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Genesis Chapter Two
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
(Clicking on these links will move you down this web page) Genesis chapter two | |
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Chapter 2- The creation of Adam and Eve
Genesis 2:1 God owns it all Genesis 2:2-3 God rested on the seventh day Genesis 2:4-15 God created a paradise for mankind Where Was the Garden of Eden? Genesis 2:7 God created Adam What is life? What is human life? |
How does God pass life on?
Genesis 2:16-17 God gave mankind some rules What is Death? What is God's name? Genesis 2:18-25 God created Eve Were Adam and Eve Married? Why did God create you and I? |
God owns it all:
God created the heavens and the earth and all life upon earth. God is the Creator. There is no other source of life.
Whatever you create you own. If you create a painting then it is yours. If you build something for yourself out of wood or steel, then it belongs to you. God created the earth and everything on it so it all belongs to Him. But Satan came along and claimed what belonged to God. That is why in Christian teaching Satan is called the usurper.
Why did God rest on the seventh day?
What do you or I do, sometimes, after we expend a lot of energy? Most likely, we like to sit down and relax. This is one way that we rest. Is it possible that the God of the universe, Who is all powerful, can get tired? If that be so, then we limit Him to having a physical body which is NOT the case. God does not need to rest. God explains truths to us in terms that we can understand. "He rested" simply means that God stopped creating at that time. It means that His work was complete at that time.
At the center of every raindrop
Does God still work? Yes.
I am of the opinion that God was setting an example for us. You and I have a body (a machine if you please) that does get tired. One may suffer from mental and physical exhaustion if over worked for an extended period. God gave to mankind one of the ten commandments to rest one day out of seven and a day to keep holy, meaning a day in which to worship Him. Due to His love for you and I, God is concerned about our physical and spiritual health. Keeping this commandment is for our health. Some of the mistaken Jewish leaders, during the time of Jesus, stated that keeping the sabbath day was necessary for salvation but Jesus stated that it was not
When is the sabbath day?
God created a paradise for mankind to live in:
No rain fell on the earth before the great flood. Vegetation was probably watered with a heavy mist or heavy dew. This may be associated also with the atmospheric firmament that was present in those days.
Where Was the Garden of Eden?
No one knows where the Garden of Eden was. Archaeologists have been looking for the Garden of Eden for a long time. Most of them have the opinion that the Garden of Eden was somewhere in the Mesopotamian Valley, the cradle of ancient civilization, especially in the Tigris-Euphrates valley- a part of the fertile crescent. Ancient tradition indicates that it was near the city of Eridu, a once prosperous city known as the original city of mankind. It was near the Persian Gulf in ancient Babylonia near the ending of the Euphrates River. It appears that the city of Babylon was built about 93 kilometers (150 miles) from Eridu.
"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"
Many folks agree that life is a gift. It is only logical to conclude that where there is a gift then there has to be a Giver.
God created life in the past, sustains life today, and will continue to uphold life in the future. Only God has the power to create life. Satan cannot create life- he can destroy life but never create it. Why? Because Satan is not as powerful as God is.
Life is not a problem to be solved
What is life?
Which came first- the chicken or the egg? In my opinion, God created the chicken first.
"Life is immortality inside of mortality"
What is human life?
Since God is life and mankind cannot be alive apart from God, does that mean that each person is part divine or that there is a spark of divinity in each person? Philosophers have debated this question and there have been many poems written about it. My answer is no. Let the bible speak for itself and don't try to add anything to it. Certain Satanic concepts such as New Age mysticism, spiritualism, and many cults try to elevate the level of mankind to being a god or divinity. That was one of Satan's arguments that he used on Eve to bring her down. Those concepts (including polytheism, pantheism and the such like) are not compatible with God's Holy Scriptures. Ungodly philosophies that you allow into your mind may cause you to doubt God's word and hurt you spiritually. The battle ground is the mind so be careful what you allow to enter it. That is why the Apostle Paul recommended that we put on the helmet of salvation- a spiritual helmet protects our mind from ungodly spiritual contamination
God has placed a warning in His word not to add or subtract anything therein. This is to prevent spiritual heresy, apostasy, and other such things that may lead to one's eternal separation from God. Don't try to twist God's word to make it say something that it does not say. Some folks like to add ungodly ideas and add unbiblical teachings to the bible from their own depraved minds and sinful hearts. God gives a dire warning to anyone who will add or subtract from His word:
How does God pass life on from one generation to another?
