Verse 1. "Thus the heavens and the earth
were completed, and all their hosts."
This verse and the ones that immediately follow are like
a flourish, a brief statement of what was already reported in Chapter One. The “heavens and the earth” were now complete, put into place by
a series of sudden, dramatic events ordained and carried-out by Almighty God.
More detail about the Creation of all that was and is will be added in this
Chapter, which can be viewed somewhat as a “microscopic” view of certain aspects
of Creation, as opposed to the “macroscopic” view reported in Chapter One.
Moses, the human author of this Book we call “Genesis,”
was prompted to write by the same Holy Spirit who was seen “hovering over the face of the waters” in Genesis 1:2. The
Spirit not only participated in our Creation, but He also does much more – all
the Books in the Bible came into being through His prompts to willing hearts.
Those who are willing to have faith in the Lord, such as Moses, along with you
and me, receive that Spirit, who gives men and women the ability to write and
speak the words that come from God. The “heavens and the earth were completed,”
and so are we when we trust in the Lord.
Verse 2. "By the seventh day God
completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all
His work which He had done."
Everything was done; there was nothing more to do.
Galaxies, bacteria, land animals, plant life, sea creatures, the many species
that fly in the air – it was all complete. Complex processes like photosynthesis
were occurring. The various gases and other substances in the atmosphere and the seas – it was all
there. No evolutionary developments were needed because there was nothing more
to do. In the universe, one form of energy might be turning into another, but no
new matter or energy was being brought into the universe through black holes or
any other source. The work was “done” and that is
what is meant by “rested” in these verses.
When we take a day, such as the “Sabbath,” and rest from
all of our work, we are giving credence to these verses in Genesis, whether we
know it or not. If we select a day like Saturday or Sunday and abstain from work, it is a
day to reflect that it was God who created all things in finished form and
nothing more was needed. Maple trees, fir trees, Banyan trees, all were in
existence at that time and there was no need for one type of life to evolve into another.
Verse 3. "Then God blessed the seventh
day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had
created and made."
And now on the seventh day, “God…
rested.” He was not in any way tired for He is God.
It was simply – done! Unlike Him, we DO need rest, which is reflected in His
commandment that we not only rest on one day of the week, called the “Sabbath,”
but also we are to encourage others to rest as well (Exodus 20:8-11). The
Pharisees, a group of religious leaders at the time of Jesus, interpreted this
as merely a day when no work was to be done, but it’s more. This “rest” is an opportunity to remember the God who created
us; to ponder Him, to discover His sufficiency for us and find His great love.
As it says in Hebrews 4, we enter the “rest” of God
when we trust in His Son.
It is a rest from struggling to find God on our own
terms. When Jesus was asked, “What shall we do, that we
may work the works of God?” He answered, “This is
the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John
6:28-29). The simple act of believing, of having honest faith in the Lord is what has
characterized every man and woman of God who has ever lived. As it says in
Hebrews 4:3, “we who have believed enter that rest.”
Verse 4. "This is the account of the
heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made
earth and heaven."
We know from Genesis Chapter One that six days were
involved in the creation of all that is. The Hebrew for “day”
in each of those creative events is the word “yom,”
and a form of that word is used in this verse as well, but with a difference. In
this verse, the six days of Genesis One are described as “the
day” when “the Lord God made earth and heaven.”
In other words, “yom” can mean one day or it can
refer to an event that took several days. In other places it can also refer to
an indeterminate period of time.
The variety of meanings that can be attached to this
word have given rise to differing theories about the meaning of the word “day” in the preceding chapter. Some have taught that each
“day” in Genesis One could be hundreds, thousands,
even millions of years in length, but the wording of that Chapter does not
support such a theory. God spoke and “called the light
Day, and the darkness He called night; so the evening and the morning were the
first day” (Genesis 1:5). That verse spoke of the rotation of the planet
on its axis in relation to a source of light in space. Those were simply “days,”
which may have been slightly longer or shorter than the 24-hours we know, but
they were “days” in a way that all can understand.
Verse 5. "Now no shrub of the field was
yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God
had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground."
When it says in this verse that “no
shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet
sprouted,” the emphasis is on the word, “field.”
In other words, farming was not in existence at that moment because there were
not yet any people to do the cultivating and reaping of crops. It does not mean
that some of the plants came into being after the creation of mankind.
