Genesis Chapter 2
V 1,2. Finished.... rested.... hallowed When the Creator had pronounced his approval of everything He had made, including man, the crown of creation, He declared the work finished.
For the present, He would undertake no further creation. However, He sanctified, or hallowed, a day of complete rest. The Hebrew word shabat can be translated "desisted" or "ceased" During this time even God would rest from creative activity (cf. Ex 2 :11; 31:17). V 3. The seventh day was set apart to be hallowed and honoured through the year as a reminder that God had appointed a season of rest, refreshment, and complete cessation of all ordinary work, toil, and struggle. V 4. These are the generations. The Hebrew word comes from a verb meaning to beget or bear children.
It could be translated 'begetting’s." This statement is a reference to Genesis 1.
The LXX translates: This is the Book of the Genesis. Some would translate it, The history of the heavens and the earth.
The offspring of heaven and earth were pictured.
Jehovah, the Lord God. For the first time, the name Yahweh, or Jehovah (cf. Ex 6:2,3) is presented.
Jehovah is the personal covenant God of Israel, who is at the same time the God of heaven and earth.
The name means the eternal self-existence of the Author of all existence.
It is expressive of God's loving-kindness, His grace, His mercy, His lordship, and His eternal relationship to His own chosen ones who are created in His image.
Jehovah's special relationship to Israel would be described more distinctly when he would appear at the burning bush near Sinai. Here the Author of life is identified with the divine Creator of Genesis 1.
V 6. there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. In order to prepare the ground to perform its appointed work, the Creator supplied moisture.
The usual translation refers to a very slight drizzle of rain, or a mist.
In any event, the mist was God's way of working out His will for the soil.
V 7. The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.
Again the two names for God are joined in anticipation of the time making event. The figure of a potter at work, moulding with his hands the plasticised material he holds (cf. Jer 18:3,4).
The same verb is used to picture the shaping of a people or a nation.
Man's body was fashioned from the dust of the ground, while his spirit came from the very 'breath" of God.
He is literally a creature of two worlds; both earth and heaven can claim him.
Notice the three statements:
Jehovah formed man of the dust . . .
Jehovah God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life . . .
man became a living soul.
The first step was exceedingly important, but the moistened dust was far from being a man until the second miracle was complete.
God communicated his own life to that inert mass of substance He had previously created and moulded into form.
The divine breath permeated the material and transformed it into a living being.
That strange combination of dust and deity produced a marvellous creation (cf I Cor 15:47-49), made in God s own image.
As a living being, man was destined to reveal the qualities of the Giver of life.
He was made like God in spiritual powers.
To him were given the powers to think and feel, to communicate with others, to discern and discriminate, and, to a certain extent to determine his own character.
V 8. A garden ... in Eden Moses represents God as planting a beautiful garden for his new creatures. The word means an enclosure or a park.
The LXX here uses a term that, forms, the basis for our word "paradise ..
Man’s work in that garden was to exercise dominion while serving - a good combination. The duties probably were rigorous but enjoyable.
Eden, or the land of Eden, probably lay in the lower part of the Babylonian valley.
Though many rival claims for the location of Eden have been advanced, the evidence seems to point to the area between the Tigris and the Euphrates as the cradle of civilization.
The Hebrew word Eden probably means "enchantment," "pleasure, ' or "delight."
In this quiet place of indescribable beauty, man was to enjoy fellowship and companionship with the Creator, and to work in accord with the divine blueprint to perfect His will.
Magnificent trees furnished sustaining food, but man had to work to care for them.
Adequate water supply was ensured by a vast irrigation system, a network of rivers that flowed in and about the garden with its life-giving waters.
In order to lead man to full moral and spiritual development, God gave him specific commands and a specific prohibition to govern his behaviour.
He also gave him the power of choice and set before him the privilege of growing in divine favour.
So, began the moral discipline of man.
News from the Church
New dates
1st July..…..Friendship Group, (this covers all ages and the lonely people)
15th July …. Knit and natter is a time to finish old projects or learn new skills
if you just want to talk well that’s OK too
ANSWERS TO 14 th June QUESTIONS
1) The soil was to lay fallow for 1 year 2) The 50th year when all servants and property was returned to their original owner 3) the people were commanded to give one tenth of the increase of seed,flocks, cattle to the Lord 4) Because it was a census of the people 5)36 chapters 6) it carries on the story where Exodus left off 7) Yes Ch 5 v 17 8) Because he married an Ethiopian woman 9) Chapter 12 v 3
10) Oshea ch 13 v 8 and Jehoshua ch 13 v 16 11) Nun 12) Ephraim 13) He was stoned to death
14) At Kadesh 15) On Mt. Hor 16) Joshua
Bible Quiz this week’s Quiz is about Deuteronomy
1 What does Deuteronomy mean?
2 Does the Bible say God is a jealous God?
3 What is meant by idolatry?
4 What was a clean animal?
5 What is an unclean animal?
6 Were the Jews forbidden to eat Catfish?
7 Were women forbidden to wear mens clothing?
8 Were men forbidden to wear womens clothing?
9 Were people allowed to kill a bird on its nest?
10 Were hungry people allowed to go into a field and eat grain or grapes?
11 Was a newly married man exempt from the army?
12 Where did Moses die.?
13 Did anyone know the location of Moses grave?
14 How old was Moses when he died?
15 How long did they Mourn the death of Moses?
16 Did Moses enter the Promised Land?
God Bless