This semester I've been thinking a lot about marriage. I've been working through what it means to be married. Sure, I was a typical teenage girl, thinking I wanted a boyfriend and wanted to be married since I hit the dreaded thirteen years old, but I only thought that's what I wanted. I never thought--really thought--about what marriage would mean, be like, or require. Now, I'm trying to.
As I was thinking about it several nights ago, I was pondering Adam's rib. I don't really know why this particular aspect entered my mind, but I decided to pursue it some. I wondered why God chose Adam’s rib to form Eve. It’s often mentioned in weddings that God chose Adam’s rib because it was close to his heart, so Eve, his wife, should be close to his heart as well.
I think that’s very sweet, and I agree with it. God is tender, and He enjoys symbolism such as that.
Which made me wonder if there was more to it. There are other things close to the heart, using a physical description, not a spiritual one(for now). The lung is the main body part that comes to my mind. Let’s examine this a little.
The lung does a lot of work, it keeps the body alive, but the rib does just as much work, yet it isn’t as necessary for survival. Having a wife does not keep a man alive. It is a blessed thing to be married, but there are many who do not wed ever and there are several who don't get married until they're older. If marriage were required for the survival of an individual, living for any length of time would be tricky. I think the lung would probably have given the wrong symbolism.
The rib is a dexterous piece of bone. It has a flexible joint to allow for the expanding and contracting of the lungs. It is strong and provides some protection to the heart and the lungs. In this, it protects the core of the body as well as one of the most important organs for life. If the rib is damaged or broken, it is harmful to the body and needs to be healed. Otherwise it could puncture that ever necessary lung. It is enclosed in the body, not exposed to the elements, and in that way, even the rib is protected.
So, let’s take this symbolism and translate it.
The rib is close to the heart.
A wife should be close to her husband’s heart. She is precious to him, and his job is to love her.
The rib has flexibility.
A wife is flexible and willing to adjust to her husband’s needs, and she is always by him.
The rib protects the heart and lung.
A wife defends her husband. It’s not all chauvinism; yes, the husband is supposed to protect his wife, but it goes both ways. Because she is precious to him, he needs her on his side. He needs her to be able to block and deflect the knife of doubt and fear that he may fall prey to as well as attacks to his manhood that others may try to piece him with. I can imagine one of the things a man most wants from his wife is to know she will stand up for him and defend him from verbal attacks that others may purposefully or accidentally harass him with. She also cares for that which is important and necessary to him. Traditionally, the wife prepares the meals for her husband. He needs food to survive. She cooks it for him, not only to provide the sustanance he needs, but also in the hopes that it will taste good and he will enjoy it.
A damaged rib injures the body.
If a wife is hurt, physically or emotionally, she needs her husband to care for her and provide the right balm to her injuries. If she is like a broken or loose rib, she needs support to heal. Her injuries can injure her husband; he should have every motivation to care for her.
The rib is protected by the body.
A wife should be protected by her husband. She should not be smothered or kept from doing things, but as the body wraps the rib, the husband’s protection should not be far. She defends him from slander and gossip and attacks to his worthiness and skill. He defends her from physical and emotional and spiritual attacks. He protects her from the rough elements in the world, away from the things which injure her the most. He knows her weaknesses and saves her from being exposed to what triggers them.
The rib and body are entwined, helpful and, by design, necessary for each other. Not to say that people must get married, but these two parts are a beautiful fit for each other. God could have chosen anything to create Eve with. He could have used a lung, a toe, or a fresh patch of dirt. But He didn't. I think the imagery He chose is a beautiful representation of marriage. Just in a simple little bone, God shows us how husbands are to think of their own wives and vice versa.
In thinking of marriage, I remember the instructions God gave through Paul in Ephesians 5:22-33. Yet at the end of this section, Paul writes, "This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:32) Which, in turn, reminds me of the picture of the Gospel in the reality of Christ as the Bridegroom and the Church as His Bride.
So, thinking about that one little rib all the way back in Genisis led me to the Gospel of Christ. Beautiful!
God's thoughts are complex, and He sees more, far more than we do, in the symbolism He chooses, and He chooses perfectly.