As we will see in this verse and in Verse 6, the
hydrosphere, the water-systems, and the atmosphere of this planet were not quite
the same at that time as they are now. Presently there is no protective “belt”
of water at the top of the atmosphere, as we saw in Genesis 1:6-7. It
subsequently FELL during the Genesis Flood and is presently within the great
ocean basins of our present time. Another very interesting difference is, as
this verse relates, that there was no “rain upon the
earth,” which will be discussed in the next verse.
Father, You created us; You created all things.
We are Your creation and so is everything and everyone in our lives. We
love You and place our trust in the Lord. We praise Your Holy Name.
In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 2:6-10
Verse 6. "But a mist used to rise from
the earth and water the whole surface of the ground."
The topography of the earth at the time of these verses
included shallow seas and much larger land masses than today. The vegetation was
lush, but the land did not receive water in the same way it does at the present
time. As
it was said in Verse 5, “the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth.” He used
another method: “a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface
of the ground." This dense, fog-like condition carried a lot of water;
enough to soak - everything!
This was even though probably fifty percent of today’s water was, at that time, suspended above the
atmosphere, as we saw in Genesis 1:7-8.
This created a greenhouse effect on the earth which ended
at the time of the Genesis Flood. The absence of rain probably meant there were no
clouds, either, and the orbital water was likely in the form of ice or ice
particles, undoubtedly altering the appearance of the sky for an observer
on the ground. The greenhouse effect of the orbital water, along with the dense,
humid fog-like conditions occurring daily at ground level, is consistent with the
stratified record of the tropical earth conditions that existed in the far
distant past.
Verse 7. "Then the Lord God formed man
of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and
man became a living being."
We were given a glimpse of the creation of humanity in
Genesis 1:26 & forward. Now in this Chapter, God's creative event is shown once
more, but this time it’s a closer look from a different perspective. If the
universe was not made out of previously created materials, as some say, humanity
WAS made from previous materials
– out of the common "dust from the ground." It is true that the same fourteen or so
elements that are found in ordinary dirt, are the same fourteen or so that occur
within our bodies. And note that this was not the “dust” of the Garden of Eden,
for the man would be placed INTO the Garden, AFTER he was formed (Verse 8).
It was not necessary for God to initiate this secondary
process for our creation, and so He must have had a specific purpose in doing it
in this manner. An important purpose, of course, is to create in us a tendency
toward humility rather than pride. If we are made out of the "dust from the ground,"
it is more difficult for us to be proud about who we are and what we think of
our accomplishments.
At the instant the events in this verse began, the
process of breathing and the circulation of bodily fluids had not yet begun
occurring within the “man” of this verse. He was formed on the sixth day, but he
was still dead, not yet alive. God not only formed us, but He also generated
LIFE into us. Without the creative action of God, we are physically dead.
Without the creative touch of God, we are no more than animals, and without Him,
we are spiritually dead. With Him, we are made ALIVE.
Verse 8. "The Lord God planted a garden
toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed."
Thousands of years later, when 72-Jews in Egypt were
translating the Old Testament from Hebrew into the Greek language of the time,
they searched for a word to use in translating the word “Eden” in this verse,
into the Greek. The word they selected was “Paradiso,” which has come into
English as the word “Paradise.” When Jesus was being crucified, 2000 years ago,
He turned to the thief on another cross who had just said, “Jesus, remember me
when You come in Your kingdom,” and replied, “Truly I say to you, today you
shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). The word Jesus used in the New
Testament rendering of that account was “Paradiso.” The repentant thief would be
in Eden.
It was in Paradiso, in Eden, that the Lord God placed
Adam, the man whom He had formed and it was to Eden that the repentant thief
went after his death. The way into Eden was soon to be closed to mankind after
the moment of this verse in Genesis, but the
way is once again open in Christ Jesus, our Savior and Lord. God has very special and
positive plans for us. Our future is bright, beautiful and filled with wonder.
After the Fall of man, the world was still beautiful, but significantly less so
than Eden. After the Flood, it was less beautiful still. Even today, after we
have polluted our nest for thousands of years, there is still much beauty in the
world. This place is degenerating, but our future contains certain HOPE in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
Verse 9. "Out of the ground the Lord God
caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the
tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil."
