GENESIS, CHAPTER TWO

INTRODUCTION:

1.Chapter One states the general facts of creation.

2.Chapter Two adds some (not all) details of the creation of man and woman.

2:1 THUS THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH WERE FINISHED, AND ALL THE HOST OF THEM.

2:2 AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY GOD ENDED HIS WORK WHICH HE HAD MADE; AND HE RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORK WHICH HE HAD MADE.

A.AND HE RESTED: God would never need physical rest - Isa 40: 28, HAST THOU NOT KNOWN? HAST THOU NOT HEARD, THAT THE EVERLASTING GOD, THE LORD, THE CREATOR OF THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, FAINTETH NOT, NEITHER IS WEARY? THERE IS NO SEARCHING OF HIS UNDERSTANDING.

B.This says He ENDED HIS WORK, that HE RESTED...FROM ALL HIS WORK. That is, He stopped His creative WORK, because it was FINISHED (Verse 1), it was complete, nothing could be added.

C.He did not cease to work - Jn 5:17, BUT JESUS ANSWERED THEM, MY FATHER WORKETH HITHERTO, AND I WORK.

2:3 AND GOD BLESSED THE SEVENTH DAY, AND SANCTIFIED IT: BECAUSE THAT IN IT HE HAD RESTED FROM ALL HIS WORK WHICH GOD CREATED AND MADE.

A.BLESSED THE SEVENTH DAY, AND SANCTIFIED IT: This does not say when He did so. Moses is looking back, writing many years later (we do not know how many); Note that he says IN IT HE HAD RESTED.

B.It therefore would be a misuse of Scripture to try to make this verse prove sabbath keeping now, or any time. God does not here command sabbath keeping, and He may not yet have SANCTIFIED the day.

1.The word SABBATH does not occur in the Bible before Ex 16, and there is no command or example of seventh day observance before then.

2.To learn when God commanded Israel to keep the sabbath, see Neh 9:14 in context (Neh 9:1-14), and also see Deu 5:15.

2:4 THESE [ARE] THE GENERATIONS OF THE HEAVENS AND OF THE EARTH WHEN THEY WERE CREATED, IN THE DAY THAT THE LORD GOD MADE THE EARTH AND THE HEAVENS,

2:5 AND EVERY PLANT OF THE FIELD BEFORE IT WAS IN THE EARTH, AND EVERY HERB OF THE FIELD BEFORE IT GREW: FOR THE LORD GOD HAD NOT CAUSED IT TO RAIN UPON THE EARTH, AND [THERE WAS] NOT A MAN TO TILL THE GROUND.

2:6 BUT THERE WENT UP A MIST FROM THE EARTH, AND WATERED THE WHOLE FACE OF THE GROUND.

A.Verses 4-6 give a summation of the details in Chapter One about plant life.

B.Verse 5 has been taken by some as a definite statement that it did not rain before the Flood; However some have draw the inference that there was rain:

1.This seems to be speaking of time prior to the 3rd day of creation, before there were plants.

2.This is the time before there was A MAN TO TILL THE GROUND.

3.It says THERE WENT UP A MIST FROM THE EARTH (not that it came down) -- evaporation and condensation bring rain!

4.But an indication that the rain of the Flood was a new experience for humanity may be included in the Hebrew writer's statement that before the Flood Noah was WARNED OF GOD OF THINGS NOT SEEN AS YET - Heb 11:7.

5.Also note that Verse 10 says the Garden was watered by a RIVER, which again would suggest that there was no rain.

6.Whether or not the mist arose and perhaps spread out over the land, and this was the only water the land received, this is showing us Who is the Maker of weather and climate; It was God Who started the process.

2:7 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.

A.Now we are given some details of the summation in 1:27, SO GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS [OWN] IMAGE, IN THE IMAGE OF GOD CREATED HE HIM; MALE AND FEMALE CREATED HE THEM.

