Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Genesis 2 Devotional Bible Study by Steve Wilson

Genesis 2


Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

 

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

 

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

 

Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth[a] and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, but streams[b] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed a man[c] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

 

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 

10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin[d] and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.[e] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

 

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

 

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

 

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

 

But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

 

23 The man said,

 

“This is now bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
    for she was taken out of man.”

 

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

 

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 2:5 Or land; also in verse 6
  2. Genesis 2:6 Or mist
  3. Genesis 2:7 The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah); it is also the name Adam (see verse 20).
  4. Genesis 2:12 Or good; pearls
  5. Genesis 2:13 Possibly southeast Mesopotamia
  6. Genesis 2:20 Or the man
  7. Genesis 2:21 Or took part of the man’s side
  8. Genesis 2:22 Or part

 

 

The 7th Day or the 7th and 1st Days?

Genesis 2:2-3

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

 

Did you know that the ancient Jewish people had a one-day weekend instead of two? How would you like that – going to work or going to school six days a week?

 

The Hebrew Sabbath, or weekend, was one day, Saturday. It wasn't until Christ rose on the first day of the week, Sunday, that Christians began observing a two-day Sabbath, or weekend.

 

In Genesis 2, God blessed us with a one-day weekend to give us a rest for our physical, mental, and emotional health. We need to take a break from everything else we were doing that week and refresh ourselves.

 


With Christ's resurrection, it then became appropriate for us to celebrate the Lord's resurrection on Sunday, the day of the week that He rose from the dead. Taking a break on Saturday is for our physical, mental, and emotional health. Sunday is for our spiritual health.

 

God cares for us as whole persons – our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health – and has given us set times to renew and refresh each of those aspects of our being. That's what the weekend is for. God has ordered us to keep it holy for our own good.

 

 

The Breath of Life

Genesis 2:7

Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

 

In the first chapter of Genesis, we see God forming the earth itself, the land and sea, the plants and animals, and then, briefly the first human beings. Then, in Genesis 2, we focus a little more intently and get a more detailed picture of how God created Adam and Eve.

 

God didn't simply speak Adam into existence like He did with the rest of the plants and animals. Instead, God personally formed Adam. He shaped the soil of the ground perfectly to form just what He wanted and then, He took that form of a man and breathed His own breath into it.

 


God didn't do that with any of the other things He made during creation. This shows how special mankind is to God - that He would personally form Adam and breathe God's breath into Adam's lungs.

 

It reminds us of Jesus breathing on the disciples and telling them to "receive the Holy Spirit" in John 20:22. Talk about God personally forming someone! God spent a moment forming Adam, but Jesus spent three years personally forming these disciples into what He wanted them to be.

 

How long had God been personally forming you? How long has He been working with you and shaping you into that perfect creation He wants you to be? Do you know you can't have true life without Him breathing the Holy Spirit into you? Ask Him to breathe His life-giving Spirit into you anew today and give Him permission to shape you any way He wants.

 

 

It is Not Good for the Man to be Alone

Genesis 2:18

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

 

Why wasn’t it good for the man to be alone? We might think that because we’re in the beginning chapters of the Bible and reading about creation that God wanted to give the man a mate to have children with. But I think the immediate context of this verse gives us a different picture.

 

This verse comes right after God commands the man not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What is this helper supposed to do for the man? Help him to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil! As the next verses tell us, none of the animals could be a suitable helper for the man because none of them could help Adam obey God. None of them could speak to him and remind him of God’s command. None of them could be the second voice of conscience and reason he would need. 

 


Of course, if you know what happens in the next chapter, you’ll know that Adam’s helper did not help him obey God but rather helped him disobey.

 

The question for us is: What kind of helper are you? Are you actively helping those around you obey God? That’s what you’re here for.

 

 

A Suitable Helper

Genesis 2:18

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

 

In Genesis 2, after God made Adam and got him started on his work, God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone." What does that mean - "not good to be alone"? And was Adam alone? He had God. He had the animals. Adam wasn't alone!

 

Except in the sense that he had no equal. God was above him, and the animals were below him; he had no one beside him.

 

Until God put Adam to sleep and made "a suitable helper" for him out of a rib in his side. 

 


Now, it's important to note that Eve was made out of a part of Adam's side because that shows she was Adam's equal. She wasn't made from a part of Adam's head, which would symbolize she was above Adam in status, like God was above Adam. She wasn't made from a part of Adam's foot, which would symbolize she was lower in status than Adam, like the animals were lower than Adam. She was made from a part of Adam's side, symbolizing she could stand side by side with Adam as his suitable helper.

 

However, even though Eve was taken from a part of the man, she wasn't a man. She was a woman. She was like the man but different. And I think it is this different-but-equal status she held with the man that made Eve an even more suitable companion than if she would have been just another man.

 

How has God blessed you equal-but-different companions? These could be a spouse, family members, or friends. How can you work better with that person to more fully complement each other’s' differences?

 

 

Adam Names the Animals

Genesis 2:19-20

Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

 


One of the most interesting things in Scripture is who named the animals. God thought them up, God spoke them into existence and created them, but it is Adam who names them. Just imagine that for a second. God created all of these wonderful, various creatures, and then, it sounds like He lines them up in front of Adam and asks Adam what he would like to call each one.

 

I get the image of God excitedly presenting His creations to Adam as a gift and waiting to see what Adam will think of each one.

 

It's such an amazing thought to think of the gift that God has given us with the creation of this world. Sometimes, you hear about men promising their girl the moon. No one can give someone else the moon, but God did give us the world. 

 

Of, course, the gift came with responsibility. Earlier in the chapter, God sets Adam in the Garden of Eden "to work it and take care of it."

 

As you go through your day today, thank God for this amazing gift of the world He's given to you and think about the responsibility you personally have to take care of it.

 

 

One Flesh

Genesis 2:24-25

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

 

In Genesis 2, the Scripture says that when a man and woman get married, they become one flesh. In 1st Corinthians 6:16, it says that when a man has sex with a prostitute, he becomes one with her in flesh. So, what does it mean to become one flesh with someone?

 

First, let's think about this very literally. What does a man do with his wife that he can also do with a prostitute? Have sex, right? When a man and a woman have sex, whether they're married or not, a part of the man's body enters the woman's body. They're joined. He is inside her. They are one flesh for as long as penetration lasts.

 

When Paul tells us not to become one flesh with prostitutes, he's telling us to not defile our bodies because our bodies, being inhabited by God's Holy Spirit, being members of Christ's Body as part of the body of believers, are holy themselves.

 

So, we need to exercise discretion. We only want our bodies to be one in flesh with someone who is also a member of Christ's Body, who is also holy themselves. 

 

That's part of why Paul tells us not to be unequally yoked as well. As holy beings, even in body - not just in spirit - we need to be joining ourselves to, or becoming one flesh, only with a partner who is also holy. 

 

 

Do you have another insight into Genesis 2? Please share below!

 

 

 

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