This “garden” was very special. It was wonderful to an
extent that we cannot even imagine it. The trees that God “caused to grow”
contained fruit that was “pleasing to the sight and good for food." It would
stagger us if we knew the extent of them. When we go into a market, there are a few kinds
of fruit, often including apples, bananas, oranges and pears, etc., but the
kinds in Eden were more than we know. It is said that in the geologic column,
there is evidence that for every kind of animal or plant that we have in
existence today, there are at least hundreds that are no longer in existence on
this earth.
What must any “supermarkets” have been like before the
Flood? What was the food in Eden like before the Fall? The earliest people were
vegetarians and it would not have occurred to them to be anything else, because
what they had been given was so “pleasing” and so “good.” Every vitamin and
mineral was provided. Every need was met. And their taste buds were utterly
satisfied by what was offered to them. There was no such thing as obesity; no
such thing as need. They had it all.
And they lived in a world where only one thing could go
wrong. They were given “LIFE” through the "tree of life," whatever it was, and
they were given a test in the form of this “tree of the knowledge of good and
evil,” which we will see again in Verse 17.
Verse 10. "Now a river flowed out of
Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers."
An objection to this verse and the verses that follow,
has been based on the assumption that Eden, as a “garden” would be a somewhat flat
place – how then, they have wondered, could such a place produce a significant
“river… that became four rivers?” Looking around today’s world, we can see
rivers that flow from high places, formed in mountainous places, producing
water from snow-melt, and we conclude, “that’s the way it happens!” But not
always.
Like the food we eat, which seems to the come from the
money we earn, but in reality, the food (and the money) really comes from God,
the real source of all water and everything else – comes from Him. In Ezekiel
47:1 & its context, Ezekiel the prophet was taken by the Lord to the Temple and
he was shown water, a lot of water, flowing out of that Temple. It only came up to
his ankles initially as it flowed from that place, but the further away he went,
the deeper it became. It went up to his knees, his waist and then it reached a
depth where he would have had to swim. Water does not merely come from the
mountains, the Temple or the Garden of Eden – it comes from God.
Lord, we need You. We can see from these verses
that You created everything, including our own
bodies, and that much has been lost from this world. Since You are the creator and sustainer of
life, we entrust ourselves to You. Thank You, Lord, for creating us, and
for re-creating us in Christ Jesus. We praise Your Holy Name. In
Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 2:11-15
Verse 11. "The name of the first is
Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold."
As we saw in Verse 10, a significant river streamed from the Garden of Eden, flowing out to other parts of the world. The river
“divided and became four rivers” and this verse names one of them, the river “Pishon,”
a word that may be translated as “freely flowing.” The word “Havilah” may best
translate as “sand-land.” The name “Havilah” is found several times in the Old
Testament, referring to a son of Cush (Genesis 10:7), a descendent of Shem
(Genesis 10:29), and is mentioned as a geographical place in 1 Samuel 15:7.
However, there is an intervening force that came upon
the world, called the Genesis Flood, which began in Genesis 7, unleashing
powerful topographic changes on the earth to the extent that it is unlikely
that ANYTHING survived its furious impact. The sheer weight of the water, along
with the earthquakes and volcanism that accompanied it, utterly destroyed the
earth that existed before that time. “Havilah” and its “gold” are no more. The
name lasted in the memory of the Flood’s survivors, but the place did not
survive.
Verse 12. "The gold of that land is
good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there."
This verse contains the first hint that metal workers,
artisans that fashioned substances such as gold into beautiful and no-doubt
costly shapes, existed early in human history. The “gold” which was mined in the
place called “Havilah” in Verse 11, was considered “good” by those who refined
and fashioned it into a variety of shapes and for differing uses. “Good” in that
context means that it was relatively pure – little refining was needed and its
color was likely clear and beautiful.
The nature of “bdellium” is less certain. Some have
thought it was a gum or resin. Others have proposed that it was a precious stone
or perhaps a pearl. In the Book of Numbers, the manna was described as “the
color of bdellium” (Numbers 11:7). As for the “onyx stone,” it is also called the
“sardonyx,” and it is interesting that two onyx stones were engraved with the
names of the 12-tribes of Israel and placed on the ephod of the priests. Such
stones were mined in the land of Havilah, a place that contained the river
Pishon, mentioned in Verse 11.
Verse 13. "The name of the second river
is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush."
The “second river” that flowed out of the Garden of Eden
was named “Gihon,” which can be translated, “burst-forth,” suggesting that the
currents of that river were especially powerful. The name “Gihon” survived into the future,
even though the river itself did not. When Solomon was anointed to succeed his
father, David, as king of Israel (1 Kings 1:32-40), the ceremony was done at a
spring near Jerusalem called “Gihon.”