B.GOD FORMED MAN OF THE DUST OF THE GROUND: My body (and yours) is "a little ball of mud," which will go back to dust from whence it came (in spite of ancient Egyptian and modern American embalming technology) - Ecc 12:7, THEN SHALL THE DUST RETURN TO THE EARTH AS IT WAS: AND THE SPIRIT SHALL RETURN UNTO GOD WHO GAVE IT.

C.LIVING SOUL: In the original, this is the same as MOVING CREATURE in 1:20, and LIVING CREATURE in 1:24.

1.So this could not be used as a reference to Adam's spirit; It just shows that he became a LIVING/breathing being.

2.If we want to show that human beings are infinitely more than that, we turn to Zec 12:1; 1Th 5:23; Jn 11:25-26; etc.

D.Man was not made until the whole of the earth was created and properly formed. He was the highest glory of God's creation, and everything else was prepared for him before he was brought into existence.

E.Note that after God had made the man's body, the man still did not have life.

1.He was not yet breathing because the part which was to be in God's image was not yet living in his body.

2.It was only after God gave him life that he became a person who could know, love, and obey God.

3.Note that no created being or object could give him life.

4.Only God could do that; God is distinct from all created things, and greater than all things He created.

F.Adam was the first and only man God created from the ground; From his time every person has been conceived in and born of a woman (by natural reproduction, not by a miracle)(of course, Jesus is the lone exception to this rule or law of nature. His Divine entrance was definitely a miracle. Many deny that Mary conceived via the Holy Spirit, and that she had been promiscuious. Of course, this is heresy of the worst kind.cs).

1.Satan would have us believe we all came from different sources, rather than our all coming from God through Adam.

2.See Acts 17:24-29; Heb 12:9; Psa 8:3-9.

G.Human beings are different from animals -- God breathed THE BREATH OF LIFE into man after the animals were created.

1.Animals have minds, but not the kind we have. They can be good company as pets, and some of them can do work.

2.But they cannot communicate with us in speech and writing; They do not have the ability to share our thoughts and make the kind of decisions we make.

H.This shows us that we are related to God, and that He cares for us; Let us be thrilled to read further!

2:8 AND THE LORD GOD PLANTED A GARDEN EASTWARD IN EDEN; AND THERE HE PUT THE MAN WHOM HE HAD FORMED.

A.GARDEN: The original carries the idea of "a fenced place."

B.EDEN: The original word means "delight."

C.Although Adam was a free man, note that in the very beginning he was required to fit into the circumstances of the time and place -- God did not ask him where he wanted to live; Rather, God planted the Garden, and HE PUT THE MAN there.

2:9 AND OUT OF THE GROUND MADE THE LORD GOD TO GROW EVERY TREE THAT IS PLEASANT TO THE SIGHT, AND GOOD FOR FOOD; THE TREE OF LIFE ALSO IN THE MIDST OF THE GARDEN, AND THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL.

A.Included in that beautiful Garden were all the vegetables and fruits that Adam needed to keep him happy and healthy; And all of it produced abundantly, without any hindrance from weeds or storms or any other unpleasantness.

1.A few plants would have been enough, but God's love poured out colors, textures, tastes, frangrances, varieties beyond what can be imagined -- Adam's situation was perfect and lovely in every way (except for human companionship).

2.What God was then, we can trust Him to be now - Psa 18:30, AS FOR GOD, HIS WAY IS PERFECT: THE WORD OF THE LORD IS TRIED: HE IS A BUCKLER TO ALL THOSE THAT TRUST IN HIM.

3.Also Psa 145:17, THE LORD IS RIGHTEOUS IN ALL HIS WAYS, AND HOLY IN ALL HIS WORKS.

B.TREE OF LIFE: One of two very important trees. This one apparently could supply unending quality life.

C.TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL: We know very little about this one, except it obviously was the object necessary to give to Adam the opportunity to exercise his right to make his own moral decisions. Some have suggested it was the tree of knowledge of the difference between good and evil. (Of course, we see that Adam did not recognize his or Eve's nakedness before the eating of the fruit. Chapter 3 will give us much more information about this tree. Another note; It is never mentioned again in the scriptures, thus it was a one time entrance into the realm of sin for mankind. Notice 1 Cor 15:22 and Rom 5:14. We see that up until the consumption of the fruit of this tree, perfection was abounding and that death and decay were impossible. But in the grand scheme of things, God still knew that one day the fruit would be eaten, for otherwise God would not have purposed before the foundations of the world that the Christ would become the Savior of mankind Eph 1:4. cs)

D.The last page of Revelation comes bending around to touch man's Genesis in sin, showing us that Heaven will restore us to the wonderful TREE OF LIFE - Rev 22:1-5.

