Genesis 1-2 - Affirm God's Good Plan

Affirm God's Good Plan

Background Passage

Genesis 1:1-2:25

Lesson Passages

Gen 1:1,26-28,31; 2:15-18,21-25

Lesson Passages Outline

Value the Good Environment (Gen. 1:1,31)
Appreciate Humanity's Uniqueness (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15-17)
Respect God's Plan for Marriage (Gen. 2:18,21-25)

Biblical Truth

God's people are to live in accord with His good plan for creation.

Life Impact

To help you live in accord with God's good plan

Prepare

"Look, Grandpa!" Emily squealed with delight. "I picked up this aluminum can and there was a pretty purple flower behind it!"

"That is why we are cleaning up the park," her grandfather said. "God gave us a wonderful world, but sometimes we don't appreciate what God has made. We forget to take care of and thank Him for the world. Maybe when someone else sees this flower, they too will be happy and will thank God."

What makes you thankful for God's good creation?

While we need to thank God for our wonderful world, we also need to live in accord with His good plan for creation. God created us in His image to enjoy fellowship with Him, to exercise stewardship over creation, and to relate to and encourage others. God also provided marriage as a special way for a man and woman to join together to experience a fulfilling relationship.

The lesson challenges individuals like Evan, who is so busy working that he forgets to notice the beauty and provision God has provided. It also will challenge people like Amber who sings the praises of God's creation but fails to live as God expects. Adults like Randy, who leads his neighbors in planting vegetable gardens to grow fresh, healthy food for those in need, will find encouragement in this lesson. Finally, the lesson will encourage couples like Tammy and Hank,. Their careers and obligations have caused them to grow apart, and they need to rediscover and recommit to God's plan for marriage and family life.

As you study the account of God's creation of the universe, focus on ways you can encourage adult learners to experience the Life Impact of this lesson by living in accord with God's good plan.

As you continue your personal Bible study, prayerfully read the Background Passage and respond to the Study Questions as well as the questions in the margins for the December 2 lesson in Explore the Bible: Adult Learner Guide.

The Bible in Context (Gen. 1:1-2:25)

The account of God's creation of the universe begins with the simple statement that God created everything (Gen. 1:1). Each part of our universe owes its existence to God's love and direct creative activity.

Having proclaimed God as Creator of all, Moses next was inspired to focus on God's specific creative acts in forming a perfect world (1:2-2:3). At the end of each day of creation, the world had become more like God intended. Water, sun, and soil allowed vegetation to grow, which in turn provided food for wildlife and humans. Sun, moon, and stars provided markers to measure the passage of time and determine the appropriate seasons for planting, harvesting, and for worshiping God. As His final creative act, God created humans in His image and gave them the authority and responsibility to manage and care for His world.

The final section of the creation account focuses on God's creation of humans and His plan for their relating to Him and to each other (Gen. 2:4-25). God formed man from the dust and placed him in a perfect environment. God then indicated the proper relationship His human creatures needed to have with their Creator by giving the man one instruction to obey. Humans possess God-given authority to be stewards of creation, but they are to recognize God's sovereignty.

Knowing the man needed a helper, God created the animals, allowing the man to name them and to discover no creature provided the companionship and relationship he needed. God then placed the man in a deep sleep and from him created a woman. The man responded with delight and God expressed His plan for marriage. In His goodness and grace, God had created a perfect world.

Value the Good Environment (Gen. 1:1,31)

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

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31 God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Evening came, and then morning: the sixth day.

Verse 1. The Bible begins with the creation of the universe. We have no creation account concerning how God came to be because He always has existed and always will exist. God translates the Hebrew word Elohim, a plural form that sometimes refers to pagan deities (for example, Ex. 12:12; 20:3). Here (and typically) it refers to the God of biblical faith. The name emphasizes His incredible power and greatness.

And Today. The use of the name Elohim in Genesis 1 corrects the false ideas held by other religions that attributed creation to various gods and goddesses. Creation resulted not from conflict or sexual relations among various deities, but from the desire and action of the sole, majestic God who effortlessly created the universe, populated it, and created humankind to care for it.

The two extremes of the created order, the heavens and the earth, refer to the totality of the universe. God made everything and continues to sustain our world through His power and grace. From Him we receive life, and through faith in His Son we receive eternal life.

God created effortlessly, speaking the universe into existence. He also created in an orderly fashion, building a perfect environment for life. The account indicates the planning and order of God in two ways. First, the creative acts of each of the first three days were followed by creative acts on the next three days that built on God's initial activity. On day one God created light; and on day four He created the sun, moon, and stars that shed light on the earth. On day two God created the expanse (sky), and on day five He filled the air and water below the expanse with birds and sea life respectively. On day three God created the dry land and vegetation and on day six He created land animals and humans to live on the earth and eat the vegetation. Second, both day three and day six contain two creative acts by God. The beautiful parallelism emphasizes God's careful design and orderly work.

