: God, you have made the heavens and the earth. You have revealed your beauty in creation and inspired the book that we are now about to study. Please help us now as we read together. Take us deeper into understanding more about you and your love for us. Amen.

 “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18-KJV).

 “Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner’” (Genesis 2:18-NRSV).

When God made humankind, God gave people many abilities similar to His own, and then God helped them develop those abilities. God gave people the ability to reason, feel, and make choices. God also gave humankind responsibilities over the earth. As Adam’s parent and teacher, God knew his needs and took steps to meet those needs before he recognized them. God did not want him to live alone without someone of his kind, so God made woman as his helper and partner.

As his teacher, God showed Adam that an animal would not make a perfect partner for him. Though God had created the animals before He created man, God sculpted cattle and other animals from the ground in the Garden of Eden, gave them life, and brought them to Adam so he could use his God-given abilities of imagination and reason to name them. God helped Adam discover that no matter how magnificent and varied the animals were, they were not humankind and they could not be his best partner.

Then, God sculpted a woman from the ground, gave her life, and brought her to man. We can almost hear the thrill and note of thankfulness to God in Adam’s voice when he sees woman for the first time and proclaims, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken” (Genesis 2:23). The Bible further explains, “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

Quick Study:

1. If Adam could talk to God and have God’s help, why do you think Adam was alone (even though Adam did not feel the pain of loneliness) and needed a helper and partner?

 2. Why do you think God first brought animals to Adam before God brought a woman to Adam?

 3. Why do you think God wanted Adam to name all of the animals and birds rather than just name them Himself and tell Adam their names?

 4. Do you think God allowed Adam to stay asleep when God created the woman from Adam’s rib, or do you think God woke Adam so Adam could watch God create the woman from Adam’s rib?

 5. What kind of clothing did God give the animals, the birds, and Adam and Eve when God created them? How did they feel about the clothes they wore?

Closing Prayer: Father, thank you that you have revealed Your love to us today. We invite You to send us out today in the power of the Holy Spirit. Fan into flame the gifts that you have given us, Come reveal Your grace and truth to us each day. For Yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, Forever and ever. Amen.

-a very special thank you to L.G. Parkhurst, Jr.

May God bless you! 

Riley