1.Also note Rev 2:7, TO HIM THAT OVERCOMETH WILL I GIVE TO EAT OF THE TREE OF LIFE, WHICH IS IN THE MIDST OF THE PARADISE OF GOD.

2.We now live in the "parenthesis" of time in which we have the choice to flee to Christ for salvation, then to engage in the warfare and struggle of OVERCOMING, and thus to live with the promise of Rev 2:7.

2:10 AND A RIVER WENT OUT OF EDEN TO WATER THE GARDEN; AND FROM THENCE IT WAS PARTED, AND BECAME INTO FOUR HEADS.

2:11 THE NAME OF THE FIRST [IS] PISON: THAT [IS] IT WHICH COM-PASSETH THE WHOLE LAND OF HAVILAH, WHERE [THERE IS] GOLD;

2:12 AND THE GOLD OF THAT LAND [IS] GOOD: THERE [IS] BDELLIUM AND THE ONYX STONE.

2:13 AND THE NAME OF THE SECOND RIVER [IS] GIHON: THE SAME [IS] IT THAT COMPASSETH THE WHOLE LAND OF ETHIOPIA.

2:14 AND THE NAME OF THE THIRD RIVER [IS] HIDDEKEL: THAT [IS] IT WHICH GOETH TOWARD THE EAST OF ASSYRIA. AND THE FOURTH RIVER [IS] EUPHRATES.

A.We do not know the location of the Garden (Verse 8 says it was EASTWARD IN EDEN).

B.There are no modern rivers named Pison and Gihon; Those who study geography tell us the Hiddekel is the modern Tigris.

C.Knowing the locations of the Tigris and Euphrates, we conclude that Eden was in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, which seems to be the cradle of civilization), but we do not know if the configuration of the land and rivers was changed by the Flood, so we leave this in the realm of the unknownable. (Very interesting point. There are several events in history that is recorded in God's word that could result in the changes in topography of the land and surrounding regions. The flood is just one possiblity. Another possibility is the time when the sun stood still in the days of Joshua 10:13. Theoretically this would produce massive upheavels in the earths crust. Next time you get to look at a mountain range, see if you cannot see the massive upheavel that caused such splendor. The evidence is obvious in many places. Where the strata would be level and horizontal on the plain, at the mountians it is vertical and diagonal and shows evidence of great chaos. cs)

2:15 AND THE LORD GOD TOOK THE MAN, AND PUT HIM INTO THE GARDEN OF EDEN TO DRESS IT AND TO KEEP IT.

A.Man was not made to be idle, but to look after God's things here on the earth. He was given pleasant work to do (there was no hard labor yet, and would not have been if sin had not been allowed to disrupt the perfection).

B.The Garden did not belong to Adam, and none of the world belongs to us -- We are only stewards - cf 1Co 4:2.

2:16 AND THE LORD GOD COMMANDED THE MAN, SAYING, OF EVERY TREE OF THE GARDEN THOU MAYEST FREELY EAT:

A.GOD COMMANDED THE MAN: Adam was given the responsibility to DRESS and KEEP the Garden; Now he is given a direct command.

B.THOU MAYEST FREELY EAT: God's desire was that Adam choose to love and serve Him, and thus have the right to live forever in the abundance God provided for him.

2:17 BUT OF THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL, THOU SHALT NOT EAT OF IT: FOR IN THE DAY THAT THOU EATEST THEREOF THOU SHALT SURELY DIE.

A.This COMMAND left Adam with the privilege and responsibility to make a choice -- He could do something, or not do it.

