In this excerpt from The Mark of a Man, Elisabeth Elliot writes to her nephew and observes four truths that we can discover in the account of Eve’s creation. These are simple but profound! Why is it that the simple things are being forgotten by our world?
In that little story, which takes up only seventeen verses, men and women can find their local vertical. Four extremely important events illuminate where woman stands in relation to man. I see, in them, who I am as a woman, who you are as a man.
1. She was made for the man. According to specifications, she was divinely designed to fit his needs exactly—an adapter, a responder.
2. She was made from the man, quite literally, constructed out of one of his own bones. He was her reason for being, her source, which is one of the root meanings of the New Testament word for “head.” If you miss the point in Genesis 2, you can pick it up in 1 Corinthians 11: “For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.” “Oh, well,” people have said to me, “you’re just interpreting things your way. There are lots of other interpretations.” Are there? Give three examples.
3. She was brought to the man. God made a present of Eve to Adam, not of Adam to Eve. She was his.
4. She was named by the man. The Old Testament authority to name was of immense importance. It signified the acceptance of responsibility. He was taking charge.
That’s the ancient story.
In that little story, which takes up only seventeen verses, men and women can find their local vertical. Four extremely important events illuminate where woman stands in relation to man. I see, in them, who I am as a woman, who you are as a man.
1. She was made for the man. According to specifications, she was divinely designed to fit his needs exactly—an adapter, a responder.
2. She was made from the man, quite literally, constructed out of one of his own bones. He was her reason for being, her source, which is one of the root meanings of the New Testament word for “head.” If you miss the point in Genesis 2, you can pick it up in 1 Corinthians 11: “For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.” “Oh, well,” people have said to me, “you’re just interpreting things your way. There are lots of other interpretations.” Are there? Give three examples.
3. She was brought to the man. God made a present of Eve to Adam, not of Adam to Eve. She was his.
4. She was named by the man. The Old Testament authority to name was of immense importance. It signified the acceptance of responsibility. He was taking charge.
That’s the ancient story.
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