Did God give mankind some rules to live by in the bible book of Genesis?
What is Death?
There are three kinds of death: 1) spiritual death, 2) the first death, and 3) the second death (also called eternal death).
What is spiritual death?
What causes this condition?
b) Some folks think that personal choices against God are the cause.
c) Some folks think that demon possession might be the cause. And there are other ideas. However, a person's spirit can "come to life" when Christ enters into him or her.
What is the first death?
What is the second death (or eternal death)?
What happens to a person who dies in this spiritual condition? Each individual has to pay for his or her own sins. Payday is a one way trip to hell. God created hell as the burning garbage dump of the universe- outside and down wind of Heaven (so to speak). Satan and his demons will be cast alive into this burning lake of fire to stay there forever. Any person who dies in their sins- that is without the blood of Christ applied to their sins- will suffer the same fate. Someone once said that God does not send a person to hell, rather, the rebellious and lawless person sends himself or herself to hell.
"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire"
But, there is good news. Any person does not have to pay for their own sins in hell. A person today can invite Christ into their heart and life and have their sins forgiven. Why? Because Christ paid for your sins and my sins with His death as He shed His blood for your forgiveness and my forgiveness. He died in our place as our substitute on that old Roman cross. This gift of salvation is a free gift and all we have to do is to accept it. Invite Christ into your heart right now and experience His presence as you do it. You will find the peace that you have searched for and receive a conscience free of guilt. It is wonderful to have a spirit inside of you that is now alive and know that your sins are forgiven. It is wonderful to start a love relationship with God.
What is God's name?
God walked and talked with Adam. God may have named Adam or God may have had Adam name himself. By what name did Adam call God? Adam probably called Him "the Lord God" (Yahweh Elohim or Jehovah Elohim)
God created Eve:
God created the wife and brought her to her husband. They talked with God and had fellowship with Him. That kind of a relationship is known as the eternal triangle: God, husband, and wife. That kind of a triangle makes for a good marriage. The name "Eve" means "living." Matthew Henry said in his commentary that Eve was taken from Adam's side. God did not take her from Adam's head to be superior to him, or from his foot to be inferior to him, but God took her from his side to be equal with him- to be alongside of him.
Neither of them felt any shame for being naked because they were innocent.
God created for Adam a "suitable" helper. The Hebrew word for suitable refers to one who is face-to-face, so God created for Adam one who he could look at and have good communication with. A male in the marriage relationship, in Old Testament days, was referred to as being "a covering" for his wife. As such, his role was to provide and protect her in every way possible. That is why Ruth (in the bible book of Ruth) was told to uncover the feet of Boaz. She had to take the blanket off of his feet. As such, she was telling him that he needed to be covered up again. And, when he covered up again, she asked that she be included in that blessing. In other words, she wanted him to be her "covering" as her husband and to fulfill his roles to provide and protect her. Those were some of the customs of that day. In a similar way, Christ will be glad to place His blanket of love and protection over you and I if we ask Him to.
Besides the love relationship with Adam and Eve, there are several love relationships mentioned in the bible. As one example, the prophet Ezekiel's wife was "the desire of his eyes"
Were Adam and Eve Married?
In the New Testament, marriage represents a type of relationship between Christ and His universal church. The universal church is called "the bride of Christ." Adam's bride was made from his side while he was asleep. The Bride of Christ was made from Christ's side while He was "a sleep in death" (on the cross). The Roman spear pierced His side there and out came water and blood- symbols of the Lord's Holy Communion (at His last supper) for His church
The marriage between a man and a woman is a divine institution. Here is what Jesus said:
The Creation of Adam and Eve
"Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished"
(Genesis 2:1).