B.God could have made this first man (and all the rest of us as his descendents) so he would have no choice -- For God, like the heavenly bodies which do the same thing every day/month/ year, and for us, like clothes, food, cars, pencils, etc.

C.In such case, Adam would have to do everything that God made him do, without any choice. He would have been as a robot.

D.But God chose to give Adam (and us) the right to decide if we want to obey Him or disobey Him (with wills, in His image).

1.This is a sovereign right of ours (God-given); Satan cannot take it from us, and God will not violate it.

2.We are not unrestricted -- We are restrained by law, hedged in by circumstances, controlled to a great extent by outside forces; But the basic freedom to love and obey God is always ours (and the right to exercise that freedom).

E.Just eating fruit was not wrong; This was not a moral test.

1.It was a religious test, to see if Adam would obey God.

2.God still has religious tests for us today: Baptism, the kind of music we use in worship, the makeup and function of the church, etc. -- None of these have anything to do with whether one is moral or immoral, but they are vital in determining if we will obey God.

F.Note that it was not left to Adam to decide what was right and what was wrong -- God gave clear instructions; Adam's part was to love and obey, which would bring pleasure and glory to God, and good to Adam. As with Adam, it is our part to learn and do the right - Phi 1:9-11; Rom 12:9.(When a child obeys a parent, it is expected and the parent recognizes such behavior. But when a child goes out of their way to do something special for the parent, it puts a sense of gratitude upon that parent and they beam with pride and do what they can to announce to the world what wonderful thing the child had done. If we simply obey God because we are supposed to, there is not much glory in it for God. But if our love motivates us to do something special for the Lord, he is most certainly glorified. We can be sure that if we do something to cause God to be glorified, he will consider us blessed. See Matt 5:16. cs)

G.Adam could obey God and eat what God said was good, believing that God's choice was the best for him.

H.Or he could decide to be independent of God, and gain the KNOWLEDGE and practice of EVIL -- Up until this time He had only experienced GOOD things, the things of God.

I.God's warning to him was pointed and absolutely clear -- IN THE DAY THAT THOU EATEST THEREOF THOU SHALT SURELY DIE: The full Bible teaching on the death penalty for sin involves:

(1) separation from God in life (Isa 59:2; Eph 2:1; 1Ti 5:6), with the possibility of reconciliation (on God's conditions), then

(2) separation from the body at death, and

(3) final separation from God forever in the lake of fire.

1.For Adam, spiritual separation from God would be the death of a wonderful relationship with his Heavenly Father. It would be separation from the Source of life and good, and it would make him an enemy of God.

2.His separation from the body would not come that same day, but he would be cut off from the Source of life, starting the processes of mortality (being subject to disease and the frailties of the body), and it would be only a matter of time until he died physically.

3.Final separation would be (will be) the result of choosing Satan's "reward" through disobedience, instead of enjoying God's Presence and the glory of serving Him forever.

J.Question: How could Adam live so long (930 years - Gen 5:5)?

1.His physical perfection and the total absence of pollution must have had a great effect.

2.God may have kept people alive longer in order for them to replenish the earth.

3.There may be reasons we do not know.

K.Question: Did God have the right to tell Adam what to do?

1.Yes; He was wiser than Adam, He knew what was best for Adam, He knew the truth.

2.He loved Adam and wanted what was best for him, as well as not wanting to be separated from His own child.

3.God still knows what is best; He knows the truth; And He has given us the revelation of His Mind, so we can know the truth, and live in His fellowship - Mt 4:4.

4.Since THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF KNOWLEDGE (Pro 1:7), then let us listen to God with overwhelming respect for Him as our Creator, our Owner, the holy and righteous One Who demands death as the payment for sin.

5.May our prayer ever be that of the Psalmist: Psa 119:73, THY HANDS HAVE MADE ME AND FASHIONED ME: GIVE ME UNDERSTANDING, THAT I MAY LEARN THY COMMANDMENTS.

2:18 AND THE LORD GOD SAID, [IT IS] NOT GOOD THAT THE MAN SHOULD BE ALONE; I WILL MAKE HIM AN HELP MEET FOR HIM.

