Part 2 - Book of Genesis

 

 

Creation of Adam and Eve

2.1-4 The heaven and earth are finished and on the seventh day He ceased and rested from all the work He had done. God blessed the seventh day and declares it holy, because on it He ceased from the work of creation.

In Jewish liturgy, this passage serves as an introduction to the Kiddush, the prayer over wine that is recited just before the first meal of the Shabbat, on Friday evening. Remember, the Hebrew day begins at dusk (6 PM) in the evening, not at twelve midnight.

2.5-7 At this time, it is explained there was no grass or herbs because there was no rain. God creates a mist that rises up from the earth for watering. It is mentioned that at this time man is not tilling the soil. Then it says God formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed into man the breath of life--and man became a living being (soul).

God said earlier that man would be created in the image of Himself, now He tells us the material which He used to create us. God then breathes life into us.

In the Hebrew writings in verses 5-6 we now see the first instance of the unspeakable name of God--YHVH-- or Jehovah. In English we say “Lord” and in Hebrew “Adonai”, or “Ha-shem.”

2.8-9 God plants the garden in Eden, in the east for the man to care for. God then causes the trees that are pleasing and good for food to grow there. In the middle of the garden are the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

The root meaning of “Eden” is fertility. Adam’s job is to farm the garden and tend to it. This would not have been a difficult task due to the miraculous fertility of Eden.

2.10-14 Water from rivers issues from Eden. The four rivers are: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates.

2.15-17 The man is placed in the garden to tend to it. He is told he is free to eat from all trees except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He is told he will die if he eats of that tree.

In Hebrew the forbidden tree also means the difference between “moral good and moral evil.” The tree offers an experience that is both pleasant and painful; it awakens those who partake of it to the higher knowledge and the pain that both come with moral choice.

2.18-25 God sees man needs a partner. First, however, He has all the beasts of the earth pass by Adam and Adam gives them all names. It is obvious to Adam that the beasts of the earth are not fit to be his helpmate. God causes Adam to sleep and takes one of his ribs to create woman, and brings her to Adam. Adam states that she is, “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” Hence the scripture says a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, so that they become one. Both of them were naked.

Man’s fulfillment requires companionship. The creation of the woman from Adam’s side, his rib, indicates equality. Man has a deeper relationship with his wife than animals do with their mates. The two become one, caring for each other and procreating. This is a shadow of Christ and His church. The nakedness indicates purity, innocence and ignorance of sin.


THE TEMPTATION AND FALL 3.1-24

3.1-7 The serpent, subtle and shrewd, now says to the woman, “Did God really say not to eat of any tree in the garden?” The woman replies that they may eat the fruit of all trees but that they are not to eat or touch the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The serpent tells her that they won’t die if they eat it, but they will become like divine beings, knowing the difference between good and evil. The woman sees that the tree is a delight to the eyes, was good for eating, and a tree that would be desirable as a source of wisdom and eats. She goes and offers some to Adam who takes it and eats. Then their eyes are opened and they perceived that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

We see the subtleness of the serpent (who represents Satan) when he asked, “Did God really say?” How many times have we heard this kind of question? “Are you kidding? Did he really tell you that!” When Eve answers she also adds that they are not to even touch it. Did Adam tell her that or was it something she thought he said? Communication is important. We see Satan attacking God’s word right from the beginning. First he questions, then he denies God’s word.

The serpent scoffs and tells her, “You aren’t going to die, come on. You will be like God, he doesn’t want you to know all he knows, just eat it.” Her fleshly lusts, it was appealing to the eyes, and her desire to intellectually assert herself, compel her to eat. When she offers it to Adam he just takes it and eats it--doesn’t even reprimand her! Immediately their eyes are “opened” and they understand that they have disobeyed and they are ashamed of themselves. They now have enhanced knowledge--and the pain that goes with it. Their rebellion, their desire to do it their way, rather than obey God, has cost them their spiritual relationship with the Creator.

3.8-12 Now they hear the sound of the Lord moving in the garden and they hide. He asks where they are and Adam says they are hiding because they are naked. God asks who told them they were naked and did they eat of the forbidden tree. Adam blames Eve for giving him the fruit to eat.

Suddenly Adam and Eve are afraid of God and hide. They realize they have sinned and broken the commandment of God. They recognize their nakedness and newfound separation from God. They exercised their free will. God allows us to do that. He gives us instruction on how to live in His blessing, but man always feel that they know a better way and rebels. The word of God is mocked and men do as they please. Sin creates death in our lives. We desire to be like God and refuse to yield to the Creator’s wisdom. God allows us to do that--he wants us to desire to walk in His ways.

As the Creator, God must keep His word. Disobedience (sin) brings death. Now God must have justice served. The penalty is death.

Adam blames Eve for eating, but he made the choice on his own rather than obey God. How many times do we go along with the crowd and fail to obey God in our own lives?

3.13-19 The woman tells God she was deceived. The Lord looks at the serpent (Satan) and curses him. The serpent will crawl on his belly and eat dust forever. God is going to put enmity between him and the woman and her offspring. The seed of the woman will strike at the serpent’s head and he will strike at the heel of the woman’s offspring’s. Then God tells the woman she will have pain in giving birth, will cling to her husband, and he shall rule over her. To the man God says the ground will be cursed and man will have to toil all the days of his life. Thorns and thistles shall hamper him in his work and he will sweat to get the bread he eats until he again turns to the dust he was created from.

Because God demands justice, a curse had to be given. The spiritual battle (Eph 6.10-18) begins here. The ultimate offspring of the woman will be Jesus Christ who will defeat the serpent by His death on the cross. This is the punishment for sin--death. Jesus will pay our debt to God by His death for our sins. God ultimately will sacrifice Himself to make a way for us.

The woman now will have pain in the birth process, but can take hope in the fact that her offspring will be victorious through Jesus Christ. The man will toil and face many hardships throughout his life. “As the sparks fly upward, so man is born unto trouble.” Job 5.7

3.20-24 The man names his wife Eve, because she is the mother of the living. The Lord makes garments of skins for Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness. God says, now that man has gained the knowledge of good and evil and can become like God, they are to be banished from the garden. A cherubim then guards the entrance and man is not allowed back into the garden.

This is a difficult scripture to understand. God does not want man to live forever like Him. Jewish rabbinic thought believes that man was not originally created to be immortal, nor did his disobedience deny him immortality. They believe that wisdom is now available through the Torah. The Torah, then, is the antidote. “The Holy One created the evil inclination and has created the Torah as the antidote.” In Proverbs 3.18 Torah is referred to as the tree of life, bringing life to all who embrace her.

I believe that God is saying that He did want man to live with Him forever, but His hate for sin cannot allow Him to allow man to live forever in a sinful and rebellious state. God is holy and cannot tolerate sin, therefore, He has to make a way for man to now have immortality--that is through the blood of Jesus. The animal skins used to clothe Adam and Eve represent the blood sacrifice that is necessary for the cleansing of sin. As Genesis progresses we will see God’s provision for sin developing. Since Jesus is the living Torah, the Jews are technically correct about the Torah being the way of life--they just have not be able to see Jesus as the Messiah and living Torah.


Next: Part 3