STUDY THEME: QUESTIONS ABOUT ORIGINS. 8-11-02
"HUMAN BEINGS: WHY GET PERSONAL?" GEN. 2:7-9, 15-25.
Gen. 1:26-27, 2:4-7, 8-9, 15, 16-17, 18-20, 21-23, 24-25.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO GENESIS 1:26.
Last week we were introduced to this four week study of "Questions about origins" with Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." On the first day, light was diffused thus replacing the void and darkness. On the second day God created a division of the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. The waters above are the waters in the atmosphere.
On the third day God called the dry land to appear and created vegetation. The use of the "evening" and the "morning" simply means that each creative day was a period of time marked off by a beginning and an ending as the sun did not become a measure of time before the fourth day. On the fourth day, light sources (sun, moon, and stars), were created. They determine days, years and seasons, and gave light upon the earth.
On the fifth day animal life in the water, on the land, and in the air was created by the word of God. This brings us to the climatic sixth day when the question is asked, "What makes human beings so special?"
God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. God placed man in a garden of trees that were good to see and to eat. Two special trees were in the middle of the garden: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man was to cultivate and take care of the garden.
God commanded man to eat of all the trees except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned that eating from this tree would be fatal. Declaring that it was not good for man to be alone, God created animals from the ground, but none of the animals was a suitable helper for the man. Then God created woman using a rib from the man’s side. God brought her to the man, who said she was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. When a man and woman marry, they, become one flesh.
Vs. 26 is the second part of the creation on the sixth day. The first part was animals; the second part was human beings. The first issue that is raised in Vs. 26 is the meaning of let us. What does us mean here? Some see it as a plural of majesty. Others see it as an early reference to the plurality of the Godhead. Although the doctrine of the Trinity was not formulated and articulated as such until the Christian era, Gen 1:2 and 1:26 are compatible with this doctrine.
The second issue in Vs. 26 is the meaning of the creation of human beings in God’s image. "Image" is used figuratively here, for God does not have a human form. Jesus said in John 4:24 "God is a Spirit." Much has been written and said about what this means. It does not mean what pantheists teach—that some of God was placed in all created things. At least one meaning of being created in God’s image is that each human was created with the capacity for personally relating to God. That was part of the divine purpose of creation; that we have the capacity for spiritual fellowship with Him.
Another aspect of God’s purpose for human beings is that they have dominion over the rest of creation. This means that humans are stewards or trustees over God’s creation. The Bible affirms that God had purposes in mind when He created the universe and human beings. However, because of sin all things are not under man’s dominion. Heb. 2: 5-8 says that at His’ second coming, Christ will reestablish dominion over all the earth.
It is often said that Genesis 2:4-25 is a second account of creation differing from that in Genesis 1:1-2:3. In point of fact, however, Gen. 1 tells of the creation of the whole universe, including man and woman; while Gen. 2 specifically describes the origin of man and woman without repeating the story of creation recorded in Gen. 1. Thus Gen. 2 says nothing of the creation of light, of the separation of the waters, or of the formation of sun, moon, and stars. Nor does it actually describe the creation of vegetation or of animals. Actually, only two creative acts are involved in Gen. 2: the creation of man and the creation of woman. There is no contradiction between the order in which they are described and that of Genesis 1. The account of creation in Gen. 2:4-25 supplements and complements the account in Gen. 1:1-2:3.
Notice in Vs. 5 & 6 that before there was any plant life, God had a mist rising out of the earth like a heavy dew or shower to water the whole face of the ground. The rain will come years later after Noah has completed the building of the ark.
In Vs. 7 that from which the man was formed was the dust of the ground. Ground is adamah, a word play on the word for man, adam. The man will be called Adam for the first time in Genesis 3:17. What does it mean to say that the man was formed from the dust of the ground? For one thing it shows his oneness with the rest of the divine creation. Later in the chapter, Vs. 19 says that God formed the animals from the ground. Thus in one sense, human beings are kin to the rest of creation, most like the animals in structure.
The words in 1:26-28 and 2:7 point to the uniqueness of the human creation by God. Human beings were made in God’s image, something that is not true of any other of God’s creatures.
Gen 2:7 bears witness to humanity’s uniqueness by pointing to the fact that God…breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. This reminds us that life is the gift of God and that human life is distinctive and significant because God breathed into human beings His own breath. This explains why people have an emptiness that only God can fill.
