Gen 3:24

So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

No longer did they have access to the perfect place of dwelling the Lord had provided.
No longer did they have access to the way to the Tree of Life.
The way was guarded by the cherubim and the flaming sword…wonder what that was?

But, there is a way…
There is a way to Life…
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life.

John 14:6

Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Be certain that you are on the way to Life.

Gen 3:22-23

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—

therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.

“Man has become like one of Us…”
Who is Us?

Well, often folk will say “it is capitalized, so it must mean God”.
This is true, but remember that capitalization is a form of commentary.
Yes, seriously.

In this case, it does refer to God - Father/Son/Spirit.

It is interesting to consider the “man has become…” part.
By rebelling against the direction of the Lord, man had knowledge of good and evil that the Lord did not desire for him to have…though the Lord did not remove the possibility.
Man rebelled.
Man now had the knowledge.

Man had the knowledge, but man did not have wisdom.
He did not have the wisdom to obey God.
He did not have the wisdom to eat not of the Tree of Life, which prior to the rebellion had been available to him. Now if he ate of it, he would live forever in sin.

Therefore, we have beginning of man pursuing knowledge…having knowledge…yet having not the wisdom of God.
The beginning of man thinking he knows better and more than God.

We see the fruit thereof.

Seek the mind of the Lord…the knowledge of the Lord…the wisdom of the Lord.
Seek not the ways of man.

Gen 3:22-23

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—

therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.

Several very interesting things in these verses…things often missed.

The Lord spoke.
Did you notice to Who? “Man has become like one of Us…”

The Lord was speaking to Himself - Father, Son, Spirit - the wondrous mystery of the Triune nature of God. The Eternal Covenant that exist with God Himself.

The Lord declares that Man now knows good and evil.

The Lord was concerned about Man taking and eating from the Tree of Life.
Why?

Apparently, if Man had eating from the Tree of Life in his state of sin and rebellion, then he would have been condemned forever more.

Therefore, the Lord sent Man out of the Garden of Eden.
In the Garden Man tended…no labor.
Out of the Garden Man cultivated the ground from which he was taken…sustenance by labor.

Man is banned from the Tree of Life.
For his protection.
Man will have access to the Tree of Life.
For all eternity.

It was God’s grace and mercy which led to His removing of Man from the garden.
He did not want Man to die in His sins.
He did not want Many to live forever…apparently a by-product of the Tree of Life…in sin.

Rev 22:14

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.

Gen 3:17-19

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.

“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;

By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

We can glean some profound truths from this passage.

When Man/Woman sinned creation was effected.
Change took place at the “dna” level.
Now, the ground would bring forth thorns and thistles.
There were not there before.
Thorns and thistles are protection mechanisms for plants.
Before the rebellion there was no need for them.
Now, there is need.

Man/Woman would now eat from the plants of the field.
Before, they ate from the fruit of the garden.

Now, they will eat by the sweat of the brow.

Such would be until their physical bodies died and returned to the dust of the ground.

Adam came from the dust.
He would return to the dust.

Things were now very different.

Gen 3:17-19

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.

“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;

By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

Several things to examine.

The reason for what God was doing…
Because Adam listened to the voice of his wife
He could have/should have said no to the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
He should have stood firm in the Truth of the Word of the Lord and led his wife in the Truth, perhaps the Lord would have restored/redeemed his wife.
Because he ate of the tree going against a direct commandment. Adam still was responsible. He could not blame his wife.

The result of what Adam did…
the ground was now cursed
Man would have to toil to eat…a contrast to “tending” the garden where all they had to do was receive.
Toiling for basic sustenance would now be the norm for mankind all their days.

Do not listen to the cacophony of voices.
Listen to the Word of the Lord.
Do as He says…to be continued…

Gen 3:16

To the woman He said,
“I will greatly multiply
Your pain in childbirth,
In pain you will bring forth children;
Yet your desire will be for your husband,
And he will rule over you.”

The Lord declared these things over Woman…

her pain in childbirth would be greatly multiply…apparently this true. There seems to have been some pain involved with birth prior to this? But, now, in pain would children come forth.

her desire would be for her husband. This is speaking not as much from a physical desire, but Woman would desire to usurp the role of Man. She now would have a feeling/emotion that she did not have before. Rebellion was now in the relationship. The next part of the phrase clarifies this…

he (Man) will rule over you

Before…
Woman came from Man’s side
Man and Woman were side by side and all that can be gleaned from that

The multiplied pain carries the idea of bearing the fruit of rebellion…the price of sin.
The Man ruling over Woman was God establishing His relational government in a rebellious world.

