Bible Study (July 31) - Genesis 2

Genesis Chapter 2

Verses 8-14 (NLT) – The Garden of Eden

8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. 9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches. 11 The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found. 12 The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. 13 The second branch, called the Gihon, flowed around the entire land of Cush. 14 The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is called the Euphrates.

Thoughts:

We saw that the Lord especially created man and put him in a garden – a “delightful and pleasurable” place to stay. We have parks where we can have rest and recreation, and definitely parks are good places to hang around. We can have a hint that the garden was somewhere in modern day Iraq due to the presence of the two known rivers in the text – Tigris and Euphrates which we know still exist today. History also indicates that the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar built the so-called “hanging gardens” in Babylon (now Iraq) around 600 B.C. which was considered as one of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Therefore, it is possible to have lush tropical areas such as lovely gardens because of the rivers that can provide irrigation through the land.

Now, if you are an explorer and treasure hunter, you may possibly want to find where the land of Havilah is, where the river Pishon runs through because high grade gold and other precious stones are there (vv. 11-12). One of the richest men in America, John D. Rockefeller was believed to have hinted from the Bible where oil in the Middle East was located such as the presence of tar pits (Gen 14:10) – which made him an oil magnate.

Verses 15-20 (NLT) – Adam was commissioned

15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” 19 So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man[c] to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. 20 He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.

Thoughts:

Adam was commissioned by the Lord as the “manager” of His creation. Adam was given the authority and responsibility to rule and name other creatures. There are about 2 million “identified” species on earth according to statistics and as many as 100 million are believed to be unknown. Naming those species alone can be mind boggling, but according to the Bible, Adam named them according on how he wanted to. This is an enormous authority and task to tag something as they would be.

The Lord said in every day of His creation as “good”, and “very good” for the creation of man. But this is the time the Lord said something that “It is not good ….. “, but of course referring to Adam being alone and without partner, for he was not able to find someone from among the creation to be his partner. The Lord made him realize that he needs somebody – as a “helper”, somebody the same as him and fit for him. All other creation seems to have partners – mr. and mrs. elephant, mr. and mrs. chimpanzee, etc. – but he has none!

Verses 15-20 (NLT) – The first garden wedding

21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs[d] and closed up the opening. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.
“This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”
24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
25 Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.

Thoughts:

Many people look for love and partner in many wrong places – internet dating, romance websites, etc, but they end up being scammed. Here, Adam was simply gone to deep sleep, entrusted to the Lord whom he would have as partner, and “Alas!” or as the term said “At last!” – here comes the bride! The first perfect marriage since no past boyfriends to talk about, and no mother in-law to compare how good they cook. And the first perfect garden wedding, initiated by the Lord Himself. As usual, Adam had the authority to name his partner, as he did with all other creature. And he called her – wo-man. From the womb of a man. For out of his side and rib came out the woman, his very bride!

Also, the last Adam - who is Jesus had gone to “deep sleep”, literally died in another garden - the garden of Golgotha. And from His side a spear was stuck, and there came out water and blood – the things that come out during birthing period. And from His side, the Church was born. The Church who is the bride of the last Adam (Jesus) forever!

Another important principle is the “leaving”, “cleaving”, and “uniting” between the husband and wife. Although Adam and Eve were the first couple (with no in-laws), the Lord God established the principle ahead of time for Adam and Eve to implement through their siblings. Many times, the first step of “leaving” is very hard to obey for many young couples, but it is the most important step in married life – to leave all other relationships. The Lord God also requires from us leaving all other gods and relationships, when we want to have relationship and be united with the Lord.

Many Bible teachers believe that the last verse (v.25) implies healthy sexual relations between the first couple, since the relationship is pure and unblemished. That is what supposed to be for married couples – relationships not adulterated by any other.


Thank you for reading and studying with us. We will dash through Genesis Chapter 3 next Saturday, or even Friday if people will come.

Laugh for a joke (courtesy of Pastor Joven):
Question: What is the difference between in-laws and out-laws?
Think ..... Think ..... Think ..... Think ..... Think .....
Answer: Out-laws are "Wanted", while in-laws are "Not wanted"