Season 1/Episode 2 - Genesis 1:26-2:25 The First Day of Mankind

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Seeking guidance from the only source that knows.

Legend:

Reference to God

God speaking

Day references

Adam speaking

Genesis 1:26–2:25 (NASB95)

26Then 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.”

27God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

28God 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.”

29Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;

30and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.

31God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.

2By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

3Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

4This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.

5Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

6But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.

7Then 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.

8The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

9Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers.

11The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

12The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there.

13The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush.

14The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

16The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;

17but 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.”

18Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

19Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

20The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.

21So 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.

22The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

23The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”

24For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

25And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

TRIP PLANNING

Considering where we are going by knowing first, where we are.

Survey Question:

Before hearing this podcast, when did you believe that Eve was created?

• Sixth Day of Creation
• Day or Weeks After Adam was Created
• Had Not Thought About It
• Did Not Believe That Adam and Eve Were Actual People

POINTS OF INTEREST

Some considerations from the text.

The Suitability of Marriage

On the first day of mankind, God established the great covenant of marriage between man and the “helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:20-22). Through the naming of the land animals (vs.19-20), God enabled the man to understand that the woman He created was the only one “suitable” for him. In Hebrew, “suitable” means the opposite side of two pieces that fit together. Not only was the woman “suitable,” she was connected to man in creation. Physically, men and women are two pieces made to fit together. A man and a woman are both needed to “be fruitful and multiply.” This compatibility is seen in Adam’s statement concerning her, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of Man.” There is a unique connection from creation between man and woman.” (v. 23)

God then adds to what Adam’s stated in verse 23 by saying, “For this reason, a man shall leave father and mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” This connection between the man and woman in creation leads naturally into God’s great covenant of marriage. In Matthew 19:4-6, Jesus quoted this as He taught what God desired in marriage from the beginning. Marriage has had various names, ceremonies, and traditions attached to it throughout history, but it has always been between a man and a woman. Woman is the only suitable helper for man in marriage. This was God’s intent and design from the first day of mankind.

While marriage has always been between a man and a woman, over the past few years men have endeavored to change God’s definition of “suitable” and alter His design in marriage. They say that people love each other and should be able to be married. Marriage was not established on love, it was established on suitability and helping one another (i.e. helper suitable). The suitability of man and woman is at the core of what marriage is about. Love is not even mentioned in the Bible as a part of marriage till Isaac and Rebecca (Genesis 24:67). That was over 2,000 years after the establishment of marriage. Just because two people love each other does not mean that they are suitable to be married. Men were not made from creation as pieces that fit together and they have no ability to “be fruitful and multiply”. This statement is also true about women. Men and women were made for each other and they are the only opposites that fit together among mankind in this creation. Therefore, such are the only ones that fit God’s definition of marriage.

The apostle Paul was referring to this natural state of creation when he wrote in Romans 1:26-27, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” Notice Paul’s use of the word natural regarding the function of a man and a woman. There was never suitability between two men or two women. Such was not natural because they were not designed for such behavior. They do not fit naturally together as God designed them in creation.

Marriage has always been between a man and a woman by God’s decree. No court or man can change what is natural, true, and right. Marriage is and can only be between a man and a woman because they were created to be suitable for each other.

The Garden Made for Man

During the creation God made a special home for the man created in His image. He planted a garden with every tree pleasing to sight and good for food (Genesis 2:8-9). God sought to make the garden beautiful in the statement, "pleasing to sight" and nourishing by having every tree that was good for food.

The garden was placed on a river that would divide into four rivers as it came out of the garden. This clearly shows an abundance of water most likely flowing from a great spring that could feed four rivers. The rivers are named. The Tigris and the Euphrates are well known and still flow in modern day Iraq and Turkey. The Pishon and Gihon are unknown to us for certain. These rivers cause many to surmise that the garden of Eden was located somewhere either in Turkey or the Persian Gulf area. We must remember that the geography of the time was drastically altered by the worldwide flood of Noah 1656 years after the creation. Therefore, it is difficult to locate the garden to any great degree of accuracy.

One of the most interesting facts concerning this beautiful and bountiful garden is the existence of two unique trees. In the midst of the garden God placed the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:9). Adam and Eve could eat of the Tree of Life which had an immutable power to cause one to live forever (Genesis 3:22). However, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was the ONLY tree that Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat or touch (Genesis 2:17; 3:2). They were told that in the day that they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they would surely die (Genesis 2:17).

This great garden provided everything for man. It had food, water, beauty, and a choice. Man had been given free moral choice (unlike the animals). Choice means nothing unless there is something to choose. The choice in the garden was whether to obey the command concerning the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil or not. The two unique trees present the ultimate choice in this world . One choice brings life eternal, the other brings death. On the first day of mankind, this choice was presented to mankind in the garden of Eden and continues for us today.

ALTERNATE ROUTES

Other places to learn more about the Biblical text.

World Video Bible School -- Kyle Butt provides a Biblical perspective to the question of the maximum length of time that Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. See more video lessons by World Video Bible School at www.wvbs.org.

World Video Bible School -- Kyle Butt provides a Biblical and scientific understanding of the origin of the diversity of race. See more video lessons by World Video Bible School at www.wvbs.org.