Matthew Henry wrote, "The body of man was made of despicable matter; he was made of the dust of he ground, a very unlikely thing to make a man of; but the same infinite power that made the world of nothing made man, its master piece, of next to nothing. He was made of the dust, the small dust, such as is on the surface of the earth. He was not made of gold-dust, powder of pearl, or diamond dust, but common dust, dust of the ground. Hence he is said to be of the earth. And we also are of the earth, for we are his offspring, and of the same mold.
The soul of man takes its rise from the breath of heaven, and is produced by it. It was not made of the earth, as the body was; it is a pity then that it should cleave to the earth, and mind earthly things. It came immediately from God; he gave it to be put into the body (Eccl. 12:7).
Hence God is not only the former but the Father of spirits. Let the soul, which God has breathed into us breathe after Him; and let it be for Him, since it is from Him. Into His hands let us commit our spirits, for from His hands we had them.
To God, that gave us these souls, we must shortly give an account of them, how we have employed them, used them, proportioned them, and disposed of them; and if then it be found that we have lost them, though it were to gain the world, we shall be undone forever. When our Lord Jesus anointed the blind man’s eyes with clay perhaps; he intimated that it was He who at first formed man out of the clay; and when He breathed on His disciples, saying, Receive you the Holy Ghost, He intimated that it was He who at first breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life. He that made the soul is alone able to new-make it.
The Bible thus teaches that man is kin to the rest of God’s creation, but he also is unique in his capacity for relating to God. The two false extremes are of understanding man to be only an animal with no moral or spiritual life and of deifying man as if he were God. Humans not only enjoy life as a gift from God but they enjoy a share in God’s own life, the life God enjoys. This privileged life is not shared by, or true of, other life forms.
The garden God planted in verse 8 was a magnificent garden Paradise unlike any the world has seen since, where God had fellowship with those He created in His image. Thus man was placed in a perfect setting. The garden proved to be the arena for man’s test of obedience.
God planted a garden for Adam. The situation of this garden was extremely sweet. It was in Eden, which signifies delight and pleasure. The place is here particularly pointed out by such marks and bounds as were sufficient, I suppose, when Moses wrote, to specify the place to those who knew that country; but now, it seems, we just suppose in Babylon, which we now called Iraq.
Verse 9 makes four points about the trees in the garden. First of all, they were pleasant to the sight. This is a description of the beauty of God’s creation. Second, the trees were good for food. The fruit of the trees was delicious and nourishing. God provides us with good food. Third, in the middle of the garden was the tree of life. This reinforces the gift of life already given by the Lord. His purpose was that people might have that kind of life that only He can give. Fourth, also in the middle of the garden was the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
God gave the man two tasks in the Garden of Eden. Dress can be translated "work." Keep has the idea of guarding or taking care of the garden. Two important truths are in verse 15. For one thing, this shows that work was part of God’s original creation. After sin came into the world, satisfying work became grinding toil. However, God’s original purpose was that people find meaning in their work. The Bible presents work as a calling or vocation. For too many people, work is meaningless and grinding toil; for the believer, work should be fulfilling and a means for sharing with others.
The other truth is that humans are to take care of the rest of God’s creation. Thus Genesis 2:15 reinforces the message of 1:27-28 about having dominion over the rest of creation. This does not mean that humans can misuse and exploit the rest of creation; it means that God has entrusted the care of the creation to human beings. Christians have been accused of exploiting the creation based on the Genesis commission. Some may have done so in the name of their religion, but they completely missed the point of the responsibility that God entrusted to humanity.
The same God that was the author of man’s being was the author of his bliss; the same hand that made him a living soul planted the tree of life for him, and settled him by it. He that made us is alone able to make us happy; He that is the former of our bodies and the Father of our spirits, He, and none but He, can effectually provide for the joy of both.
We see that man has a position between God above and nature below. We are not to try to be God, nor are we to be only animals. We are to be humans who relate in faith and obedience to God and fulfill His will in relation to the rest of His creation.
