What Should Have Been - February 2 Readings: Genesis 2 God Creates Human Beings

The Story of the Bible from Creation to the Cross to Eternal Glory

In 72 daily readings, we will examine the overall story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, seeking to get the big picture of God's work through Jesus Christ in this sinful world.

Today's Reading:  Genesis 2

So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. 2 On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.
 
4 These are the records of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation. At the time that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 no shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. 6 But mist would come up from the earth and water all the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
 
8 The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
 
10 A river went out from Eden to water the garden. From there it divided and became the source of four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon, which flows through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 Gold from that land is pure; bdellium and onyx are also there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon, which flows through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris, which runs east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

 15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.” 19 The Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found corresponding to him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. 22 Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.

     23 And the man said:
        This one, at last, is bone of my bone
         and flesh of my flesh;
          this one will be called “woman,”
          for she was taken from man.
 
24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

Through the Bible Reading: Exodus 19–20, Matthew 21:18–46, Psalm 18:33–39, Proverbs4:3-4

If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings. 

Context 

God is mean, cruel, and oppressive, right? He piles rules upon rules on humanity to keep us in line and make us mind. That's what the enemy would have us believe, at least. But is that the truth? 

In Genesis 2 we see the creation of Adam and Eve and we learn the heart of God for humanity - what he wanted for us before we turned our backs on him and embraced sin. 

Devotional - Life as It Should Have Been

 Life can be frustrating, stressful, sorrowful, even depressing, leaving us wondering if God really loves us or if he has forgotten us. But when we examine the beautiful truths of Genesis 2, we see the world that God meant for us to live in and the life that he meant for us to have. 

It's nothing like the rat-race, fast-paced, high-stress, joy-stealing world we live in. 

The world God made was beautiful. I have seen beauty at the top of mountains and in ocean deeps. I've hiked deserts and jungles. But I've never seen anything like the Garden God made. It was a place of joy and peace as well. There was meaningful work there, but it was not the kind of frustrating, empty labor we have today. Marriage was a partnership of joy, a man and a wife complementing each other, completing one another not competing with one another. 

There are three key life principles we learn from life in the garden. First, God is the source of life - real life. he provided beauty, joy, pleasure, companionship, and contentment. God is not an ogre who gains joy from human suffering. He is a good God, a giver of life. 

But he is also a Lord. God gave Adam a rule in the Garden. One rule - a simple rule, almost a symbolic one. All the trees of the Garden were available for food to Adam and Eve, but there was one tree, the one in the middle of the Garden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, that was forbidden. One tree belonged to God. 

The ratio there is significant. How many trees were there? A thousand? A million? We don't know. But God said they could enjoy them all. But one tree was held back and they were not allowed to eat of it as a sign of obedience and respect to God. As long as they did this small act of obedience they could continue not only to live in God's paradise, but God would walk with them and talk with them - there would be fellowship with God and joy with one another. 

But there is one more truth to remember. God is serious about obedience. He warned Adam that if he disobeyed if he ate of the tree, he would surely die. Disobedience to God brings judgment - eternal and infinite judgment. 

So, from this passage, we learn three key lessons that lay the groundwork for the story of redemption. 

1. God created us to have a beautiful life; a life of fellowship with him. 

2. Obedience and submission to God is essential to experience that life. 

3./ Rebellion separates us from the life god intends for us to have and it brings judgment. 

Father, I know you love me and you want for me a life of greater blessing than I can imagine. But I know that my sin is what stands in the way. May I walk in obedience, fully yielded to you that I may experience all that you have for me. 

Think and Pray:

Do you see God and his laws as oppressive? 

Are there areas of your life that you must submit to him so that you may experience the life God has prepared for you?