Back in the day

Introduction

Back in the Day by Ahmad: “Back in the day when I was young, I’m not a kid anymore, but some days I sit and wish I was a kid again.”

Genesis 2:4–25 ESV

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.

I. God’s story includes us (v 4)

Genesis 2:4 (ESV)

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.

I know this is not a “make you want to shout” type Bible verse. But it is important as we continue to devote ourselves to sound biblical doctrine. This verse is the fuel needed to begin our journey into chapter two and the rest of the Bible. This verse essentially tells us, this is the account of what happened when God made the earth and the heavens. However, did you notice the slight change in focus? The verse started with generations of heavens and earth but changed to the perspective of earth and then heavens. Where chapter one highlighted God’s creative works, starting with the heavens and then the earth, we find the focus will be on earth and the heavens here on out. Basically, God’s word will focus on the relationship between God and humanity. Therefore, we should begin to change our perspective. What I mean is this: Let us begin to stop, think, and examine who God truly is and our relationship with God in light of the biblical text. We should be asking questions like: Who is God? Why did he create humanity? What is humanity’s original relationship to God?

II. God gives us life for a purpose (vv 5-8)

Genesis 2:5–8 ESV

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.

Keep those three questions in mind: Who is God? Why did he create humanity? And What is humanity’s original relationship to God? “Who is God” according to this verse? In chapter two, the “LORD God” is repeated. “LORD” is Yahweh, which the Hebrews/Israelites know as their God, the One-True God, but most importantly a covenant keeping God. “God” is the Hebrew word Elohim. Elohim is used as a name for God, god, goddess, or deity. Context gives us understanding of who/what is being talked about when Elohim is used. God (Elohim) is used in chapter 1 to identify the Sovereign Creator of all things. So, as we get to this more personal level of God’s interaction with creation, we get Yahweh Elohim or LORD God, which would imply God is a Sovereign Covenant Keeping Creator who is also Personal. And the Sovereign Covenant Keeping Creator of all things who is also Personal created man from the dust and breathed life into him, thus man became a LIVING creature. The LORD God created and breathed life into man for a purpose. Verse 5 makes mention of the land being prepared for life to spring up from it but no representative to work it. Verse 8 states, “And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he formed.” Therefore, humanity was created for the purpose of representing God on earth by being good stewards of His creation. Thus, man’s original relationship to God is one of fellowship, obedience, stewardship, and worship because man is made in His image and likeness. Meditate on this. Ask yourself these two questions: What areas of life has God placed you to be a representative of Him? Are you a good steward of the areas/things God has given you to work?

II. God purposed us to choose life (vv 15-17)

Genesis 2:15–17 ESV

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.”

Have you ever been placed in a position where you were given no instruction? In the military, I experienced this all the time. We would call it “Trial by Fire.” I was put into a new position with no knowledge of that position. I was expected to use my current knowledge and skills of my field to help me get through adverse situations associated with the new position. The hope was I would eventually learn the new position through adversity, not knowledgeable training. My military leaders made the decision based off manpower and needs. Thank God, He does not work like that. Keeping the three question in mind, we understand God has a purpose for humanity. God created humanity to participate in creation and to be His representatives. God also commands obedience, thus implies He is holy, righteous, and just. And finally, God gave humans the capacity to choose. We normally call it freewill. You see the moral goodness of God in the placement/identification of the trees in the garden, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Humans were created to work and preserve creation as representatives of God. We were created with the freedom to exercise our will. However, we would not have known what it meant to choose or how to exercise freewill if God never gave the command in verses 16 and 17. This was not trial by fire. At creation, man was given the necessary information to live or to die. At that time, man’s relationship with God was good. I believe we should take notice of the importance of the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I believe we should find importance in the fact that we too have, have presented, or have been presented, information regarding life and death. “How will you choose?”

IV. God purposed us for relationship (v 18)

Genesis 2:18 ESV

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

There are tasks in life where we need help. We need another set of hands to work, eyes to see, and arms to lift. We need each other. This is the only place in the creation narrative where you will find God said something was “not good.” What was not good? “That man should be alone.” Did God make a mistake? Not at all! Sometimes I do not think we understand we have a need until we are placed in situations where we find ourselves helpless or alone. Think about Adam’s (first time name was used in verse 20 which means the man) situation. In naming all the living creatures, he recognized there was no one like him. There was no helper. Where every bird and beast had a helper, he did not. Was he to work the ground, subdue all living things, and preserve creation, alone? No. God saw that it was not good that he be alone. God is personal. We have the benefit of knowing God demonstrates this in the revelation of the Father, Son, and Spirit. As His representatives, He created human beings to be social creatures. He created us to enjoy each other, fellowship with one another, and build communities with one another to His glory. God did not create you and I to be alone. There is much more to say about this because this passage could be used to talk about roles, marriage, and Church. However, I want us to focus on the social aspect. Although the world looks the way it does, God did not change His plans for humanity, for His people. We are new creatures in Christ made to fellowship and build communities of faith to glorify God. Made to demonstrate God’s love towards one another and others. Made to help one another when someone feels helpless. Considering this: Do you feel alone? If so, it is not good!

V. God purposed us to be bound by covenant (vv 21-22)

Genesis 2:21–22 ESV

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.

As we look at the final verses in chapter 2, let us draw our attention to the work of God. We understand Adam had no suitable helper. So, the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon him. The phrase “deep sleep” is used three times in the Old Testament. Twice it is used when God establishes a covenant (Gen 15:12). Therefore, we can imply a covenant is being established between God, man, and the woman He will create from the “rib” or “side” of man. Now, the term “rib” in Hebrew (sela) is one used to describe both the body and building/structures. Most of the time it is used to describe structures like the side of an altar. Whether it is literally the rib or flesh of Adam, the symbolic significance is that man and woman are fit for one another as companions sexually and socially. Adam has his helper. Although different in many ways bodily, the woman aids Adam in function over creation. Finally, it is the LORD God who made woman and brought her to man. God is depicted here as a builder who constructs the woman from the raw sources from the man. Then, like He did the animals, the LORD God presented the woman to Adam suggesting she is a gift from Him. In that gift, Adam found his partner which caused him to proclaim, “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” (verse 23). Although the phrase “bone and flesh” are often used to denote kinship (Gen 29:14; Judg 9:2; 2 Sam 5:1, 19:12-13), this is the one place where it is literal because of the pronoun “my.” And, instead of kinship, it conveys unity between the two that is far greater than kinship. Likewise, we find unity with Christ and one another through covenant—the blood of Jesus.

VI. Conclusion

Genesis 2 is our back in the day. It was how it was meant to be, if sin and guilt never entered into the world. It was perfect. However, sin and guilt entered in, as we would read in chapter 3. Nevertheless, God had a plan to redeem a people for Himself through the person and work of Christ. Thankfully, those of us who are the children of God experience how thing were meant to be right now. We now understand the center of the universe is not us but God. Everything is about Him and thankfully we are included. We fully acknowledge our new life in Christ is a result of the work of the Godhead. In this new life, we are placed in position to do the good works, prepared by God in advance for us to do. We are purposed to choose life. And this life is not meant to be lived alone, but with a need for others. Finally, this new life in Christ binds us with Him and each other through covenant. One the Scriptures say, is superior to the old and established on better promises. This is how it was meant to be and that is how it is now, for us, and that is how it will be in its fulness for all of God’s children when we dwell with Him forever and ever.