On the sixth day God said “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” – Gen 1:26. All three persons of God worked in unity in creating. God created male and female. He blessed them and told them to be fruitful and increase in number to fill the earth. He provided them with food and everything they could ever want.
Here God explains His provision for earth with the giving of plants to provide food for the animals and the people. He is not only our Creator, but our Provider and Sustainer. His purposes for mankind is to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and rule over it.
Principle: God’s image in us gives every person worth and purpose.
Genesis 2:1-3
Creation was now complete. God had finished His work in six days. He rested on the seventh day. He didn’t rest because He was tired, but because He had finished His work. “And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” – Gen. 2:3.
Exodus 20:8-11 makes a clear connection between the Sabbath day and the seventh day on which God rested. It is a day of rest and worship given as a gift to the Israelites to rest from working in slavery. It is a gift and we are to remember this day, meaning not forget to take a day off and thank and worship our Creator. Again God provided for us with a day of rest that is needed for all humankind. Our bodies need rest and so do our spirits. It should be a special day different from all other days of the week. It should be a God-centered rest where we focus on our holy God. It should be a day of worship and thanksgiving.
The Sabbath is not a day of dos and don’ts and we shouldn’t be legalistic about it. The Sabbath command is a command to experience joy, worship, and thanksgiving for what God has done. God’s wants us to have a joyful experience.
Matthew 12 tells us what Jesus thought about this day. He used it as a day for showing mercy and for doing good. It’s a day to focus on the Lord. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. Every day is a day of rest in the finished work of Jesus. As a Christian every day should be set apart to God. Rest is more that resting our tired bodies with sleep and recreation. True rest comes from Jesus when we are reconciled to God and experience His peace.
Have you experienced God’s true rest?
Do you take time to intentionally focus on God?
Principle: Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath.
Genesis 2:4-25
The previous chapter gives the overview of creation while Genesis 2 gives the details of creation. The theme is centered around the personal relationship between man and God. It describes the way life was intended to be.
God had not sent rain to the earth yet so no plants had sprung up yet, but there were streams that came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. There was no one to work the ground so God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Man became a living being. (Gen 2:5-7).
The Hebrew word for man is a term for mankind and becomes the proper name Adam. God blessed the Adam and put him in the garden where He provided plenty good food to eat.
God planted a garden called the Garden of Eden giving man living green plants to eat. (Eden is presently known as Iraq). In the beginning people and animals didn’t eat meat, only vegetation. The plants and trees would have seeds so more plants and trees would grow for food. He told him to work and care of the garden. There was a river that continued to water the garden. In the middle of the garden were two trees – 1. The tree of life and 2. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He told man to eat of any tree there except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they would die. (Gen. 2:8-17).
The tree of life symbolized the eternal life God gives to humans. Why did God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden? It was probably a test to their faithfulness to Him. God tested His people throughout the Bible as He tests people today. He wants to see how we react to Him and His commandments. He tests us to bring out the best in us, not the worst.
God said it wasn’t good for man to be alone and so He would make him a helper (Gen. 2:18). God brought all the living creatures He had created to the man to give them names. There was no suitable helper for the man so God took a rib from the man and made a woman. The man named the helper God had given him ‘woman’. He said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman for she was taken out of man.” – Gen. 2:23 God said “for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” – Gen. 2:24-25. Later in Genesis 3:20 we will see that Adam named the woman Eve.
God made the man and woman in His likeness and image, but He made them very different. Each one had strengths and purposes. They were made to complement each other. This was the first marriage.
Marriage is God’s plan for a man and a woman and should last a life time. They are to live and work together under God’s rules. Marriage was designed to meet our need for companionship and is an illustration of our relationship with God. He made the man out of dust, but the woman from the man’s rib. She was made equal with him and he is to cherish her as his own flesh.
Principle: Marriage is a divine institution given by our Creator God and is a union between a man and a woman.
Everything God had made was perfect and wonderful. He gave man a beautiful place to live, food to eat and everything they could ever want. It was man’s sin that messed everything up.
Why did God create the earth?
Scripture teaches us that God created the world and all that is in it for His own glory. He desired to share His love with others. The creation of all these things demonstrates His love, His glory, grace, mercy, wisdom, power, goodness, etc. See Psalm 19:1, 8:1; 50:6; 89:5. If God created all things, then He alone is the source of the meaning in life. He defined right and wrong and absolute standards that do not change.
Why did God create us?
He wasn’t lonely or bored and certainly didn’t need us. He had His Son and the Holy Spirit with Him, which is referred to in Gen. 1:26 – “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness ….’”. I think He created us out of His great love. “I have loved you with an everlasting love” – Jer. 31:3. He loved us even before we were created. “God is love” – 1 John 4:8. He has great and wonderful creativity and made us to enjoy all that He is and all that He’s done. We were also created to fulfill His eternal plan. He didn’t need us, but we sure need Him.
“Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” – Psalm 100:3.
What does it mean to be made in God’s image?
Humanity is different from the animals. We were made in God’s likeness and image and we are the ones to rule over all the animals. We are not like God physically, but spiritually. We are like God because we can love, think, know right from wrong, have personality, will, and morality. We can make judgments, we have a conscience, and we can speak reason and relate.
Genesis teaches us the characteristic traits of God:
God is eternal
All knowing
Preeminent
Purposeful
Self-sufficient
The First
Creator
Highest Authority
Transcendent
Sovereign
A Planner
Incomprehensible
Incomparable
Can be known
No other like Him
One person, yet 3 persons
A God of order
A God of great wisdom
Questions to think about
What do you learn about work and rest?
What responsibilities has God given you?
What encourages you from Genesis?
How do you acknowledge that God is your creator?
How has creation taught you about God that someone else needs to know?
What are you holding back because it doesn’t make sense? Ask God to help you in your unbelief and to help you to respect His creation.
God provided for Adam and Eve so how has He provided for you?
God provided order as He made creation so where do you need to bring order into your life?
Have you received Christ into your life?
Are you sure God has put His Spirit into your heart?
Are you willing to make changes in your life and follow Him?
Join me here next week as we continue our study of Genesis -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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