"And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. 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"?'" -Genesis 2.25-3.1
Everything God makes is good. At the end of each day of creation He looks at what He has made and declares it good. When He finishes all of creation, He looks at it and declares it very good. There is no fault, and no shame in God's design. The man and his wife are both naked, uncovered, and vulnerable, and there is no shame in them. They have nothing to hide from each other, or from God, and they are free to enjoy the goodness of both creation and Creator. God only makes that which is good. Then we get to Genesis 3.
The serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. God made the serpent, and Satan uses it for his own purpose. The devil does not have the power to create, that power is God's alone. All the evil one can do is take what God has made and twist and corrupt it. Satan uses a serpent to tempt humanity; he twists nudity into pornography. Food becomes an object of gluttony, and the world becomes an object for man to posses and abuse. Satan only takes and twists God's creation, he cannot create.
God is the sole creator, the power to bring something from nothing rests with Him alone. Everything He makes is good.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Peace be with you
Showing posts with label Genesis 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Genesis 2. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Friday, October 14, 2016
Relational
"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. 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." -Genesis 2.18-22
God makes man from the dust of the ground and breathes into him the breath of life. The man is placed in Eden and is provided with food. He is charged with the care of creation. Man has life, his needs are met, and he has a mission to accomplish, and yet it is incomplete. God says that it is not good for the man to be alone. He has the animals, which means he had a dog, but even the companionship of man's best friend is not suitable. God causes the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he sleeps God removes part of Him and forms it into something else.
The Hebrew word is tsela and only here is it translated as "rib". A more accurate translation would be "side", God took a side of man, and formed it into a woman. Men and women are different, they are unique, but both bear the image of God. These differences display different attributes of the nature of God, and together, in relationship, man and woman can present the full image of God. God created men and women to be together, bringing their differing strengths and natures together to be able to care for creation and represent God.
In Genesis 1, God said, "Let Us ... in Our", this language shows community and relationship as an essential part of God, and man made in His image is made for relationships. Man was made for us and our. When God made man he was alone, and God saw that it was not good, so He took part of what He had made, and made something else to make it good. God makes woman, and brings her to the man so that they may enjoy relationship and serve together.
God is relational, and He created man for relationships.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Peace be with you
God makes man from the dust of the ground and breathes into him the breath of life. The man is placed in Eden and is provided with food. He is charged with the care of creation. Man has life, his needs are met, and he has a mission to accomplish, and yet it is incomplete. God says that it is not good for the man to be alone. He has the animals, which means he had a dog, but even the companionship of man's best friend is not suitable. God causes the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he sleeps God removes part of Him and forms it into something else.
The Hebrew word is tsela and only here is it translated as "rib". A more accurate translation would be "side", God took a side of man, and formed it into a woman. Men and women are different, they are unique, but both bear the image of God. These differences display different attributes of the nature of God, and together, in relationship, man and woman can present the full image of God. God created men and women to be together, bringing their differing strengths and natures together to be able to care for creation and represent God.
In Genesis 1, God said, "Let Us ... in Our", this language shows community and relationship as an essential part of God, and man made in His image is made for relationships. Man was made for us and our. When God made man he was alone, and God saw that it was not good, so He took part of what He had made, and made something else to make it good. God makes woman, and brings her to the man so that they may enjoy relationship and serve together.
God is relational, and He created man for relationships.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Peace be with you
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Choices
"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.... Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 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.'" -Genesis 2.8-9, 15-17
God makes man, and then God creates a place for Him. God plants a garden, and out of the ground He causes every fruit bearing tree to grow. I've shared that I garden, or rather try to. One of my ambitions in life is to get a piece of land and plant as much variety as I can. Currently on my little half acre I have apples, plums, gogi berries, raspberries, blue berries, pine berries, strawberries, peaches and pawpaws, not bad, but nothing compared to what I'm longing to be able to do. I hope the plans I have are able to come to fruition, but even if they do, they will pale in comparison to God's garden. Imagine the variety of fruit in God's garden, there were fruits there that don't exist anymore. Imagine the taste of fruit that had never been touched by sin. God made a paradise for man, and He placed man in it with the charge to take care of it.
God gave man an amazing place to live, provided for His every need, and entrusted it to His care. He lays out a path for man to walk, and that plan is perfect. But God is not a tyrannical dictator, He doesn't force man to walk this path, He gives him a choice.
In the garden God puts every fruit bearing plant, and among them are two specific trees, the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good an evil. God gives man the rule of the garden with one simple rule, don't eat from this one tree. Man had the entire garden to live in, he didn't ever have to go near the one forbidden tree, but it had to be there. God made man with the ability to freely choose, so that man could freely choose to love Him. Love that has no other option isn't real love. If there is only one choice, the choice is meaningless. It is only with options that a decision has meaningful significance.
