05/15/2008
4These are the records of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation at the time that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. 5No shrub of the field had yet [grown] on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. 6But water would come out of the ground and water the entire surface of the land. 7Then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
I ran across a book at one of my son’s schools’ libraries. It reduced the Biblical creation to myth and then compared it with other creation myths. But what was more surprising was that they considered Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 as completely different creation accounts. If one looks at Genesis 1 and then Genesis 2, the accounts are different, but, to me, not necessarily exclusive.
Often when I am teaching, I will present a topic in one way to make a certain point, but then, turn the topic and look at it from a different angle to ascertain a different meaning. This is how I see Genesis 1 and 2. In Genesis 1, we have the creation taking place in a staged and deliberate fashion and done so at the hand of a magnificent Creator-God. In Genesis 2, we see the creation more focused around man, by a benevolent Provider-God.
From the Genesis 2 account, we can learn a few key facts that will influence the ancient history of man. First, there was no rain, God had designed the world so that all water came from beneath the ground to water the plants. I remember the Camelot song where King Arthur claims that it only rains by royal decree. Imagine a world where the ground water was so plentiful that it never rained yet all plants were well watered. I’m sure the residents of Seattle or London would appreciate such a world with no rain. And those in the western arid states would appreciate plentiful water. This is significant because the first rain does not occur until the great flood.
We see another interesting fact here: “There was no man to work the ground.” While we often envision the Garden of Eden as a place where Adam and Eve were meant to lie about in the grass eating grapes all day, this is not the case. We were intended to have endeavors. Only after the expulsion from the Garden of Eden did work become difficult and tiresome. But in the Garden, man and woman were to have endeavors to occupy their time.
If we were created to have work, then why do we strive for a state where there is no work? I think this should point out to us that we need to strive for a state where we are working at what we love to do. An old proverb tell us that a job well done is its own reward. I find this to be true myself. In fact, one of the more satisfying tasks that I can perform is mowing the lawn. It is satisfying to look back and see the swath that I have left. Conversely, it is frustrating to work hard at something and look back to see little or no results. Think about this as you do your work.
Finally, man was created out of the dust. I think we should look at this passage to understand that we were formed out of lifeless matter. What was once only dirt and lifeless, God took and formed into life. No scientist can do that. They cannot even explain the jump from lifeless to life. It is a mystery for which God alone holds the answer. Then, God breathed into man.
God has created you with order and purpose. Will you live up to that order and purpose today?
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2008 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
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