Sunday: Creation in Genesis 2
“These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they
Image © Krieg Barrie from GoodSalt.com
were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens” (Gen. 2:4).
Genesis 1-2:3 is the first account of God creating our world. It forms the foundation of all the other truths that we, as Christians, believe.
But the Creation account doesn’t end there. From Genesis 2:3 to the end of the chapter, we are given more details, specifically regarding the creation of Adam and Eve. Thus, we should interpret Genesis 2:4 (above) as the introduction to a more detailed history of the creation of Adam and Eve, an act that is briefly summarized in Genesis 1:26-29. Some modern scholars have argued that a conflict exists between Genesis 1 and 2, but this would have been a surprise to Moses and the other biblical writers. If the stories were seen as conflicting, Moses would never have written them, especially so close together. The conflict isn’t with the texts; it’s with those who read a conflict into them.
Read Matthew 19:4-6. How does Jesus affirm the historical truth of Genesis 1 and 2?
In response to the Pharisees’ question about divorce, Jesus quoted from both Genesis 1:27 and 2:24, showing that He considered both to be discussing the same historical event, the Creation of the world and humanity. How much more proof do we need that Genesis 1 and 2 are harmonious accounts of Creation, the doctrine and teaching that forms the foundation of our existence and purpose? We are not here by chance, we are not here by fluke; we are beings made in the image of God—and the Genesis Creation account, as revealed in chapters 1 and 2, is God’s special revelation to us of our origins.
Read Genesis 2. How does it help us to better understand what it means to be human, to be made in the image of God, and to be given free will?
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I wonder if we couldn't also think of the material in Chapter two as a parenthetical insertion similar to what we find in revelation and to some extent in Daniel where a kind of sidebar discussion is injected into the narrative in order to explain something in greater detail.
I have to disagree. The work of P. J. Wiseman and others demonstrates that Gen. 2:4 is a colophon--think of it as a title page, only at the end of the work rather than the beginning. We now have many, many examples of this literary formulation. Ancient accounts often concluded with a statement of summary and ownership. And this formula, also called the 'toledot' formula, for the Hebrew word for 'generations,' occurs eleven times in Genesis. That is very strong evidence that the whole work is structured in that way.
Gen 2:4 explicitly mentions the heavens: "This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens." But the only mention of the heavens occurs in the preceding account. The word 'heavens' does not appear in the following section, which ends with a colophon in Chapter 5:1-2: "This is the written account of Adam’s family line.
When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind”[a] when they were created."
Those verses are a perfect summary of 2:5-4:26.
Genesis 1 and 2 are however closely linked. Here's an examination of that in detail. http://www.groundsforbelief.com/genesis-1-2/
The Sabbath school is really the heart of the church. Clear Bible education. Glory be to God!
Created out of Gods image, man was formed.Unlike any other creature men was given Free will...unlike for an example a donkey cannot decide to disobey God let alone its owner. It cannot voice out its complaints, because its got none, it lives like it was made to, to beautify the earth. Humans on the other hand can think, feel, decide, and we have got emotions unlike donkeys. To be able to make decions that's freewill. We would have lived like donkeys do, careless and free from worry had not sin left us 'spiritualy naked'.
When I look at God I see a genuine superior, who entrusted 'mere' men with freewill. That's genuine love for his creation. Love that is asking nothing in return..Love unto death...God knew from the beginning men would fall..but he never changed his creation plan that included the redemption plan as well. GOD IS LOVE.
Well said! "God knew from the beginning men would fall..but he never changed his creation plan that included the redemption plan as well. GOD IS LOVE."
Hi. I'm reading my Bible and there's a part that I don't understand. Please help me understand.
Genesis 1
Here's the Bible say's God made man in his Image
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Here's the Bible say's God made man in his own Image. "Are there two creations? or this explains how everything on earth was made"
Genesis 2
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,
5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Verse 5: there was not a man to till the ground.
This means there was no man on earth during that point of creation.
Verse 7: God formed man "Adam" is this interlinked with Genesis 1:26 where God created man in his own Image? detailing how God created man and then after telling Adam and Eve to multiply and have dominion on every creature that was on earth.
Please help me understand.
Your question is a good one. While I am not a theologian, I will give a short immediate answer:
You are looking at two accounts of creation with two very different aims in mind. One gives the big picture and one concentrates more on man. Yes there are differences. It is a bit like being a chemistry teacher. You tell the class what a metal is and how metals fit in with all the other elements, then you concentrate for a while on the chemistry of iron. Both views are chemistry but from different points of view.
The Bible does that often. Chronicles and Kings essentially tell the same story, and the Gospels are the story of Jesus told 4 times over.
I Hope that helps a little bit. There are a number of articles available that talk about the Genesis repetition and I will see if I can find some for you.