Genesis 2:4, is the beginning of the second scroll.
The first of ten scrolls that begin with, elleh toledoth, which
means: these are the generations of… or, history of… or, something similar.
When you see a phrase like that in Genesis, you’ll know it’s the start of a new
scroll.
The Almighty Creator takes on some new roles. See if you can spot Him as a, Potter,
a Gardener, a Medical Technician, and a Matchmaker.
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. Genesis 2:4-6.
Did you notice the change in point of view?
This verse, this scroll, is viewed from the vantage point of man.
This is the first time we see, LORD,
(tetragrammaton: the four Hebrew letters transliterated, YHVH, or, YHWH,
to form the proper name of God). Pronounced, Yahweh, or Jehovah.
Up to this point, every time (thirty-five
times), the word, God, (Elohim), stands alone.
However, now the word, LORD, is
added; LORD God; Yahweh Elohim.
For the rest of this chapter and the next,
our Creator is always referred to as, LORD God; Yahweh Elohim, (twenty
times).
Well, except for one conversation that never
should’ve happened. In chapter three Eve chats with the snake (satan), and they
both fail to say, LORD, when mentioning God. The snake three times, and Eve
once.
The snake couldn’t.
Eve should’ve.
If you’re ever in a conversation where you’re unable or unwilling to call Jesus LORD; check the thoughts and intents of your heart.
Now, some folks say this account of
creation sounds contradictory to the first (in chapter one).
Make no mistake. There is no
contradiction here, or anywhere, in the Bible. Remember the first chapter (the
first scroll; Genesis 1:1-2:4) is an introduction, an overview; chapter two zooms
in and fills in the details.
We begin with a God’s eye view, and then drop in to a man’s eye view.
In chapter one, we’re created in the
image of God; in two we draw close and see how it’s done.
In one, the earth receives plants and
trees; in two we’re placed in a personal paradise to tend and keep the plants and trees.
In one we’re given dominion over the
animal kingdom, in two we get to know them, and name them.
One introduces the Creator; two introduces
man, and sets the stage for the fall in three.
One introduces the Hero; two, the damsel
in distress; and three, the villain.
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 being.
He’s doing what?
Is this the same Almighty Elohim, who
spoke worlds into existence?
He who made our galaxy which takes 100,000
years to cross riding a beam of light at 186,000 miles per second. The One who
made the sun, which could hold 1.3 million planet earths.
Him?
Wow.
Okay, maybe the best way to grasp this is
to jump into the scene. Let’s say, you and your friend are a couple of angels.
You’re searching for Him. And…
Look! There He is!
Where?
Right there. Can you see Him?
Uh, noooo, that can’t be right. He’s, He’s
is He…kneeling?
In the dirt.
I can’t believe it.
Multitudes upon multitudes kneel before
Him. But Him…kneeling?
How can this be?
Now look. What’s He doing?
He’s moving the dirt, piling it up,
smoothing it out, forming it, shaping it.
I know. I can see. But what in the
universe…I mean why?
I have no idea.
Oh, I think He’s done.
No, wait.
He’s leaning over the pile of dirt.
Oh, my spinning galaxies.
Whoa. He’s kissing the dirt?
No, you feather head, He’s not kissing it,
He’s blowing, breathing, into it.
Oh. Yeah, but that still makes no s—
WHOA! IT’S ALIVE!
W-w-wonder if we should kneel?
Uh, I don’t know…maybe.
Yeah, maybe. It, k-kind of looks like… Him.
LORD God, Yahweh Elohim, our personal, promise making, covenant keeping, LORD.
He created our world, then steps into our
world, and offers Himself; His very breath, to give us life.
About 4,000 years later, Jesus came, lived, died, rose again, met with His disciples and said: as
the Father has sent me, so send I you and He breathed on them and said, receive
ye the Holy Spirit.
8 The Lord God planted a garden
eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
First, God formed dirt, to make man; now
He plants in dirt to make a paradise, for man.
Looks like God enjoys getting His hands
dirty.
They say the first recorded parable
Jesus told is about sowing & reaping. Mark 4:1-20.
He starts in a garden (Eden, Genesis 2:8).
He preprayers for battle in a garden (Gethsemane, Luke 22:44). He’s placed
in a garden (Garden tomb, John 19:41). He ends in a garden (Paradise of God,
Revelation 2:7). Which really isn’t then end, but just the beginning.
(Did you see the Gardner?)
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.
Do you see the thoughtfulness of
our LORD. He made things appetizing, appealing, and delicious. Thank You,
Father.
We also see, the selfless depth of His
love, in that He offers freedom, of choice.
The tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil. Two trees. Life and death. Choice.
We’ll come back to these trees in a
moment. And, one day, if you know Him, you will literally taste and see one of
the trees, and its variety of fruit—that changes monthly. Revelation 2:7, 22:2,
14.
To the one who overcomes, I will grant the
right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God. Revelation 2:7.
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.
We don’t know the location of these today,
because Noah’s flood changed the topography of the earth.
We know what God gave us. I read that Pishon
means, increase. And Gihon means, bursting forth. Hiddekel means,
rapid. Euphrates, means, fruitfulness. Just another reminder of
the blessed, fruitful, abundant land and life God originally designed.
GENESIS 2:15-17
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden
to tend and keep it. 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.”
Notice in paradise, before the fall, before
the curse, he was given, work and responsibility.