Man and Woman had rebelled.
They would now pay a price.
Pain.
Desire.
Rebellion.
Death.

But wait! There is more…

Gen 3:14-15

The LORD God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;

And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

Because the serpent had done this…deceived the Woman…the Lord declared…
cursed
more than all cattle
more than every beast of the field

I think this might speak of a tremendous “demotion” of the “status” of the serpent.
We know little about who/how the serpent creature was when he was speaking with Eve.
I feel comfortable with stating that his deceit and questioning was due to empowerment by satan.

Satan had taken over the serpent.

We know that the serpent was “more crafty than any beast of the field”.
I suspect the serpent was lower than man, yet higher than all beasts.
It would not surprise me to learn that the serpent was a biped.
Now the Lord stated he will be lower.
Much lower
will go on his belly
will eat dust all the days of his life

This was the judgment of the Lord in a physical sense.
The serpent was transformed.
Sin and death had an immediate impact upon him.

Then the Lord states that He will put enmity…strife, hatred…
between the woman and serpent
between woman’s seed and the serpent’s seed
the seed of the Woman (a close look at the balance of the Word reveals it is Jesus!) shall bruise the serpent on the head
the serpent shall bruise the Woman’s seed (Jesus) on the heel.

Wow.

One more point of clarification on the serpent…

Rev 12:9
And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

The struggle is ages old.
The Lord wins.
Resist the enemy.
He will flee…until a more opportune time…

Gen 3:13

Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Woman did the same.
She blamed the serpent for deception.

God did not reply.

True, the serpent deceived.
True, the woman should have not listened and been tricked.
True, the man should have refused the offer of Woman.

God was allowing them to see what had occurred…to understand…
To understand the moment.
To understand the fruit of the act.
To understand the future.
To understand that there is hope…

But before all that was clear, the Lord would speak to the serpent…

Gen 3:11-12

And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.”

Man blamed Woman.
But Man went even further.
Read the passage again.

Who else did Man blame?

“The Woman whom You gave to be with me…”

Adam was blaming God.
He was passing the responsibility for his rebellion to the Lord.

Nothing changes.
Man does the same today.

How quickly Adam went from “wow, this is it” when God presented Woman to him.
Now, it is “y’all’s fault”!

Adam stated the truth…”she gave me from the tree, and I ate”.

He gave no thought to the fact that he should have said no.
He simply wanted to justify himself before the Lord.
He wanted to fault someone else.
The reality was that Adam was responsible.
We are all responsible for what we do.
No one else.

Point not the finger.

Gen 3:9-11

Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”

He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

Note the Lord called to the man.
The Lord asked where he was.
It is not because the Lord does not know the answer to His inquiries.
He is giving Man the opportunity to “come clean”, to confess, to repent.

Adam responded.
He revealed his location.
He revealed himself.
He explained…
- heard the sound of You in the garden (again, what sound does the Lord make while strolling through a garden?)
- he was afraid…ah!
- he hid himself.

We learn something.
Not only was Man ashamed.
He now was experiencing fear.
Disobey the Lord and fear is a fruit.

The Lord asked more questions.
He knew the answers.

He was giving Adam the opportunity to respond…to be continued…

For today…
Obey the Lord.
Do as He instructs/commands.
Walk in the freedom and liberty from fear and shame.

Gen 3:7-8

Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Their eyes were opened.
They saw they were naked.
They “knew” things.
The covering of the Lord was gone?

They sowed fig leaves and made loincloths.
The best man can do to cover sin is a fig leaf.
So interesting.
Why cover particular regions of the body?
Why leave others exposed?

Rebellion had occurred - sin.
Death was now invited into creation.
Shame was the outcome.

Shame to such a degree that they hid themselves from the Lord.

Some curious truths…
the Lord walk in the garden in the cool of the day
they heard Him
the Lord walked among them
the Lord made sound
the garden had an ebb/flow of temperature

Heartbreaking.

But, soon some day, all will be restored…

Gen 3:6
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

Read through the verse again.
Slowly.
Look at the process.
Look at the thought pattern.
Look at the subsequent actions.

(1) The Woman saw that the tree was good for food. Remember, the Lord has forbid eating from this tree (Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil). Of course it would have been good for food. Now, Woman was thinking/contemplating/reflecting upon what it would be like to reject the instruction of the Lord. What would it taste like?

(2) The Woman saw that the tree was a delight to the eyes. She continues to think about it. “How pretty…”.

