Life Began

Genesis 2:1–9
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I heard a story of a ship that was sinking in the middle of a storm, and the captain called out to the crew and said, “Does anyone here know how to pray?” One man stepped forward and said, “Yes sir, I know how to pray.” The captain said, “Wonderful, you p … More

Life

On the seventh day, after God’s work of creation was complete He rested (vv. 1-3). In our action packed world there always seems to be something to do and no time to rest. Yet God demonstrated that rest is appropriate. If God rested from His work it should not amaze us that we also need rest.

In these verses we find out what it was like on the earth the day it was created. There was no life, no growth, no rain and no one to till the ground. The scriptures commonly speak of God as the potter and we as the clay (note in particular Romans 9:19). From the dust of the ground he lovingly shaped us and molded our form (v. 7). God personally made us, not by the spoken word, like He did when He made the sun, the moon, the water, the animals, etc, through his spoken word. When he made us the thought is communicated that He personally did it himself. The text emphasizes this for it uses the personal name of God (LORD) and not a descriptive name.

This passage gives two closing statements as to how the creation:

1. Relates to agronomy (vv. 5-6). These verses give rise to several questions. Why did people live to be so old? What does it mean that the earth was watered by mist and not by rain? We probably will never know for sure but evidently it was a perfect environment for farmers.

2. Relates to anthropology (v. 7). With omniscient genius God took the dust, the water, and the odds and ends of things and formed and fashioned them into a man. The human body, marvelous and intricate as it is testifies to the wisdom and power of God.

God prepared man for the earth. The garden that Adam was placed in was designed to be the home of man and it apparently was lush and perfect (v. 8). It was in this perfect setting that man was to face his test of obedience. It was here that God placed two special trees (v. 9). One produced life and the other produced knowledge. The trees were in the middle of the garden and apparently close to each other where they would provide the basis for the testing to come.

Application

If I believe that God created man just as he said he did there is no room for the teaching of either evolution or theistic evolution. I can be sure I know what I believe in this area and why.

Genesis 2:1-9 (English Standard Version)

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up--for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground-- then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

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