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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
May 19, 2024
◘God Established Marriage
Genesis 2
Introduction
Last week we examined Genesis 1 according to its grammatical and historical context which lets the text speak for itself. ◘ God’s description of Creation not only contradicts the creation stories of other religions, it is completely incompatible with evolutionary philosophy as we saw last week. For that reason, those who want to reconcile Genesis 1 with evolution or other religions must find ways to reinterpret the plain meaning of the text into something else. That has ramifications much more serious than whether or not the individual believes God created the universe, the earth and life upon it in just six days. It is vital that our understanding of God and His will, our theology, comes from what He has revealed about Himself and not from trying to fit Him into the philosophical conjectures of men. Or stated more succinctly, Theology must arise from God and His word and not the musings of men.
◘ Genesis lays the foundation for the rest of the Scriptures and our belief and understanding of God. If the foundation is uncertain, so will everything that is built upon it. A rejection of Genesis leads to uncertainty and rejection of the rest of the Scriptures as a reliable source of truth since they were written by those who believed Genesis to be true. The prophets (Moses, Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Jonah, Malachi ), Jesus, and the apostles (Matthew, Mark, John, Paul, Peter and James) all make references to Genesis as true, but if you believe Genesis is false, then all of these are unreliable sources of truth to you. That lack of confidence in believing God has spoken to us in the Bible will in turn lead to living in ways contrary to His will which brings about its own consequences. The most serious of these consequences of course is related to believing Jesus since Christians are followers of Him.
I want to state this carefully but also directly. ◘You do not have to believe in a six day creation to be saved since salvation is based on God’s grace alone though faith in the person and atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. There is usually still a lot of ignorance in people when they first profess faith in Christ, but true Christians will believe the truth about Jesus as they learn of Him. The essential truths that must be believed about Jesus for salvation include that He is God, that He became a man through the miracle of the virgin birth, that He lived a sinless life, that He died willingly as the substitute sacrifice that atones for the sin of man, that He physically rose again from the grave as He said, that He has ascended to heaven to prepare a place for His followers and He will physically return one day to take them there. ◘These fundamental beliefs define the person and work of Jesus. If these are not believed, then you have a different Jesus who cannot save you. It is not uncommon for people who profess faith in Jesus to later turn away and reject Him as they learn the truth about Him because He is not what they want. They want a Jesus that fits their own ideas and not the one revealed in the Scriptures.
Related to this is the negative reaction that some people will have to what Jesus taught. That is why most of the scribes and Pharisees rejected Jesus. His teaching was contrary to their traditions, so they would not believe His claim to be God’s son. In a similar manner, there are many that profess faith in Christ that will reject Him when His teaching does not fit into what they want. ◘Those that want to pick and choose from among Jesus’ teachings demonstrate they are not Christians for by definition a Christian is a disciple, a follower of Jesus as his teacher. A true Christian will change his mind to believe what Jesus teaches. Claiming to be a Christian while rejecting what Jesus taught only proves your claim is false or you have a different Jesus, and a different Jesus cannot save you from your sins.
◘ Jesus proclaimed, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30) and that “before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58) using the very designation of God’s eternal covenant name (Exodus 3:14). This is the basis for the apostle John to teach in John 1:3, 10 that “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” and “the world was made through Him.” It is why the apostle Paul taught in Colossians 1:15-17, 15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
These claims figure directly into the Creation – Evolution debate because a denial that Jesus is God the Creator means you have a different Jesus. ◘The claims of theistic evolutionists that deny that God created everything as claimed in the Scriptures come dangerously close to having a different Jesus and do cross that line when they contradict what Jesus Himself clearly taught.
For example, in Matthew 19:3-9 Jesus quotes from Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 in answering the Pharisees’ question concerning divorce. In doing so, Jesus clearly teaches the creation account that God who “created them from the beginning made them male and female.” Those who are ignorant of what Jesus said may agree with the common teaching in our society that man evolved from apes, but once they learn what Jesus taught, then though perhaps confused at first, they will of necessity have to accept or reject this teaching from Jesus. The Christian will follow Jesus. Those refusing to do so have a different Jesus. They have a small god that can neither communicate clearly what He has done or do what He claims.
