Study Helps - Lesson 6

Lesson 6 July 31 - August 6

A Closer Look at the Creation Story

Memory Text: (Gen 2:1-3 NKJV) Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. {2} And on the seventh day God ended 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 in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Sabbath Afternoon

(Gen 1:1-2 NIV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. {2} Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Read Genesis chapters 1 & 2

Sunday

In The Beginning God . . .

Monday

In The Beginning God . . .

(Prov 8:22-26 NIV) "The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; {23} I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. {24} When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; {25} before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, {26} before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world.

(Prov 8:30 NIV) Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence,

(Micah 5:2 NIV) "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

(Job 38:5-10 NIV) Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? {6} On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone--

{Job 38:7-10} while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? {8} "Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, {9} when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, {10} when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,

(Isa 14:12-21 NIV) How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! {13} You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. {14} I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." {15} But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. {16} Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, {17} the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?" {18} All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. {19} But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch; you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, {20} you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people. The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again. {21} Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the sins of their forefathers; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities.

(Ezek 28:12-17 NIV) "Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. {13} You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. {14} You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. {15} You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. {16} Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. {17} Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

(1 John 3:8 NIV) He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

(Gen 1:2-3 NIV) Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. {3} And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

(Gen 1:1 NIV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

(Micah 5:2 NKJV) "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."

(Heb 1:8 NIV) But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.

(Job 38:4-11 NIV) "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. {5} Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? {6} On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone-- {7} while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? {8} "Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, {9} when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, {10} when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, {11} when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'?

(Gen 1:16 NIV) God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

(Psa 45:6 NIV) Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

(Psa 93:2 NIV) Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity.

(1 John 3:8 NIV) He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

Read Isaiah chapter 14

Read Ezekiel chapter 28

Early Writings, pp. 39 - 40

God's Love for His People I have seen the tender love that God has for His people, and it is very great. I saw angels over the saints with their wings spread about them. Each saint had an attending angel. If the saints wept through discouragement, or were in danger, the angels that ever attended them would fly quickly upward to carry the tidings, and the angels in the city would cease to sing. Then Jesus would commission another angel to descend to encourage, watch over, and try to keep them from going out of the narrow path; but if they did not take heed to the watchful care of these angels, and would not be comforted by them, but continued to go astray, the angels would look sad and weep. They would bear the tidings upward, and all the angels in the city would weep, and then with a loud voice say, "Amen." But if the saints fixed their eyes upon the prize before them and glorified God by praising Him, then the angels would bear the glad tidings to the city, and the angels in the city would touch their golden harps and sing with a loud voice, "Alleluia!" and the heavenly arches would ring with their lovely songs. {EW 39.1}

There is perfect order and harmony in the Holy City. All the angels that are commissioned to visit the earth hold a golden card, which they present to the angels at the gates of the city as they pass in and out. Heaven is a good place. I long to be there and behold my lovely Jesus, who gave His life for me, and be changed into His glorious image. Oh, for language to express the glory of the bright world to come! I thirst for the living streams that make glad the city of our God. {EW 39.2}

The Lord has given me a view of other worlds. Wings were given me, and an angel attended me from the city to a place that was bright and glorious. The grass of the place was living green, and the birds there (p. 40) warbled a sweet song. The inhabitants of the place were of all sizes; they were noble, majestic, and lovely. They bore the express image of Jesus, and their countenances beamed with holy joy, expressive of the freedom and happiness of the place. I asked one of them why they were so much more lovely than those on the earth. The reply was, "We have lived in strict obedience to the commandments of God, and have not fallen by disobedience,

Early Writings, pp. 39 - 40

like those on the earth." Then I saw two trees, one looked much like the tree of life in the city. The fruit of both looked beautiful, but of one they could not eat. They had power to eat of both, but were forbidden to eat of one. Then my attending angel said to me, "None in this place have tasted of the forbidden tree; but if they should eat, they would fall." Then I was taken to a world which had seven moons. There I saw good old Enoch, who had been translated. On his right arm he bore a glorious palm, and on each leaf was written "Victory." Around his head was a dazzling white wreath, and leaves on the wreath, and in the middle of each leaf was written "Purity," and around the wreath were stones of various colors, that shone brighter than the stars, and cast a reflection upon the letters and magnified them. On the back part of his head was a bow that confined the wreath, and upon the bow was written "Holiness." Above the wreath was a lovely crown that shone brighter than the sun. I asked him if this was the place he was taken to from the earth. He said, "It is not; the city is my home, and I have come to visit this place." He moved about the place as if perfectly at home. I begged of my attending angel to let me remain in that place. I could not bear the thought of coming back to this dark world again. Then the angel said, "You must go back, and if you are faithful, you, with the 144,000, shall have the privilege of visiting all the worlds and viewing the handiwork of God." (p. 41) {EW 39.3}

Tuesday

Our Creator: The All-Powerful God, Our Personal Friend

Read Genesis chapters 1 - 2

(Mat 19:4-5 NIV) "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' {5} and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'?

(Mark 10:2-9 NIV) Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" {3} "What did Moses command you?" he replied. {4} They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away." {5} "It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. {6} "But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' {7} 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, {8} and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. {9} Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

(Rom 4:17 NIV) As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

(Gal 3:8 NIV) The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you."

(Gal 4:30 NIV) But what does the Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son."

(Heb 4:4 NIV) For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work."

(James 2:23 NIV) And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.

Wednesday

What God Did Not Create

(Gen 2:4-5 NIV) This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens-- {5} 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,

(Gen 1:11-12 NIV) Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. {12} The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

(Gen 1:26-27 NIV) Then 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." {27} So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

(Gen 2:4-6 NIV) This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens-- {5} 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, {6} but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground--

(Gen 3:18 NIV) It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

(Gen 2:5 NIV) 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,

(Gen 21:15 NIV) When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes.