"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. 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"
(Genesis 2:2-3).
is a particle of dust
"And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them:
"My Father worketh hitherto, and I work."
Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God"
(John 5:16-18).
(Mark 2:27).
The Hebrew sabbath day is Saturday, and there are some churches that choose to worship God on this day.
The Christian sabbath day is Sunday- the day that Christ resurrected from the grave, and there are some churches that choose to worship God on this day.
"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, 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. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground"
(Genesis 2:4-6). "And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom He had formed. 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. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison- that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold, And the gold of that land is good- there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon- the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 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. And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it"
(Genesis 2:8-15).
The Garden of Eden was a type of Heaven and paradise. It is thought that Eden was a large area and that the garden was a smaller area located in Eden. The word Eden in English means "delight." A garden generally means an area that is tended and cultivated to produce fruit and vegetables. So this is probably what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. They could eat the fruit of the tree of life in their innocent condition. So, that brings up an interesting question. If Adam and Eve had their own fruit and vegetables that they grew, why did they steal the fruit from God's tree- the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? God did not want them to steal His fruit. Have you ever had someone steal something from you? How did it make you feel?
(Genesis 2:7).
God created Adam:
God created Adam from the dust of the earth. The name Adam means "earthy" or "red". God breathed into man's body a part of Himself (life) that is eternal (the spirit). The human body is not eternal as it will return to dust and ashes on this earth after the life leaves it. The spirit of a person is more important than the body of a person. That is why evangelism is so important- to convert the inner man to Christ because the inner man has been created for eternity. Each person's body is a soul that contains his or her spirit (even though, sometimes, the words "soul" and "spirit" are used interchangeably in the bible). Animals were not created for redemption purposes as God did not breathe into them an eternal spirit. Life is a gift that comes from God:
"For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will"
(John 5:21).
Human life today has such high value because God places such a high value on it. Only mankind has moral consciousness and this is one thing that sets him above the level of the animals on this earth. Because God values human life, Satan diminishes it in every way possible. Satan causes wars and instigates man's inhumanity against man. Many crimes are perpetrated by those who belong to the King of the Perpetrators, Satan.
but a gift to be enjoyed
God created the animals first and gave them life. Then He created a man.
According to one dictionary, life is a quality that distinguishes a healthy and unique being from a dead body or inanimate matter. Or the state of an organism with the capacity for reproduction, reaction to stimuli, and metabolism.
No one seems to know what life is. The scientists do not know what life is. The philosophers don't know what life is. The theologians don't know what life is. I don't know what life is. Do you know what life is? We are surrounded by life on earth and yet, no one knows what life is. The only way we can partly understand it is by the principle of opposites and by the principle of reproduction. The opposite of life is death. Reproduction must take place or the species will not continue to live on this earth. Mankind has limited understanding of these facts but that is all. Mankind with a finite mind, tainted with sin, cannot understand the infinite. God and life in general are beyond our comprehension. No one seems to know what life is.
- Kraig J. Rice
God is life. It is hard to explain life apart from the Creator. Do I have scripture on that? Yes. Jesus said:
"I AM the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me"
(John 14:6).
the battleground
is
the mind of mankind
(Ephesians 6:17).
"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book"
(Revelation 22:18-19).
This is called natural generation. This has nothing to do with natural selection or biological evolution. God has arranged it, according to natural law, for life to be passed on from parents to children through the natural biological process. Or, God can create anyone or anything that He wants to. Or, God has a right to intervene in natural generation to create someone special to fulfill His purpose(s). God is not limited in any way to do what He wants to do, when He wants to do it, and how He wants to do it.
"For many are called, but few are chosen"
(Matthew 22:14).
