Genesis 2:14-25

Ge 2:14

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.

 

The next branch of the river is Hiddekel which means “rapid” and it flows east of Assyria which is in the northern part of modern Iraq.  Then the fourth branch of the river is “Euphrates” which means “fruitful.”  Now these four rivers are not around today because they would have been buried and destroyed by the flood of Noah. There were other rivers in the future named with the same name such as the Euphrates or Hiddekel.  And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; (Daniel 10:4)  It is also interesting to note that four is the number of universality and that the river branches off in four branches.  Just like the gospel going forth universally, we have a picture here of the dissemination of the gospel to the entire world.

 

Ge 2:15

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

 

Then after God created Adam, he then placed him in the garden of Eden to dress it which means to till it or cultivate the garden.  To keep it means to “protect and attend” to it.  Even in the garden of Eden, man worked and was not created to be idle.  This was basically for his pleasure and sport because it was not done to sustain man as it was after the fall when man had to work till he sweat to grow the food necessary for survival. Here he also did not have to worry about weeds and insects invading the plants because those things happened after the fall.  Man worked in a pure state.

 

Ge 2:16

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

 

Then the LORD gives Adam command concerning what he was allowed to eat.  God gave him free course that he could eat from any tree in the garden as all were fruit trees and must have tasted great.  Fruit tastes great today but can you imagine what it tasted like without the curse of sin upon them?

 

Ge 2:17

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.

 

Now here is the only prohibition that God gave to Adam and that was he was prohibited from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  This was the tree of testing to see if Adam would be obedient to the LORD.  There were probably hundreds of trees in the garden for Adam’s benefit.  He was not to eat of the fruit of that tree because it carried a death sentence.  The first death would be physical death and the second death would be spiritual death.  They would be separated from God because of sin and the world would now take on the cover of sin meaning animals would be carnivorous, plants would have weeds and insects, the weather would turn against man such as hurricanes and tornadoes, sickness and disease would enter the world, and man’s life span would be shortened because of corruption of the body.  At this juncture, I wonder if Adam knew what “die” really meant as he lived in pure bliss and if he thought it might have just been a penalty of some sort.  I wonder if he understood the full import of that term.

 

Ge 2:18

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

 

Then the LORD said that it was not good for Adam to be alone so he decided to make him a helpmeet which actually means “a helper.”  Man was created a social creature so he would be better off if he had a helper or a companion which was totally suitable for him.  This way there would be the procreation of the species and one who would help him in the duties of the garden.

 

Ge 2:19

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.

 

The LORD had created every beast of the field and yes, that included the dinosaurs and he created every fowl of the air like hawks, eagles and other birds.  Then the LORD brought all the land animals and birds to Adam and he gave them all names and those names were to be permanent.  This event also showed the fact that Adam was created with great intelligence enough to name every creature brought to him.  There is a false teaching called “Open Theism” which attempts to teach that God continues to learn.  The phrase in 2:19 “to see what he would call them” is used as a proof text to show that God did not know the names of the animals and that Adam had to name them for him.  This is a complete heresy because God is omniscient which means he is all knowing.  Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. (Acts 15:18)  Notice the verse states “all his works” which includes the names of the animals and birds.

 

Ge 2:20

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.

 

After Adam had named all the animals based upon their characteristics and saw that each animal had a mate, there was not found a mate for Adam so he was still by himself.  Adam gave the animals their names to show his dominion over the animals which was given to him by God.

 

Ge 2:21

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;

 

Then the LORD, who was now going to create a helper for Adam had caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam which made him totally unconscious.  Then the LORD took one of his ribs and then closed the flesh of Adam’s body.  When the LORD did this he did not leave Adam with one less rib, he had them all.  The LORD was giving us a teaching that the woman would be created from Adam’s rib which means she would be his companion from where the rib was taken from.  She would not be less than Adam or more than Adam she would be equal but with different functions in life. 

 

Ge 2:22

And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

 

Then the LORD created a woman out of the rib of Adam and then he awoke Adam and brought the woman unto her.  It was the first marriage as the Father brought the bride to the groom.  It is also a picture of the bride of Christ being given to the Son.  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)  This is why the belief that a person can “accept” Christ is so evil because it breaks the pattern from the garden of Eden since the Father is the one who brings the bride to Christ as he brought the bride Eve, to Adam.  It all focuses on God’s salvation plan.

 

Ge 2:23

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.

 

Then Adam stating the ultimate intimacy that the woman was now bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh which means that she was part of his physical body at one time.  This is also a picture of the relationship that Christ has to his church.  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (Ephesians 5:30)  We are so intimately interwoven with Christ that we are members of his flesh and bones.  Then Adam states the name of his companion, “Woman” because she was taken from man.  It is the Hebrew word “ishshâh” which means “woman, female, or wife.” 


Ge 2:24

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

 

Then the LORD is setting up the structure of the family which will begin with Adam and Eve.  Once a man becomes marrying age, he is to procure a wife and is to be married to her.  Once they become married, he is to cleave unto his wife.  The word “cleave” means “cling, adhere or be joined.”  They are now one flesh and the husband is to care for, protect and nurture his wife and the wife is to look after and care for her husband.  Marriage makes two people into one unified unit.  He is to cleave to his wife and is to set up his own home and family but that does not mean he cuts off relationship with his parents but it means he now heads up his own home and is responsible for the decisions being made.

 

Ge 2:25

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

 

This was still the time of purity when being naked was not looked upon as something out of the ordinary.  Apparently the garden of Eden was so pristine and comfortable that clothes was not necessary.  Clothing represents the fact that we are in sin and we are to hide our nakedness.  After Adam and Eve sinned God killed an animal and covered them with skins of an animal.  The first thing they did when they sinned was to put on fig leaves because they were ashamed but here sin had not yet entered and being naked was not a sin, especially since they were married.  There were no evil thoughts in their minds.

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