A STUDY IN GENESIS
Today we are reviewing the rest of chapter two. Many who scoff at God’s word point towards chapter two as being out of place when you have chapter one with such detail. However, what they fail to see is like in chapter one verses one and two, God is going into more detail. He made a statement with chapter one. Now He is going into further specifics on one aspect. He is giving different perspective points of the same event. This might sound strange to us who are only able to perceive in a narrow way. God being all present, all knowing, and all powerful can very much describe from different perspectives the same event that He orchestrated. Chapter two is just that.
He gives more clarity on His creation process and wanting to help the reader who might have had questions with chapter one, see the scientific mind behind the science. God is designing and showing how He is doing it.
Genesis 2:4-6 “This [is] the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and [there was] no man to till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.”
Once again we need to be reminded that during all this time, everything is good. There is nothing wrong. However, God does the unthinkable and creates something in His own image. He creates a man.
Genesis 2:7-9 “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 being. 8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life [was] also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
There is something rather remarkable that we need to identify. God takes dirt and makes man. God breathes life into man. What does this mean? It means that mankind is unique, something that no other thing in creation is. We are the bridge from the natural to the spiritual. We are made in the image of God with the dirt of this World. This is why all life is sacred! This is why all life should be cheerished. This is not an argument against capital punishment, (for which the Bible clearly endorses) but rather is the root foundation for why abortion is wrong. This is why God is so against nations and groups who murder. Remember, if it is important to God, it must be important to us as well.
Many might try to race through and skip verses 10 through 15. However we cannot do that. If it is important for God to say, then it is important for us to study.
Genesis 2:10-15“10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first [is] Pishon; it [is] the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where [there is] gold. 12 And the gold of that land [is] good. Bdellium and the onyx stone [are] there. 13 The name of the second river [is] Gihon; it [is] the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river [is] Hiddekel; it [is] the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river [is] the Euphrates. 15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.”
What does this mean? In short, several things. However, today we will keep it to its most simple equation. These five verses allow us to understand the garden is a literal place, that was on earth. That God’s word is reliable and meaningful. I would encourage you to do your own study into the rivers and why they are labeled in the order and described as such.
Here we come to our first commandment given by God. This commandment must be recognized for what it is. He is giving us free rein! We have the ability to eat what we want. Some will take this and run with it and say that God is giving us liberty to smoke and eat whatever we want. This is not the case. Remember during this time everything is good. The curse of sin has not come. We do not know what fruits, or plants would have interacted with us differently pre-sin.
Genesis 2:16 “16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
We now come to a section of scripture that must be taken seriously. God creates woman. Until this point. It has only been Adam and God. This relationship while being short, has already been given merit. God is in communication with Adam, He is directing Adam, He is protecting Adam, He is establishing Adam in his role within creation. This relationship is perfect. However, God now does something that is new. He has created Adam and recognized Adam’s need. Adam does not know what it is he needs, but God does. Adam doesn’t know how to fix the issue, but God does. Adam is perfect and is in need of God’s action. This should be a huge indicator for us that even when we are following the Lord, there will be times we still need Him to act for us. God is aware of what we need, even when we do not know we need it or know how to answer it. God answers Adam’s need with the best gift outside of salvation. Some might think I am out of place by saying “gift” I am very intentional with this statement. The creation of woman was something Adam did not deserve. He had not earned her, she was presented. Men and women need to remember that. Our relationship is totally based on the Lord, not ourselves. This means we are to act according to His commands period. Our relationships with each other, were designed by God, thus we should follow the designers guidance.
Genesis 2:18-22 “18 And the LORD God said, “[It is] not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought [them] to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that [was] its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.”
What happens next is unique, God established marriage. Ironically, Adam and Eve did not have a choice. Some might call this inappropriate; but in a perfect world, with perfect people and a perfect God, all things fall into perfect alignment. How increadible is the fact God designed Adam perfectly for Eve and Eve perfectly for Adam. Adam understood this perfection immediately because we see the following verses.
Genesis 2:23-25 “23 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.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”
The world has many ideas and definitions of what is right and wrong. Nevertheless God’s definition is different. Only in God do we have a perfect definition designed around the maker of the universe crafting for us the vessel of which man and woman were to be one. God could have been admiring the cosmos, but He was focused on helping us. He could have been seeing the animals do what animals do, instead He was marrying our great ancestors. God created us and was showing the rest of creation just how important we were to Him. Adam announces the establishment of God’s work and prophetically gives orders for the future of mankind. Creation is put on notice, mankind has arrived and is in a very real relationship with God that no other creation can match. As we will see next week, this I believe causes a problem for someone.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,
JL