Genesis 2:1 .
The Heavens–the firmament or atmosphere including the atmospheric Earth and all on Earth. God also instructed man and animals during the process of instruction, ( Job 38:6-7-8: On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb). Job mentions the belt of stars that are later discovered by scientists such as Orion, etc.
Genesis 2:2-7 : The First Sabbath: God rested on the seventh day not from exhaustion, for God is never tired, (Isaiah 40:28 ), but wanted to set a precedent for us to also rest and enjoy Creation. We also should cease from labor of every kind. He rested to show His creating work was done, to give a pattern to us with regard to periodic timings of rest and work (in seven-day weeks), and to give us a pattern of the blessing of rest on the seventh day. Humans always need one day of rest in a 7-week period or we would burn out. It is amazing how God Himself set out that structural pattern of work and rest. During the French Revolution, they tried to change the seven-day week to a ten-day week pattern, but it frizzled out and they had to come back to the seven-day cycle because God is on a seven-day cycle.
To bring things into perspective, in Colossians 2:16-17 and Galatians 4:9-11, it is mentioned that Christians are not under obligation to observe the Sabbath today, because Jesus fulfilled the plan of the Sabbath for us and in us (Hebrews 4:9-11). This is said because God did not want us to live under a condemning rule of law. During the Sabbath, a person could not even pick up needle to stitch, or if their goat fell into a pit, they were not supposed to labor to bring it out. Such rules were broken through Christ, otherwise person would lose compassion to help others during the Sabbath. Today, as we abide in Christ, every day is specially set apart to God.
Gen 2:4-7: Creation of Heaven and Earth: God first created Earth and the Heavens, before any plant or living thing. There was no rain but a canopy of mist or dew encased the Earth. This was how Earth was nourished with the purest water and also kept clean, with no penetration of the sun’s rays. 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 being. Science has proved that the substance of his flesh, sinews, and bones, consists of the very same elements as the soil which forms the crust of the earth and the limestone that lies embedded in its bowels. (Psalms 139:14 ). This breath of life is nephesh life. The minute God breathed into man, he became a living soul. Once the living soul departs from the body, the body dies, but the soul departs, never to die, but lives forever. When Jesus breathed on the disciples and believers, this breath is different for it is not living soul but spiritual soul, meaning our soul becomes spiritually illumined and enlightened: John 20:22: And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. This is called “Born Again.” In the Bible. Unless the soul is spiritually illumined, it can never understand the things of the spirit and is called the carnal soul which gravitates to the satisfying flesh and earthly desires. As we are from dust, to dust we will return, at least the shell of our bodies. Biblically, we are never to burn our bodies, (unless of course someone dies by fire or water).
Though man is lower than angels in our spiritual capacities and understanding and natural limitations, we are all very precious to God and the angels rejoice whenever a human is saved. Jesus said, “I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). The Bible says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13) Savior. Humans are the only living being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). The difference is humans have the ability to worship and fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit. The word for breath in Hebrew is ruach – the same word for Spirit, as is the case in both ancient Greek (pneuma) and Latin (spiritus). God created humans by putting His breath, His Spirit, within us.
Genesis 8-17: The Garden of Eden: 8. Eden–was probably in Mesopotamia, known for its natural beauty, exotic richness of wealth and wonders. This garden was eastward and a beautiful paradise. Today, Eden is blocked from being entered by angels on its four corners with flaming swords. No nation can claim that Eden is in their nation! It will only be opened in the New Heaven and New Earth once again. (In Matthew 19:4-5, Jesus referred to events in Genesis 1 and to events in Genesis 2 as one harmonious account.)
Tree of Life: This tree is not merely symbolic but literal, but also symbolizes the seal of immortal life. The Tree of Life is in Heaven today. (Revelation 2:7: Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. I have read accounts of people who returned from Heaven, reporting of eating a delicious fruit that kept growing back again on the tree, after it was plucked!
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil: This tree is the test of obedience by which our first parents were to be tried, whether they would be good or bad, obey God or break His commands. Humans needed to learn how to rightly exercise free will. Freedom does not mean we abuse our rights to get what we want. God tests our hearts in giving us free will and rewards us accordingly.
Gen 2:10-14: Rivers in the Garden. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. However, the names of these rivers can’t be used to determine the place of the Garden of Eden because the flood changed the earth’s topography. Also, as it is recording, no one can ever enter the Garden of Eden today. Modern rivers today such as the Tigris or Euphrates were named after familiar pre-flood rivers by Noah and his sons.
(Gen 2:15-17) Adam’s Work: Work is always integral and honorable. God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. He put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it: Work is something good for man and was part of Adam’s perfect existence before the fall. “The ideal state of sinless man is not one of indolence without responsibility. Work and duty belong to the perfect state.” (Leupold)
15: put the man into the garden of Eden to dress it–not only to give him a pleasant employment, but to place him on his probation, and as the title of this garden, the garden of the Lord ( Genesis 13:10 , Ezekiel 28:13 ), indicates, it was in fact a temple in which he worshipped God, and was daily employed in offering the sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise.
17: thou shalt not eat of it . . . thou shalt surely die–no reason assigned for the prohibition, but death was to be the punishment of disobedience. A positive command like this was not only the simplest and easiest, but the only trial to which their fidelity could be exposed.
