In this episode, I give a quick summary of Genesis 2, with a focus on God's creation of man and woman.TranscriptGenesis 2 opens with the Seventh Day, and the first thing we’re told is that God rested from the work he had done; in other words, he rested from the work of creating, and set the day aside as holy.The rest of Genesis 2 returns to Day Six where we are given more details about what occurred on that day, specifically regarding the creation of man and woman, as well as the Garden of Eden. Here I’m going to focus on the creation of man and woman.Created from dirtAt this point we’ve been told that bushes and plants and been created, but had not sprung up. They had been waiting on the rains to come, but more importantly, there was no man to work 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. (Genesis 2:7, ESV)So from the ground, God created man. He then created the garden in the east of Eden, and placed the man in it. It was the man’s job to work and keep the garden, or in other words, work the ground that he had been created from. Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. (Genesis 2:19, ESV)So there are two things going on here. First, we’re reminded that man was not the only living thing made from the ground. All the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens were as well. Now at the same time we’re reminded of the common origin, we’re reminded of Genesis 1:26, 28 where God had said that man would “have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God lives up to this promise by bringing every living creature to the man to be named.Notice that man names the animals. Animals did not name themselves, and there was no discussion between man and the animals over what the name would be. “And whatever the man called every living creature, that was it’s name.”Can you imagine the amount of time it must have taken to name every living creature? There’s a lot of work there. But in the end, I think there’s an important point being made. We’re told that among every living creature that was brought before man, not a single one was suitable to be a helper. We might think, “well duh,” but don’t overlook this. It drives home the point that despite the common origin, we are not like the animals. Animals are not like us.Created from ManUp until this point, all the living creatures on the face of the earth had been created from the ground, but God did something different when he created a helper for the man.So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. (Genesis 2:21-22, ESV)So the woman, instead of being made from the ground, was made from the rib of the man. This made her unique among all living creatures. She was special! And when the Lord God brought her to the man, he knew it right away:Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. (Genesis 2:23, ESV)The woman was literally bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. She was created by God specifically to be man’s helper. The Amplified Bible expands on the word helper with the word complement, which Bing defines as: a thing that completes or brings to perfection.Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24, ESV)I think it’s interesting that when God took the man’s rib, he replaced it with flesh, not bone. It’s almost as if by taking the woman out of man, man is left incomplete. I also find it interesting that we’re told that a man shall leave his father and mother for a wife. Not the other way around. The man will hold fast to his wife—his one wife—and the two will become one flesh: complete: perfect.So ideally at this point, man and woman, together as one flesh, are supposed to have dominion over all living things, work and tend the garden of Eden, be fruitful and multiply, fill and subdue the earth. Still wondering why we’re here?Unfortunately, this ideal doesn’t last very long. In fact, the two of them, together, screw it up in the very next chapter.Don't forget to Subscribe, Rate, Review, Like, whatever it is, depending on where you listen from, because that helps get the word out about this show. If you have questions or comments, you can contact me directly on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're a paid ...
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