Genesis 2:1-17

Genesis 2 begins with God having done His creation: “the heavens and the earth were finished”.  So what happens next?  Party time, right?  Not exactly….”on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested…..God blessed the seventh day and made it holy”.  God created for six days and then He took a break and rested.  Remember – this is God we are talking about here.  He didn’t rest because He was tired.  He didn’t rest because He needed to.  He rested so He could enjoy the fruits of His labor.  He rested to set an example for us to follow.  He rested because He set aside a day that was blessed and holy.  Those very reasons still remain for you and me today.  We need to rest.  We need a break from our work.  We need to celebrate on His blessed and holy day.  So creation has happened and in summary here is how it went:

Day 1: The heavens, the earth, light and darkness.

Day 2: Heaven

Day 3: Dry land, the seas, and vegetation.

Day 4: The sun, the moon and the stars.

Day 5: Living creatures in the water, birds in the air.

Day 6: Land animals and people.

Day 7: God “rested”.

We get a picture of how man comes along in the picture.  Scripture tells us day six is when God created people, but the details of that are shared here.  It really is done with little fanfare.  God takes some dirt and “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”.  Not much room for evolution in that description of creation.  God created life.  “God planted a garden in Eden….the tree of life….the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” are a couple of the trees He plants there.  At this point God is doing all the work.  God creates all the other land creatures the same way as “out of the ground the Lord God 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”.  What a job – how cool is that.  Can you imagine being Adam and just waiting to see what God would create and parade past you so you could give it a name?  There are a few of those creatures I will be asking God to give an explanation about – I haven’t see why they are needed – but Adam was the man who was there and named them all.

God did have one simple rule that he gave to Adam.  “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”.  There is an entire garden which God planted.  Only one tree is off limits.  God is pretty clear about which one.  This is the first rule that God gave.  Sure the garden was beautiful.  It had four rivers that flowed and was filled with gold and bdellium and onyx stone.  There were some distractions with all the animals and birds and other creatures being created.  But God is very clear – don’t eat from that tree.  God has rules and laws for us to follow.  They are not suggestions or idle words.  His direction matters.  We have to pay attention and respond in obedience.  Failing to do so has consequences.  Adam will find that out soon enough…..