A Hundred Pounds of Clay or One Rib?

Gene McDaniels had some early-'60s success with a pop-flavored R&B style. Born in Kansas City, he sang in Omaha choirs during the '40s and attended the Omaha Conservatory of Music. McDaniels led his own band in the '50s, then signed with Liberty. He had a Top Ten pop and Top 20 R&B hit in 1961 with the song, "A Hundred Pounds of Clay". It's a cute, innocent little song about a man's appreciation for God's creation of woman. Or is it?
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The lyrics give God credit for making something so beautiful and wonderful as woman out of something as base and common as just a hundred pounds of clay. I have to agree with the premise that women are indeed beautiful creatures and make our existence much more tolerable and enjoyable, not to mention their amazing ability to bring forth children. I also applaud that glory is given to God for doing so. However, let's compare the origin of the "building materials" from the song lyrics to the truth of the Bible.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Gen 1:27-28)

So God created both man and woman in His own image and blessed them. It was very good and the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Believe it or not there are some who have taken this passage and twisted it into a horrible perverse lie!

Genesis the second chapter, is partly an inset chapter that describes Genesis 1:27 in more detail.

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (Gen 2:7,15)

Here is where man is created from the dust of the ground, or as our balladeer calls it, from the "clay". However, woman is not created at this time and it is not until beginning in Genesis 2:21 after the animals are paraded before Adam to be named that she is made.

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. (Gen 2:18-20)

This passage clearly is meant to elaborate on man's creation in Genesis 1:27.

It is very important to note that Genesis 2:4 through verse 2:25, is an inset that provides more details of the creation. It was only after a suitable help mate was not found for Adam among all the animals that God created woman. Pay special attention to the "materials" from which this glorious creation was made.

And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Gen 2:21-25)

See any clay being gathered or tossed around? Me neither. It clearly says that woman was made from the rib of man. She was NOT made from a hundred pounds of clay or any other material!

There are those that have been deceived into believing that when Genesis 1:27 says, "male and female created he them" that a woman was created at that time along with Adam, both being made from dust of the ground. This heretic perversion even goes so far as to assert that this was Adam's first wife! They even have a name for her - Lilith!

As the myth goes, she refused to become subservient to Adam and left the garden of Eden. She was cursed by God, mated with a fallen angel and became a demoness who supposedly flies around searching for newborn children either to kidnap or to strangle them. Also, she sleeps with men to seduce them into propagating demon sons. Her history eventually merges with that of a Sumerian-Babylonian goddess, possibly a handmaiden of the queen of heaven. All this from a hundred pounds of clay!


We must be always on guard against the pollution and dilution of the pure truth of God no matter how subtle it may be.

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made (Gen 3:1) and as the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2) he has submitted for our enjoyment and pleasure, music and songs that lead us away from the truth of God. We must worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) and guard our minds from the subtle deceptions of the evil one, including our choices in music.

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (2Cor 11:3)

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Note: No disrespect is meant to Mr. Gene McDaniels. His song is just an example of how pervasive the deception really is.
 Don't even get me started on Frankie Avalon's Venus!