◘ As I stated last week, the philosophy of evolution cannot be reconciled with the Genesis account without destroying the plain meaning of the text. I also pointed out that Evolution does not qualify as science or a science theory since it is not observable, testable or repeatable. At best it can a hypothesis that is used as a model, but the predictions of its model are contrary to what we discover in the real world from real science.
This morning we are going to focus on the creation of man and establishment of marriage. Turn again to Genesis 1 as we review.
◘ The Creation – Genesis 1
On the first day of Creation God made the heavens and earth and then separated the light from darkness and the sequence of evening and morning constitutes one day. On the second day God separated the waters above and the waters below the heavens. On the third day God gathered the seas allowing dry land to appear and created vegetation, seed plants and fruit trees. On the fourth day God created the Sun, Moon and stars and set them in order to be for signs, seasons, days and years. ◘On the fifth day God made all the sea creatures and the birds of the air. On the sixth day God made cattle, creeping things and the beasts of the earth and then man. We pick up the account in verse 26.
◘ 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, so that they will have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Behold, I have given to you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has the fruit of the tree yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that creeps on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. 31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. ”
Among the several very significant points made in this text are the origin of man, the nature of man, the purpose and responsibility of man and God’s evaluation of the Creation.
◘ The Origin of Man is clearly stated as being created by God. This contrary to the idea of a pre-adamic race. Man has no common ancestry or relationship with apes. ◘Human evolution is a fraud thrust upon the ignorant public by egotistical men and women that have few qualms about fudging the facts, spinning tales and making pronouncements about things for which there is no evidence. Among the more famous hoaxes are Nebraska man, a story fabricated based on a pig’s tooth, and Piltdown man, an outright fraud that fooled the “experts” on human evolution from 1915 until 1953. Java man is based on a partial skull cap, three teeth and a leg bone found 15 feet away, and has been variously declared to be a missing link, Pithecanthropus erectus, or Homo erectus, or a large Gibbon. The two human skulls found in the same general area at the same level, the Wadjak skulls, were purposely hidden for thirty years. ◘ That brings up the point that there are many bones of homo sapiens that would be contemporary or older than their alleged ancestors if the same dating techniques were held valid, but of course, since evolutionist demand that their evolutionary tree be upheld, those dates are considered invalid and therefore the finds are considered unimportant. (See Bones of Contention, Marvin L. Lubenow for more on this subject). God made man.
▣ The Nature of Man is also expressed in this passage for God made man in His image. Man reflects certain characteristics that belong to God such as having an immaterial nature which separates him from the mere material world and reflects God being a spirit. At God’s command the earth brought forth the animals as living creatures (Gen. 1:24), but only Adam is recorded as receiving the breath of life directly from God so that he became a living being (Gen. 2:7). The Scriptures clearly declare that man has an eternal soul (Matt. 25:31-46; Rom. 2:5-9), but no Scripture indicates that of animals.
◘ Being made in the image of God is also seen in man being a person with the qualities of being rational, emotional and volitional.
◘ Man is Rational. Man’s ability to think rationally and abstractly separates him from the animals. Man can contemplate not only such concepts as beauty and logic, but he can also muse on that which does not manifest itself in the material world and even imagine things that cannot exist except in his mind. Even highly intelligent animals cannot do any of that.
◘ Man is Emotional. Man can experience feelings such as love, hate, compassion, anger, peace, anxiety, joy, depression, etc. caused by the thoughts of his mind.
◘ Man is Volitional. Animals make choices based on instinct and training, but man can make choices based on his rational abilities including abstract thought and emotional experiences.
◘ To God alone belong the attributes of infinity including omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, immutability, eternal existence (past and future) and sovereignty. These separate God from man. However, God does share with man moral attributes that reflect Him. These are also called His communicable attributes and include such characteristics as holiness, righteousness, love, goodness, mercy, kindness, justice, longsuffering, graciousness, etc. At creation, Adam and Eve possessed these attributes in perfection and their rational, emotional, and volitional abilities were experienced in their fulness. They were far superior in character and ability to their descendants.
