Genesis 2:1-13
Ge 2:1
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the
host of them.
God had finished the creation of the earth, the universe
and all the planets and stars it contains along with the heavens above the
earth. In scripture the term hosts
may also be applied to angels, so it is not certain if the angels were created
at this time or if they were created in the past.
The angels are ministering spirits unto the true believers.
13 But to which of the
angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
footstool? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to
minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? (Hebrews 1:13-14)
They are also sent forth to do other things which the LORD decrees them
to do.
Ge 2:2
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.
Then when God completed his creation, he rested on the
seventh day. The word “rested” is
the Hebrew word “shâbath” which is in the Qal stem which means “to cease or to
stop, to come to a complete standstill.”
In other words, on the seventh day, there was absolutely no work done by
God concerning the creation. It
became the basis for the Sabbath observance which is contained in the ceremonial
law of God.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it
holy. (Exodus 20:8) It became
number four in the Ten Commandments.
Since the Sabbath observance was in the ceremonial law, Christ fulfilled
all the requirements of that law and we no longer keep the seventh day Sabbath,
instead we celebrate the Lord’s day on Sunday commemorating his resurrection.
In fact, the Sabbath was actually changed to Sunday, This was done in the
Scriptures by God himself and not the Roman Catholic Church.
This can easily be seen in the following Scriptures:
Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1; and John 20:1 where the words for
“sabbath” are used in the Greek text.
Keeping the Sabbath is the only one of the Ten Commandments which is not
written in the New Testament, the other nine are.
Ge 2:3
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.
The principle found in this verse is that God had rested
on that day and set it apart as a day of rest, not that he needed the rest, but
he was giving it as an example for man that we need to come apart and worship
the LORD on that day making it day of devotions.
Man is to come apart out of the world for at least one day per week as we
do work on six of the seven days.
If you notice on the seventh day, we do not find the phrase “evening and
morning.” This was to be the
essence of the seventh day Sabbath which became an integral part of the
ceremonial law. After the cross, it
was changed to Sunday. The cross
became the dividing line for many things.
Ge 2:4
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,
Then we are given a more detailed account of the creation
as chapter one was an overview but now we get some details which are found in
the following verses. The term “in
the day” does not signify a specific day but is used as the general time frame
for the creation of the world and universe.
The words “that the LORD” is the first revelation of the personal name of
God “Jehovah.” It is not Yahweh
because that is the name of some desert god and is found in the modern versions
because they used a manuscript which took the Hebrew vowels and changed them
thus changing the name from Jehovah to Yahweh.
Yahweh is a derogatory name for God the Father and should never be used
by Christians.
Ge 2:5
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.
This verse goes back to the third day of creation when
plants and trees were created for man.
The plants of the field and the herbs of the field before they grew means
they were created by the LORD before they were planted in the ground to grow
which became the way plants and trees grow as we know today.
If the canopy theory is correct, then there was no need for rain because
it would keep everything at a stable temperature, no cold or excessive heat
which means the plants would grow accordingly.
Not only was there no rain to grow the crops but there was still a lack
of a man to till the ground. Man
was not created until the sixth day and the plants on the third day.
Ge 2:6
But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the
whole face of the ground.
This showed that before the fall, there was a mist which
was in the sense of an enveloping vapor which emanated from the ground which
irrigated the entire earth. If this
is still the third day, then the sun was not yet created till the fourth day so
it would have no effect upon the mist.
Apparently it came from the earth and maybe it was fed by many aquifers
as it had the capabilities of watering the entire earth by means of being a mist
which would be gentle but effective in watering the land.
Ge 2:7
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.
This is the sixth day of creation as we get the details
of the creation of man. The word
for “man” in the Hebrew is “âdam” pronounced “aw-dawm.”
Then God took the dust of the earth and formed man.
There are many similarities between the elements found in the earth and
those found in our bodies. At this
time the man was just a dead lump of clay until the LORD placed in him the
breath of life and that made him a living soul.
At this time he was able to eat, work, think, reason, etc.
He was now able to walk and to perform whatever had to be done.
Man was created in a pristine state as sin had not yet entered into the
world.
Ge 2:8
And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and
there he put the man whom he had formed.
Then came the place of testing for the man.
The LORD created a very beautiful garden in Eden.
The name “Eden” means “pleasure or delight” and the exact location is not
known. Some believe it is in Syria
based upon Amos 1:5.
I will break also the bar of Damascus,
and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the
sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity
unto Kir, saith the LORD. (Amos 1:5)
Some think it could be near the Persian Gulf.
Wherever it was it is no longer with us.
It was a place where the man had everything that he needed and would
sustain him and was a real of paradise on earth.
Ge 2:9
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.
Then on the third day were the trees and plants formed
but here in the Garden of Eden, we are given special insight that God made every
tree which was beautiful and good for food.
There was no meat eating at this point because meat eating would involve
the death of an animal and there was no death before the fall.
Then God make special note
of two specific trees, the first is the tree of life which was in the midst of
the garden. It is interesting that
we read about the tree of life in both the beginning of creation and at the end
of it.
Blessed
are they that do his
commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in
through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14)
The tree of life in Revelation is a picture of Christ who hung on the
tree for the Elect of God resulting in eternal life.
Then the second tree which is given is the tree of knowledge of good and
evil which was the tree of testing.
This tree would determine whether man would live on earth in a state of
perpetual life or until death takes him because of disobedience.
Apparently there were many trees which Adam and Eve could have resorted
to but it seems that they only gravitated toward one, the one which causes your
pain and sickness today.
Ge 2:10
And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and
from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
The river had gone out of Eden is unknown today because
it was covered over in the flood of Noah.
This river was big enough to water the plants and trees in Eden and it
was big enough that it was divided into four heads or beginnings of the other
rivers when it flowed outside of Eden.
Ge 2:11
The name of the first is Pison: that is it
which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
The first name of the river is Pison which means
“increase.” It may be pointing to
the
future land of Cush of which Havilah was one of his sons.
And the sons of Cush; Seba, and
Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba,
and Dedan. (Genesis 10:7)
Apparently in this area there was gold.
Ge 2:12
And the gold of that land is good: there is
bdellium and the onyx stone.
There must have been gold which was of high quality and
purer than most. Bdellium is an
aromatic gum which is found in Arabia, India, Media and Babylon.
The Onyx is a light color stone is found in the mountains of Arabia and
is considered to be a precious stone.
Ge 2:13
And the name of the second river is Gihon: the
same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.