“Cush” was a son of Ham, probably the oldest son, since
he was listed first among his brothers (Genesis 10:6, 1 Chronicles 1:8). Cush was the grandson
of Noah the ark-builder, and Cush’s name can be translated as “black.” He lived
on after the flood, so the land of Cush was not named after him. It was the other
way around – the man was likely named in memory of the first land of Cush that was no
more.
Verse 14. "The name of the third river
is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria and the fourth river is the Euphrates."
The third and fourth branches of the river that flowed
out of the Garden of Eden, had familiar names: the “Tigris” (“tiger” in the
Greek language, but in the Hebrew Bible it was called “Hiddekel” – “rapid”) and
the “Euphrates” (“that which makes fruitful”); names that are well-known
all over the
modern world because of the war in Iraq. The Tigris arises in the Taurus
Mountains of Eastern Turkey, flowing southeast until it joins the Euphrates and
both flow together into the Persian Gulf. The Euphrates originates in the Kargapazari Mountains.
But these rivers are not the original Tigris and
Euphrates. At the time of the Great Flood, much like the time when the Jordan
River was parted for the people of Israel, “the mountains skipped like rams”
(Psalm 115:4). Underneath the waters of the Great Flood, great earthquakes
occurred, volcanoes spewed forth magma, and that which was soon to be land once
more was forever changed. The few survivors remembered the names that existed
from the world that was now gone. Much like the colonists that went to America
often named their towns after cities in the Old World, Noah and his family gave
names to rivers and other places that were memories of that which had been
destroyed.
Verse 15. "Then the Lord God took the
man and put him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it."
This was the sixth day of creation, which was first
glimpsed in Genesis 1:26. The “man” of that verse was the same as the “man,” the
“Adam” seen here. There was more, for as it continued in Genesis 1:27, “male and
female He created them,” and both were in the “image of God.” We will hear more
about the “female” part of all this when we get to Verse 22, but for now we will
see the man, who seems to have become a farmer in this verse, but he was also to have
“dominion” over all the creatures of the earth, as stated in Genesis 1:26.
He was essentially to be the GOVERNOR of all that exists
on this planet. We were and are destined to RULE, in the spirit, power and love
of God. It’s interesting that the man was not placed into the Garden to relax,
but he was immediately given a function – “to cultivate it and keep it.” In a
place ostensibly of rest, he had work to do. Eternity will be like that – it
will not be angels reclining on clouds strumming on harps, though music and
praise to God will be in that place; but it will instead be a place full of eternal purpose,
significance and joy.
Lord, help us to understand Your Word. Open
this Book we call the Bible to our understanding, and let us use it, in the
power of God, as a way to help others understand. Fill us with Your Holy
Spirit, that we may see Your purpose for our lives, and be useful in Your
service. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 2:16-20
Verse 16. "The Lord God commanded the
man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;"
There
was an incredible variety of trees in the "Garden," with more forms of fruits and other
edible vegetation than we even remotely know about. For a vegetarian today, the
struggle is to find and eat sufficient amounts of protein. Beans are protein,
but endless beans would not be the solution for most people. At the time of this
verse in Genesis, it was not a problem. Every type of delicious, nutritious
fruit, vegetable and nut was there for them, each moment and at all times.
That’s what this verse says was given to mankind in the
beginning – vegetables and fruits. The very thought of eating meat would have
been disgusting to them. It would have been impossible anyway, for death did not
exist and anyone who harmed God’s creatures would have been subject to the
judgment of God. Much later, the eating of meat would be allowed, but that was
only after the available fruits and vegetables were sharply reduced in type and
number through the action of the Genesis Flood.
Verse 17. "but from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from
it you will surely die."
Two of the many trees in the Garden of Eden were
remarkably different from all the others. One of them was a unique gift and the
other was to be a test, which was to be this “tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.” It was not an “apple” or “pomegranate,” as
some have thought. It was unique, special; different from all the others. Can
you imagine a world in which only one thing could go wrong? This was it. There
were not dozens or hundreds of things you or I could bungle today – there was
only one.