(3) The Woman considered that “the tree was desirable to make one wise.” Her thoughts led her away from trusting in the Word of the Lord to believing the lies of the evil one. Was God “holding out” on something? He had something we did not…?

The Lord gives more insight into this in the New Testament…we will look at it tomorrow. 1 John, Romans 1.
But, for today…

What did Woman do?
(1) She took the fruit from the forbidden tree.
(2) She ate.
(3) She gave to her husband…who was with her. (Interesting phrasing. “With her” from the sense that he was on earth/they were together/they were the only humans? Or “with her” from the sense that he stood there watching the entire thing? I suspect the former.)

He ate.

This is how the enemy comes against us.
These are the thoughts that come when we take our mind away from the Word of the Lord and place it upon other things.

May we keep our mind stayed upon the Most High.
We will then know and reject the temptations of evil.

Gen 3:4-5

The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!

“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Lie 1 - “You surely will not die”.

Lie 2 - “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Well!
Of course God knows.
The serpent was presenting this in such a was as to paint the Lord as withholding something of value. Of not being totally truthful and forthright.
Their eyes would be opened, but, that was not good.
They would know “good and evil’, but the Lord created them for not evil.

Lie 3 - “you will be like God”
Another deception.
They would be “like God” in knowing good and evil”
They would not be “like God” in other ways.
Again, the serpent was accusing God of “holding out” on His creation.

So, we see the pattern of the enemy…
Forthright lie. “you surely will not die”
Subtle perversion. “God knows”, “eyes open”, “be like God”,
Speaking to pride. “you…will know good and evil”. Speaking to the pride of man.

Know the Lord.
Know the strategies of the evil one.
Rest in the Lord.
Resist the evil.

Gen 3:1-5

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

The Woman stated that they were not to eat of the Tree (Of Knowledge of Good and Evil).
She then said “neither shall ye touch it”.
God did not say that.

Then she says this…”lest ye die.”

Our use of the word “lest” connotes a possibility of something.
It was not just “possible”.
God said that if they ate of the tree they would die.
Not perhaps.

Certainly, “lest” could also mean a certainty of fact.

Either way, she knew that death was involved.

Interesting that God communicated to them the concept of death.
They had never seen death.
They had never experienced death in anything in creation.

What was the response of the serpent?
“Ye shall not surely die…”

He countered the Word of the Lord.
He lied to her face.

This is what the enemy does.
He will confront us with a subtle perversion of the Lord or with a bold-face countermand of the Word.

Can’t you just hear the soft whisper of the evil one…oh “you will not surely die…”.
Then he explains the reasoning…

Do not believe the voice of the evil one.

…to be continued…

Heb 11:1-3

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

For by it the men of old gained approval.

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

It is by faith that we understand that God prepared the worlds (I’m still intrigued by the plural) by His Word.
It is by faith that we understand that what is made is made out of things not seen.

We have seen the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2.

We do well to finish the account by a quick reading of Genesis 3.

Repeatedly it has be asked: “what could go wrong”?

Here it is…

Gen 3:1-3

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;

but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”

The serpent was crafty.
He was used by the evil one to “setup” the woman.
The serpent inquired of the woman.
“You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?” He knew what the command of the Lord was.
He was challenging her.

How did she respond?

On the surface the response looks good.
But…!

Yes the Lord said “do not eat” of the tree in the middle of the garden.
But, the woman added something…”or touch it”.

We have no account of the Lord saying that.
Perhaps God did say it and we are informed here.
Perhaps God told the Man and he informed Woman incorrectly.
Perhaps the Woman added to the Word of the Lord.

I suspect the later.

It is easy to add to and go beyond the Word of the Lord.
People do so all the time.

We must not.

Too often…in the preaching/teaching area especially…it is done in the attempt to “make a point”, “be relevant”, “to communicate.”
I see it on a weekly basis.
Man simply gets “twice-too-cute”.

The bottom line is this - the Lord does not need our addendum to His Word.
He needs our abiding obedience.

Simply speak the Word of the Lord.
No subtraction.
No addition.

Remember this from an especially enigmatic character…

Num 22:18
And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.

Num 24:13
If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?

Do not go beyond the Word of the Lord to do more or less.
Speak what the Lord says.

Gen 2:21-25

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.

The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

The Lord made a helpmeet.
Note how He did it.

He fashioned woman.
Yes, the Lord created woman but He seems to have done more.
Man was created from the “dust of the earth”.
God used one of the ribs of man to “fashion” woman.

God then presented Woman to Man.

