The First Problem of Creation

Call to Worship

Worship through Song:

Scripture Reading:

Question and Intro

What do people hope for in a legacy? What do they hope to generate for their offspring? What kind of future do they try and build?

When we imagine the future of this peninsula we live on? What kinds of institutions do we hope are in place? The Bible gives us a picture of paradise at its beginnings. It’s a paradise where the triune God is present and where the triune God gives his wise word to follow and provides for every need. And its a paradise that man is instructed to be active in growing and keeping and the paradise is seen not just as a goal and end of existence but as a foundation by which God’s people are to model their own lives and institutions. My hope is to ground us in the first things of Scripture so that we may have a firm foundation in homes that are rooted in Christ as we seek to plant churches for the glory of Christ.

Scripture: Genesis 2:1-25

Genesis 2 ESV

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. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 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. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 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. 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.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Generations

The word translated “generations” given here at the opening of this section is a recurring marker throughout Genesis that serves to organize the book. It is used 10 times at the start of 10 sections. Sometimes it is the start of a narrative and sometimes it is the start of a genealogy:

1. Generations of heaven and earth, 2:4-4:26

2. Generations of Adam, 5:1-6:8

3. Generations of Noah, 6:9-9:29

(New Creation, 8:1-9:29)

1’. Generations of Shem, Ham, Japheth, 10:1-11:9

2’. Generations of Shem, 11:10-26

3. Generations of Terah, 11:27-25:11

1”. Generations of Ishmael, 25:12-18

3”. Generations of Isaac, 25:19-35:29

1”’. Generations of Esau, 36:1-37:1

3”’. Generations of Jacob, 37:1-50:26

What each of these sections of generations have is a an unrolling of redemptive plan after the fall toward a revelation of a glorious promised seed of a woman. The generation starting here in Genesis 2 introduces this pattern ends with Seth, the one through whom the hope of skull crushing seed would continue. Now I know it’s not so obvious at a first reading but it’s exactly as we’ve been demonstrating. Here we have throughout Genesis an unfolding and progressively revealed, to be more explicitly proclaimed plan of God in the New Testament. Even from this first story, the Israelites were looking back at the foundation of what was meant to be, how God designed man and woman to generate holy and happy families in a fruitful paradise in the presence of God, a perfect marriage of heaven and earth, fellowship between God and man.

But even in looking back with faith in God’s plan, they could look forward to the hope that they were yet promised a greater a future in better seed, a better Adam.

If Genesis 1 is the world building of our great story, Genesis 2 starts the action. Here’s what becomes of the marriage of Heavens and earth the Lord God, Yahweh (2:4) made. The author is not now telling a different version of creation, he is saying God created all of this out of nothing and then here is what became of it and so we’re immediately given a focus and most of the characters of Genesis 1 become more of a blurred background as we are told to focus and behold the plan of God. It’s as if we’re being told, here is the one and only begotten story of the cosmos, created by God.

Dust and Breath

But look how it isn’t just a begetting of the world that God sets into motion like the winding of a clock, no God fashions Adam from the dust and breaths into his nostrils a type of breath that commentators say makes him distinct from all others that breath, this one is given a soul and spirit that would never die. Already fashioned as we learned before, man and woman, in the image of God but now we’re further shown, of ground and divine breath of life.

Garden Temple, Priest and Prophet

And now our character is put in a home town, the garden of Eden, an orchard of pleasure, where God planted all the trees that were “pleasant to the sight and good for food”. And in the midst of the Garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Now, take a moment to think with me about what all Adam is given here. What is Moses showing us about all of this? Adam is given everything for a fruitful kingdom and culture. Remember, Adam was given a kingly role to have dominion, and here in his corner of paradise he’s given everything he needs to thrive. Food to eat from the trees, beauty to behold in the trees, all in a high protected place we assume because out of it, waters flow.

