Foundations #2: The God Who Made Us

I. Introduction

II. The first ‘Toledot’

Genesis 2:4 ESV

4 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.

The phrase “these are the generations” or “this is the account of”

These phrases are headings for narrative segments in the book and links from the previous section to the next section of new information.

There are seven of these throughout Genesis 1–11.

III. A look back at the beginning of day 3 from Genesis 1:9-13 (vs. 5-6)

Genesis 2:5–6 ESV

5 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, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—

IV. A look back at day 6 from Genesis 1:24-31 (vs. 7-25)

A. God’s Special Creation of Man (v. 7)

Genesis 2:7 ESV

7 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.

B. God Planted a garden in Eden (v. 8)

Genesis 2:8 ESV

8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

C. The two special trees in the midst of the garden (v.9)

Genesis 2:9 ESV

9 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.

D. The rivers of Eden (vs. 10-14)

Genesis 2:10–14 ESV

10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

E. Focus on Man (vs. 15-25)

A. Man’s Job (Gen 2:15)

B. God’s provision and prohibition to Man (Genesis 2:16-17)

Eat from every tree except... (v. 16)

Don’t eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (v. 17a)

Death is the penalty (v. 17b)

to die v., to pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life

The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017).

C. God’s provision of a mate (Genesis 2:18-22)

Adam is ‘alone’ (v. 18)

Surveying creation (v. 19-20)

Special creation of the female (v. 21)

D. Man’s naming of his mate (Gen 2:23)

E. God’s joining of the Man to the Woman (Genesis 2:24)

F. The state of Adam and his wife (Gen 2:25)

V. Foundational Importance

Man is a special creation of God apart from the animal creatures (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7; 2:21-22)

God established male leadership and female dignity in complementing man (Genesis 2:15; 18, 20; 23)

God instituted the dignity and responsibility of work for man (Genesis 2:15)

God instituted Marriage (Genesis 2:24-25)

Marriage is between one man and one woman (vs. 22-23)

Marriage is covenantal - “leave” and “cleave” (v. 24a)

Sanctity of the Father and Mother relationship with their children (v. 24b)

The two became one flesh (v. 24c)

They enjoyed the most intimate of human relationships. (v. 25) The man and his wife were:

naked

not ashamed

Rightly related to God

Rightly related to one another

Rightly related to the rest of creation