This article is about how God used a dream to answer my questions while revealing that Eve did not come from just a rib.
How It Started
A few years ago, I prayed for God to preserve my desire to remain single. But contrary to my request, He told me that marriage was a part of His plan for me.
Initially, I was not excited, and it became a boot camp for change. After a few years, I wanted to submit to His will, and I walked through seasons of pruning. Although each lesson felt purposeful, several lessons in, it felt transactional.
One day, in frustration, I asked God, “Will I even be attracted to my future husband?” God answered me through a dream.
The Dream, the Hidden Rooms, and the Liver
In the dream, I was at an event space. An event had ended, but people were still sticking around. Someone I had a crush on when I was younger (in real life) was there and expecting to see me. To avoid seeing him, I snuck into unused rooms to hide.
Eventually, my mother caught me trying to hide and told me that people were expecting me. She also mentioned that people were asking about my supposed surgery on my liver. Confused, I responded, “I don’t know why everyone keeps asking about my liver. I didn’t have surgery.”
The Revelation
When I woke up, I journaled the dream and sought God for clarity. Over the next couple of days, He answered me through progressive revelation.
My bashful behavior in the dream was God’s confirmation that I would be attracted to my future husband.
The liver symbolized that when God made Eve from Adam, He removed more than a rib.
He also answered another question of mine about why Eve was “made” instead of “created,” which was bugging me scientifically. (I’ll explain later.)
I was grateful for new insight, so I used the Bible and Strong’s Concordance for a deeper understanding.
Not Just a Rib
Genesis 2:21-22 says that God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, and He “took one of his ribs” and made a woman.
In Hebrew, the word tsela (צְלֶע) doesn’t mean rib. It means side, flank, or beam. Used several times throughout Exodus, it refers to the entire side of a structure (e.g., tabernacle, altar, etc.).
The Hebrew term supports that during creation, God opened Adam’s side and removed substance (not just a rib) to build Eve.
Another key Hebrew word is banah (בָּנָה) for “made,” meaning to develop, construct, or establish. This word connotes that Eve was a structured design, made from Adam.
Back to My Dream and the Liver
God used this specific organ in my dream to draw a line between the natural and the spiritual.
My Strong’s Concordance defines the Hebrew word for liver as kaved (כְבֶד), which shares a root with glory (kabod), meaning heavy, weighty, and honored.
The liver symbolizes the hidden inner glory of the body – filtering life, holding weight, and sustaining purity. In ancient times, the liver was associated with the inner self and deepest emotions; thus, it was burned on altars as part of peace offerings (Leviticus 3:4, 10).
The Liver Scientifically
Biologically, the liver is the largest and one of the most vital internal organs. Even when a portion is removed, it is the only internal human organ that can regenerate itself.
The liver also filters and purifies the blood, stores nutrients, and helps regulate life-giving processes. Without it, toxins accumulate, and life shuts down. Simply put, the liver allows blood to give life instead of death.
The characteristics of the liver correlate with Jesus Christ. His side was pierced on the cross, and blood and water flowed as a vivid picture of purification. His pierced side birthed the Church, just as Adam’s opened side birthed Eve.
The Symbolism of the Liver
The liver can regenerate, and so did Christ.
God caused Adam to enter death through deep sleep and used his flesh and regenerative liver to form Eve, the bride. And they were one.
Next, Eve’s formation established the natural means for life reproduction on Earth.
Later, Christ entered real death and was resurrected. Jesus’ transfiguration established the pathway to eternal life for the Church as His bride.
Adam was the path to all creation. Eve was the path to natural reproduction to populate the earth, and Jesus is the way to life eternally (John 3:16).
So, the regenerating liver is a symbol of redemption. That which was wounded recovers. That which was pierced restores. That which was lost lives again.
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
– 1 Corinthians 15:20–22
Shared Substance is Unity
This revelation changed how I saw Eve’s formation. I used to feel discouraged that, scientifically, Eve was “made” instead of “created” like the stars, seas, or even Adam, each representing a new expression of matter and life.
But Eve wasn’t formed from something lesser; she was drawn from something regenerative that foreshadowed glory, weight, and life.
God also used this to teach me the meaning of unity and covenant. A woman being formed from a man makes her one with him. Covenant isn’t separation, but it’s shared substance and shared glory. God intentionally “made” Eve from Adam instead of a separate “creation” for the purpose of unity.
Glory Revealed
In my dream, I hid in a way that symbolizes something being formed secretly, waiting for its unveiling. What God forms in secret, He reveals in glory.
What was concealed inside Adam was revealed through Eve. What God intended before the world’s creation was revealed in Christ (Revelation 13:8). Now, what Christ enables is revealed in us, the Church.
“It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.”
— Proverbs 25:2
