01-12 The Garden of Eden
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Genesis 2:4-7
Genesis 2:4-7
I picked up a book recently Edison’s Eve (A Magical History of the Quest for Mechanical Life) which traces the history of humanity’s attempts at creating artificial life—which goes back hundreds of years. The author, Gaby Wood even describes Hero of Alexandria around 150 B.C. (man who invented the syringe), simulated a human whose head could not be severed from its neck (using ingenious system of cogs and wheels)—it didn’t matter how many times you would pass a knife thru it.
More recently, French philosopher Rene Descartes (17th century) is believed to have created an automata of his deceased daughter Francine that moved and behaved just like a human being (according to sailors who found it on a ship he was travelling on).
A hundred years later, Jaques de Vaucanson (French inventor) designed an android that was capable of playing the flute (extremely complicated, with bellows, gears, pulleys and levers). Later he invented a duck that was capable of quacking, eating and digesting its food. Thomas Edison built a child doll that he put a phonograph in to mimic the voice of a child (actually one of his significant failures).
MIT is on the cutting edge of robotic research—developing robots that are able to think, express emotion, recognize difference b/t animate and inanimate objects—essentially on a quest for artificial intelligence. Man has been infatuated with the idea of artificial intelligence for a long time. The crux of the matter in the pursuit of A.I. is in the word “artificial.”
Gaby Wood describes it succinctly “they are forever unliving, and yet never dead.” She quotes from John Cohen (who has authored a book on the history of robots) who indicates that a robot could never commit suicide since “true suicide implies a foreknowledge of death and some idea of its significance, and this is a privilege of man.”
With all the research, inventions, ideas and concepts that have been developed over the centuries we learn that we have a significant limitation as creatures—we do not have the power, authority, ability to create life…that belongs to the Lord God alone.
39 ‘See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
This may be, in some small way, our way of imitating God—to animate what is inanimate (possibly even part of being created in His image).
Some Observations
Some Observations
Generations
Generations
“this is the account...” from the Heb toledoth Lit “To bear, beget” and refers to the descendants or successors which follow. The term is appears 11x in Gen and forms somewhat the outline to the rest of the book in describing the generations (genealogy) of key figures: Adam (Ch 5), Noah (ch 6-9), Noah’s sons (ch 10-11), Shem (11), Terah, Ishmael, Isaac, Esau, Jacob. This word refers then to the offspring of those men—the account of the generations that follow.
In Gen 2—it is a bit unusual to find this term relating to something other than humans…in this case it is generations of the heavens and the earth—focusing on the narrative of creation. Now, this has stirred a great deal of debate in the scholarly realm where some have suggested this is a 2nd account of creation and its stands in contradiction to the 1st account in ch 1. The relationship b/t chs 1 & 2 is simple…ch 1 expresses on the grand scale, the creation of the cosmos—the universe. Ch 2—since it pertains to the “generations” the term that means “what comes from” something and in this case what comes from the creation of the heavens and the earth—namely man. This is not a 2nd creation but moves the focus from the cosmos to the Garden of Eden—which is where everything here happens.
The Name of God
The Name of God
Up to this point, Moses has used 1 designation for God (Elohim 35x). This is the term used to portray God as the majestic Creator of the Universe—the one having supreme power. But a switch takes place in 2:4 where the personal covenant name of God who relates to and redeems His people. This name is Yahweh-Elohim. This is what Hebrew scholars refer to as the Tetragrammaton.
YHWH
YHWH
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.
This is the name that is used for God—but interestingly in Gen 2-3 the only time it isn’t used is during the exchange b/t the serpent and Eve as she is deceived and lured into sin (3:2-5).
Wenham says:
“The god they are talking about is malevolent, secretive, and concerned to restrict man: his character is so different from that of Yahweh Elohim that the narrative pointedly avoids the name in the dialogue.”
This name change is particularly important b/c of His relationship with man and woman detailed in Gen 2. He is not only Creator:
11 “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
…but He is also Redeemer:
15 ‘You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.
The Condition of the Earth
The Condition of the Earth
Since this part of the narrative concerns what comes from the creation of the heavens and the earth, Moses describes the condition of the earth prior to God creating man. Now, the picture we are given is not that of a barren land (since God commanded the earth to sprout vegetation and it was so)—this is explaining that the condition is one that is untended. We see it is untended by the 4-fold description:
No Shrub
This is referring to a desert shrub…big enough to shade Ishmael (21:15) and to give protection to those seeking it (Job 30:4,7).
No Plant (sprouted)
These two terms seem to parallel what would be a part of God’s curse on the ground in view of man’s transgression:
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field;
No Rain (see vs 6)—spring, subterranean rising up from the ground bringing water to the surface—the result was that earth was not arid/desert.
No man to cultivate
Kent Hughes suggests: “Thus bushes and small plants are post-fall phenomena that occurred when Adam began to tend the earth.”
What we can observe is that following day 3 of creation, the earth was prepared for man but it was unproductive until the labor of a farmer was added. Adam needed to rule/subdue the earth for it to be fit for humanity. But in the aftermath of the fall, severe consequences led to the productivity of the earth only after considerable work/effort had been applied.
This all brings us to God’s crowning achievement in creation—the creation of man. As we begin to examine the character of the Garden of Eden (vs 8)—the focus will keep returning to man and his relationship to his environment and to His Creator.
1) Man’s Nature
1) Man’s Nature
Moses explains what happens at the pinnacle of creation on day 6— Yahweh-Elohim formed man…The word “formed” expresses the relationship b/t the craftsman and the material and is the language of the potter. That’s what the potter does—he forms (out of clay) whereas God formed man from dust.