Man’s response?

The original language conveys an overwhelming joy and excitement.
“Bone of my bones…
“Flesh of my flesh…

Adam was saying “that’s it!”

Remember, Genesis and the balance of the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament) were written by Moses via the Holy Spirit.

Moses/the Spirit gives us understanding of the purpose and functioning of what just happened.
- Man was to leave his father and mother. (Of course Adam/Eve had no mother/father. Moses was giving us insight into what God had done and why.)
- Man was to join to his wife.
- They were to become one flesh.

One author describes this as…
leaving
cleaving
weaving

All was very good.
Man and his wife were naked.
They were not ashamed.

There was “nothing between” man/woman/God.

What could possibly go wrong?

Gen 2:18-20

Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.

Was God confused?
Was God uncertain?

God knew that it was not good for man to be alone.
God knew that man needed a helper.
Did God intend for animals to be the answer?

No.

God brought the animals before Adam for a couple of reasons.

To establish dominion
God had already given man dominion over creation. In naming the animals, Adam executed the authority. He was literally “over the animals” by naming them. He “learned/met the animals”.

To discover that the needed helper was not among the animals.
Adam discovered/learned that the helpmate was not among the animals.
There was something else that was needed.

God knew this.
Adam learned it.

It was/is God’s design for man to have “a helper suitable for him.”

Gen 2:16-17
The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;

but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

They would die in the day that they ate of the tree.

Did this occur?

As we will see in more detail, the moment they ate, sin and death entered into the world.

They died.

It took a number of years for their bodies to expire - 900 for Adam?

Yet, from that moment on, they were dying.

From that moment on things changed…yet, there is hope.

Heb 11:3
By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

We have been looking at some of the details in Genesis 1 and 2.

Gen 2:16
The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;

but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

What of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”?

It was forbidden of the Lord.
It was in the midst of the garden with the tree of Life.
Remember, there were two trees in the midst of the garden.

The use of the phrase “knowledge of good and evil” refers to all knowledge between two extremes - “good”, “evil”. It is often called a “merism”….as far as the “east to west”, etc.

The Lord was providing a choice.
Would man believe, trust, abide, etc in the provision of the Lord?
Would man disobey the one instruction/commandment and seek his own way, his own knowledge, his own plan in his own strength?
Would man chose to walk with God or walk away?

The balance of the account gives more insight

For today, what have you chosen?
What will you choose?

Gen 2:15
Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

The Lord then gave a commandment to man.

Gen 2:16
The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;

but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Man, Adam, was free.
He was free to eat from any tree in the garden…save one.

He could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Why did God even place the tree of knowledge and good and evil there?
To tempt man?
To trip man up?

No.

God desires relationship.

One does not have relationship if one part of the relationship is “pulling all the strings”…like a marionette puppet.

God gave man the ability to decide.
The ability to choose.

To choose to walk in obedience with the Lord.
To choose to walk in rebellion.

There was one simple rule.
“Do not eat of the one tree”.

Easy, no?

One more thing.
What is “knowledge of good and evil”?
…to be continued…

Gen 2:15

Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden
to cultivate it and keep it.

The Lord took the man he created, Adam, and put him in the garden of Eden.
Man was to cultivate the garden.
Man was to keep the garden.

Cultivating and keeping are different today.
Today it requires work…due to some things we will see later.
For Adam, cultivating and tending the garden would not have been work.
It would have been the flow of life designed by the Lord of walking with Him and interacting with His perfect creation.

Such is hard for us to comprehend.

But, the day is coming…

Gen 2:10-14

Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers.

The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there.

The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush.

The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

There were two trees in the midst of the garden.
There was a river also.
A river that watered the garden
A river that flowed out of Eden…makes one wonder what the “out of Eden” was like.
When the river flowed out of the garden it divided into four rivers.

Interesting details about these rivers.

They are numbered.
Important?
Perhaps.

The first - Pishon. The word means “Increase”. It flowed around the whole land of Havilah. There was gold there. Good gold. Also bdellium and onyx. Interesting details. I wonder about the purpose of the elemental detail?

The second - Gihon. The word means “bursting forth”. It flowed around the land of Cush.

The third - Tigris. The word means “rapid”. It flowed east of Assyria.

The fourth is Euphrates. The word means “fruitfulness”.

The location of the Tigris and Euphrates is known today.
The exact position of Pishon and Gihon is unknown.

Then there is this.
Things today are substantially different geographically than in the days of Eden.
The judgment of God - the world-wide flood - changed the topography, hydrological cycle, the very structure of creation at the cellular level.