Natural generation follows natural law. What does that mean? That means that a female dog will give birth to a dog, not a mouse. That a female cat will give birth to a cat, not a hamster. That a female rabbit will give birth to a rabbit, not a snake, etc. This is the way that God has established it, and some folks see God's natural order all of the time- but don't realize His existence. You and I were created by God:
"...bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the ends of the earth; even every one that is called by My name: for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him"
(Isaiah 43:6-7).
Yes. Did God do that to make mankind a docile and obedient slave or to curb his sense of
independence or free will? No. God likes mankind's free will, adventuring spirit, and
creativity. God did not make robots. God's rules are meant to protect and promote mankind.
Let us take a look at a few of those rules:
In the days before God gave Moses His ten commandments, there were rules given by God for all of mankind to live by. What were these rules? Here are some of them:
1) God instituted a sabbath rest (Genesis 2:1-3).
2) God instituted heterosexual marriage (Genesis 2:24).
3) God forbids premeditated murder (Genesis 9:5-6).
4) God instituted the tithe as ten percent of one's income. Abraham paid tithes
(Genesis 14:20), and Jacob paid tithes (Genesis 28:22).
and there were some other rules not mentioned here.
"And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,
"Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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"
(Genesis 2:15-17).
God warned Adam and Eve if they ate the forbidden fruit they would die
(Genesis 2:15-17). Simply stated, death is the loss of life. Death is also a form of abandonment. It is not a pleasant subject to talk about. The spirit of each person is eternal whereas the spirit of an animal is not. Did Adam and Eve know what death was? Since God and Adam and Eve walked together and talked together, I am sure God explained it to them. Did Adam and Eve die after they ate the forbidden fruit (as God said they would)? They each initially died spiritually- they were separated from God. I am sure they repented and told God that they were sorry. Later on, they died physically.
Spiritual death is separation from God. A person can be physically alive but spiritually dead inside. In other words, the spirit inside of a person is dead to God
(Colossians 2:13).
a) Some folks think that original sin passed down from generation to generation from Adam is the cause.
"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me"
(Psalm 51:5. Also see Romans chapter 7).
"If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him"
(Genesis 4:7).
The first death is the death of the physical body. When a person's spirit leaves his or her body, the body is dead and returns to dust or ashes.
If a person is spiritually dead and dies physically, then that person has died in their sins. This leads to permanent abandonment or separation from God and is known as the second death
(John 8:21 & 24).
(Revelation 20:11-15).
"Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile"
(Psalm 32:2).
"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. 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 a wife (an help meet for him)"
(Genesis 2:19-20).
(Genesis 2:4). The original name for God in the Hebrew writings has been lost because the Hebrew scribes thought that it was too holy to write down. Instead, they wrote the alphabet letters JHVH or YHWH for His name. These alphabet letters are called the tetragrammaton. Recent biblical scholars have invented the name of Yahweh or Jehovah from the tetragrammaton. No one knows how accurate these names may be.
"...but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. 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, and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 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. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife- and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed"
(Genesis 2:18, 21-25).
(Ezekiel 24:16).
To answer that question, here is what God said to Eve,
"...thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee"
(Genesis 3:16).
They were considered married in that culture from God's viewpoint. It has been said that when God brought Eve to Adam, God played the part of the Father of the bride. Today, marriages and marriage ceremonies take differing forms according to the culture in which the couple reside. The eternal triangle for marriage is composed of God, man, and woman. The wedding ring symbolizes a marriage circle never to be broken.
(John 19:34; 1 John 5:6 & 8; Ephesians 5:25-32; Revelation 19:7; 21:2 & 9).
"And He answered and said unto them, have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder"
(Matthew 19:4-6).
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As of April 1, 2013
Some folks think that God was all alone in the very beginning. He was lonely, so He created the angels to serve Him. Later, after the fall of Satan to this earth, God created mankind to have fellowship with. He wants a love relationship with each of us. God wants a free-will moral being who will choose to love Him for who He is- one who will choose Him over Satan.