◘ Let me add a quick footnote here that verse 26 also reveals God’s plurality. He said, “Let us make man in our image.” God is triune. He is three distinct persons in one eternal God-head. A careful study of scripture reveals that all three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are involved in the creation and the formation of man.
◘ The Purpose & Responsibility of Man are stated in verses 29-30. Man was to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over” all the animals. The plants were given to man and the animals for food. ◘Man’s purpose was to be God’s regent on earth and exercise dominion over it. Fulfilling that purpose and responsibility is an underlying theme through the rest of the Bible.
Please note that subduing the earth and having dominion over the animals does not mean that man is free to do whatever he wants. ◘ It means that while the resources of the earth are there for his benefit, he is responsible to God for using them wisely and caring for it as a good king would over his kingdom. It is the difference between utilization and exploitation in the negative sense. For example, Forestry is important, but seedlings should be planted to replace the trees that were harvested so that future generations will also have wood. At the same time parks and refuges should be set aside to maintain the bio-diversity of old growth forests. However, it must be remembered that we worship God and not nature. The earth is not our mother and time is not our father. God is our creator to whom we are accountable.
◘ God’s Evaluation of Creation in Genesis 1:31 is not just that it was good, but that it was “very good.” It was just the way that He wanted it and there was no sin at this point in time.
◘ The Seventh Day
Genesis 2:1-3 completes the story of Creation week. “1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 And on the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created in making it.”
◘ The Creation week set the pattern that humans still follows of a seven day week with one day being for rest. This is historically true around the world for it is based on Creation and not just culture.
▣ The Sixth Day In Detail
Genesis 2:4-25 retells the story of Creation with emphasis and more detail about the creation of man and woman. This is not a second creation story from another author appropriated by Moses or some speculated later editor. A detailed literary analysis of Genesis 1-11 shows that only one author wrote all of it ◘ (See – Before Abraham Was, Isaac. M. Kikawada & Aurthur Quinn). Moses’ style of writing includes a lot of parallelism including chiastic structures which is why there is so much repetition of information. This chapter can be briefly outlined as:
Description of earth prior to Adam – vs. 4-6.
Creation of Adam and the Garden of Eden – vs. 7-9.
Description of the Garden & Adam’s responsibility – vs. 10-17.
Creation of Eve and her purpose – vs. 18-25.
◘ Description of Earth Prior to Adam – vs. 4-6.
4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made earth and heaven. 5 Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet grown, for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. 6 But a mist would rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.”
◘ This section begins with the phrase “This is the account” or “These are the generations” or something similar depending on your translation. This phrase will occur again throughout Genesis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1; 36:9; 37:2) marking the different sections of the book relating to a key person and possibly also the original source of the information contained. The material from which Moses complied the Book of Genesis under the direction of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21) originated from first hand witnesses including God, Adam, Noah, Shem, Abraham, etc. Within each section are details leading to an understanding of the sections that will follow. In this section the key subject is the creation of the heavens and the earth by the Lord God.
◘ The creation of the heavens and the earth on the first day is recounted in verse 4, then the events of the next four days are skipped going directly to the creation of man which occurs on day 6. However, verses 5 & 6 give us detail about how the earth was watered. This detail is important in understanding what happens in chapters 6 & 7. ◘ Prior to Noah’s flood there was not yet rain and instead a mist would water everything. It is speculative on how this worked, but we know that God divided the waters on day two so that there were waters above and below the expanse. ◘Whatever the atmospheric structure was it must have moderated the temperature differentials around the earth so that the weather patterns we know today did not exist then. There are fossils of sub-tropical plants in what are now the arctic zones so we know that the climate of earth was very different in the past than the present. There was enough temperature variation due to the day & night cycles to cause local evaporation and condensation in the form of dew. The original creation was very different from the world we now live in for there was not yet any sin or the consequential curses because of it.
▣ Creation of Adam and the Garden of Eden – vs. 7-9.
Verses 7-9 give detail about the creation of Adam and the Garden of Eden. The creation of the various forms of animal life would have occurred earlier on that day.
7 Then Yahweh God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and so the man became a living being. 8 And Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden, toward the east; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground Yahweh God caused to grow every tree that is desirable in appearance 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.”