This was a world where there was no sickness, sorrow,
death or loss of any kind. The world Adam tended was filled with animals
that would never die. Also, our first ancestors were innocent to a degree beyond
our comprehension. Because we are not innocent, we cannot truly appreciate
people who were in that condition. We don’t even know how they thought. This
man, this Adam, never heard of crime, and if he did not make the one mistake
represented by this "tree," he would surely have
lived in innocence forever.
Verse 18. "Then the Lord God said, "It
is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him."
There is a deep need in us all to share who and what we
are. This basic hunger is often repressed, however, for we can be hurt so badly
that sharing becomes painful. But the need is real and it is still there, buried
in our pain. And just like the Lord God who created us looked into the man and
saw his need, He looks into you. David understood. He said about God, “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit
down and when I rise up. You understand my thoughts from afar” (Psalm
139:1).
If you are lonely, He knows it. Sometimes there can be
lots of people around you, but they don’t perceive your need and you are “lonely
in a crowded room.” As to Adam, note that God created for him “a helper SUITABLE for him.” God has a “suitable” solution for your every need, and if you doubt
that, look to Jesus Christ, for He became a human being who personally knows
your sorrow. “As in Adam all die, even so in
Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). He intends to
give you LIFE! And if you decide to marry, take a job, move to someplace
else or make any other decision - PRAY. He has the answer "suitable" for your need.
Verse 19. "Out of the ground the Lord
God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them
to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living
creature, that was its name.”
Before God found it necessary to “confuse”
humanity’s ability to communicate (Genesis 11:7 & context), there was only one
proto-language on the whole earth. Every object, each concept, everything
imaginable had a name or names that perfectly described what was meant,
resulting in perfect communication for every situation. This original
language was built right into the brain cells of the first man and women, and it
was also clearly understood by their children. Adam utterly KNEW and was
able to recite the name of each type of life that is on this planet.
The action of this verse in Genesis 2 can be compared
to the testing of a new computer program. The man had been given extensive
language skills and now it would be seen whether or not those skills were
functioning perfectly. God knew the outcome, but Adam and the rest of us did not
know the extent of his skills, and this exercise would reveal them. And note the
freedom to choose that was given to Adam. He would provide the names for all
that is. And see his intelligence. There is no botanist, chemist, or any other
kind of scientist in the world that can recite the names of every plant and
animal on earth, and when you consider that a very large number of original
species of animals and plants are now extinct, Adam’s feat was very great indeed.
Verse 20. "The man gave names to all the
cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for
Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him."
The ability of the man, Adam, to “give
names to all the cattle… birds of the sky…
and every beast of the field,” does suggest a very
high intelligence. He named every “living creature”
as it said in Verse 19. The phrase undoubtedly includes insects of all kinds, a
staggering feat for anyone of any time. When these events occurred, there was no
confusion of languages like we have today. Adam had been given, at his creation,
the verbal expression for the true essence of everything that existed and he
faithfully recited every one of them. His performance also took a great
deal of time to complete.
This may have been like a testing of his “circuits,” to
see how effectively he would respond. The words that we choose to say, reveal
who we are. Adam was undoubtedly intelligent, and considering the character of
God, the man was likely the smartest person who has ever lived. God selected him
for his unique position as the first born, the representative of the entire
human race that was to come. Not only his intellect, but also his emotions were
fully in operation as revealed by this verse – he was lonely!
Lord, we know that You reach into our every need and
know everything about us. You know our abilities and our weaknesses. Show us
the way we should go and help us to walk in the way everlasting. Forgive us our
sins and bring us to faith in Your Son. Fill us with Your Spirit and introduce us to the
fulfilling innocence that You offer to us all. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus Name.
Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 2:21-25
Verse 21. "So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall
upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh
at that place."
God, through the human writer, Moses, now gives us a closer look at the
process involved in the creation of the “helper suitable”
for Adam, who was mentioned in Verses 18 and 20. It’s interesting that one of
the co-discoverers of the anesthetics used in surgery got his idea from reading
this passage. Since Adam needed to be in a “deep sleep”
in order for God, the Great Physician, to perform surgery on him, it suggests
that the man was truly a physical being, even before the Fall of Mankind, though
it is possible, even likely that his body was not precisely the same as ours
today. Sin had not yet left its mark.
He lived in a place where there were no thorns, nothing in the Garden that
would be thought of as a “weed;” there were no problems compared to what we have
in the world
today; and all the animals were herbivores. There were no meat-eaters because
there was no death. But he would have felt pain from the surgery God was
performing at the moment, and so “God caused a deep sleep”
to fall on him. The side of his body was opened up and something of Adam was
removed from his body.