Verse 31. Throughout the six days of creation, God declared His creation to be good (1:4,10,12,18,21,25). Following His creation of human beings, God declared His completed creation to be very good. Nothing further needed to be made. His creation was exactly what He planned. The completed creation reflected God's glory greater than any of its individual parts. Even today after centuries of human sin, God's creation of heavens, earth, animals, and humans continues to reflect, although imperfectly, His glory.

And Today. The universe God created continues to provide a suitable environment for human life. Our world provides physical nourishment, shelter, and a place to find fulfillment in relationships and work. Often we take God's gift of creation for granted. We need to view the world through grateful eyes, thanking God for His wonderful gift.

How do you praise God for His creation?

Appreciate Humanity's Uniqueness (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15-17)

1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth."

1:27 So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God He created them male and female.

1:28 God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth."

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2:15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die."

Verse 26. The creation of humans constituted the climax of God's creative work. The Bible indicates the importance of humanity's creation in several ways. First, God built up to humanity's creation by creating all other living things. Second, the description of the creation of humans comprises a longer account than the creation of any other living thing. Finally, the use of the phrase Let Us rather than "Let there be" indicates God's personal involvement in humanity's creation. [See Exploration: "Let Us," p. 20.]

The words image and likeness essentially mean the same. Image occurs 17 times in the Old Testament, and 10 occurrences refer to a physical representation. Likeness refers to similarity, but not exact correspondence. Thus, "image" and "likeness" indicate humans resemble and reveal something about God but are not gods themselves.

And Today. Being made in God's image means in part we have the responsibility to rule the earth's living creatures under God's authority. Egyptian and Assyrian texts sometimes referred to their kings or powerful officials as being in the image of god since they ruled over subjects. Yet those texts never referred to other people as being in a god's image. God did not create a hierarchy of humans, some of whom are in His image while others are not. All humans are unique from other living creatures, because they alone are in God's image and share the privilege and responsibility of managing God's creation.

Verse 27. When God created humans, He created male and female. Human sexuality did not result from an accident of nature, but from God's intentional and wonderful gift. Furthermore, both males and females possess God's image. God's image has nothing to do with gender or any other differentiation between humans. God's image makes every human unique from every other living thing and of primary importance in God's eyes.

Verse 28. After creating humanity, God blessed them and gave them two assignments. First, He commanded them to procreate. Caring adequately for all the earth required more than a small number of people. At the same time God's command did not mean every married couple was and is to produce as many children as possible. God gave the command to humans at the beginning and to Noah after he and his family left the ark (Gen. 9:1). In both cases, the earth needed enough people to accomplish God's purpose. Placing a strain on God's creation to support a huge population does not constitute caring for the earth.

Second, God commanded humans to subdue the earth and rule its living creatures. Neither term provides humans authority or freedom to exploit nature or indiscriminately kill and destroy living creatures.

And Today. We subdue and rule under God's authority, maintaining His creation to glorify Him rather than to merely satisfy our selfish desires. Thus we are to care for God's creation, maintain its beauty, and exercise responsible stewardship of its resources.

Chapter 2:15. Genesis 1:26-28 outlines the creation of humans, but Genesis 2:4-25 provides more details about the creation of the first man and woman. God formed the man from the earth's dust and placed him in the perfect environment of the garden of Eden. There the man would enjoy security and fulfillment in God's presence.

Read "Eden: All We Know" in the Winter 2007-2008 issue of Biblical Illustrator or Biblical Illustrator Plus (CD-ROM).

Eternal leisure was not part of the garden. God assigned the man to work and watch over the garden. Work translates a verb meaning "serve" and refers to farming, working for someone else, and worshiping. Watch translates a Hebrew verb meaning "guard" and refers to guarding someone or something, celebrating a festival, keeping the Sabbath, and obeying God. Both terms include a secular and sacred element.

And Today. Being good stewards of the earth requires physical labor and investment of time, but it also constitutes obedience to God. Work resulted not as a consequence of sin but as a gift of God to enable us to fulfill our responsibility of caring for creation.

Verse 16. God provided humans abundant food of various kinds, a provision indicating His love for them. He desired not only to give them basic sustenance but also to provide variety in their diet. Part of our responsibility as stewards of the earth today involves preserving God's world and its diversity.

Verse 17. God's ample provision came with one stipulation. The man could enjoy the fruit of every tree in the garden except one. God made more than a friendly suggestion here. He stated a command, using the same form as the negative commandments in the Ten Commandments. God also decreed death as the punishment for disobedience.

And Today. Created in God's image and living in God's world, we humans are to recognize God as Lord and live in obedience to Him. His commandments exist to help us experience fulfillment in life through knowing and serving Him, not to make life miserable. In the garden God provided abundantly for the man, so he had no need to disobey God's one command. God continues to provide for our needs today by sustaining the earth and through our stewardship and share. We have no need to act selfishly or immorally to take whatever we desire. Instead, we need to exercise good stewardship and lead others to know God through Christ, so all can experience abundant life.

