And so, we come to the seventh day (chapter 2:1-3). Creation was finished and on the seventh day God had ended His work and rested from all His work. God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.
There was no question of God being too tired to work but He gives an example to man that resting on this day was part of His blessing. It was a gift to mankind. God made us so that we need a day of rest. It is not beneficial for us to work seven days without a day of rest. It is a special day, to the Jews it was the Sabbath, a Saturday and since the day of resurrection the early church met on the first day of the week, The LORD’s Day (Sunday) to commemorate The LORD’s resurrection.
Jesus said that the sabbath was made for man. We need the sabbath to rest from our normal everyday lives. If we don’t keep it, we will suffer burn out.
We then have a précis history of creation (v4-7). He said that in the day The LORD God made the earth and the heavens before the plants and herbs. He had not caused it to rain on the earth and there was no-one to till the ground. Man was not yet created, but a mist went up from the earth and watered it. The LORD God made man from dust and breathed into him the breath of life and he became a living being. This shows that man was special to have God’s breath in him to become alive. There was no human present until the sixth day therefore, God gave this history to Moses, maybe through Adam.
The LORD God planted a garden in Eden and placed man in it (v8,9). The trees were pleasant and good for food and there was the tree of life in the middle of the garden as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The accounts of Genesis 1 and 2 are not contradictory as Jesus refers to them as one in Matthew 19:4,5
Not only were there two specific trees but there were four rivers which started as one from the garden but split into four from it (v10-14). In one, the Pishon which skirts the whole land of Havilah there is gold of good quality, Bdellium and onyx are there also. The second river is Gihon which goes around the land of Cush; the third is Hiddekel which goes east toward the east of Assyria and the fourth is the Euphrates. One writer suggests that it is not possible to locate these rivers today because the flood changed the landscape and after the flood Noah and his sons named some rivers. We do, however, know the Euphrates and the Tigris.
In verses 15-17 we read that the LORD God placed the man in the garden to look after it and instructed him that they could eat freely of every tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they did eat of it they would die. Adam was given responsibility over the garden. It is interesting that it would have no weeds, so I presume that he was simply to keep it tidy, and it was important for him to work. Work did not come as a result of the fall, it was in his interest to work even when things were perfect. Work is not a punishment for sin but a vital part of daily life. We need work as much as we need rest.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was placed there for the purpose of showing Adam that he had to make a choice. He could choose to obey God or not, that was his responsibility. God wants our obedience but not through coercion but willingly. He wants our love just as any true relationship does through choice. I don’t think our spouse would only be pleased with forced ‘love’, that wouldn’t be true love. God wants our love to be willingly given. God gave a command regarding this tree and if eating it had not been forbidden, Adam would not have had a choice to obey or not. Someone has said that Adam only had one temptation, we have lots, but as we shall see, he fell at the first hurdle. It is, however, no excuse, for us to say that we have far more temptations so there is all the more reason for us to fall and more reason to excuse us from punishment. The Bible clearly says that the soul that sins shall die, and if we offend in one point, we are guilty of all.
If the events are chronological, the command was given to Adam because only in the next verse (18) do we read that, “The LORD God said, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
God recognises that man needs a helper, companion, comparable to him. I don’t think that this was an afterthought. She was not to be his slave but an equal partner.
Before providing him with a comparable helper, God brought every living creature to Adam for him to name them. (v19,20) Adam named them all but it was obvious there was none comparable to him. This was a huge task but seems that it was preparation for Adam to receive his partner, woman.
Here we have the first surgical procedure. The comparable one for Adam was not an animal or a bird, they could never meet his needs. God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam (v21,22), took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh and from the rib, God made a woman and brought her to him. They were different yet one, she was part of him. I believe it is a Jewish tradition which says, ‘God made woman, not out of man’s foot to be under him, nor out of his head to be over him.’ And someone added that ‘she was taken from under his arm that he might protect her and from next to his heart that he might love her’.
Adam waxes lyrical (v23) – “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” This was evidently an amazing experience for Adam, and he obviously realises her uniqueness.
The New Testament reminds us of our responsibilities to our wives. Paul writes, “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it.” (Ephesians 5:28,29). And Peter, “Likewise, you husbands, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel.” (1 Peter 3:7).
In verse 24 we have words quoted by Jesus Himself in Matthew 19:5, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” We know it as the principle of marriage. There is the leaving and cleaving (KJV). It shows the uniqueness of the marriage bond that two persons, a man and a woman, male and female, are joined together in a permanent bond and leaving the past behind, setting out for a new life together. It is a relationship which should be striven for and maintained as far as possible. The Bible does permit divorce in very limited circumstances. Sadly, today, it has become far too common even among Christians. I am not going to go into discussion about divorce as it is a very big subject, save to say, couples should make every effort to keep the unique relationship together. So much depends on it, especially the parties and their children. It is God’s blueprint for stable and secure families. Unknown problems arise, many of which are unforeseen in early marriage. The future of our children is at stake and their lives are indelibly stained by the breakdown of family relationships. It is vital that the church sets out God’s plan and makes every effort to set an example.
Verse 25 continues, “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” God created sex and as such is not sinful. In marriage it is pure between husband and wife. Used outside of marriage it is sinful, casual sex a misnomer. The man and woman were not ashamed of being naked, there was no sin, they were pure. Nakedness should not be flaunted. Sadly, fashion has become a platform for displaying as much of the human body as possible. It was Derrick Bingham who once said words to the effect that one should dress attractively but not seductively.