Genesis 2:18-25: Woman and the Institution of Marriage: 18. it is not good for the man to be alone-
19: God brought unto Adam–not all the animals in existence, but those chiefly in his immediate neighborhood to be subservient to his use. The glory of God was intense in the Garden of Eden and Adam had a very heightened level of spirituality. His body, soul and spirit were in perfect synch. God told him to name the animals and he did so with intelligence. He could speak with his mind and call the animals and they listened to him. His powers of perception and intelligence were supernaturally magnified where he understood each animal’s habits, nature. There was supernatural order and extra spiritual knowledge in Eden. There was peace, no confusion and of course, no killing. All the animals ate plants, fruits and vegetables!
20: Despite such a wonderful relationship with the animals, Adam did not find a help meet for him—perhaps God allowed this to show Him that none of the living creatures were on an equal footing with himself, and that while each class came with its mate of the same kind, he alone had no companion. Adam developed powers of speech and was being prepared for a physical relationship with his partner, yet to be formed. This is why bestiality (sex with animals is totally evil, but in today’s wicked rebellious world, this has actually been legalized by some countries. Such leaders will eventually fall under the judgement of God unless they repent). Also God made Adam for Eve and not Adam for Steve!
21: Adam was put into a deep sleep—This happened very much to the prophets who fell into a joyous ecstasy when they saw visions and received revelations from God. It is believed that this was visible to Adam in the spiritual realm. When God made Eve, He took one of his ribs–“She was not made out of his head to surpass him, nor from his feet to be trampled on, but from his side to be equal to him, and near his heart to be dear to him.” (Barnhouse)
Genesis 2:22: Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. It is believed that God supernaturally arranges circumstances to bring a man and woman together. While the man is the initiator is most relationships, the woman is brought into his pathway. This means that a man does not have to drive himself mad looking for a girl if he is in connection with God. He does not have to get obsessed or driven to make a girl fall in love with him. In fact, some men turn out psychopathic and sometimes kill a girl who rejects them, not realizing that they were never designed for each other in the first place. As a woman is brought into a man’s road, what is given by God strikes a mutual liking between them. Now, in many cases, love or physical attraction may not be on first sight, but for some, the workings within start over time and what God puts together, let no human, demon or circumstance separate. Until death do they part. Divorce is never the perfect will of God.
23: Woman–Genesis 2:23: The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” in Hebrew, “man-ess.” The Bride of Christ comes from the wound made in the side of the second Adam, Jesus Christ.
24: One flesh–They were one. This is the formulation of the divine institution of marriage (Matthew 19:4 Matthew 19:5 , Ephesians 5:28 ).
Marriage, in particular, has a blessed calming influence on man. Sometimes, the order of single priests has wrought the evilest acts, as we see today in the papacy with sodomy of young boys or even rape. While this cannot be said of everyone in a generalized way, single men, unless allotted by God himself can result in dangerous trends of destruction and violence. In history, some of the most violent men were single. All the psychopathic serial killers were single! Again, there are many wonderful, kind and powerful humans who are single, so generalizations are dangerous too, and there are instances when God calls people to be single. Jesus was the holy Son of God, single! And Paul, the greatest missionary was single. Matthew 19:11-12: 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. (being single) 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” (eunuch is a man who has been castrated, especially (in the past) one employed to guard the women’s living areas at an oriental court or born without male organs).
I will make him a helper comparable to him: God’s “blueprint” for creating this companion to Adam was to make a helper comparable to Adam.
Helper meet (suitable, adapted, completing, a helper comparable: In reference to the marriage relationship, God created woman to be a perfectly suitable helper to the man. This means God gave the plan and agenda to Adam, and he and the woman together work to fulfill it.
Gen 2:24-25: The marriage of Adam and Eve, Age of Innocence and Purity: Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. It is interesting to note that he has to leave his mother and father’s house. Now, this does not mean abandoning parents, but it means a certain space has to be given between parents and their son, so he can have a healthy family with his wife. Sometimes, parents don’t allow their sons to have a new blessed relationship with their wives. They dominate with everything. In the end, the husband ignores his wife, preferring to heed to his mother’s voice. This destroys the marriage in time, and children also see the conflict in the home. A husband has to know when to draw the line if his own mom is interfering too much in his marriage and he should love and honor his wife as the Bible instructs.
The Bible says, a husband and wife’s physical relationship also makes them one flesh. It is holy, sanctified and not to be taken lightly, their souls get tied together in oneness and harmony.
In a monogamous marriage or relationship, a man or woman are uniting themselves with many souls. It is an unholy mixture and chaos starts to escalate in their lives. The soul is splintered and not harmonious and demons start to enter such unions to trouble homes, marriages and children.
Adam and Eve are the original family. This isn’t polygamy, nor keeping mistresses, nor concubinage, nor adultery nor homosexual co-habitation, nor bestiality nor promiscuity, nor living together outside the marriage bond nor serial marriage. This is God’s blueprint for marriage.
They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed: Before the fall, Adam and Eve were both naked … and not ashamed. That nakedness was open and exposed as a person before God and humans. Adam and Eve were pure and covered with the Glory of God, in their nakedness. In their innocence, they did not realize they were naked. Remember, in Eden, there was no sin, no lust and no rape! Purity, innocence and the power of the Holy Spirit and God’s glory flowed through Eden! Today, well if people want to walk about naked, there are prowling humans lions waiting to maul them! Remember, we are not in the Age of Innocence, until the New Eden, the New Heaven and Earth.
Study from the Bible, Vines, Strong dictionary, Matthew Henry’s commentary and Blue Letter Bible commentary.
Rita F. Kurian.
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