(Gen 2:1 NASB) Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.
Gen 2:1: What is being referred to as “all their hosts”? It could mean the stars (Deut. 4:19) or it could also mean angels (1 Kings 22:19).
(Gen 2:2 NASB) And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
(Gen 2:3 NASB) Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
Gen 2:3: It says here that “Then Elohim blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.” It was on this day, seven days into creation, that Elohim instituted the Sabbath Day.
One reason from John MacArthur as to why “the church” does not observe the Sabbath is this:
“There is no evidence in the Bible of anyone keeping the Sabbath before the time of Moses, nor are there any commands in the Bible to keep the Sabbath before the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai. ” This would certainly seem to be a lame argument if one were to read Genesis 2:2-3. It is obvious that Elohim blessed the Sabbath Day and set it apart from the very beginning of creation.
He also uses Hebrews 4 as an argument against the Sabbath:
“Every day to the believer is one of Sabbath rest, since we have ceased from our spiritual labor and are resting in the salvation of the Lord (Hebrews 4:9-11).” If those verses are examined, they do not make his case very well at all. Especially since Hebrews 4:10 states “Therefore there remains a Sabbath-keeping (Gr. – Sabbatismos) for the people of Elohim.”
Why was Elohim resting? He was resting because He has completed His creation. He finished creating and nothing new is being created (Heb 4:3-4,10).
This corresponds to the First Law of Thermodynamics which says that energy cannot be created or destroyed. There is exactly the same amount of energy in the solar system today than there was when Elohim created it because Elohim is finished creating.
The present processes of the universe are processes of conservation and disintegration. There are no exceptions. The processes involved during the first six days of creation were innovation and integration (creating and making). It should be painfully obvious to anyone who is not willfully ignorant that this universe which is in the process of constant decay cannot produce the infinite amounts of innovation and integration (creating and making) necessary for life to produce itself.
(Gen 2:4 NASB) This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven.
Gen 2:4: The word “day” (yom) here is clearly referring to a period of time, but it should probably be translated “days.” I do not find a differentiation between day and days. It seems to be purely contextual, but I am not a Hebrew scholar and do not pretend to be one. There could be a Hebrew letter or vowel point that indicates such.
(Gen 2:5 NASB) Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth; and there was no man to cultivate the ground.
Gen 2:5: The second chapter of Genesis give more detail of the sixth day of creation, especially the account of the creation of Adam and Eve. Some have claimed this to be a contradiction of the first chapter, but it is actually a complement of the first chapter without contradiction.
(Gen 2:6 NASB) But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.
Gen 2:6: It would appear that there was no rain on the earth up to the time of the flood. The plants were watered by a mist that came from the ground. The implication here is that there was a tremendous amount of hydraulic pressure contained underground (Gen 7:11). The “fountains of the great deep” mentioned in that verse probably refer to enormous volcanic activity as well as water, but we will discuss that when we get to it.
The hydrological cycle today is drastically different than it was then. The present cycle includes global air mass movements and seasonal temperature changes. It is nicely summarized in several passages of Scripture (Ecc. 1:6-7, Isaiah 55:10-11, etc.).
The inhibition of rainfall was probably due to the vapor canopy as discussed previously.
(Gen 2:7 NASB) Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Gen 2:7: Man is made up of 15 or 16 chemical elements that are found in a handful of dirt. If we were to boil ourselves down to those basic elements we would be worth about $150.00, maybe more with today’s inflation rate. That’s all we are worth because we are made out of the dust of the ground.
Elohim breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. This brought man into a wonderful relationship with His Creator. Man has a spiritual life and has in his being a capacity for Elohim. This is what separates us from the animals.
(Gen 2:8 NASB) And the LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.
Gen 2:8: We do not know where the Garden of Eden is because the deluge of the flood totally changed the geography of the world.
Some say it was where we now have Jerusalem.
(Gen 2:9 NASB) And out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Gen 2:9: The two trees mentioned here are of great interest. The tree of life apparently could even make a mortal man live forever (Gen. 3:22).