(Job 30:4 NIV) In the brush they gathered salt herbs, and their food was the root of the broom tree.

(Job 30:7 NIV) They brayed among the bushes and huddled in the undergrowth.

(Gen 3:18 NIV) It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

Thursday

A Man That Tills The Soil

(Gen 3:17 NIV) To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

(Gen 2:8-15 NIV) Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. {9} 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. {10} A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. {11} The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. {12} (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) {13} The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. {14} The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. {15} The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

(Gen 2:15 NKJV) Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

(Gen 2:15 NIV) The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

(Gen 3:19 NIV) By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."

Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 50

To the dwellers in Eden was committed the care of the garden, "to dress it and to keep it." Their occupation was not wearisome, but pleasant and invigorating. God appointed labor as a blessing to man, to occupy his mind, to strengthen his body, and to develop his faculties. In mental and physical activity Adam found one of the highest pleasures of his holy existence. And when, as a result of his disobedience, he was driven from his beautiful home, and forced to struggle with a stubborn soil to gain his daily bread, that very labor, although widely different from his pleasant occupation in the garden, was a safeguard against temptation and a source of happiness. Those who regard work as a curse, attended though it be with weariness and pain, are cherishing an error. The rich often look down with contempt upon the working classes, but this is wholly at variance with God's purpose in creating man. What are the possessions of even the most wealthy in comparison with the heritage given to the lordly Adam? Yet Adam was not to be idle. Our Creator, who understands what is for man's happiness, appointed Adam his work. The true joy of life is found only by the working men and women. The angels are diligent workers; they are the ministers of God to the children of men. The Creator has prepared no place for the stagnating practice of indolence. {PP 50.1}

Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 50 (continued)

While they remained true to God, Adam and his companion were to bear rule over the earth. Unlimited control was given them over every living thing. The lion and the lamb sported peacefully around them or lay down together at their feet. The happy birds flitted about them without fear; and as their glad songs ascended to the praise of their Creator, Adam and Eve united with them in thanksgiving to the Father and the Son. {PP 50.2}

The holy pair were not only children under the fatherly care of God but students receiving instruction from the all-wise Creator. They were visited by angels, and were granted communion with their Maker, with no obscuring veil between. They were full of the vigor imparted by the tree of life, and their intellectual power was but little less than that of the angels. The mysteries of the visible universe--"the wondrous works of Him which is (p. 51)

perfect in knowledge" (Job 37:16)--afforded them an exhaustless source of instruction and delight. The laws and operations of nature, which have engaged men's study for six thousand years, were opened to their minds by the infinite Framer and Upholder of all. They held converse with leaf and flower and tree, gathering from each the secrets of its life. With every living creature, from the mighty leviathan that playeth among the waters to the insect mote that floats in the sunbeam, Adam was familiar. He had given to each its name, and he was acquainted with the nature and habits of all. God's glory in the heavens, the innumerable worlds in their orderly revolutions, "the balancings of the clouds," the mysteries of light and sound, of day and night--all were open to the study of our first parents. On every leaf of the forest or stone of the mountains, in every shining star, in earth and air and sky, God's name was written. The order and harmony of creation spoke to them of infinite wisdom and power. They were ever discovering some attraction that filled their hearts with deeper love and called forth fresh expressions of gratitude. {PP 50.3}

(Gen 2:4 NIV) This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens--

(Gen 2:7 NIV) 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.

Friday

(Gal 3:8 NIV) The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you."

(Heb 4:4 NIV) For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work."

(James 2:23 NIV) And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.

Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 251

As the years rolled on, and he wandered with his flocks in solitary places, pondering upon the oppressed condition of his people, he recounted the dealings of God with his fathers and the promises that were the heritage of the chosen nation, and his prayers for Israel ascended by day and by night. Heavenly angels shed their light around him. Here, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote the book of Genesis.

Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 251 (continued)

The long years spent amid the desert solitudes were rich in blessing, not alone to Moses and his people, but to the world in all succeeding ages. {PP 251.1}

"And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them." The time for Israel's deliverance had come. But God's purpose was to be accomplished in a manner to pour contempt on human pride. The deliverer was to go forth as a humble shepherd, with only a rod in his hand; but God would make that rod the symbol of His power. Leading his flocks one day near Horeb, "the mountain of God," Moses saw a bush in flames, branches, foliage, and trunk, all burning, yet seeming not to be consumed. He drew near to view the wonderful sight, when a voice from out of the flame called him by name. With trembling lips he answered, "Here am I." He was warned not to approach irreverently: "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. . . . I am the God (p. 252) of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." It was He who, as the Angel of the covenant, had revealed Himself to the fathers in ages past. "And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God." {PP 251.2}

(Gen 3:18 NIV) It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

(Gen 1:1 NIV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

(Gen 1:3-31 NIV) And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. {4} God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. {5} God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. {6} And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." {7} So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. {8} God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day. {9} And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. {10} God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. {11} Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. {12} The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. {13} And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day. {14} And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, {15} and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. {16} God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. {17} God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, {18} to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. {19} And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day. {20} And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." {21} So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

{Gen1:22-31} God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." {23} And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day. {24} And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. {25} God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. {26} Then 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." {27} So 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 said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." {29} Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. {30} And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so. {31} God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.

(Gen 2:1-4 NIV) Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. {2} By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. {3} 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. {4} This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens--

(Gen 2:7 NIV) 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.