And yet it isn’t just resourceful in earthly terms. It is the very place God speaks to him and meets with him. It is a holy temple in which God dwells. The place where Adam is put is the house of God and Adam is made its priest. He is told to “work and keep” the garden. This phrase is only repeated in scripture with reference to the levitical priests who were told to guard (as we could translate it) and protect the temple. He is also commanded not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which makes him a prophet, one who hears from God directly, and note this is before Eve was created so it implies he was the one who was to tell Eve God’s command as well.

So the Lord Yahweh has his house in Eden and he’s introduced his first character, the hometown hero, Adam who is appointed Prophet, Priest, and King. Here was a great, masculine undertaking for the young man: work and keep the garden, guard and protect the garden temple. He’s even given orders and a test that if he passes would show him worthy. You can imagine Adam’s right honor due him up to this point with all of the duty and responsibility given to him. Maybe he was already thinking of plans to make the garden even better, as he could imagine the growing up of the trees around him, maybe he was even imaging ways to use the rocks and the gold to build a beautiful house for himself and for God. We don’t know at this point what dangers he would have known to be aware of but he was told to “work and keep”, "guard and protect”, implying there would be ways it could get out of control or invaded or stolen and Adam was to be its protector. We don’t know what he might have felt but we do know he was given a mission and it was given him by God.

But of course there was still one thing lacking: the glorious companion and help-meet, an Ebeneezer for man. You remember, Adam’s mission wasn’t just to guard and protect, that is just the focus given to this passage before Eve was created. The full mission of mankind included a fruitful multiplication and the dominion they were to take was to be over all the earth.

Problem: Not Good for man to be alone

All of creation up until this point has been blessed with fruitfulness and declared good but for the first time God says “It is not good…for man to be alone.” And then he brings before Adam every other kind of animal for him to name but none of them correspond or are suitable to solve the problem of man’s loneliness. No, none of these had a soul or breath of life like Adam, he was to have dominion over and not union with the animals. No animal could be Adam’s companion and helper.

Now what God does here is mysterious and glorious. We saw a few weeks ago that the creation of mankind on the sixth day was the grand finale of creation, but as the act is drawn into focus in this second chapter, we see woman created out of man. Paul expresses in allusion to this passage that because woman came out of man he is her head and she is his glory but neither one are independent of the other. Adam was to be her prophetic voice and priestly covering as representative head but she was to be his glorious help on whom he would depend.

The Crown of Creation and the Generation of One New Flesh/Family

The sum of all that Adam was given in all the world before Eve was “not good”. The task to multiply was impossible and longing for companionship would never be met without his wife. If he was to multiply over all the earth, his going out to subdue the earth would be dependent on the fruitful womb of his bride. The crown jewel of creation was a woman given to a man, the means of grace given to fulfill God’s plan on the earth was through a marriage.

English Standard Version (Chapter 2)

21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept

(Meaning this creation of woman and this marriage of man and woman is not done by any effort of man, but by the generous work of God) took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh (as if to cut a covenant and this marriage covenant instituted by God seems to have allusions elsewhere like when God cut a covenant with Abraham to promise a seed from the generations of Abraham to bless the world, Abraham was asleep as if to show it was guaranteed by God and not man). 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man (the Father brings the daughter to the groom). 23 Then the man said (or did he sing?),

“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.”

And then this glorious first marriage is not just one story among many other love stories, it is shown to be the very example of the institution of marriage. Notice Moses says that from this story we draw our ethics of family.

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh (that is one family). What I think is being emphasized in the marriage institution at the creation of Eve is the union and oneness of the new family, the one new body.

Paul says in Ephesians in reference to this passage “husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body”.

The first man Adam is put to sleep and part of him is taken and when he awakes, he is new without a rib and the woman that was made from the rib is given to the man to be one new body, one new family. The man who needed a suitable, corresponding companion was dependent on the woman. And the woman who was dependent on the body of the man, fashioned by God into perfect correspondence are joined into one new body. Let no one separate this union.