The general region is the same.
The location and flow of the rivers would be different.

The garden the Lord prepared for man was abundant in resources, abundant in food, abundant in water.

It was paradise.

What could possibly go wrong?

Gen 2:8-9

The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The Lord planted a garden for them…toward the east. In Eden.
He then placed man there.

We can only imagine what that garden was like.
(This is prior to the judgment of the Flood which brought forth the current world we have.)

I suspect we will see such a garden and environment in the future.

The Lord caused every tree to grow from the ground.
Trees pleasing to the sight.
Trees good for food.

There were two specific trees.
Two trees in the midst of the garden.
The tree of life.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Remember, the Lord said all of creation was very good.
It was very good that these two trees were in the midst of the garden.

This is important…as we will see…

Gen 2:7-8

Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

Man was created on the sixth day.

God formed man.
He fashioned man.

Psa 139:14-16

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life.
Man then became a living being.
A living being fashioned in the image of God.

Man is different from all other animals.
Man has a “spirit”…the image of God.
Animals do not.

God planted a garden for man.
He then put man there.

All was good.
All was perfect.

What could go wrong?

Heb 11:1-3

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

For by it the men of old gained approval.

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

We have been looking at the Lord’s account of creation in Genesis…we continue…

Gen 2:4

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven.

This verse gives a “wrap-up” of the Genesis 1 account…and also a preface to Genesis 2.

The Lord created the heavens and earth “in the day”.
As mentioned earlier, the length of time referenced by the term “day” is determined by context. We have seen twenty-four hour days.
Now we are seeing a period of time as “in the day” - six days to be exact.

Now, note the following…

Gen 2:5-6

Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.

The Lord is “backtracking”…focusing in… to give us more understanding, more detail to creation.

Shrub was not yet on earth.
Plant not yet.
No rain upon the earth.
A mist used to rise from the earth to water the surface of the earth.
No man to cultivate…as we will see, no need to cultivate.

The Lord is telling us that things were different at that time than when He is revealing this through Moses.

For instance, the hydrological cycle of earth was different.

This is important.

…to be continued…

For today:
Believe by faith.
The Lord reveals by faith.

Gen 2:1-3

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.

By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

The heavens and earth…and all their hosts…were completed in six days.

What then did the Lord God do?

He rested on the seventh day.

Why?
Was He tired?
Was He reflecting?

No.

He set an example.
He modeled for man.

The seventh day was set aside by the Lord and sanctified…made holy…because He rested from all His work.

In the Old covenant, man was called to rest on the sabbath and keep it holy…

Exo 20:8

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

In the New covenant we are not required to “keep the sabbath” in the sense of the Law.
Every day is the same.

Rom 14:5-6

One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.

He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

We as true believers keep the sabbath rest in/through the Lord Jesus…not be a “keeping of a day of the week”. (Obviously, I am an “every-day-the-samer” )

Heb 4:9-11

So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.

Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.

Enter the rest of the Lord.
Do not rest in self.
Be not disobedient.
Rest and rejoice in Him.
This is the true sabbath rest.

Blessings folk!

Day 1 - Light
Day 2 - Waters separated
Day 3 - Vegetation
Day 4 - Sun, Moon, Stars
Day 5 - Water/Air creatures
Day 6…Land animals, man in the image of God, blessed, fruitful, multiply

The last points of Day 6 of creation…at least from Genesis 1…

Gen 1:29-31

Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;

and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Man was blessed.
Man was told to be fruitful and multiply…to produce more humans.

The Lord told them to eat!
Every plant yielding seed that was on the surface of the earth.
Every tree yielding seed.
All would be food for them.

The same was said for the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky.
Everything that moved on the earth fed from the green plants.

God was pleased.
Not only was it good.
It was very good.

Evening and morning, the sixth day.

God’s creation was perfect.

Remember why we are examine this…

Heb 11:3

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

Do you believe by faith?

Gen 1:27-28

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Man - male and female both - were blessed of God

They were told to…
be fruitful
multiply
fill the earth
subdue the earth
rule over the fish of the sea
rule over the birds of the sky
rule over every living thing that moves on the earth

God strongly emphasizes that man was to rule.
In verse 26 we saw that the Lord had determined this within Himself.
In verse 28 He commands them to do so.

Why the emphasis?

Because man was given dominion as the Lord instructed.
Man was blessed by God.
Man was empowered by God.
Male and female were to rule with dominion over the creation the Lord provided.

It was good…and yet…?