Tend the garden; work.
Don’t eat from that
tree; responsibility.
Work and responsibility
are a blessing, not a curse.
God gave a command; not a suggestion.
God is Love, and in Love, is liberty;
which gave man freedom to obey, or disobey. Not the right. The freedom.
Freedom of choice, doesn’t mean that
whatever you choose, is right.
lucifer and crew had freedom to choose; they
chose wrong, and earned a one-way ticket to the lake of fire.
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.
A couple of firsts, here.
Genesis 2:19 may be the first time we see
the word, Adam, in English, however, it’s been there each time we saw
the word, man. In Hebrew, the word for man, is Adam.
This is also the first time we see, “not
good…”
Adam might not have known that it was not
good for him to be alone.
But God knew and He went to work to fix
it.
How?
He enrolled Adam in husband training,
of course.
What do you call one who tends and keeps and
cares for a garden?
Husbandman.
Those skills transfer well into tending
and keeping and caring, for a family.
Next, God sends a bunch of animals to Adam. So Adam gets busy naming the animals. Kangaroo. Donkey. Monkey. Lion. Cow. Flat Billed Platypus. Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear…
God had given man dominion over the
animals, and naming them cemented the fact. It caused him to take ownership of
his surroundings, to pay attention and participate, not just lay around on a
fig leaf couch eating bananas.
But something else had to become painfully
obvious, to Adam. There’s a Mr. and Mrs. Kangaroo, and donkey, and monkey and
lion, and cow and flat billed platypus, Papa Bear, Mama Bear…
But where’s Mrs. Adam?
What’s up with that? Wish I had a Mrs.
Adam.
Herein we see a marvelous principle of
how our LORD brings things into our lives, blessings we don’t even know we need.
Delight yourself in the Lord and He
will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4. (Delight; Hebrew: anog; to be soft, delicate,
dainty).
That definition for “delight” didn’t sound
right to me. I had to pray about it.
This is what I saw:
Imagine a newborn babe is dropped on your
doorstep. Whether you want to or not, the way you treat the baby will be soft,
delicate, dainty. By definition, you will “delight” in the baby. Which
will result in bonding, and loving the precious child.
Likewise, if we treat things of God, His Word,
Prayer, Church, with soft, tender loving care; whether we want to or not, we’ll
grow to bond and love the One who loves us most.
Do you wonder why only the man needed
husband training? None of the male animals? Was it because man was so dumb, so
numb? Or, perhaps, because he was about to receive the crowning jewel of creation, a gift that is all at once,
precious and powerful, yet, soft, delicate dainty? Was it because he needed all the preparation
he could get, to properly, tend care and keep, such a priceless pearl?
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.
Do you see the Medical Technician?
(Perhaps, Great Physician, is more accurate).
22
Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He
brought her to 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.”
Did you know, ribs regrow? All bones in
the human body are able to mend, but the rib bone can regenerate.
Did you know God performed the very first
wedding? This is it.
Adam was simply being about His Father’s business,
and while he slept, God was at work making someone for him.
God made her, got her ready, and then the
First Father, led the first daughter, down the first aisle, while the animals
played the wedding march.
There she stood. The most beautiful woman
on the planet (only woman), without spot or wrinkle, holy and without
blemish. Wearing nothing but a smile; but clothed with the radiant glory of
God, just like Adam.
He was wide awake now! Wo-man! She’s like
me! She’s a part of me. She’s the one that I want!
God knew Adam would be pleased—especially after
staring at those hairy animals all day. There was one thing left to
say, “You may kiss the bride, and be fruitful and multiply.”
Notice a comparison:
Adam slept (a death of sorts) and his side
was pierced; from which, his bride was born.
The second Adam, Jesus, slept (in death), His
side was pierced, blood shed for the remission of sin, from which, His Bride was
born.
And one more thing.
Notice, that while God worked, and Eve got
ready…Adam just slept. (Perhaps why men take naps, while wife does dishes—it’s
scriptural. 😉.
(Did you notice the Matchmaker?)
Only two more verses.
GENESIS 2:24
The Mystery of Marriage
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father
and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
This is important. Don’t fall asleep.
Yes, God created and initiated the first
wedding. Family is God’s Divine design, and idea. Yet, there’s something more
to all of it.
A Divine Eternal Purpose.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ
also loved the Church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might
sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27
that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or
wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish...
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his
wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great
mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:25-27, 31-32.
Its about Jesus.
Genesis Chapter two ends with the most
innocent, intimate, sentence ever written:
The purest phrase of unfettered, unadulterated
love. Nothing hidden. No agenda. No skeletons. No shame. Completely comfortable
in their own skin. Naked, open, vulnerable, but not afraid, or ashamed. The way
God intended for us to live.
25 And they were both naked, the man and
his wife, and were not ashamed.
Let’s pray.
LORD Elohim,
Search us, if there be any naked place where
we’re not clothed with You, show us. Help us come to You for cover; not worldly
fig leaves.
Thank You.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
NEXT:
The snake hates and attacks God’s divine
design.
Genesis 3:1 “Has God said…?”
A question is all it takes. Doubting God’s
Word is dousing the flame of faith. Darkness and sin are soon to follow.
All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Hebrews 4:13-16.
Prayer Requests:
Text: 612-554-2522
Email: pray4measap@aol.com
WATCH: The Garden of Eden, Genesis 2
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