Adam and Eve
Please read these verses from the Bible of your choice or online (Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2&version=NIV )
The observations and comments are from my own Bible studies.
v 4: Genesis 1 was the overview. God now gets down to the specific creation of humans.
While in Genesis 1, the word translated as “God” is Elohim, it is “Lord God” in chapter 2, Yahweh-Elohim (or Jehovah-Elohim).
v5-6: This harks back to Day 3 when God created vegetation. There was as yet no rain, but a system of evaporation and condensation.
Before man was even formed, God made a job for him: “to work the ground:” care for the earth.
V 7: Humble dust is generally considered of no value. God used it to make human bodies and breathed his own breath into his creation. Therefore, we are created both of heaven and earth.
“Formed” indicates skilled craftmanship. “Breathed” indicates personal relationship.
v 8-9: Eden means “delight.” God made man a specific and special place, a garden, not a house. Everything in it was beautiful and delicious. Recent studies have shown that people need exposure to nature for our health. (See links below.) This is part of our design. God created us that way. It is hardwired in our DNA. We ignore it to our peril.
https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-does-nature-impact-our-wellbeing
v 10-14: This garden was not fictional or vaguely situated. It had a definite geographical place. This general area has been called “The Fertile Crescent.” (See https://www.britannica.com/place/Fertile-Crescent) Note that in this article that the use of irrigation was necessary in this area. Isn’t that what God is doing in v 6, to prepare the garden for man?
v 15: A home and an occupation to fully engage the humans, including a rhythm of work and rest.
v 16-17: “Free to eat” – all but one. Free will, to be free, must present a choice with consequences: in this case death. (We parent the same way: warning against danger and clearly framing the consequences of disobedience. Or maybe we should.) God is clearly warning about danger.
So Adam’s responsibilities are:
1. Be fruitful and multiply
2. Have dominion over the earth
3. Rule the animals
4. Care for the garden
5. Stay away from one tree
These instructions were given to Adam alone; the woman had not yet been created …
v 18: And here is the first “not good.” Aloneness is not good. We need companionship with God and companionship with others. See https://www.gotquestions.org/woman-helper-suitable.html for more on the words “helper” and “suitable.”
v 19-20: Interestingly, the animals and birds were formed of the ground as was Adam, but not given the breath of God.
God named “day,” “night,” “sea,” “sky” and “land” (Genesis 1: 5, 8, 10); Adam named all the animals. Clearly he was brilliant, wise, creative and imaginative (made in the image of God).
The animals each had its mate. But there was no comparable human for Adam. I wonder if this was the first time he noticed.
v 21 The first surgery included anesthesia. I doubt Adam had a scar, though, since the Great Surgeon closed the site up with flesh.
v 22 Eve is made from the substance of Adam. We know that every cell in our bodies carries our genetic code. At their core, men and women are more alike than our differences make us seem.
v 22b-25 And then God performed the first wedding. Complete with music (v 23 is Adam’s bridal song) and an explanation (v 24).
v 25 Newly created, perfect in every way, there is no reason for shame. They had never done anything wrong. (Merriam Webster defineds shame as “a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety”)
The Creation is now complete. God has modeled our need for regular rest, planned and prepared a special place, given specific tasks, offered freedom within a framework of obedience, met man’s need for human relationship and companionship. Now it is up to humanity to proceed wisely … Stay tuned …