◘ God forms man out of the dust and then breathes into him the life force. The animals also had this “breath of life” (cf. 7:22), but only Adam is recorded as receiving it in this direct manner. Contrary to evolutionary philosophy, life can only come from life, and the living God who created Adam breathed into him life.
◘ Now that Adam was a living soul, God prepared a special place on the earth for him to live. It was a garden filled with fruit trees located in a place named Eden, which means “delight” or “pleasure.” Adam’s source of food would be these fruit trees. He did not have to prepare the ground or sow seed or hoe weeds. He only had to reach and reap what he wanted to eat. The reference to it being “toward the East” means that it was east of the location in which Adam was formed, ◘ for after God had planted it, He then put Adam in it. Among the various trees were two special ones, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which will play an important role later in the chapter and in chapter 3. The tree of life was located in the center of the Garden.
◘ Description of Eden & Adam’s Responsibility – vs. 10-17. 10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that went around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 Now the gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that went around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is Tigris; it is the one that went east of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Then Yahweh God took the man and set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 And Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may surely eat; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
◘ This section describes further the garden of Eden including a river which divided into four rivers. Apparently this was a spring of some sort. There was gold and precious stones nearby. People speculate on the location of Eden based on the names of these rivers, but it must be remembered that ◘ everything associated with Eden was destroyed in the flood recorded in Genesis 7 & 8. This is a description of the pre-flood world. That two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, exist today is simply because they were given the same names as the ones that had existed earlier. We Americans should especially be familiar with that practice since so many of the places in our nation have been given the names of places from where our ancestors came.
◘ Adam was given the responsibility to “cultivate and keep” the garden. In a world not yet cursed by sin this could hardly be considered “work” as we know it since there were no weeds to pull and no toiling labor that would cause him to sweat. It would have been a joy and pleasure to care for such a garden.
◘ Adam was also given one command. He could eat of anything in the garden except for the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned him that if he ate from it he would surely die. This gave Adam a moral choice of either loving God and obeying Him or disobeying God to do what he wanted in his own selfishness.
▣ Fashioning Eve and Her Purpose – vs. 18-25.
18 Then Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” 19 And out of the ground Yahweh God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and He brought each to the man to see what he would call it; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 And the man gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. 21 So Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 And Yahweh God fashioned the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This one finally is bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called Woman, Because this one was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”
◘ It may seem incredible that Adam did all of that in one day and only part of a day at that. However, Adam was without any hindrance from sin so he had the full potential of his intelligence and had no distractions. Evidence lacks for man becoming more intelligent, but there is quite a bit to suggest we may becoming less. Don’t confuse advances in technology with intelligence. That is simply improving on the inventions of the past. We build on the foundations laid by those who were before us. Which is easier? To improve a musical instrument or to invent it? To improve a metal tool or to invent it along with the method of mining, smelting and forging it?
◘ It is not hard to believe that Adam named all the animals in one day since: 1) God brought each animal to him to see what he would call it. 2) The only animals listed as being brought to be named were the “cattle,” “beasts of the field” and the “birds of the sky.” The fish and the “creeping things” are not mentioned. 3) Adam would only be naming each kind and not every species we see today. For example, he would have named only the dog kind and not the varieties within that kind such as domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, dingos, etc. which would not have yet existed. (“Kind” is closer to either the “family” or “genus” than to species within modern classification terminology).
Naming the animals also emphasized Adam’s position of having dominion over them. He had both authority over them and responsibility to them similar to a king having dominion over his kingdom. He would gain benefit from them, set the boundaries of what the animals would be allowed to do, but also protect and make provision for them. He was God’s designated regent and to God he would give account.
◘ This quest in naming the animals was due to the first “not good” in creation. Adam was alone without a helper suitable or corresponding to him. Adam named the animals, which may have come before him in pairs of male and female, but nothing was found that corresponded to Adam. This also contradicts the supposition that there was some sort of pre-Adamic humanoid for if one had existed it would have been close enough to Adam to correspond to him, but nothing was found. God directly intervened to do what He said in verse 18 that he would “make a helper suitable for him.”