But you see the relationship b/t the craftsman and material.
12 The man shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary.
This term is also used to speak of intention:
5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
It is Yahweh’s intention to work out His perfect design. So He forms/fashions man—not an afterthought but the intentional work of the infinitely wise God who also formed the universe.
5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land.
18 For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), “I am the Lord, and there is none else.
13 For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind And declares to man what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness And treads on the high places of the earth, The Lord God of hosts is His name.
…and of man...
9 He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see?
15 He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works.
In this description of God forming man (and it is often forgotten, ignored, rejected) is the truth that God has absolute freedom when it comes to how He chooses to form man (divine sovereignty)
20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?
Now, notice the material God used to form man…dust. There is a play on words in Heb that doesn’t appear in English: Lord God formed man (adam) from the dust of the ground (adamah). Adam was named from the materials he was taken from—the dust of the ground.
John Calvin has a perceptive thought here:
“The body of Adam is formed of clay and destitute of sense; to the end that no one should exult beyond measure in his flesh. He must be excessively stupid who does not here learn humility.”
Now here is an amazing contrast that begins to emerge in the forming of man from the dust of the ground. This speaks of a lowliness that Calvin rightly observes…but not in a sense of evil (b/c there is no sin and dust created by God is good).
A. Lowliness
A. Lowliness
Study of dust in Scripture is a worthy pursuit. Dust is the picture of humiliation, lowliness, self-denigration and what is trivial or transitory.
Dust Speaks of Little Worth
Dust Speaks of Little Worth
Abraham pleading with God over Sodom
27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. 28 “Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
Hannah who praises God b/c He heard her request for a son
8 “He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He set the world on them.
God reminded king Baasha of Israel (God removed him and brought him back down to dust)
2 “Inasmuch as I exalted you from the dust and made you leader over My people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made My people Israel sin, provoking Me to anger with their sins, 3 behold, I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
Sometimes dust was the picture of total defeat of one’s enemies
7 For he left to Jehoahaz of the army not more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and 10,000 footmen, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.
42 Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.
9 Let the nomads of the desert bow before him, And his enemies lick the dust.
Sometimes it is a sign of mourning
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
Revelation 18:19 (NASB95) Kings of the earth lament over Babylon
19 “And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’
5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; 6 Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.”
Dust Speaks of Frustration
Dust Speaks of Frustration
Greatest example is in Satan and the consequence of God’s curse:
14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life;
B/c dust is the figure of defeat and humiliation, Satan is pictured as one whose plans have been frustrated.
13 “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
God judged him on account of his sinful pride, and His judgment on Satan resulted in his fall where he took opportunity in the Garden to deceive Eve and to lure her into temptation and transgression against the Creator. Satan’s plan was bitterly frustrated (though he succeeded in deceiving her), God was always in control:
15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
The cross of JC is where Satan finds his greatest frustration—and that frustration was apparent even before the death of Jesus. At one point, this is right after Peter’s great confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
When Satan isn’t actively seeking to kill JC, he is trying to interrupt God’s plan of redemption any way he can. It is always a frustration and so it is with anyone who seeks to rebel against the Lord God.
Dust Speaks of Death
Dust Speaks of Death
For the unbeliever—death is the ultimate frustration:
19 For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. 20 All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust. 21 Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth?
This judgment was expressed in Gen upon man’s trangression:
19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
Job thought about this on many occasions:
21 “Why then do You not pardon my transgression And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust; And You will seek me, but I will not be.”
Job 17:16 (NASB95) Speaking of Hope
16 “Will it go down with me to Sheol? Shall we together go down into the dust?”
Job 21:26 (NASB95) the prosperous wicked and the poor...
26 “Together they lie down in the dust, And worms cover them.
David said prophetically of JC:
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death.
While there is the constant notes of little worth, frustration and death in the image of dust—it is different for the Xn. James Boice writes:
“While we are formed form the dust we remember that it is God who has formed us and who “remembers that we are but dust” (Ps 103:14)…as the psalm goes on to say...
15 As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 16 When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer.
Boice continues: the psalm also adds...
17 But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, 18 To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts to do them.
God is with those who have put their trust in Him—so dust is not final.
25 My soul cleaves to the dust; Revive me according to Your word.
B. Infinite Value
B. Infinite Value
Here is the contrast, though man is formed from dust, taken from what is common…man has infinite value described by what God does after He forms man “breathed into…” do you want to know where the sanctity of life comes from? Its right here. B/c God created man in His own image—forming him from dust and breathing into his nostrils the breath of life, man becomes a living being (nephesh)—the image bearer of God. He has infinite value—even above the rest of creation.
Derek Kidner “Breathed is warmly personal, with the face-to-face intimacy of a kiss and the significance that this was an act of giving as well as making; and self-giving at that.”
I can’t help but think of what happened in Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones when the bones of the slain were brought back to life by the breath of the Spirit:
9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Man has the shared “breath” of God—now this is an anthropomorphism which indicates a correspondence b/t Adam and His Maker. And Adam then became a “living being.” This is a shared description of the animals—also become living creatures. He is like the creatures in that way only—but since God breathed life into him he is unlike the animals and of infinite value.
The one sound piece of counsel Job was given came from Elihu:
4 “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Your value comes not from the material components that form your body—but b/c you have the capacity to relate to your Creator and that is His desire for you...
20 “The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.
23 “Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?
32 “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live.”
God has created you with the capacity to relate to Himself…further He not only relates to you but He has planned for your redemption and He expresses His desire...
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.