This is mysterious and hard to comprehend because we often live ignorant of this truth. I wonder if our Muslim friends might find this aspect of the doctrine of marriage as scandalous as our doctrine of the trinity? How can 1+1 equal one? But this bond in God ordained marriage is greater than any bond of nature. We don’t describe it through a math equation and we don’t liken it to any chemical bond, we know it from the word of God. “What God has joined together let no one separate” Jesus reminds us again.

What about when Christians debate with one another about the roles of husband and wife within marriage? We seem to separate the one flesh union from the debate entirely. Are man and woman distinct and different so that they may necessarily correspond? Absolutely! Do man and woman have distinct priorities and roles in the home? Yes, and they’re commanded as such in the New Testament. Do they they have distinct roles and responsibilities in the church? Yes, the Bible tells us so. But all these truths are built on the premise that when man and woman are joined together in marriage they leave behind their independence (or dependence on something else) to depend on one another as their own new body and family. And this is similar to the church family who are all individually one in Christ but distinct in role. There are feet and hands and all the parts of the body. They share one new family together.

Husband and wife shouldn’t say to one another in marriage “this is mine and that is yours” but nor should they say “what’s mine is yours”. What we say in the communication of marriage is “what’s mine is ours”. What I do on mission outside the home is not my work but “our work” and what Jenny does inside the home is not her work but “our work”. If we get the union of marriage correct I think we have a much better foundation to appreciate the distinctions of man and woman.

Granted, this only works well as I’m describing if as verse 25 says “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”

You see the reason for debates about marriage and gender roles are not actually the result of confusion from this passage of Scripture but they are a result of sin. As it was in the beginning, there was nothing that Man and woman had to hide from one another, they could look on one another and see no blemish or fault, only one perfectly designed by a wise creator. There were not created with a desire to rule over one another. They were not created be jealous of the other but they were created to have thankfulness for one another and work in unity toward the same task of multiplying their offspring over the earth and subduing creation to the glory of God.

How can we not be put to shame before our spouse? In our day and age, people seem to think the way back to perfect marriage is just by giving our spouse what they want, sort of just acknowledging our nakedness. You want be ashamed of your nakedness if you just acknowledge and accept someones whims and desires? He won’t have to hide his addiction if you just do it together and not let him feel bad for doing it. She can dress however she wants if her husband gives the thumbs up and why shouldn’t he? Is he ashamed of her? Does he not trust her? If the 30 year old boy wants to play video games all day, let’s applaud him and let him stream it online so he won’t feel bad about it or if she wants me-time away from the kids all the time, let her post on instagram about it so she can find camaraderie instead of shame. But the way back to innocence in marriage is not actually something a husband can grant to his wife nor a wife to her husband but it isn’t a public or expert opinion either.

It is only first through the mediating death of Christ who took our place and bore our shame. It is through the blood of Christ’s death and water of his baptism poured out from his pierced side so that we might be joined to his body as his bride in the New Covenant that was cut for all who would believe in him. We become members, parts of the body of Christ. We first have peace with God and are compelled to live according to the word of God. We are not ruled by the consent of the world or even our spouse but by the word of God.

The only way for us to restore glorious honor to our marriage and be naked and truly unashamed before our spouse is the holy one of God, is lifted up as crucified bears our shame. We confess and repent from our sins, not celebrate as if we were are holy in and of ourselves. A husband receives his wife and a wife her husband again in a one flesh union from communion with God.

Conclusion

Behold and remember today the glorious beginning of the generation of the heavens and earth, the unrolling of Yahweh’s scroll that lays out the perfect relationship between husband and wife, the true family... that lays out the perfect foundation for culture and good work, that lays out the perfect foundation for knowledge, wisdom and eternal life under Yahweh’s word. Behold and remember today the beginning of Yahweh’s unfolding plan to display his glory in the world in the person of Christ and his marriage with his church.