Doesn’t Genesis 2 seem to address this dilemma? It is not good for the human being to be alone. It seems to be that is the much greater take-away that speaks to the human condition …  indeed in these life-giving partnerships with those who we recognize as flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone, from our side, by our side … I recognize a companion, a partner, an ezer, a help mate.”

CHICAGO, Ill. — McCormick Theological Seminary President Frank Yamada said that the “take-away” from Genesis 2:18-25 is not about “a man and woman, but that God has figured out a way to take away isolation from human beings.

Yamada’s sermon, “Becoming one flesh, one body,” was given during Thursday night’s worship service at the Covenant Network’s 2013 conference, “Marriage Matters.”….

Yamada said that at the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Big Tent event held Aug. 1-3, in Louisville, Ky., he gave a sermon on the event’s theme, “Putting God’s first things first.” As a sermon illustration, he told a story about how his dog gets very focused when he gets gummy bears. Following the service, a member of the audience came to him, asking him about feeding his dog gummy bears.

“That was this guy’s take-away,” said Yamada, adding that as a preacher he is often struck by what a person’s take-away is from one of his sermons.

“When I read Genesis 2, and I hear what others take-away from this text, I scratch my head,” he said. When someone reads this “beautiful, moving text,” and the take-away is “man and woman,” Yamada said he wonders, “What text are you reading? Is that all you got from this text — man and woman?”

So, starting in Genesis 1, Yamada summarized the story: God created all things good and the first time that something was “not quite right in creation” is in Genesis 2 — not Genesis 3 with the fall.

“It starts with Genesis 2:18 when the Lord says it is not good that the human should be alone.

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