How can a fruit be of such rich nourishment as to halt the aging process? We don’t know, but we don’t know much about the aging process anyway. There is a field of science called gerontology that is studying the phenomena of aging, but they still can’t figure out why we get old and die. If Elohim says that He used a fruit in the garden to enable someone to live forever, then I’m sure that He did. Elohim normally uses natural processes to carry out His plan unless He decides differently.
As for the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it is described as good-looking and good for food (Gen. 3:6).
(Gen 2:10 NASB) Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers.
Gen 2:10: The mist coming from the ground was not sufficient to water the vast amounts of vegetation in Eden. The river flowing through the garden would maintain a high water table to nourish the roots of the trees and other plants in the garden.
The pre-flood hydrologic cycle probably consisted of conveying water from the sea to the land through subterranean channels. These pre-flood water channels were destroyed during the great upheaval described at the start of the flood (Gen 7:11).
(Gen 2:11 NASB) The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
(Gen 2:12 NASB) And the gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there.
(Gen 2:13 NASB) And the name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush.
(Gen 2:14 NASB) And the name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
Gen 2:14: Some men have tried to associate these rivers with the Tigris River, the Nile River, the Ganges River, and the present day Euphrates River. Identification is impossible, however, due to the geographic changes during the flood. It is more likely that these rivers do not even exist anymore.
(Gen 2:15 NASB) Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
Gen 2:15: Why did Elohim create man? The entire purpose of creation was to provide for the physical, mental, and spiritual needs of man.
Sadly, man is often quick to criticize Elohim and why did He allow this and that (Rom. 9:20-23).
(Gen 2:16 NASB) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;
(Gen 2:17 NASB) but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”
Gen 2:17: The fact is, they were forbidden to eat of this particular tree. We are told that it was the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.” Knowledge of good and evil implies evil itself when Elohim has forbidden such knowledge.
Evil must have initially been present also. If eating from that tree would give knowledge of evil, evil itself must have already been present.
Some people point out that Adam and Eve did not die the very day they ate of the tree. The fact is, when they ate of it, they were aware of their sin. That very day, they were dead in their trespasses and sin (Eph 2:1).
(Gen 2:18 NASB) Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
Gen 2:18: Elohim does not want man to be alone. He has a remedy for that.
(Gen 2:19 NASB) And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.
Gen 2:19: Notice that the land animals were formed from the dust of the ground also.
(Gen 2:20 NASB) And the man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.
Gen 2:20: While Adam was naming all the animals, he realized they all had mates and came in pairs. Why didn’t Elohim just create Eve with Adam to begin with? Perhaps Adams’ initial lonliness gave him an appreciation for his bride.
(Gen 2:21 NASB) So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place.
(Gen 2:22 NASB) And the LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
(Gen 2:23 NASB) And the man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”
Gen 2:23: Why did Elohim put Adam to sleep? There was likely no pain yet in Elohim’s “very good” world at this time. This deep sleep almost simulates death.
The word translated “rib” is usually translated “side” and implies flesh and blood as well as a bone. Blood undoubtedly flowed from Adam’s side at this time.
Possibly, the reason Elohim created Eve in this manner was to give us a picture of Messiah. Adam’s simulated death and blood flowing from his side for his bride is a beautiful indication of what Yeshua Messiah would do for His bride, Israel. “For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” Eph. 5:30 (kjv).
(Gen 2:24 NASB) For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
Gen 2:24: Elohim intended for marriage to last forever (Matt 19:8). The sinfulness of man brings adultery, promiscuity, homosexuality, easy divorce, and other perversions that have damaged the sanctity of marriage.
Marriage is the only union between couples that works. It is much more than a “piece of legal paper” that we are trying to turn it into today. It is the only method for the propagation and furtherance of mankind. Paul tells us that the marital relationship is a picture and pattern of the relationship between Messiah and His people (ekklesia) (Eph. 5:22-33).
(Gen 2:25 NASB) And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Gen 2:25: What a beautiful picture Elohim gave us of the creation of man and woman.
Patrick McGuire
Copyright 2014 Patrick McGuire and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly All rights reserved, no portion of this Lesson may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly Fort Smith, Arkansas