Verse 22. "The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib
which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man."
It can be noticed at the time of these verses that Adam possessed an utter
compliance to the will and purposes of God. He had the faith of a child in the
Lord’s good intentions in all that He did. Adam did not complain or run away
from the surgery mentioned in Verse 21; he merely submitted, which suggests
that, before the Fall that is written about in Chapter 3, that Adam and
subsequently Eve, his wife, had utter faith in God. Something like, but
not the same as what we call "cloning," was about to occur.
Many have wondered, how could something small like a “rib”
from a man, be “fashioned” into another person, a
woman? But it did happen. Adam was made out of the dust of the ground, which we saw in Verse 7.
This “woman” was “fashioned”
from the man, for as we will see in Verse 23, the two were to be “one” in a
deeper way than probably any of us can understand. She was undoubtedly beautiful, he
was good-looking as well, and they were delighted as they saw each other for
the first time.
Verse 23. "The man 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 God need to fashion the woman in the manner described in these verses?
Not at all! God could have simply spoken and she would have been, or He could
have made her out of the dust of the ground as He did with the man who was to be
her husband. Therefore it is very important for us to recognize and believe that the
manner of creation is just like it says in these verses,
for it will help us to see the purposes of God in the creation of mankind. The
marriage of a man (Hebrew “Ish” in this verse) and
woman (Hebrew “Isshah“) MATTERS to our God. The
two in marriage are to be one.
Eve must have been very beautiful. The way this verse is worded certainly
indicates that Adam thought so. With these words, he ABSOLUTELY accepted her
into his heart and life. Adam was in love. Paul the Apostle observed that “husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies”
(Ephesians 5:28). As Adam loved Eve and with the Lord's love in us,
husbands are to love their wives: “Husbands, love your
wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,”
we are taught in Ephesians 5:25.
Verse 24. "For this reason a man shall leave his father
and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”
There is no doubt that the first marriage in humanity is recorded within
these verses. The man emphatically said “I do” and "I will" in relation to the woman given to
him by God. He KNEW she was God’s gift, and he was very grateful. And so should
we all be grateful if God has given us to someone and them to us. “Love”
is listed as one of the “fruits of the Spirit” in
Galatians 5:22-23. In other words, love comes from God. When we are open to Him,
we become open to His love.
It is reflected in Genesis 1:28 that God commanded these first humans to “be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth…” Would the
method of procreation that we know today be the same as it was intended in the
beginning? Maybe, maybe not. We do know that the pain of childbirth did not
exist until after the fall of mankind, as recorded in Genesis 3:16. It may be
there were other differences as well. But whatever the method, the children that
resulted were to “leave…
father and… mother,” and “be joined” to one another; leaving one family and forming
another. God has indicated his blessing on marriage and the family, right from
the beginning. Some do misuse the gift of marriage, but marriage between a man
and a woman is from Him.
Verse 25. "And the man and his wife were both naked and
were not ashamed."
It’s interesting that Adam and Eve wore no clothing and yet they had no shame
at all. They were innocent of any wrong and so they were “not
ashamed.” Corrie Ten Boom, the Dutch woman who survived a Nazi death
camp, often said about us: “We feel guilty because we are
guilty.” At the moment of this verse, Adam and Eve were not guilty. There
is nothing wrong with our bodies, including our reproductive organs. And the
answer to the question - should we then run around naked? is – no we should not.
It would be confusing to others and it would not be proper.
There is a reason why we are ashamed. From the moment of the sin of Adam and
Eve, they tried to cover themselves. They “knew they were
naked” and inadequately tried to cover themselves with leaves sewn
together. The parts of themselves they covered were their reproductive
organs. They knew their sin not only involved themselves, but it also
included every person of every time who would come from them. They were ashamed
of the great harm they had done to the human race and wanted to cover the very
parts of their bodies that would bring us forth. You can see the
vestigial remnant of their shame by merely going to the beach and looking at sun
bathers. What parts of them are covered? Their reproductive organs. -
Subconsciously, we all understand, and in response, we cover ourselves.
Father, You give us rest, companionship and
fulfillment. We turn to You, confessing our sins and we place our trust in
Your Son. We surrender, knowing that we can safely give our lives to You.
Thank You. We praise Your Holy Name. In Jesus Name. Amen.