4. PLEASE READ GEN. 2:16-17.
Command is a strong word. These verses contain the first recorded words of God to man. God’s first command to man concerned life and death, good and evil. What is good? It is good not to eat of this tree. What is evil? It is evil to eat of this tree. Notice the bounty and positive nature of the first command. God told the man to freely eat of the fruit of every tree of the garden. However, in verse 17 God named one notable exception. The words freely eat and every tree of the garden, point to all the good that God intended for the man. He was free to eat from the good fruit of any and every tree. When the tempter spoke to Eve later, he ignored this bountiful provision and focused only on the one prohibition. What was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
Eating from the tree of knowledge stood for a claim to be able to make one’s own decisions about good and evil. This statement fits the devil’s claim that Adam and Eve would be as gods if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God is the One who declares what is right and what is wrong. Adam and Eve wanted to go their own way and to make their own decisions about right and wrong.
This interpretation surely fits modern theories and practices about moral issues. The prevailing view of our time is moral relativism. This theory denies that God and His Word can dictate absolute moral standards. Each person is free to decide what is right and what is wrong.
Why did God give human beings this choice? God knew the risks of freedom. The Bible never explains in so many words, but the implication is that God made us free so we might choose to serve God. The Creator could have made creatures that were programmed to go through the motions of worship and obedience, but love must grow out of freedom—otherwise, it is not love.
An important corollary of freedom is accountability for our choices. Many people today want freedom to choose, but they refuse to accept the accountability for their choices. Many fall back on some theory of determinism. They claim that our choices are not made freely but are predetermined by some power other than our own, perhaps our heredity and environment. All of us are influenced by many factors, but if we are free, we are ultimately accountable for our choices.
God told Adam in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Victor Hamilton’s translation is, "But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it, for as surely as you eat of it you shall die."
Up to this point in the Bible, everything has been pronounced good; but verse 18 focuses on something that was not good. For the man to be alone was not good. This statement and the way in which God met this need testify to the fact that people need people. Adam needed another person, and a wife in particular.
Help meet means ‘help’ in the sense of aid and support and is used of the Lord’s aiding His people in the face of enemies. Moses spoke of God as his ‘helper’ who delivered him from Pharaoh, and it is often associated with ‘shield’ in describing God’s protective care of His people.
God formed animals and birds out of the ground. Then He brought them unto Adam, who exercised his dominion over them by naming each one. However, among all these there was not found an help meet for him. Animals can be good companions sometimes, but none of them can fulfill the need that only another person can provide. "For Adam no suitable helper was found." "Suitable" literally means "like what is in front of him." Thus the suitable helper would be one who complemented him and fulfilled him.
Man was formed out of the dust of the ground; woman was formed out of the flesh and bone of the man. In both cases, God was the One who formed them. This supplements Gen. 1:27. Throughout Genesis Ch. 1-2 are many indications that God made man and woman of equal value, but there are implications of the distinctive roles of each. Their equal worth is affirmed in both being made in God’s image and in the one-flesh union of husband and wife. Nothing diminishes the equal worth of man and woman, but some things do point to distinctive roles.
God brought her unto the man. In a real sense, God Himself performed the first wedding ceremony. A wife fulfilled the role of helper suitable for the man. She complemented him in every way. The first recorded words of Adam are in verse 23. This represented a commitment to his wife that is comparable to the marriage vows. His words show that he considered her to be an actual part of him.
Marriage is a covenant, not just an agreement. It calls for commitment. Too many people approach marriage as if it is only an agreement, which can be broken if it needs to be.
Genesis 2:24 is one of the most important verses in the Bible. In Matt. 19:5 Jesus quoted it, and so did Paul. Jesus quoted it to show that God’s original intention for marriage was that one man and one woman commit themselves for a lifetime union to show that the one-flesh union of marriage is a sign of the union of Christ and His church.
Verse 24 makes several crucial points about marriage. Family is the foundation for society, and marriage is the foundation for the family.The marriage relation takes precedence over other social and even family relations. A husband leaves his boyhood home and becomes one with his wife. Their relation takes priority even over the important relationship to parents. This awareness would have saved many a marriage.
The husband shall cleave or "be joined", unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Marriage is to be a lifetime one-flesh union of one man and one woman. This includes sexual union, but it also includes all that makes a married couple one. Paul referred to this verse in explaining why sex outside of marriage is immoral (1Cor.6:16). In Gen. 2:25 we see that the context in which nakedness is appropriate is within the one-flesh union of marriage. This signifies the total vulnerability and total trust of husband and wife who have become one flesh.
What lasting truths are found in verses 18-25?
NEXT SUNDAY LET’S GO TO GEN.3 AND SEE "WHAT WENT WRONG?"
A.V. DAUGHERTY 08-11-02