God could have forced man to follow and obey Him. He could have given man no option to choose anything but Him, but that is not the character of God. God forces no one, He gives them a choice, and tells them the result of each decision, and man is free to decide which path to take. God boldly gives man the ability to reject Him, so that choosing Him is genuine, and the blessings of that choice are more fully enjoyable.
God allows man to choose.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Peace be with you
God makes man, and then God creates a place for Him. God plants a garden, and out of the ground He causes every fruit bearing tree to grow. I've shared that I garden, or rather try to. One of my ambitions in life is to get a piece of land and plant as much variety as I can. Currently on my little half acre I have apples, plums, gogi berries, raspberries, blue berries, pine berries, strawberries, peaches and pawpaws, not bad, but nothing compared to what I'm longing to be able to do. I hope the plans I have are able to come to fruition, but even if they do, they will pale in comparison to God's garden. Imagine the variety of fruit in God's garden, there were fruits there that don't exist anymore. Imagine the taste of fruit that had never been touched by sin. God made a paradise for man, and He placed man in it with the charge to take care of it.
God gave man an amazing place to live, provided for His every need, and entrusted it to His care. He lays out a path for man to walk, and that plan is perfect. But God is not a tyrannical dictator, He doesn't force man to walk this path, He gives him a choice.
In the garden God puts every fruit bearing plant, and among them are two specific trees, the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good an evil. God gives man the rule of the garden with one simple rule, don't eat from this one tree. Man had the entire garden to live in, he didn't ever have to go near the one forbidden tree, but it had to be there. God made man with the ability to freely choose, so that man could freely choose to love Him. Love that has no other option isn't real love. If there is only one choice, the choice is meaningless. It is only with options that a decision has meaningful significance.
God could have forced man to follow and obey Him. He could have given man no option to choose anything but Him, but that is not the character of God. God forces no one, He gives them a choice, and tells them the result of each decision, and man is free to decide which path to take. God boldly gives man the ability to reject Him, so that choosing Him is genuine, and the blessings of that choice are more fully enjoyable.
God allows man to choose.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Peace be with you
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Life Giver
"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." -Genesis 2.7
Genesis 2 takes the creation of man to a deeper level. In Genesis 1 we are told that God made man in His image and sets him to care for the rest of creation. Genesis 2 tells how God created man. God did not speak and man came into being, He formed him from the dust of the ground. The Hebrew word is yatsar, and it means to form, fashion or frame. God made man, He gave Him shaped and structure. In other passages, yatsar is translated as "potter", the hands of God worked the dust of the ground into the shape of man, but at this point, man was still a pile of dirt. The life giver had made the body, but had not yet animated it.
God breathed into man the breath of life, and at that instant, man became a living being. His lungs filled with air, his heart began to beat, his brain began to fire messages to his arms and legs. For the first time his muscles flexed and his toes wiggled. When the breath of life entered man, man came alive.
The Jews would not say the name of God, Yahweh, because they believed it was unpronounceable and sacred. There has been teaching that the name of God is the sound of our breathing, that every breath declares the name God, and that we only begin to live when we begin to say the name of God, and when we can no longer say the name of God we die. God is life, His name is life giving. In order for man to live, He must declare the name of God.
Life is only found in God, because only God is the life giver. Only God can take a pile of dust, form it into man, and make it live. Man has made some amazing sculptures out of stone over the centuries, they are the form of man, but not living. Man can form, but not give life. God made man, and then God made man live. God is the life giver.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Peace be with you
Genesis 2 takes the creation of man to a deeper level. In Genesis 1 we are told that God made man in His image and sets him to care for the rest of creation. Genesis 2 tells how God created man. God did not speak and man came into being, He formed him from the dust of the ground. The Hebrew word is yatsar, and it means to form, fashion or frame. God made man, He gave Him shaped and structure. In other passages, yatsar is translated as "potter", the hands of God worked the dust of the ground into the shape of man, but at this point, man was still a pile of dirt. The life giver had made the body, but had not yet animated it.
God breathed into man the breath of life, and at that instant, man became a living being. His lungs filled with air, his heart began to beat, his brain began to fire messages to his arms and legs. For the first time his muscles flexed and his toes wiggled. When the breath of life entered man, man came alive.
The Jews would not say the name of God, Yahweh, because they believed it was unpronounceable and sacred. There has been teaching that the name of God is the sound of our breathing, that every breath declares the name God, and that we only begin to live when we begin to say the name of God, and when we can no longer say the name of God we die. God is life, His name is life giving. In order for man to live, He must declare the name of God.
