Tag Archives: genesis

A Few Notes on Genesis One and Two

Have you ever noticed God’s first recorded words to Adam and Eve, the newly created man and woman? There is, I think, a very important message here! These are not His first spoken words to them but the ones we first encounter as we read through the first two chapters of the Bible. Let’s read them in context.

First of all, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). This is, of course, a summary statement; Genesis chapter two gives more details about their creation as we will see in a moment.

In the very next verse (Genesis 1:28) God speaks directly to them His first recorded words spoken to this man and woman. “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.’”

Don’t miss those first words that God spoke to them! “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth …”! God declared in these words His intention for this man and woman, this first husband and wife, to have a family! They were to “multiply” – to have children who would also develop into families and have children, who would then marry and have children as they became families, and so on – until they filled the earth!

Thus, from God’s very first words to Adam and Eve, He spoke of family; He revealed His perfect plan for humanity to enjoy the blessings of marriage and families!

Then, in the second chapter, beginning in Genesis 2:7, we begin to get more details of God’s creation of this first man, Adam, and then later in the chapter, of His creation of Eve, the first woman! Notice that God did not simply speak Adam into existence; He took more time, being careful in this creation. “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 (a living soul).”

There appear in this context words that God spoke to Adam before the creation of Eve (which is why I said earlier that the words in Genesis 1:28 were the first “recorded” words that God spoke to humans). Of course, nearly all of us remember this command, given after God placed him in the Garden of Eden and gave him his job description. Notice Genesis 2:15, “Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.” Then, the famous command of Genesis 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.’” It seems that it would be Adam’s responsibility to pass that command on to Eve after God brought her to him.

However, before He created Eve, God made a profound statement (although it is common sense to most of us now); “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Gen 2:18)! God then stated His intention to “make him a helper suitable for him.” God helps Adam to also recognize his need for a helper by presenting all the animals to Adam (probably in pairs, male and female; I’m just guessing). God allows Adam to give names to the animals, but the conclusion is clear, “… but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him” (Gen 2:20). Ah, now Adam sees the need as well!

“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” (Gen 2:21-22). The man then makes a poetic declaration,

“This is now bone of my bones,

And flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called Woman,

Because she was taken out of Man.” (Gen. 2:23)

(Adam may have won her heart right there; women love poetry! Just saying.)

Bringing this section of Scripture to a close, the concluding statement of the Scripture writer was certainly inspired by God (as was all other Scripture, of course). “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” (Genesis 2:24-25).

I find it interesting (and important!) that Jesus quoted these verses when asked about divorce in Matthew 19. He responded with a question, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” (Matthew 19:4-6).

(Note: The reason for the capital letters in that quote are because the NASB writes Old Testament quotations in the New Testament with capital letters.)

According to the Scripture itself from Genesis and from the words of Jesus, we find that marriage consists of one man and one woman and that when God joins them together in holy matrimony, the two become one flesh! Thus began God’s plan for marriage and family! And I say, “Hooray!”

(I have more to say about that “oneness” but will save it for another blog.)

Genesis One

In the Beginning                                                                        July 9, 2024

The place to begin is usually “In the beginning.” It’s there that the Bible begins. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). So, there you have it – everything begins with God! The remainder of chapter one relates the process and order of creation.

The entire natural realm came into existence from the decision of God; He simply “created” everything! Well, not “simply” by our idea of simplicity; the created world, in fact the entire universe, is far more complex than scientists, philosophers, and theologians have as yet discovered! But let’s back up and see clearly this one fact, that everything begins with “God”!

Considering everything that the designer and creator has placed within this natural realm, as far as we know only humans have the ability to know, to realize, that there is a Creator who exists in a realm beyond the natural realm. All the rest of the creation simply exists without any thought or knowledge of the creator – this One to whom we owe our very existence! Since we have the capacity to recognize this truth, how are we to respond? That is perhaps the most important question we should attempt to answer today.

The first chapter of the first book of the Bible begins here with this first truth – that God exists and He is the Creator! God creates and His own character is reflected in the creation; we see order and beauty, simplicity and complexity. Also built into the creation is the ability to continue; all that is living, both plant and animal life, has the ability to sustain itself and to reproduce, to continue! Plants have seeds that reproduce “after their kind.” All the various sorts of animal life reproduce and multiply “after their kind” (Genesis 1:11, 21).

Then, standing back and considering the wonder of this natural realm, from the largest and the most distant of the stars, to the smallest of the plants, even to the tiniest of atoms, God evaluates it all as “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

We only learn in the New Testament that Jesus Himself was fully involved in the process of creation. One example of this truth is stated in Hebrews 1:1-3, “God … in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.” So, we see clearly that the natural realm was originally created by God with the participation of Jesus Christ, and is still being upheld and sustained by His protective power and care!

It ought to be encouraging to think that of all that the Lord created, only one of His creations is said to have been made “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:26-27). Us! Humanity! Mankind! Only one creature was appointed to bear the “image” of God and to apparently be His representative in the natural realm. We have been delegated a limited authority to “rule over” the rest of creation. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them!”

As the narrative continues, these humans are frequently in conversation with God, being spoken to and speaking back to Him! Don’t miss that point! He speaks to us, and we are to hear Him; we speak to Him and He hears us! [Later, we’ll discuss just how it is that He is speaking to us today.]

Just these few simple thoughts should convince us that we have a responsibility to God for how we respond to Him and to His plans for us. As the One who has the ability to simply speak the worlds into existence, the fact that He is concerned about us at all is amazing and intimidating. Think of it this way, “I owe Him my very existence; I am therefore accountable to Him!” What an amazing, wonderful, creative, and joyful God He is! I am newly motivated to learn more of Him and more of His plans for me.