Reflections on Genesis 2

Genesis 02 (Contemporary English Version)
1. So the heavens and the earth and everything else were created.
   
2. By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested.
   
3. God blessed the seventh day and made it special because on that day he rested from his work.
   
4. That's how God created the heavens and the earth. When the LORD God made the heavens and the earth,
   
5. no grass or plants were growing anywhere. God had not yet sent any rain, and there was no one to work the land.
   
6. But streams came up from the ground and watered the earth.
   
7. The LORD God took a handful of soil and made a man. God breathed life into the man, and the man started breathing.
   
8. The LORD made a garden in a place called Eden, which was in the east, and he put the man there.
   
9. The LORD God placed all kinds of beautiful trees and fruit trees in the garden. Two other trees were in the middle of the garden. One of the trees gave life--the other gave the power to know the difference between right and wrong.
   
10. From Eden a river flowed out to water the garden, then it divided into four rivers.
    
11. The first one is the Pishon River that flows through the land of Havilah,
    
12. where pure gold, rare perfumes, and precious stones are found.
    
13. The second is the Gihon River that winds through Ethiopia.
    
14. The Tigris River that flows east of Assyria is the third, and the fourth is the Euphrates River.
    
15. The LORD God put the man in the Garden of Eden to take care of it and to look after it.
    
16. But the LORD told him, "You may eat fruit from any tree in the garden,
    
17. except the one that has the power to let you know the difference between right and wrong. If you eat any fruit from that tree, you will die before the day is over!"
    
18. The LORD God said, "It isn't good for the man to live alone. I need to make a suitable partner for him."
    
19. So the LORD took some soil and made animals and birds. He brought them to the man to see what names he would give each of them. Then the man named the tame animals and the birds and the wild animals. That's how they got their names. None of these was the right kind of partner for the man.
    
20. (SEE 2:19)
    
21. So the LORD God made him fall into a deep sleep, and he took out one of the man's ribs. Then after closing the man's side,
    
22. the LORD made a woman out of the rib. The LORD God brought her to the man,
    
23. and the man exclaimed, "Here is someone like me! She is part of my body, my own flesh and bones. She came from me, a man. So I will name her Woman!"
    
24. That's why a man will leave his own father and mother. He marries a woman, and the two of them become like one person.
    
25. Although the man and his wife were both naked, they were not ashamed.
    
    

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    Each reading of this passage in Genesis chapter 2 will likely garner new insights concerning creation and God's intent for His creation. From the first verses of the chapter we can see the principle of sabbath rest presented. On day seven of creation, God rested. Not because He was worn out but to enjoy and take pleasure in His creative work. He then established the seventh day as a holy day for man to observe as well. In observing this sabbath, man recognizes God, His creator, and fellowships with Him.
    
    When one does not recognize God as the creator neither will he recognize God's order and intent for creation. We see this order in the verses to follow. First we see man's appointment as God's steward over the vegetation. Though the earth had been seeded for vegetation in the creation process, "No shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted." (2:5) Why was this? Because "there was no man to work the ground." (2:5) Man was intended to be God's partner in this world He had made. Though man was not even present when God created everything, once he came on the scene he was intended to be involved in the recreative process of planting, cultivating, and reaping.
    
    As we read further in the chapter we come to verse 19 and the dominion God gave man over the animals. This role was first mentioned in 1:28 when God made man and told him to "Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth." We see this role in action in 2:19 when God brought each animal to man for him to name. The further removed man gets from his recognition of God as creator, the less understanding he has of the creation order, and of the role of man versus animals. This does not mean man should treat animals without respect, but neither should he elevate them to a position equal to another human.
    
    We then come to the account of God making woman. In this we see further confirmation that the animals do not have an equal role with man. They were not the companionship for man that he needed. Instead, he needed one who, like himself, was made in the image of God. This is not true of the animals. To give man a companion, God put him into a deep sleep and took from him a rib from which He made the woman. This new person also had God's breath of life in her as did the man. It was not another man God made to give companionship to man, but a woman with whom man shares a relationship that he has with no other person.
    
    Finally, we read in verses 16 & 17 of God's command to man not "to eat of the the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." (2:17) First, God placed man in the garden, sort of a utopian environment. But if man were to be God's partner in the created world and to enjoy the blessings of the garden, he must be in agreement with God's agenda. This required obedience. And God gave man a command which proved to be a test of his obedience. Here is another principle of creation and of life. All blessings come from God and require that we acknowledge His hand in what we have and live in fellowship with God if we are to continue to enjoy the blessing. We cannot be in disagreement with God, thus disobedient, and enjoy His blessings.