Life is only found in God, because only God is the life giver. Only God can take a pile of dust, form it into man, and make it live. Man has made some amazing sculptures out of stone over the centuries, they are the form of man, but not living. Man can form, but not give life. God made man, and then God made man live. God is the life giver.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Peace be with you
Friday, October 7, 2016
Example
"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." -Genesis 2.2-3
Creation is complete, and God rests. It is not that God is tired, it is not that He needs a break to recharge. God rests in order to set an example for how He created man to function. God created the world and everything in it in six days, the seventh day was unnecessary for creation, and yet God gives it to man, and Genesis 2.3 says that God blessed and sanctified the seventh day. God sets it apart as holy, for the specific purpose of allowing man to rest and recharge from the work that has been done in the previous six days. The seventh day is a gift from God for our benefit.
Man was made to work, because man is made in the image of God, and God works. Man was made to rest, because man is made in the image of God, and God rested. There is an order to creation that man is made to function by, and God sets the example for how the flow of that order. By God's authority that order is established, and the purpose of each part of creation is carried out. Man is given six days in a week to tend to the earth, caring for God's creation, and a seventh day to tend to himself.
Isaiah 40.28-31 states, "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."
God doesn't rest because He needs it, as Isaiah clearly tells us. God rested to set an example for man. The seventh day was blessed so that man could rest, and refresh himself in God. The seventh day is a blessing so that man can draw strength from God in order to complete the work that he is charged to do. The example God sets is to complete the work at hand, and then rest. That is the cycle that God created, and intended man to function by. God sets the example for man to follow.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Peace be with you
Creation is complete, and God rests. It is not that God is tired, it is not that He needs a break to recharge. God rests in order to set an example for how He created man to function. God created the world and everything in it in six days, the seventh day was unnecessary for creation, and yet God gives it to man, and Genesis 2.3 says that God blessed and sanctified the seventh day. God sets it apart as holy, for the specific purpose of allowing man to rest and recharge from the work that has been done in the previous six days. The seventh day is a gift from God for our benefit.
Man was made to work, because man is made in the image of God, and God works. Man was made to rest, because man is made in the image of God, and God rested. There is an order to creation that man is made to function by, and God sets the example for how the flow of that order. By God's authority that order is established, and the purpose of each part of creation is carried out. Man is given six days in a week to tend to the earth, caring for God's creation, and a seventh day to tend to himself.
Isaiah 40.28-31 states, "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."
God doesn't rest because He needs it, as Isaiah clearly tells us. God rested to set an example for man. The seventh day was blessed so that man could rest, and refresh himself in God. The seventh day is a blessing so that man can draw strength from God in order to complete the work that he is charged to do. The example God sets is to complete the work at hand, and then rest. That is the cycle that God created, and intended man to function by. God sets the example for man to follow.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Peace be with you
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Complete
"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done," -Genesis 2.1-2a
Everything is done, it is complete. It is finished. This is the only way God works. When God starts something He sees it through to completion. The earth is not half done because God got distracted by something shiny. The universe is not incomplete because God got bored or busy part way through the job. God began this good work, and He was it through to completion. Everything God does, He sees through to completion.
Sin entered and corrupted God's good creation, and God is working now to defeat sin and eradicate it. He began immediately to deal with the issue. As His work progressed, Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay for sin, and declared "It is finished." As He prayed in Gethsemane He said, "I have glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." (John 17.4) The book of Revelation tells of the final victory over sin, when the work of restoration will be completed.
Anything God starts, He finishes. That is why Paul said in Philippians 1.6, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." God's work of restoration includes YOU. God will not leave the work in you incomplete. The good work that He is doing in your life, He will see through to the end.
God is a god of completion. Everything He starts, He finishes, and it is very good.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Peace be with you
Everything is done, it is complete. It is finished. This is the only way God works. When God starts something He sees it through to completion. The earth is not half done because God got distracted by something shiny. The universe is not incomplete because God got bored or busy part way through the job. God began this good work, and He was it through to completion. Everything God does, He sees through to completion.
Sin entered and corrupted God's good creation, and God is working now to defeat sin and eradicate it. He began immediately to deal with the issue. As His work progressed, Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay for sin, and declared "It is finished." As He prayed in Gethsemane He said, "I have glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." (John 17.4) The book of Revelation tells of the final victory over sin, when the work of restoration will be completed.
Anything God starts, He finishes. That is why Paul said in Philippians 1.6, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." God's work of restoration includes YOU. God will not leave the work in you incomplete. The good work that He is doing in your life, He will see through to the end.
God is a god of completion. Everything He starts, He finishes, and it is very good.
TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!
Peace be with you
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Made for Relationships
"Then the LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.'" -Genesis 2.18
I love words, and over time my favorite word changes. Most recently my favorite word was "recluse". I'm an introverted individual, I can handle people and crowds in small amounts or infrequently, but afterwards I need solitary time to recoup. And if I'm honest, part of me really loves the idea of getting a piece of ground in the middle of the wilderness and starting a homestead, away from just about everyone else. My wife would be coming of course, and I'd do my best to try and get a couple of my closest guy friends to come along and homestead with me.
