Genesis 2
A Sovereign Ruler Sets the Rules
0 MIN READ
Psalm 1:1-6 The Blessings of the Righteous
The Two Paths
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Application
As you encounter God's word, think through implications for applications (=meditation) because God blesses those who do, but leaves the fools to their folly until judgment day.
Prayer
Lord, may the roots of my thinking and values go deep into Your word, so I may bear its fruit continually and experience the blessings You so graciously give to those who please You. Amen.
Proverbs 1:1-7 How Many Of These Benefits Do You Own?
The Beginning of Knowledge
1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight, 3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity; 4 to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth— 5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance, 6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Application
Proverbs was not just given to increase our knowledge, but to change our values and lives. Every week we should be able to point to instances of how Proverbs pointed us to the wise path.
Prayer
All Wise God, I praise You for providing what I need to keep my toes pointed on the wise path. Please correct my missteps by the instruction and correction of Your Word. Amen.
Genesis 2 A Sovereign Ruler Sets the Rules
The Seventh Day: God Rests
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.The Creation of Man
4 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. 5 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, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 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.
The Planting of the Garden
8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 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. 10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.The Forbidden Fruit
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 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.”Adam Names the Animals
18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 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. 20 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.The Creation of Woman
21 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. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 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.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me recognize and embrace Your goodness and wisdom in the circumstances of my life. I trust that You are infinitely good, and know best. Amen.
Application
Do you view God's commands as helps or hindrances to your happiness?
Digging Deeper
God in a nutshell: Sovereign ruler, concerned about what's good for us, who blesses and sets the rules, specifying consequences, which we are free to reap. Doesn't micromanage every decision, just like a sovereign king or nation establishes the rules and doesn't micromanage the decisions of the citizens.
Us in a nutshell: Dependent creatures, designed for intimacy, infused with God's breath. We're given commands with the expectation we would obey them. We have choice, but don't always choose wisely.
Questions
Did Adam trust and believe God? Do you?
Questions
Structure
A common literary technique is to move from the general overview to the specific details. These are not two different and contradictory accounts of creation as some people educated beyond their intelligence erroneously think. I attended a faculty orientation at a university where I teach and heard a philosophy professor relate how she would tell her students how the two different accounts showed the Bible was false. It's amazing that none of the greats of the Scientific Revolution, who were all Theologians, noticed what she was so clever to observe. Too bad she never had an English or History course. She might have learned something. The author is picking out pieces of the general overview in Genesis chapter 1 to develop specific themes in chapter 2. He is not giving a new chronology. If you were going to create a work of fiction which changes the world, you don't start off with such an obvious "error."
Lexical Light
v23 ‘iysh=Man ‘ishshah=Woooohman! (Translations vary; laughter is a godly thing.)
Observation
v6 a vapor canopy was the first lawn sprinkler system.
v7 “formed” is used of an artisan/potter designing a work of art. Add breath, and get life. Remove breath, and lose it. The Holy Breath in the New Testament might be worth thinking about here.
v9 Man's access to the tree of life indicates God's intent that man have life (and as Jesus said, have it abundantly, in John 10:10).
v16 note who gets the command.
v18 God is called our help/helper a number of times, ie, Psalm 33:20.
v19 naming things is a form of exercising dominion
v25 Nakedness is a key concept (you'll eventually know why). Hints: Matthew 17:2; 2 Corinthians 4-5.
Where to go for more
Truthbase.net has Tools to Manage Your Work, and Relationships/Marriage under the TOYL materials.
There is a summary sermon called: Work: I Hate My Boss & My Railroad Train Pajamas but I'd suggest you dig deeper to learn how to do your Work As Worship.
Truthbase.net has several Biblical and secular resources for developing relationships as God intended. Check out the series enhancing Gottman's “Seven Relationship Principles” from a Biblical perspective. All Truth is God's Truth, and we can gain insight in applying Biblical Truth from any source.
IF YOU'RE SINGLE, there are two key principles to practice:
Solomon, a guy who knew a lot about relationships thrice said: "Don't stir up or awaken love until the proper time" (Ecclesiastes 2:1). Paul said, in the context of relationships "don't defraud one another" (1 Thessalonians 4:1-4).
If you want a "Happily Ever After" fairy tale ending, learn what the other half is looking for by visiting the Sleeping Beauty or Prince Charming outlines on Truthbase.net.
Basing your life on the Truth found in Contentment: Lord of the Ringless will free you up to get the most out of your stay here on earth.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
Users may not copy or download more than 500 verses of the ESV Bible or more than one-half of any book of the ESV Bible.