Verses 1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 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. 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.
These verses summarize chapter one and give us insight into the character of God. He rests. If we are to be like Him, we have to have periods of rest also. Too often believers are over extended in their commitments to church, family and career and fail to take time to rest. This does not necessarily mean laying in bed all day or sitting in the recliner with the TV on. It can mean just taking time to enjoy God’s handiwork by going out into His creation and experiencing something other than the usual activities of life. Jesus is recorded in the Gospel accounts to have taken time away from his followers just to be alone. Regardless of what a person does, we need to pursue time away from the work of life to refresh our souls and our spirits so that we can face another day.
The seventh day of creation does not end with the statement, “and the evening and the morning were the seventh day.” Why not? Perhaps because this day does not end. It is an eternal sabbath day for the LORD, indicating that everyday for the believer is a sabbath day and to be dedicated to God, to serving Him and to bringing Him glory by how we live our lives.
Verse 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,
The word translated as generations above indicates results or proceedings and this is where Moses repeats some of the creation information and then gives the reader more details regarding the creation.
Verses 5-6 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. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
Before the flood during Noah’s lifetime the earth was watered as stated above, and there was not any rain. So when Noah began building the ark because he knew there was going to be a flood, the people just laughed at him because they had not experienced rain and did not know that the sky could open and drop water upon the earth which would kill them.
Verse 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.
Here Moses gives the reader more insight into the creative process God used to make man. Basically, the composition of the human body has been chemically identified as mostly water with various minerals found in soil along with sugars and other components introduced through the consumption of food. So, for God to use atoms and molecules of materials He had already created and placed on the Earth as the building blocks of flesh and bone makes a lot of sense. Our God is a practical being. But the formed shell of man laying on the ground had no significance until God breathed life into it. Only then did man become a living being with a soul (mind, will and emotions) and with a spirit that could communicate with his God, who is also Spirit. Just as God uses the number three throughout creation, He created man with three distinct components: flesh, soul and spirit.
Verses 8-14 And 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 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. 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 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.
These verses imply that, even though the Earth was covered with grasses, plants and trees, God made a special garden place just for man to dwell in and enjoy. Perhaps that is why most people today seem to feel the need to cultivate a special garden place at their houses or apartments where they can enjoy the beauty of flowers or the bounty of fruits and vegetables.
The four rivers recorded here are spoken of by Moses in the present tense. Ethiopia, the Euphrates and the land of Assyria are all present today. So scholars and lay persons alike have attempted to pinpoint the location of Eden by the location of these landmarks as recorded in the Scripture. However, when Noah’s flood covered all the Earth, these landmarks should have been destroyed and/or moved or removed. So how and why would Moses know and record this information if it wasn’t both important and accurate? Since he was born and raised in Egypt and spent the majority of his life in the wilderness, first with his father-in-law’s sheep and then with the Hebrew people, it is doubtful he was personally familiar with the geography outside of Egypt and his wilderness travels. Well, the answer to the question above is for you, the reader to ponder if you so desire. But one possibility is that it was revealed to Moses by God where Eden had originally been and that the landmarks Moses lists became part of the landscape after the flood. Regardless, Eden was a real place and God wanted that fact recorded in His scriptures.
Verses 15-17 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
The LORD had created the whole earth, but He chose to put man in this specific garden where he was to care for it. The word “dress” in the above verse translates as “serve.” Therefore, the garden was not just there to brings pleasure to Adam, but it was there to give him a place to serve. It was more than a job. It was to be a place where Adam freely gave of his time to keep the garden beautiful and in a manner that would be pleasing to God.
Application: Just as Adam originally had a place to serve, each and every believer today has a place to serve in the Kingdom of God. It may be just visiting a neighbor that is shut in or helping to keep the local park free of garbage and litter, or being a missionary or a pastor of the local church. Praying is a ministry of service and something that everyone can do without special training or equipment. And of course, providing financial resources to Godly and valid institutions is always a way to serve God and man if the LORD provides the resources and directs you to do so. We were created to serve and serve we must in order to please both the LORD and ourselves.
Verses 16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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.
Even in a perfect world, there are rules. Adam was warned not to eat of just one tree out of the thousands of trees that had been created, and it seemed like it would not be a difficult task to comply with. The punishment for breaking this rule was to be death, not just physically, but spiritually. Before sin entered the world, man was designed to live forever on the earth, never to see sickness or death. Not knowing the difference between good and the lack of good provided an innocence and purity of mind and body that would keep man from getting sick and dying. To know evil, one has to know the Devil who is the father of evil. To know only good keeps one focused on the LORD and His goodness. So not only would breaking this rule and sinning against God cause physical death, man would be separated from his God as well.
Verse 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.
God recognized the human need for companionship and marriage and family.
Verse 19-20 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. 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.
It is tempting to believe that our ancestors were not as intelligent as we are today and that we have gotten smarter with each new generation. After all, look at all the technology we have at our disposal. But have you ever tried to name a newborn infant or a new dog or cat? It is not an easy task and often takes a long time before we are satisfied with our name choice. But Adam provided a name for every creature that had been created. That had to be thousands of names when considering all the creatures.
Verses 21-23 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; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 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.
Genesis is the book of firsts. Here we have the first recorded surgery and state of anesthesia in which tissue was removed from the very first man and used to create the very first woman. How this was accomplished boggles the finite human mind, but God is not constrained in any way and His creative methods cannot be questioned. What needs to be noted here is that all people have their origin in the man Adam. How male and female chromosomes became XY and XX to distinguish the sexes is not known. Perhaps this identifying difference in the cells of the human body occurred after the fall with the entering in of sin into the world. Or perhaps it occurred at the time of Eve’s creation. Regardless, male and female were created and in a state of perfection at this time. God could have been content with just two people in the Earth, but His plan was for procreation of all creatures, including man, so that the Earth would be filled with those that He loved.
Application: Today we are seeing a rise in the number of people that are not content with the sex they were born with and who wish to become other than what they are. Transgenderism is being promoted in all forms of media and print material. It appears to be fast becoming a popular thing to promote and to participate in. Anyone who opposes this trend and who believes that it is wrong is ridiculed and vilified by the press and others in power and may be accused of a so called “hate crime” which may open the dissenting person up to prosecution and punishment. However, even though a person can go through extensive surgery and hormone therapy to change their outward appearance to that of the opposite sex, God has marked each and every one that has ever been born by the construction of the cellular chromosomes. A transgendered male to female will always carry male, XY chromosomes in his cells and a transgendered female to male will always carry female, XX chromosomes in her cells. The outward appearance may fool the public, but the body’s cells cannot be changed and will tell the truth. God will not be mocked. He doesn’t make mistakes and each and every one is born a boy or a girl by His design and will.
Verse 24-25 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
God’s perfect plan did not include all the sexual confusion we are seeing today. As some have said, “He did not create Adam and Steve.” For the human race to survive, men and women have to produce children. Since this cannot naturally occur with two people of the same sex, common sense should lead people to understand the perfect harmony of God’s plan for the lives of men and women on this Earth and to want to be in His will and perfect plan.
Application: Any believer who is considering a same sex relationship or union is not in God’s will. Plain and simple! The Bible calls it sin, and unrepentant sin that is repeated will stop a person from reaching Heaven at the moment of death. Is momentary fleshly lust worth an eternity in Hell? You decide.