The introvert in me loves the idea, but knowing that at least two of my closest guy friends would never go homesteading makes me reconsider. And then there is this verse from Genesis, "It is not good for the man to be alone". When God said this Adam was the only man on earth. He alone bears the full image of God. And while he has the companionship of every animal, including man's best friend, it wasn't enough. God, who exists in community and relationship, made us to live that way as well.
And so God makes the man fall into a deep sleep, and removes the female characteristics of God from Adam, and forms a woman. The man is joined to his wife and they become one. The relationship of a man and woman in marriage shows the full heart of God with both the masculine and feminine natures of God's image. But as any married man knows, you need relationships outside of your marriage.
I love my wife more than anyone else in the world, but there are times when I just need to be around other guys. We weren't made to do this alone; we were made for masculine fellowship. No man was meant to be a permanent recluse. Yes, there are times we need to be alone and focus on our most crucial relationship, man with his Creator, but we aren't meant to stay solitary. God Himself said, "It is not good for the man to be alone", and since God makes good things, He makes a woman, and in the woman comes offspring, others to have relationships with.
We were made for relationships, don't ignore them, don't neglect them. Embrace them, invest in them.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
I love words, and over time my favorite word changes. Most recently my favorite word was "recluse". I'm an introverted individual, I can handle people and crowds in small amounts or infrequently, but afterwards I need solitary time to recoup. And if I'm honest, part of me really loves the idea of getting a piece of ground in the middle of the wilderness and starting a homestead, away from just about everyone else. My wife would be coming of course, and I'd do my best to try and get a couple of my closest guy friends to come along and homestead with me.
The introvert in me loves the idea, but knowing that at least two of my closest guy friends would never go homesteading makes me reconsider. And then there is this verse from Genesis, "It is not good for the man to be alone". When God said this Adam was the only man on earth. He alone bears the full image of God. And while he has the companionship of every animal, including man's best friend, it wasn't enough. God, who exists in community and relationship, made us to live that way as well.
And so God makes the man fall into a deep sleep, and removes the female characteristics of God from Adam, and forms a woman. The man is joined to his wife and they become one. The relationship of a man and woman in marriage shows the full heart of God with both the masculine and feminine natures of God's image. But as any married man knows, you need relationships outside of your marriage.
I love my wife more than anyone else in the world, but there are times when I just need to be around other guys. We weren't made to do this alone; we were made for masculine fellowship. No man was meant to be a permanent recluse. Yes, there are times we need to be alone and focus on our most crucial relationship, man with his Creator, but we aren't meant to stay solitary. God Himself said, "It is not good for the man to be alone", and since God makes good things, He makes a woman, and in the woman comes offspring, others to have relationships with.
We were made for relationships, don't ignore them, don't neglect them. Embrace them, invest in them.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
Friday, January 3, 2014
Breath of Life
"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." -Genesis 2.7
The more I think about this, the more it amazes me. God forms man from the dust of the ground, and then breathes into him the breath of life. Then, and only then, does man become a living being. I'm not the first one to share this thought, but the name of God is the sound of our breathing. Our lives depend on us being able to praise God, and speak His name.
The ancient Rabbis believed that the name of God was unspeakable because it was literally the sound of breathing. Every breath we take declares the name of our creator. For a baby to start to live, it must begin to say the name of God, and when we can no longer say the name of God we die. God is the source of life, and apart from Him life cannot exist.
Every breath we take declares the name of God, whether we know it or not. Whether we believe it or not. Whether we live like it or not. Every breath we take is fully dependent upon God. And every breath whispers His name. Man has a unique privilege, we were formed by God in His own image, and the Bible only tells us that God breathed the breath of life into man. We are to mirror Him, and proclaim Him, to all of creation. What does your life show?
Every breath declares God, but does your life mirror Him? Does your life reflect and glorify the one who gave it to you?
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
The more I think about this, the more it amazes me. God forms man from the dust of the ground, and then breathes into him the breath of life. Then, and only then, does man become a living being. I'm not the first one to share this thought, but the name of God is the sound of our breathing. Our lives depend on us being able to praise God, and speak His name.
The ancient Rabbis believed that the name of God was unspeakable because it was literally the sound of breathing. Every breath we take declares the name of our creator. For a baby to start to live, it must begin to say the name of God, and when we can no longer say the name of God we die. God is the source of life, and apart from Him life cannot exist.
Every breath we take declares the name of God, whether we know it or not. Whether we believe it or not. Whether we live like it or not. Every breath we take is fully dependent upon God. And every breath whispers His name. Man has a unique privilege, we were formed by God in His own image, and the Bible only tells us that God breathed the breath of life into man. We are to mirror Him, and proclaim Him, to all of creation. What does your life show?
Every breath declares God, but does your life mirror Him? Does your life reflect and glorify the one who gave it to you?
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
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