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1. THE CREATOR
Genesis 2:1-3
1 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.
1. The results
— v. 1. The heavens and the earth were created by God.
- The earth was created by God. Man had nothing to do with creation.
- The earth didn't just come into being—it was created by God.
2. The rest
- v. 2. The seventh day was a holy day, or a rest day. Man's body was built to have one day of rest per week. Often man becomes sick by overwork.
3. The remembrance
— v. 3. God blessed the seventh day, making it a day of rest. The disciples, after Christ's resurrection, kept Sunday as The Lord's Day. Jesus repeated all the Ten Commandments in the New Testament, except the one on keeping Saturday as the Sabbath. (See Acts 20:7,1 Cor. 16:2, Rev. 1:10.)
Acts 20:7
On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.
1 Corinthians 16:2
On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
Revelation 1:10
On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
Some of those who kept the Sabbath (Saturday) very painfully sought to kill Christ (John 5:18).
John 5:18
For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
2. THE CREATION
Genesis 2:4-14
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--
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--
7 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.
8 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.
1. Conditions
— v. 4-6. No rain fell from the skies. The ground was watered by a mist.
2. Creation
— v. 7. God created man from the dust of the ground. Note the threefold step: (1) Created from dust, (2) Breathed into man, (3) Man became a living soul.
3.Caretaker
— v. 8-14. The garden of Eden was formed for man and man was appointed the caretaker of this beautiful garden.
3. THE CONDITION
Genesis 2:15-17
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
17 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."
1. Work
— v. 15. Adam was given the responsibility of taking care of the garden. God places strong emphasis upon work. Laziness is not of God.
2. Warning
— v. 16. Man might partake of any tree, except one tree. If he ate of this tree, he would face death.
3. Wrong
— v. 17. If man partook of the tree, he would be separated from God. God gave man a will—freedom of choice.
4. THE COMPANION
Genesis 2:18-25
18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
19 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.
20 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.
21 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.
22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 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."
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
1. Purpose
— v. 18-20. It was not good for man to live alone. God made him a helper. It is normal for man and woman to be together.
2. Plan
— v. 21-23. Eve was taken from Adam's rib—not from his foot to be trampled upon... not from the head to top her... but from his side so they could stand together as one.
3. Personality
— v. 24. Two different people in marriage become one. No longer me or mine, but we and ours. After the wedding the "we" comes before the "I".
4. Perfection
— v. 25. Though Adam and Eve were both naked, they were not ashamed.
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