And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen.2:16-17, ESV)

 Before moving on to Gen.3, I want to write a few thoughts on two verses from Gen.2 that I deliberately skipped over before.  These two verses (quoted above) indicate the only prohibition that God gave to Adam when God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden.  Sounds pretty simple.  “Don’t eat from that tree, but feel free to enjoy all the rest!”  I think most of us would like to think, “Had I been Adam/Eve, I would have been content to stay away from that one tree.”  But honestly now, would you?

I remember just recently going into a building that had some exposed insulation.  I told my two sons (aged 7 and 4) “don’t touch that insulation.  It will make you itchy.”  I clearly laid out the restriction and the potential consequence (“Don’t touch or you might get itchy”), just as God had with Adam (“Don’t eat or you will die”).  Within about 5 seconds, one of my boys was touching the insulation.  We seem to have a natural tendency to want to do that which we have been warned not to do.

The world was Adam’s (and by the time we get to Chapter 3, Eve’s as well).  He could go where he wished, do as he pleased, eat what he wanted.  I have no idea how many trees were in The Garden, but I’m fairly certain they were numerous.  But one tree was off limits…out of bounds.  One out of hundreds?  Thousands?  ONE TREE!!  The Bible doesn’t tell us, but I suspect that Adam and Eve were both curious.  Did they even know what “death” was?  Why should they not eat of this tree?  What was so special about it?  In chapter 3, I’ll talk about the world’s first antagonist, the serpent, who began to put doubt in Eve and Adam’s minds about the necessity of God’s prohibition.  I may be wrong about this, but I suspect that even before the serpent spoke to Eve, Adam and Eve were already curious about this one restricted fruit.  Their curiosity alone may not have been enough to cause them to sin, but their curiosity was enough to give temptation a foothold.  (We are rarely tempted to do something that doesn’t at least interest us…)

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.  And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.  (Gen.2:24-25, ESV)

Just a caution to my readers before you proceed.  The Bible never claims to be politically correct.  In seeking to outline the Truth of the Scriptures, my post may offend some.  I don’t strive to offend, but neither to I strive not to offend.  I simply seek to understand and reveal the Truth as outlined by God.  A further caution: the subject matter of the following posting may stray somewhat from a strictly “G” rating.

Therefore (because God formed woman from man and presented her to him) a man shall leave his father and his mother.  Part of marriage, at least in today’s context, is bringing your spouse into your family (and conversely, becoming part of your spouse’s family as well).  However, a more important part of marriage is not becoming part of each other’s families, but to some degree, severing yourself from your original family (parents and siblings) to start a new family unit with your spouse.  I recognize that this can be incredibly difficult for many, as family can be an incredibly powerful force.  However, it is imperative (if you want a successful marriage), that you put the needs of your spouse ahead of the needs of your parents.  Don’t get me wrong – neglecting the needs of your parents, etc., is not a good idea either, but the needs of your spouse must come first!

After leaving his parents, a man shall…hold fast to his wife.  The NIV says, “be united to his wife”.  The KJV says, “and shall cleave unto his wife.”  Regardless of the translation, the meaning is the same.  A man shall be attached to his wife.  The original idea of marriage did not include the option of divorce.  Gen.2:24 does NOT say “a man shall hang onto his wife until she no longer pleases him or another woman comes along who suits his fancy better.”  It says “hold fast”!  Don’t let her get away!!

Once they are married, they shall become one flesh.  I think there is both a literal and a figurative meaning to this.  First of all, I am to love my wife as if she was literally me.  Just like I don’t deliberately hurt myself, I’m not going to do harm to my wife.  Just like I will actively seek to protect myself, I must actively seek to protect my wife.  As I would provide for my own needs, I need to do what I can to provide for my wife’s needs.  Etc.  Let me be very clear on this: abuse has NO place in a marriage as outlined by God!!

As to the literal nature of become one flesh:  I wrote in part 3 about the increasing levels of intimacy from plants and animals, to man, to woman.  Here a new level of intimacy is established.  Woman was taken out of man, so in a sense, the one became two.  Now, the reverse takes place in the physical act of intercourse.  The two literally join together to become one.  One of the goals of sex is the pro-creation of children – as such, this continuation of creation is about as intimate as things can get!

One thing to notice about sex though…it is to take place after a man has left his father and mother, and after he has become married, and only with his wife.  “Casual sex” goes against God’s pattern.  Sex is a wonderful and beautiful thing…but only in the context God intended it for.

The other thing to notice about marriage (and therefore sex):  God created woman out of man.  It is for this reason that a sexual relationship is intended to occur between a man and a woman.  Both the Old Testament and the New Testament make it clear that homosexuality is despised by God.  (Temptation is not sin – however, giving in to the temptation is.  I don’t know why God has seen fit to allow some people to desire relationships with members of their own sex – but I believe these people are called to live a life of celibacy rather than giving in to the temptation of living the gay lifestyle.)

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed:  Perhaps included here to show the goodness of marriage and that sex is wonderful in the right context.  However, it may also be here to introduce the next chapter…(stay tuned)

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.  And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.  Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”

(Gen.2:21-23, ESV)

And here we have the first surgery in all of history!

God created the earth, all the plants, and all the animals ex nihilo (out of nothing).  He spoke, and his creation came into being.

When it came to the creation of the first man (Adam), God chose to act differently.  Instead of simply speaking Adam into existence, “…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.2:7).  The creation crafting of man became a much more intimate act than the rest of creation thus far.  It seems to me, though, that the sculpting of the first woman was an even more intimate act than even the creation of man.  Man was crafted from the dust, but the woman was crafted out of the man!

God made Eve from Adam.  He made her the perfect compliment to him.  Instead of sculpting 2 works in such a way that they would “fit together”, he took one sculpture and made it into two that would fit together perfectly!

As I mentioned in a previous article, God never intended for women to be seen as inferior to men.  If that were the case, God would never have made the first woman in such a special way.

(let me digress for a moment – Some might use phrases such as “wives, submit to your own husbands…” from Eph.5:22 to argue against me.  But if we read Eph.5:22-33 in context, we must acknowledge that phrases such as “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (v.25) pretty much even the playing field)

 Far from being the inferior sex…perhaps Eve was God’s greatest creation to date!

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!