Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. (Gen.2:19-20, ESV)
Adam’s first recorded task was to provide names for all the birds and land animals. The taxonomical classification system that he utilized is not recorded. I’m not sure if he gave the animals names that classified them (like we would use ”elephant” or “monkey”), or if he gave them personal names like “Hank and Henrietta Hippo” and “Mark and Maude Monkey”, but whatever the case, the names he provided apparently served the purpose for the time being since we are told, “whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.”
In a sense, it would appear that the positioning of these 2 verses indicates that God brought these animals to Adam so that he could choose one to be his helper. Some commentaries on Genesis that I have looked at suggest that God gave this task to Adam so that Adam would realize that none of the animals could satisfy his need of social interaction. This is, apparently, exactly what happened: “…for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.”
I have no doubt that Adam had an ability to work with the animals that far exceeds the ability that we have now. I suspect that all of the animals were more or less “domesticated” (remember, there was not yet sin in the world, so all the animals would have been vegetarian, as there was not yet any death), so teaching the animals to do his bidding would have been well withing Adam’s reach…there is even the possibility that the animals could instinctively understand Adam’s commands (I am merely speculating here…). Any needs that Adam had that an animal could fulfill (such as pulling power from the oxen and elephants or speed from the horses and hawks) were met. However, there was still something missing…something that God already had a way to remedy…
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” (Gen.2:18, ESV)
note: Just in case you’ve been following my blog closely, you may notice that I’ve skipped over Gen.2:16-17. These verses foreshadow the events of Gen.3, so I will include them then.
This is the first time that anything is mentioned of something being “not good”. God created us to be social beings, but up until this point, there is only one human. God recognized that this man, by himself, was not enough, and therefore chose to make a helper for the man.
There seems to be a temptation amongst some men to interpret this to say, “women are meant to serve men”. I don’t think that is the intent here. Instead, I think this is saying that a woman is to be the partner of a man. A man is inadequate to do many things…he needs help. God created the woman to be that helper.
But neither do I intend for women who read this post interpret my words as saying that women are superior because men can’t get along without them…remember, women were meant to help, not to take over completely. Both sexes are crucial. Each one helps the other.
As to the idea of a helper fit for him…if you’ve ever done jigsaw puzzles, you will know that you can’t just stick any two pieces together in any way. You need to find pieces that are cut to fit each other, otherwise the puzzle will not work. Likewise, God didn’t make women the same as men, because He knew what was needed. Yes, I believe that women are different than men. I intend no dis-respect for either gender by saying that…it’s simply a fact that men and women have different strengths and weaknesses, abilities and inabilities. Different…distinct…yet equally important and crucial.
Praise God for the differences!! In areas where I have difficulty (or no ability at all), I often find that my wife is able to compensate – and vice versa.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. (Gen.2:15, ESV)
I’ll freely admit that I love my weekends. Long weekends are better, and vacations are best of all! What do weekends and vacations have in common? I’m not at work. I’m going to hazard a guess and suggest that by far the majority of people feel as I do. Any day not at work is a good day!
But is that how it’s supposed to be? I think there is a common mis-conception that work came about as a result of sin. Had Adam and Eve not eaten of the forbidden fruit, we would live a life of leisure – never lifting a finger to do anything (or so many think). Gen. 3:17-19 might give some ammuntion to this argument. This passage talks of work causing pain and sweat – it speaks of work in the context of unpleasantness.
Don’t mis-read the Genesis 3 passage (which occurs after the first sin) as indicating that work is a result of sin. “Pain” and “Sweat of your face” are a result of sin, but work itself is not. Take a look once again at Gen.2:15 – “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (emphasis mine).
The Genesis 2 passage takes place prior to the first sin. We can conclude, then that work is part of God’s perfect plan and not a result of sin.
Work, therefore, was not meant to be something we did because we have to, but work was meant to be something we do because we find fulfillment in it. Work should bring us delight and pride. Work should be something we wake up in the morning looking forward to doing.
I used to think that once we get to Heaven, we’d spend all of our time in “free time” – gazing at all the beauty of God’s un-marred paradise, visiting with long-lost loved ones, doing “whatever”. I’m starting to wonder, though, if our “welcome to Heaven” kit might just include a tool box!
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. (Gen.2:8-14, ESV)
Here is a basic description of the Garden of Eden. Perhaps not a lot of application can be taken from these verses, but I believe the description of the Garden is important none-the-less.
We do learn a few things from this description.
First of all, we learn that God not merely concerned with function, but form as well. “And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” (2:9a, emphasis mine)
God had created a place for the human he had created (and for the humans who were yet to come) that would not only feed his stomach, but would please his eye as well.
In this passage, we can also see God as a provider. “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden… (2:10a, emphasis mine). God did not leave man to “fend for himself”, but provided the garden what was required for irrigation.
In my next post on Genesis, I will explore man’s role in the garden – not just as a beneficiary of God’s goodness, but as a caretaker of that goodness
this blog focuses on my more serious musings. If you are interested in my less serious side, I invite you to check out http://quest4peas.wordpress.com.
This past Saturday, we had our Thankful Meal (see previous post). My wife and I knew that it wouldn’t be easy, but even we weren’t prepared for the results. My 7 year old son was the only one who was able to finish his meal…the food was much blander than we expected, and it stuck in our throats. I’m not sure that we’ll be able to do this once a month like I had originally planned.
