Genesis 2

Genesis 2

2:2 It is important to note that God doesn't rest because He needs to. This is intentional, as a way of showing the created beings that rest is part of life. It is also important to note that God could have created everything in one day, or two days, or a whole year. He chose six days of work and then a seventh for rest. Thus the Scripture is upheld, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27).

2:4 Here the Bible takes a step back and the narrative examines in more detail the events during the creation process. Some scholars like to see this as a contradiction, that chapter 2 mixes into chapter 1 and may not seem logical. There is no contradiction here. This is simply detailing the events in a more personal level. Chapter 1 is generic and explains what was going on during the first six days and then the Sabbath, and Chapter 2 begins a closer look at the creation process from a human perspective.

2:5 No rain on the earth? First, this doesn't mesh with evolution since evolution teaches the earth started as a hot ball of magma that cooled by rain. Second, imagine the world at that time!

2:7 Mankind is unique. God breathed into us the breath of life. I wonder what connections can be made to 2 Timothy 3:16 ("All Scripture is God-breathed")?

2:14 The Tigris and Euphrates are known but the other two are not. Based on the area covered by these rivers, it is thought that Eden was quite large. I wonder though about this. I'm not saying Eden wasn't large, but there are some things to consider. First it had to be cultivated by one man. Second, the rivers could have changed after the Flood. Third, there is no other evidence in Scripture of where this might be. I don't know if it matters though, since the Garden itself is not important. The thing to get out of this is that God and Man were in fellowship at this point.

2:17 This is the first and only commandment at this point in history. Notice that only the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is forbidden. The tree of life stood nearby and was not forbidden. How often is it that we see two roads, one that leads to life and the other to death?

2:20 Yes, Adam did name all the animals. He didn't even have a wife telling him what to say! (Ha, just kidding!) Notice how God says, "It is not good for man to be alone," and then to address that issue He sends the animals to Adam to show him how they all had mates except him? Why didn't He just say, "Here, Adam, have this woman."? This is the way God works, and I'm glad He does. It is much more visual, much more personal.

2:24 We see here why God chose to create woman in such a unique way. Once again, visual and personal. It was done to illustrate that man and woman are made to be joined as one flesh.

2:25 Were they not ashamed because they had not yet sinned or because they needn't feel shame? I always thought it was because they had not yet sinned because when they do sin the first thing they do is cover up. But I don't see why a man and wife need to feel shame at this, as long as it is within the bounds of marriage. If this is the case, then why was it significant that they felt no shame? It could be a variety of reasons, but I think it is to demonstrate their innocence.