#DailyDevotion Not Even Dogs & Cats Fulfill Our Need For Community
Proper 22 Genesis 2:18-20 18Then the LORD God said, “It isn’t good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper such as he needs.” 19When the LORD God had formed out of the ground every animal in the field and every bird in the air, He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called a certain living being 20tthat became its name. And so the man gave a name to all the cattle, the birds in the air, and every wild animal. But no helper such as he needed was found for the man.
Some people get confused with the so called two different creation accounts in the first couple of chapters of Genesis. They see a contradiction where there is none. It’s just that we don’t think like 20th century BC Hebrews. When they describe something they will often do it several times from different points of view. You will see this often as you read the Old Testament. It seems as if God is repeating himself within verses but always something slightly different. The book of Revelation is actually ripe with this, so there you have the seals, trumpets and vials all actually describing the same thing, just slightly different with more information.
Commentators often say this creation account is the personal creation account of Yahweh, the Living God. In the first account God is Elohim, which is the generic term for God. But here, we have the personal name of God that he reveals to Moses and the Israelites. In the first chapter he speaks things into being. Here Yahweh is getting his hands into the dirt, personally forming things like an artist does with clay.
Well what do we see here? Well Adam he already formed from the dust of the earth. But he was by himself. The LORD (Yahweh) makes the profound statement, “It isn’t good for the man to be alone.” God did not create us to be beings in isolation. He created us to be in community with one another. Very simply, no matter what you say and how much of an introvert you are, you still need other people.
So what does he do? He says, “I will make him a helper such as he needs.” So he forms from the ground every animal of the field and bird in the air and brings them to the man to see what he would call them. Now this demonstrates man’s dominion over the earth as naming something implies dominion over it. We’re still naming animals as we discover them. Of course, many animals already have names from those that live around them. But the good old scientist like naming them with Latin names as they are discovered by the scientist.
None of the animals were a suitable helper though. Not even the dog or the cat was a suitable helper. Sure, they are fun and all and provide some comfort when we are by ourselves but none of them will ever quite do the trick. We need someone like ourselves, another human being. We need the community of like creatures to fill the need we have for community. We need other human beings, like us, but slightly different to complete our relationship with God. And that is why we go to Church. To gather with other human beings receiving the service of our LORD Jesus Christ and worshiping him and praising him together. There we are made whole.
Heavenly Father, always give us the company of fellow human beings so we will not be alone and so we may rightly worship you and fulfill our being. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.