◘ God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep and then took part of his side from him and then closed up the flesh. This was the first medical procedure and it was surgery. It is still good to be asleep when you have surgery. God then closed up the flesh for Adam to heal. God then used what he had taken from Adam to build or fashion Eve from it. This is a different word (banah) from either create (bara), form (yatsar) or make (asah). God made Adam from the dust of the ground and but He fashioned Eve from his rib – refined dirt. The word translated as “rib” here is usually translated as “side” it its other Biblical usages, but it is interesting to note that the rib is the only bone in the human body that will grow back as long as you leave part of its sheath. Adam did not lose anything in the creation of Eve. His body would have replaced what had been removed, and what had been removed was redesigned into something that did correspond to him. Eve was indeed bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. ◘ Adam called her woman with that name simply being the feminine form for the word for man. A woman is the female form of man. Gender and sex are synonyms for the same thing.
I often point out in wedding ceremonies that the material to form Eve was not taken from Adam’s head that she should be superior to him, nor from his feet that she should be inferior to him, but from his side that she would be an equal companion to him. Note here also that God brought her to Adam. The question included in traditional a wedding ceremony, “who gives this woman to be married to this man?” reflects God’s action in bringing Eve to Adam.
◘ God instituted marriage, not man, so God is the one that defines it as well as the roles of both the husband and the wife. Regardless of government redefinition of marriage in secular law to satisfy the sinful demands of depraved and perverted people, God’s definition does not change. Governments that legalize sin encourage their people to do the things for which God will judge them and their nation.
◘ Verse 24 is quoted by Jesus and Paul in explaining marriage. “For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” Marriage begins a new family with the primary responsibility of the husband and wife now being to each other and not to parents or extended family. We continue to honor our parents, but a husband and wife are a family separate and distinct from their parents. The two become one flesh signifying the physical union which will produce children.
How significant was the fashioning of Eve and establishment of marriage? Consider this. Through the creation of the animals everything was good (1:25). Man by himself was not good (2:18). After God brings Eve to Adam and marriage is established, it was very good (1:31).
◘ Verse 25 reveals the nature of the relationship between Adam and Eve prior to the fall into sin. “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” Prior to the entrance of sin there was no shame in being naked, but that actually speaks of more than just not wearing any clothes for the word “naked” here is from the same root as “crafty” (subtle) in 3:1 which speaks of the use of the mind. Adam and Eve also had minds that were exposed to each other. Because there was no sin present they could be completely open with each other on every level: physical, mental and emotional. ◘Sin brings shame causing married couples to hide and protect from each other instead of being open and vulnerable. The shame of nakedness is a reminder of our disobedience to God. ◘ Only by walking with Christ can the Christian couple begin to overcome this and develop the type of marriage God intended. One that Paul described in Ephesians 5 as reflecting Christ’s relationship with the church.
◘ God made man and woman on the sixth day of creation. ◘ He established marriage so they would work together as His regents on earth. ◘ They were to do this by filling the earth with their offspring, subduing it and having dominion over all the animals (1:28). ◘ As the sixth day ended, God pronounced it “very good.”
Sermon Notes – May 19, 2024
God Established Marriage – Genesis 1:26-2:25
Introduction
Genesis 1 contradicts creation stories of other religions and is _____________with evolutionary philosophy
Genesis lays the ____________for the rest of Scripture and our understanding of God & His will (theology)
________is by God’s grace alone though faith in the person and atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ alone
Only the __________Jesus can save you, and true Christians will repent to believe & follow what He taught
Jesus is God in human flesh and the ______of all things in heaven & earth (Jn. 1:3,10; 10:30; Col. 1:25-27)
Theistic evolutionists cross the line when they ___________what Jesus clearly taught – Matt. 19:3-9
Evolution is a philosophy that can only be at best an ___________ & it cannot be reconciled with Genesis 1
The Creation – Genesis 1
God created the heavens & the earth and ______ that is in them in ________days
The Origin of Man – Genesis 1:26-31
Man is created by God and has no common ancestry or relationship with ___________
Human evolution is a _____________built upon hoaxes, speculation and denial of contradictory evidence
(See Bones of Contention, Marvin L. Lubenow)
The Nature of Man – Genesis 1:26
Man has an immaterial nature that reflects God being a ___________
Man is a ___________having the qualities of being rational, emotional and volitional
Rational: Ability to _________rationally on observations and abstractly on even imagined things
Emotional: Ability to _____psychically – love, hate, compassion, anger, peace, anxiety, joy, sadness, etc
Volition: Ability to make __________based on rational and emotional abilities
God alone possess the infinite attributes, but He communicates to man the _________ones
God is a _________plurality of three persons – Father, Son & Spirit – in one eternal God-head
The Purpose & Responsibility of Man – Genesis 1:27-30
Be God’s regent on the earth – multiplying & filling it, subduing it, having _____________over the animals
Man could use the earth’s resources for his benefit, but also guide, provide & protect it – like a good ______
God’s Evaluation of Creation – Genesis 1:31
Not just good, but _______good!