A.This is the first time God pronounced anything as NOT GOOD.

B.He knew the superiority of man over animals (that a dog is not "man's best friend").

C.God made this decision, not Adam; He did not ask Adam what he wanted, or what he thought best.

D.How clear it is, even from the beginning, that God knows what is best for His children.

2:19 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.

A.This is the first time the man is called ADAM; The name literally means "red earth" (mud!)

B.God could have named everything, but He created Adam as a perfect man with a perfect mind, and immediately began giving him serious responsibility.

C.He gave Adam dominion over the earth and the animals - Gen 1: 28, 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.

D.As the ruler over EVERY LIVING CREATURE, Adam now is given the right to name each one.

2:20 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.

A.HELP MEET: Two words; Not a "helpmate," but a "suitable helper" -- One answering to his needs, a perfect companion.

B.One fitting this description was not to be found, for only Adam was in the image of God; Only he could know, love, and obey God; The animals know nothing of such things.

C.Adam needed a human being who could think as did he, and with whom he could talk; He needed someone like himself.

2:21 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;

**Someone observed that in this Book of Beginnings, this is the "beginning" of surgery!

2:22 AND THE RIB, WHICH THE LORD GOD HAD TAKEN FROM MAN, MADE HE A WOMAN, AND BROUGHT HER UNTO THE MAN.

A.It is also often observed in marriage ceremonies that the woman was not taken from Adam's head, so as to rule over him, nor from his feet, to be trampled upon by him; But from his side, where she is to live under the protection of his arm and to assist him in life.

B.That wedding poetry sounds pretty, but the Bible does not say that is the reason for God's taking a RIB.

C.She was given to Adam as a part of himself, that he might love and care for her, and that he might receive her love and care in return.

D.No doubt the animals were all interesting to Adam, but imagine his delight in seeing this lovely creature who had intellect, emotions, and will power, who could communicate with God and with Adam, who could meet his reproductive and social needs.

2:23 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.

A.Woman, taken from his side, was presented to man literally as a part of him (BONE OF MY BONES) to be his companion and helper. Each is the perfect complement of the other; Neither is to degrade or belittle the other.

B.The first home (the unit of society) was established, and every detail needful for the happiness of man was provided.

1.In our culture the sanctity of marriage has been almost obscured by the selfish desire to control one's own life, to submit to no one, and to sacrifice for no one.

2."Sanctity": Holy, sacred, pure, untouchable; Man and woman are in the image of God, and when they marry they are given sacred responsibilities toward Him and toward each other.

3.The popular modern ideas of "living together," or "trying marriage for a little while" are of Satan.

2:24 THEREFORE SHALL A MAN LEAVE HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER, AND SHALL CLEAVE UNTO HIS WIFE: AND THEY SHALL BE ONE FLESH.

A.The LEAVING of father and mother is not a forsaking, but it is a "cutting of the apron strings."

B.The CLEAVING to the spouse is literally a "gluing together," a clinging together, so as to be inseparable, and is God's order for marriage for all ages - Mt 19:3-9.

C.ONE FLESH: Perhaps even more than the ONE BODY of 1Co 6:16.

1.They are ONE in thinking, aims, goals, purposes.

2.They are a unit of society - cf Eph 5:22-25.

D.Marriage is not for children; It is for the responsible, who are able to stand on their own, to make their way in life, and to shoulder the duties this union brings.

2:25 AND THEY WERE BOTH NAKED, THE MAN AND HIS WIFE, AND WERE NOT ASHAMED. A.This is pure innocence: They were unaware of their nakedness, and were totally unembarrassed. They did not yet have even an inkling of anything evil, immoral, or wrong in any way.

B.They were in a beautiful Paradise, serving a loving Father, doing productive work, with no sickness or heartache.

C.At the close of the creation account, note there is no mention or any hint of an "evolutionary process;" Every animal, and also man and woman, were brought into being by the special creative acts of God.

D.Be reminded, before looking to Chapter Three, that human beings are in the image of God -- Having intellect so as to be able know God, emotions so as to be able love God, and a will to choose to obey God.

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