However – I’m very glad that we did this meal! The above paragraph is intended as a statement of fact as opposed to a complaint. Despite a less than appetizing meal, we spent the meal thinking of things that we’re thankful for. Clean running water was one of the things that came instantly to mind. We were trying to replicate the simple meal that someone might have in a country where starvation is occuring – but they probably wouldn’t have easy access to water like we have!!
We also had the benefit of knowing that in a few hours, we would eat again – this time something more to our liking. Someone facing starvation probably wouldn’t know when/if he would eat again.
I think that the meal served a purpose. We have all been more thankful for the blessings that we have. Complaining from my children has dropped off significantly (of course, they know that if they start complaining, there is another meal of plain rice coming their way).
We also started the process of sponsoring a child through Compassion International. We have been SO blessed here – we need to start being a blessing to others as well!!
We in North America are blessed beyond belief. I was reminded of this tonight as we sat and listened to our 4 yr old son complain about his supper (and the supper was fantastic!). We have decided that we need to do a “Thankful Meal” once a month. This will not be like a Thanksgiving feast where we stuff ourselves to bursting with all things yummy. Instead, this will be a meal of rice. Plain rice made into a sort of poridge. No salt or any other seasonings will be allowed. It will be as plain of a meal as possible. We want this meal to be something like the meal that many people eat – not out of choice, but because it is the only thing they can get.
We have a nasty habit of complaining despite our affluence, when so many people are malnourished…even starving…and they are thankful for every little bit of food they can get.
Hopefully, this meal will remind us to be thankful for the abundance that we have.
I would like to invite EVERYONE who has also been blessed to set aside one meal per month to have a simple “Thankful Meal”. Pass this idea on!
One other thing…such a meal is quite inexpensive to make. Why not use the extra cash that you have from making a cheaper than usual meal and use it to sponsor a child. Let’s share our blessings with those who have less!
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east (Gen.2:8a, ESV)
Once again, God shows his personal nature. In Genesis 1, God repeatedly showed his divine nature by saying “Let there be…” and speaking some new bit of creation into existence. Now in Genesis 2, God reveals some of his nature that we can more easily identify with. I can’t speak anything into existence, but I can plant a garden if I so desire! God had already spoken vegetation into existence, but the Garden of Eden…he planted it. God prepared the soil. God planted the seeds and/or placed the saplings. God loved (loves) his creation so much that he came and got his hands dirty in it.
Imagine! the Creator of the cosmos digging in the soil…and I’m pretty certain he thoroughly enjoyed it too!
There are some people who believe that God is the creator, but he is distant…hands off. Next time you are tempted to think that God is distant and cares nothing for his creation, think of a God with a smile on his face and dirt under his fingernails!
When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. (Gen.2:5-7, ESV)
There are some who claim that the creation story found in Genesis 1 and 2 are myths – not to be taken seriously. They will often base this on the “fact” that Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 give different accounts of the creation. However, it is my belief that the second account does not contrast the first, but compliments it. Genesis 1 shows a larger picture, whereas chapter 2 “zooms in” and expands on the event of the creation of man.
The phrase: “When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up…” might be taken to mean that plants had not yet been created. If this is the case, then there is certainly a conflict between Chapters 1 and 2. However, this can also be interpreted that in a certain area, no plants were yet growing. I believe that this second option is the case. Plants have been created, but that does not mean that plants had been created at all points on the earth. Perhaps God created plants in 1 region, and then let reproduction take its course.
Setting aside the debate of whether or not the accounts of Genesis 1 and 2 line up or not, I enjoy the imagery given here regarding the creation of the first man. “The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” (emphasis mine).
God did not merely create man. He formed man! God took the time to physically craft (as opposed to speak into existence) the first human, and then God performed mouth-to-mouth. The creation of man was not complete until God Himself placed his breath into the man he had just created! (Evolved from amoebas? I think NOT!!)
These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. (Gen.2:4, ESV)
One of the nice things about using a study Bible, or using a commentary or devotional guide along with reading of Scripture is that often, you can discover something about the text that you might not learn on a casual reading. The above verse is a case in point. According to the study Bible that I am currently reading through (The ESV Study Bible published by Crossway Bibles copyright 2008-2009), “These are the generations of…” found in Gen.2:4 is the first of 11 such headings in the book of Genesis.
Each time in Genesis where this phrase appears, it signals the start of a new section, giving the book of Genesis a definite structure.
Without this study note, I would have assumed that Gen.2:4 serves to bring to an end the account found in Gen.1:1-2:3. Rather, with this new understanding, it becomes apparent that Gen.2:4 is introducing what is to follow.
Some other translations (such as the NIV) translate this “This is the account of…”. In this case, I find the NIV translation easier to work with, considering that Gen.2:5-4:26 have less to do with “generations” than they have to do with a story or account.
In case you care to look them up, the other phrases can be found in Gen. 5:1 (with a slight variation), 6:9, 10:1, 11:10, 11:27, 25:12, 25:19, 36:1, 36:9 and 37:2
note: one caution in the use of study aids for reading your Bible: The Bible is the Inspired Word of God. Study aids (including the postings in this blog) are the writings of fallible people. While some study aids may be quite accurate and helpful, there is always the risk that they are incorrect, or worse, mis-leading. When studying God’s Word, always remember that the Bible itself is the ultimate authority.
