Genesis 2

Yesterday we looked at the creation story.  Today we read another version.  Let's see what we see.

Genesis 2

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. ² And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. ³ So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

⁴ These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

Another Account of the Creation

In the day that the Lord^[a] God made the earth and the heavens, ⁵ when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; ⁶ but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— ⁷ then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground,^[b] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. ⁸ And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant 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.

¹⁰ A river flows out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches.¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that flows 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 Gihon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. ¹⁶ And the LordGod commanded the man, “You may freely 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 die.”

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” ¹⁹ So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, 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 cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man^[c] there was not found a helper as his partner. ²¹ So theLord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he 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;
this one shall be called Woman,^[d]
    for out of Man^[e] this one was taken.”

²⁴ Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.²⁵ And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.

                        __________________________________

First things first.  The beginning of this chapter has God resting on the 7th day, setting an example for his children.  Do good, hard work for 6 days and then take a day to rest and recharge...to sit in the midst of the work of your hands without feeling the compulsion to fix and tinker and be busy.  God made the 7th day "hallowed."  It is for the good of our relationship with God and our life here on earth that we rest and worship regularly.

We hear about creation again, but not all of it.  I believe that the Bible is not intended to be a chronological recitation.  I do not believe it is a rule book.  The Bible is the story of God and his children.  The first chapter showed a glimpse of His raw power and immensity.  This second chapter displays a tenderness and intimacy as he cultivates the garden and creates Adam.  God does not speak the man into being, He molds and forms, shaping the dirt and breathing life into him.  This is where the story begins.  The first chapter was the prologue, giving a sense of scope and background.  But this chapter is when parent and child begin their long, winding story together.  All of scripture, all the different names of God, all of God's character can be seen in these first two chapters.  He is a God of immense power and intimate relationship.  He is the absolute creator and sustainer of the universe and He deeply loves and desires to provide for His children.

This plays right into my application.  Most of my stress and worry in life revolve around 2 aspects of God:  

• Is He big enough to deal with this?
• Does He care about me enough to help?

Chapter 1 is a resounding yes to the first question and Chapter 2 is an equally resounding yes to the second.  The invitation is to allow worry to fade away as we know the power and love of our Eternal Father.