The Seventh Day – Genesis 2:1-3
God rested setting the pattern followed around the world of a ___________ week that includes a day of rest
The Sixth Day in Detail – Genesis 2:4-25
(Book Recommendation: Before Abraham Was by Isaac M. Kikawada & Arthur Quinn)
Description of Earth Prior to Adam – Genesis 2:4-6
“These are the generations” occurs in Gen. 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1; 36:9 & 37:2
Verses 4-6 ___________the creation of the heavens & earth and means of watering the land before rain
A _________would water the land, and rain is not recorded until the flood – a very different world then
Creation of Adam and the Garden of Eden – Genesis 2:7-9
God forms man from the dust of the earth and breathes into him the __________of life
__________prepares the Garden of Eden (delight, pleasure) for Adam east of where he was formed
Two special trees in it were the Tree of life and the Tree of the ________________of good and evil
Description of Garden of Eden & Adam’s Responsibility – Genesis 2:10-17
Eden included a spring which split into 4 rivers. Eden was destroyed in the flood & river names used _____
Adam was responsible to cultivate and ________the garden – but no weeds to pull or toiling labor
Adam could eat any of the _________except that from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
Fashioning of Eve and Her Purpose – Genesis 2:18-25
Adam was without sin and able to operate in his full potential ____________- sinful man cannot
God brought the animals to be named, it was only the “_____” of cattle, beasts of the field & birds of the sky
The naming of the animals emphasized Adam was _________for none of them corresponded to him
God did surgery on Adam to take a rib from his ________to fashion a helper suitable (corresponding) to him
God brought her to Adam who named her woman – the __________form of man
God instituted _____________and only He can define it and the roles of the husband and wife
Marriage begins a ________________with the primary responsibility of husband & wife being to each other
Adam & Eve were “naked” – completely _______________to each other physically, mentally & emotionally
The _________of sin results in married couples trying to hide & protect instead of being open & vulnerable
By walking with Christ a couple can begin to __________this & develop the type of marriage God intended
As the sixth day ended, God pronounced it “___________________.”
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Write down all the verses mentioned in the sermon and look them up later. 2) Count how many times “man ”is mentioned in the sermon. Talk with your parents the origin of man and his purpose.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. Can Genesis be reconciled with Evolution? Explain What is the origin of man? Do men & apes have any common ancestor? Explain. What does it mean that man is made in God’s image? Explain. What attributes separate God from man? Name some of the moral attributes of God that he desires man to reflect? Why did God create man? What responsibilities did He give to man? Why do human societies function within a seven day week? What was earth like prior to the creation of Adam? How was it watered? What was man made from? What characteristics does man share with animals? What makes man different from animals? What was Adam’s food source in the Garden of Eden? What two special trees were located there? Can the location of the Garden of Eden be known? Explain? What responsibilities did Adam have in the garden? What animals did Adam name? Is it reasonable that he could have done this in only part of a day? Explain. Why couldn’t Adam find a helper suitable for him? From what did God fashion Eve? What is the significance of its source and location? What was God’s purpose for Eve? Who instituted marriage? What are the responsibilities of the husband and wife to one another? To their parents? To their extended family? How was the relationship between Adam & Eve prior to sin different from the relationship of any married couple in the present? What was God’s evaluation of creation after making Eve and giving her to Adam?
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