The Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon Adam. Whether he was told what God was doing during this sleep is uncertain. He knows what has happened several verses later, but the Lord didn’t feel it important to tell us when Adam was told.
The important part is, God performed this operation with Adam suffering no ill effects. He felt no pain. When God works in a situation, he does it effortlessly. We won’t always avoid suffering in this life, because we’re in a world of sin. But, when God finally brings about a resolution to a problem, He does so with perfect timing. He does it in a way where a person can see it’s His work. He won’t always do it in a flashy way. But, He will give a person exactly what they need, when they need it.
God provided what Adam needed by taking a rib from Adam. It was taken from the side, because the woman was to be equal, to Adam; a true help meet, not one for Adam to trample on, and not one to rule over him..
Adam would probably not have been created with an extra rib, for two reasons. First, if it was an automatic genetic feature, everyone else would have been worn with thirteen ribs, instead of twelve. People do not inherit things from their parents that happen after they’re born. A person who loses an arm in a war won’t have children with only one arm. The second reason is, if it was a genetic variable – like color – there would have been some people born with an extra rib, and there don’t seem to have been any.
What seems more likely is that Adam was missing a rib the rest of his life. Remember that Jacob had a similar thing happen. After a night of wrestling with God, he demanded that God bless him. God touched his thigh, and made him walk with a limp. (Gen. 32:25) Many commentators feel he had this limp the rest of his life, as a reminder that it was not in his own strength, but in God’s, that he must walk. There is also Paul’s thorn in the flesh, likely a physical malady, which he was allowed to have, lest he be exalted beyond what he should. (2 Cor. 12:7) Such a loss would not have been vital – even after sin was brought into the world, God could protect him from anything that would bruise his heart of lungs. And yet, it would always remind him of God’s power, as well as the fact that his wife, Eve, came directly from his side, as a gift from God. She was truly part of him.
It is, of course, also possible that God gave him a new rib and we are not told.
This is one of numerous things which remind us that – while we must remain true to doctrines which are vital – there is also much which we are free to disagree on, and must do so in a way that shows we love and accept each other. And so, even in silence God’s Word can teach important lessons.
