SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 2
MEMORY VERSE:
“The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7)
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)
ADAM AND EVE (vs. 4-25)
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens – and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the grou8nd – the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the grou8nd and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden, and there he put the man he had formed. And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground – trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
A river watering the garden flowed from Eden’ from there it was separated into four head waters. s the name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there. The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam, no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman for the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man 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”.
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.
THOUGHTS: (From Life Application Study Bible)
Man is formed from the dust of the ground. It implies that our bodies are not made up of any chemical elements. The body is a lifeless shell until God brings it alive with his breath of life. And when die, we return to dust. Therefore our life and worth come from God’s Spirit. We must not boast of our achievements and abilities nor should we feel worthless if our abilities do not stand out. It is God who gives us the miraculous gift of life. So we have to value it.
God gave Adam the responsibility to take care the garden and name all the living creatures. He told him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God did not force Adam not to eat but rather gave him the choice to obey or not. But because he had chosen wrongly, he was driven out of the Garden of Eden. Today, God still gives us choices. Our wrong choices may cause us pain but they can help us learn and grow and make better choices in the future. Knowing that there are consequences of our wrong choice teaches us to think and choose more carefully. When you are faced with the choice, always choose to obey God.
God chose to make woman from man’s flesh and bone to illustrate that in marriage, man and woman symbolically are united into one. This is a mystical union of the couple’s hearts and lives. This union is more than friendship. It is a commitment of oneness. It involves leaving his parents to join together in love and take responsibility for each other’s welfare. If you are married or planning to get married, are you willing to keep the commitment of love, oneness and care with each other for the rest of your life?
When God created Adam and Eve, they were both naked. Both were innocent and did not feel embarrassed. But after they had sinned, shame and awkwardness followed. They put on fig leaves to hide from God. Similarly, when we sin, we have created a barrier and break our communication with God.