Genesis 2:1-25

God did not simply create the world and abandon it.  He supplied all that was needed for His creation to function properly and according to His design.  This chapter demonstrates some of the steps God took to care for His creation.  These help us to understand much about who God is and how it is that we should continue to relate to Him today.  I think that it is important to note that all of these truths were established by God prior to the entrance of sin into the world.  We catch a brief glimpse into how God created this world to work and what He wants us to understand and appreciate about Him and His creation.

THE PRINCIPLE OF REST: I think that it is very interesting that an omnipotent God set time aside to rest.  Unfortunately, man has had a tendency to take this principle to an extreme and created rules and regulations about rest that are more work to keep than it would be to just keep on working as we do on other days.  The Jews of Christ’s day so exaggerated and regulated the principle of rest that Christ was constantly being accused of breaking this principle.  On the other hand, many believers today have taken the principle to the other extreme and just ignore the principle of rest all together.  I believe that both extremes are wrong.  I think that it is healthy and honoring to God for us to set aside a day where we can escape the responsibilities of our normal jobs to rest, worship and enjoy time away from our jobs.  Those of us who are in vocational ministry often have a hard time resting on Sunday because it is one of the days that we work the hardest.  I don’t think we need to get hung up on the day, but I do believe that God wants us to set time aside on a weekly basis to be “off.”  I know that when I fail to do that I get grouchy.  God made the world made us and set aside a day for resting we would do well to follow His example.

THE PRODUCTION OF RESCOURCES: The earth was created with a means of sustaining itself.  In other words God provided all of the resources that man would need on the earth.  He gave man a wonderful garden with rivers plants and animals.  He had all that he need for providing all of his needs in a complete manner.  Man had a job to do in tending for the garden which implies that work is not part of the curse but a part of who God made us to be and what God made us to do.  I believe that work will be a vital part of our lives for all of eternity just as it was a part of Adam’s life in the Garden before the fall.  We may have trouble with that concept today because much of our work now is trivial, boring and tedious because of the presence of sin.  However, we can also easily see that work provides us with a sense of meaning and fulfillment that brings us joy and much satisfaction.  God’s provision does not imply that man does not need to work it simply means that man’s work will be blessed by God’s supply.  I think that it is important for us to trust in God’s provision for us.  That means that we should not be consumed by worry over God’s provision and that we should not be discontent with what He has provided.  If we truly need it, God will supply it.  If God does not supply it, we don’t need it.

THE PRESCRIPTION OF RESTRICTION: Besides making provision for all of man’s needs, God did make a single restriction that prohibited man from eating of one tree.  God is glorified by man’s willful decision to obey Him and that ability to glorify God is far greater in man than in any other part of God’s creation because of man’s capacity to disobey.  The purpose of man is the glory of God and the presence of restriction in the garden accentuated man’s ability to fulfill that purpose.  All of man’s needs were met apart from this restriction just as all of our needs are met within the context of God’s will today.  We sin as Adam sinned not because of any lack on the part of God’s provision but because we choose to disobey God and refuse to fulfill our purpose of glorifying God.

THE PROVISION OF RELATIONSHIPS: God said that it was not good for man to be alone.  This is the first time that God said something was not good.  After each part of creation God said that it was good, but when there was no companion found for Adam this was not good and so God made Eve from one of Adam’s ribs and performed the very first marriage.  This passage is so rich with meaning and I feel is so important to take a close look at, I have decided to dedicate tomorrows blog to just this part, so we will take a closer look at this text tomorrow.  For now let us observe that God, once again, recognized man’s need and took the necessary steps to meet that need.  He continues to do so today.  He has provided us with relationships all around us to help us become more like Christ.  These are people ordained by God to be a part of our lives and they are vital to our lives.  They may be family members, neighbors, co-workers or brothers and sisters in Christ, but they are there and God has placed us together for our good and His glory so we must to all that we can to bless one another through these relationships as God has intended.