Together, But Why? Genesis 2:4, 7, 15-18, 21-25

In today’s Scripture reading, we read where God, after creating the first human, declared, “It’s not good that the human is alone” (). That statement cuts two ways: It’s not good in terms of our well-being for us to be isolated and have no relationships. But it’s not good according to God’s purposes either. God so made us that we need relationships to learn to love, to care, and to serve. Relationships are where we receive the training we need to be fit for God’s kingdom.

We need relationships, the wonderfulness of them and the burdens from them, for what they give us right now and also for how they help to shape our character. We need them to help us become the people God wants us to be. God wants us to know that we aren’t to go through life centered only on ourselves and our wants. Having a friendship with another human being - who, though wonderful in some ways, is as imperfect as we are in other ways - can be one of the mean through which we learn that life isn’t all about just us. So it is not good for us to be alone, neither for our well-being nor for God’s purposes.

So it is not good for us to be alone, neither for our well-being nor for God’s purposes.

Many Bible scholars consider to contain two Creation accounts, with the first being the seven-day story narrated in , and the second being the events leading to and including the garden of Eden, told in . While there is evidence in the content of these two sections that suggest two different authors, there’s no reason to think of the stories as competing; rather were likely placed together by a skillful editor.

Among the differences in the two accounts is that the second one says nothing about how long Creation took. It shows God as more personal, shaping things on the ground rather than from a distance; and God also interacts with the humans. Also, the garden of Eden is presented only in the second account. The Almighty God is the primary focus of both accounts. The two accounts are set side by side in Scripture, and serve as the product of a faith community reflecting theologically on Creation. While by today’s scientific protocols we wouldn’t label these stories as scientific accounts of Creation, they do speak about the realities of the created world and its inhabitants in reasonable and logical ways,based on the knowledge that was available at the time these accounts were composed. Both accounts insist that God created the world and all that is in it. That’s a declaration of faith, but it’s based on the world as observed not on fantasy.

Topsoil and Breath -

Genesis 2:4–7 NRSV

4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord 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, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.

The word “day” in verse 4 can be misleading because, when read in context, verse 4 serves as the introductory clause for verse 7. Verses 5-6 contain parenthetical information, but with this parenthetical information removed, verse 4 and 7 together read: “on the day the Lord God made earth and shy, the Lord God formed the human.”

If we read “day” in this instance to mean one of the six days of Creation, the sentence would contradict the first Creation account by collapsing the formation of sky and the formation of earth in with the creation of humankind. But the Hebrew word used here for day, “yom”, sometimes means the time from sunrise to sunset, it can also mean “a point in history.” Therefore verse 4 can be translated, “At the time the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.” In the opening of the second account, the narrator in 2:4 signifies this account’s earthbound focus, on the garden of Eden’s fertile land.

Verse 7 tells of God’s creation of the first human. In the Hebrew text, the word used for “land” in verse 7 is adamah, and the word for “human” is adam. Therefore God created adam from adamah, the human from the land. God is not only the Creator of the first human individual, whom we identify by using Adam as a personal name, but God is the Creator of us all. Life itself, however, though was not instilled in the human until God “blew life’s breath into his nostrils.” This was not air in general, but God’s own breath. As a result, the human became “a living soul (being).”

What does tell you about your relationship with God?

A Place to Live -

Genesis 2:15–17 NRSV

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God 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.”

These verse report that God put the human in the garden of Eden, the creation and location of which is described in verses 8-14. There are two important points we should take note of: First, when God settled the human in the garden, God’s requirement was that the human would “farm it and ....take care of it” (verse 15). The farming allowed the human to maximize his benefit from the productivity of the creation, not only for himself, but also to share it with others. Taking care of the garden enabled creation to continue in the beneficial form in which God created it. Obviously, “farm” and “take care of” have much to say about our use and abuse of the environment today.

The author of our lesson asks us to ponder if we are more accustomed to thinking that creation exists to serve us, as it offers us food, water, recreational opportunities, and beauty. This ancient Creation account tells us that the opposite is true. We are called to serve creation and to protect and to care for all that God has made.

In what ways has God called you to serve and protect creation?

Second, God’s instruction that the human could eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden except “the tree of the knowledge of good an evil” (verse 17) sets the stage for part two of the second Creation account, the events of .

What do you make of this prohibition? Why was there a tempting threatening tree in the middle of the human’s new home? Noted biblical scholar, Walter Brueggmann suggests that the tree itself is not the main point here. He writes, “What counts is the fact of the prohibition, the authority of the one who speaks and the unqualified expectation of obedience.”

In other words, from the beginning God offered humankind freedom while at the same time setting boundaries for that freedom. Just as children don’t always understand a parent’s reason for a prohibition, we do not always understand why God sets certain boundaries. We do know that God expects obedience, and this obedience is in our best interest.

How have you experienced vocation, permission, and prohibition in your relationship with God?

Verse 15-17 tell us that God gave the human a vocation

Verses 15-17 tell us that God gave the human a vocation: to serve, care for, and protect God’s creation. God gave the human permission to partake of the fruit of the land. God gave the human a prohibition: Do not disobey the will of God. Brueggamann labels vocation, permission, and prohibition as the three main parts of God’s “divine purpose

A Perfect Helper -

Genesis 2:18 NRSV

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.”

Genesis

Verse 18 records God’s observation that “it’s not good that the human is alone.” To what aloneness was God referring? After all, before the creation of the woman, the man wasn’t the only living being the garden. He had the companionship of the animals. He had the presence of God. But in saying that is was not good for the man to be alone, God must have meant that Adam should not be the only one of his species. Adam needed someone to identify with in his humanity. Adam need someone in order to complete the purposes of God. Therefore God decided to make the woman “a helper that is perfect for him” (verse 18).

Over the centuries, many readers have taken the meaning of “help meet” (KJV) to mean that the woman had a secondary role to the man. However, the underlying Hebrew word, azar, carries no implications about the status of the one who helps. So right from the beginning, the woman was not intended to be merely an assistant to the man but a full and equal partner. She was intended to be alongside the man, neither behind nor ahead of him. Man was not created for a solitary existence, but rather in order to fulfill God purposes for his life, he needed another for his relationship with God to be complete.

No Longer Alone -

Genesis 2:21–25 NRSV

21 So 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 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, for out of Man 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.

Verse 21 tells us that God created the woman from one of the man’s ribs. The rib is only one step removed from dust and indicates a common origin for the man and the woman. And when God brought the woman to the man, the man cried out with joy. The man then named this new creature “woman,” using the Hebrew word “ishsha” that in the Old Testament most often means “wife.” God officiated at the marriage of the two, which is what verse 24 conveys, and the two became “one flesh.” It is significant that the first biblical statement about marriage appear in Scripture that records neither the beginnings of the people of Israel nor the beginnings of Christianity, but the beginnings of the whole human race. In other words, marriage was instituted right along with the creation of humankind.

How have your relationships with others added meaning to your life and drawn you closer to God?

Conclusion

We must remember that God has invited us to live in relationship with God. God did not create the world and then step aside. God called the Israelites to be the chosen people and promised to remain with them. God offers salvation, grace, and the hope of eternal life through Christ to all who will believe and follow.

This week we are invited to continue to observe the spiritual practices of mindfulness, listening, and silence. Take time to rest in silence. Be mindful of the people God has placed in your life and of God’s gift of community. Listen for ways God is calling you to serve creation and invite others into the fellowship of believers.

Prayer

Creating God, thank you for including us in your work of serving creation and for inviting us to delight in creation’s beauty and bounty. Let us be receptive to the ways you call us to live in relationship with you and others; in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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