Humans are unique among all creation. God created us in His image, gave us the responsibility of caring for His creation, and commanded us to live in obedience to Him. Our uniqueness indicates we need to value the life of every person and take seriously our responsibility as stewards of the earth. By obeying God, we help all people know their value to God and help them experience life as God intended.

How can you better fulfill your God-given responsibilities as a person made in the image of God?

Respect God's Plan for Marriage (Gen. 2:18,21-25)

18 Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is like him."

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21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. 22 Then the Lord God made the rib He had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.

23 And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called woman, for she was taken from man.

24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

Verse 18. The creation of the man left creation incomplete. The man was alone, which was not good. He needed someone to whom he could relate and with whom he could fulfill God's will, so God created the woman as a helper for the man. Helper refers to someone who supplies what another lacks. The Old Testament recognized God helped Israel (Pss. 121:1-2; 124:8), but "helper" does not always imply the helper possessed greater strength or ability than the one helped or that the one helped was inferior to the helper.

While the woman would be like him, she also would be different. The man did not need another person exactly like himself. The man possessed wonderful God-given abilities, but he could not do what God commanded without the woman. He could not procreate by himself nor could he exercise stewardship over the earth alone. The woman's strengths complemented his own and allowed them together to accomplish God's command.

Verse 21. God had created the animals and brought them to the man so the man could name them. In all the wonder and diversity of the animal kingdom, the man found no helper. Animals could not provide the kind of complementary help the man needed.

God acted to remedy the man's loneliness. He placed the man into a deep sleep, a phrase that could denote a sleep brought on by God (for example, 1 Sam. 26:12) or a sleep in which God communicated with individuals (for example, Gen. 15:12). As God created the woman, the man observed nothing, thus preserving the mystery of God's work and making the appearance of the woman an even greater surprise.

God took material from the man ("one of his ribs") to create the woman, clearly indicating the connection between them. Though different, the man and the woman shared exactly the same substance. A tie bound them that could never be broken.

Verse 22. God had formed the man out of the dust as a potter works clay into a vessel. Made, describing God's creation of the woman, translates a verb for "build." None of the animals had fulfilled the role of helper. The woman would do so because God "built" her specifically to be so. God then brought the woman to the man for his reaction.

Verse 23. When the man awoke and saw the woman, he responded with joy to God's gift. Ancient Israelites often used bone and flesh to indicate kinship (for example, Gen. 29:14; 2 Sam. 5:1), but here the man and woman actually shared the same bone and flesh. As the man had named the animals, he also named the woman.

The words man and woman are similar in both English and Hebrew. The relationship of the two words serves as a constant reminder of the interrelatedness of males and females. In the ancient Near East, naming typically indicated authority over what was named. The man's naming of the animals did not give him freedom to abuse or destroy them nor did his authority over the woman give him license to belittle, abuse, or ignore her. His authority required him to love, nurture, and treasure.

Verse 24. Typically in ancient Israel, a woman left her parents when she married while a man continued to live close to his parents. Though the man might not physically move far from his parents, he experienced a dramatic change. His principal relationship and obligations had remained toward his parents before marriage, but they shifted to his wife after marriage. While continuing to honor his parents, he began a new relationship of leadership and nurturing toward his wife.

These two separate people became one flesh. Two people once focused on their desires became a single unit with shared dreams, goals, and tasks. Life changed but also became more fulfilling.

And Today. When Jesus spoke of marriage (Matt. 19:3-6), He affirmed Genesis 2:23-24 as God's plan for marriage. Marriage joins one man and one woman in a covenant relationship that deepens and matures throughout the couple's lifelong commitment to each other. Unfortunately, people do not always follow God's guidance for marriage. Circumstances can make commitment waiver, problems can make a marriage untenable, and abuse can endanger the life of a partner. God's grace and mercy can help individuals heal after a broken marriage, if they seek God and commit to His guidance.

What elements do you believe are vital to a good, godly marriage?

Verse 25. Like most people, we do not want to be physically naked in public or to reveal our character flaws. We want others to see us as better than we are. Yet the man and woman felt no need to hide who they were. They celebrated their similarities and differences, trusted one another, and worked together to accomplish their God-given responsibilities.

And Today. A man's and woman's commitment to God and to each other forms the basis for a godly marriage. In marriage we accept a spouse just as God accepts us, for who he or she is. We also seek to help our spouse mature as a Christian so our marriage can deepen, reflecting God's love and grace.

Biblical Truths for Spiritual Transformation

We need to praise God for providing a suitable environment for human life.
We can actively support efforts to honor the sanctity of human life and to be good stewards of the environment.
We need to respect God's plan for marriage as a permanent union between one man and one woman who are committed exclusively to each other for life.

How can you help others understand and live in accord with God's good plan for people?

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