Exodus 26:31-37 Curtains for the Tabernacle

"Make a curtain of blue,purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen,

with cherubim worked into it by a skillful craftsman.

Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold

and standing on four silver bases.

Hang the curtain from the clasps

and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain.

The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.

Put the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place.

Place the table outside the curtain on the north side of the tabernacle

and put the lampstand opposite it on the south side.

For the entrance to the tent

make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen --

the work of an embroiderer.

Make gold hooks for this curtain

and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold.

And cast five bronze bases for them."

Exodus 26:31-37 (NIV)

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A  curtain was made which separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.  It was made of finely twisted linen, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn.  A cherubim design was worked into the curtain, which brings to mind the cherubim which God had stationed at the entrance to the Garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22-24)  Gold hooks secured this curtain onto four acacia wood posts which had been overlaid with gold and set into four silver bases.

Within this Most Holy Place was the ark of the Testimony.  I wrote of that in greater detail here.

Outside the Most Holy Place was the Holy Place.  A table stood outside the curtain of the Most Holy  Place on the north side.  A lampstand stood opposite it on the south side.

For the entrance to the Holy Place there was another curtain.  This one was also made of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen.  There is no mention of a cherubim design being worked into this curtain.  This latter curtain was attached by gold hooks to five acacia wood posts which had been overlaid with gold, set into five bronze bases.

Exodus 26:15-30 A Sturdy Tabernacle

"Make upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle.

Each frame is to be ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,

with two projections set parallel to each other.

Make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way.

Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle

and make forty silver bases to go under them --

two bases for each frame, one under each projection.

For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle,

make twenty frames and forty sliver bases --

two under each frame.

Make six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle,

and make two frames for the corners at the far end.

At these two corners they must be double from the bottom all the way to the top,

and fitted into a single ring; both shall be like that.

So there will be eight frames and sixteen silver bases --

two under each frame.

Also make crossbars of acacia wood:

five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle,

five for those on the other side,

and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle.

The center crossbar is to extend from end to end at the middle of the frames.

Overlay the frames with gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars.

Also overlay the crossbars with gold.

Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain."

Exodus 26:15-30 (NIV)

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Some notes about the frames:

• Altogether the framework for the Tabernacle was sturdy.  It had special projections built into the bottoms of each frame, so that they could be inserted into the silver bases which supported the structure.  There were also crossbars to help support the structure.
• The silver for making these bases came from an offering from the Israelite community. (Exodus 38:25-27).
• There were 100 silver bases made:  forty indicated in Exodus 26:19, another forty indicated in verse 21, sixteen bases in verse 25 and four bases which are mentioned in verse 32 (which is not a part of this passage).  If you add up these figures, they come out to 100 bases.
• Each base was made from a talent of silver.  (Exodus 38:27)

I am sure that there are other interesting facts about the framework which we can discover.  I will update this post when I find anything else about it.

Exodus 26:7-14 Coverings for the Tabernacle

"Make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle --

eleven altogether.

All eleven curtains are to be the same size --

thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.

Join five of the curtains together into one set

and the other six into another set.

Fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent.

Make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set

and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set.

Then make fifty bronze clasps and put them in the loops

to fasten the tent together as a unit.

As for the additional length of the tent curtains, 

the half curtain that is left over is to hang down at the rear of the tabernacle.

The tent curtains will be a cubit longer on both sides;

what is left will hang over the sides of the tabernacle so as to cover it.

Make for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red,

and over that a covering of hides of sea cows."

Exodus 26:7-14 (NIV)

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I was impressed with the depth of detail which was given about the construction of the tabernacle.  However, this makes sense when you consider that the tabernacle was God's kingly tent where He dwelt among the Israelites.  (Exodus 25:8-9)  Of course such a tent could not contain Him, but it provided a place where his people could come before Him.

These instructions are for a tent made of goat hair which would cover the fine linen curtains which made up the inner part of the tabernacle.  There would be other layers over this one.  One was a covering of ram's skins dyed red, and over that a covering of hides of sea cows.

What, you may ask, is a sea cow?  Well,  I wondered, too, so I did a bit of research and it seems that it is a popular name for the manatee.  You can put 'sea cow' into your favorite search engine and get quite a few pictures, including some amusing ones where the artists depict familiar black and white cows with fins and flippers.  The manatees did look surprisingly cow-like, with their elongated snouts -- especially when the pictures showed them chomping away at some type of sea vegetation!  They also like to graze in herds, sometimes up to several hundred in number.

I have also seen 'sea cows' translated as 'porpoises' in some versions of the Bible.  However, I have also seen the words translated as 'goatskins'.  Now I will have to check the Hebrew.

Oh my.  No, not 'lions and tigers and bears', but would you believe 'badgers, seals and porpoises'?
The site I checked translated the Hebrew word in that verse as 'porpoise'.  Other versions of the Scriptures translated the word in various ways:

• badgers  (which is pretty often rejected, especially since the badger was considered an 'unclean' animal for the Israelites.)

• seals

In conclusion, it is likely that the word meant some type of sea creature like a porpoise, seal or manatee -- probably something with a hardy skin which would withstand the elements.  That would make sense since this is the outermost layer of the coverings. 

If you are wondering where the Israelites would get such skins of sea creatures as they journeyed, remember that God had told them to ask their Egyptian neighbors for various valuable items (clothing, jewelry,etc.) before they were delivered from slavery in Egypt.  (Exodus 3:22; 12:35-36)   Perhaps some already-tanned porpoise/manatee skins were also selected from these Egyptians, who, after experiencing the ten plagues (especially the final one -- the death of the first born son in each household), were all too willing to hand over whatever they requested so that the Israelites would leave Egypt as quickly as possible. 

I suppose there is also the possibility of having encountered traders along the way, or of obtaining and processing the skins themselves, as there were times in their journey back to the promised land when they would remain in one place for awhile until God indicated that they should move on.  Not that they would have had time to build a boat and go on extensive sea journeys, but one type of 'sea cow', the dugong, grazed in fairly shallow areas among sea grasses along the coasts.  These slow-moving creatures might have become easy prey to an enterprising Hebrew.  However, to me that seems like the least likely possibility, especially since it would have taken quite a number of these animals to make up such a covering for the tabernacle.

As far as habitat, the current habitat maps don't show manatees near the Sinai Peninsula, where the Israelites would have been traveling.  However, these same maps did show dugongs ranging as far as the Nile River (the animals also inhabited inland waterways at times), which is interesting if you think that the Hebrews might have obtained the skins of these mammals from their Egyptian neighbors before they left Egypt.  Altogether, I got the impression as I researched that there is still much to learn about these animals, and that populations of them could have existed in places from which we do not currently have fossil evidence.

If I find out any more I will return and add it to this post.  But for now, 'that is all'.
  

Back to the Place We Were (Where were You?)

     When I started this blog in 2010, I was exploring different genealogies in the Bible.  Therefore I had skipped to each place in the Bible where a genealogy was present.

Later, I realized that I would have to give at least an idea of what was happening in the lives of the people mentioned in these genealogies, or else the genealogies might not make sense.  So from about Genesis 4 to Exodus 26, I had tried to explore what was happening in each passage.

Then, when I reached the place in Exodus where it was starting to talk about all the details regarding the construction of the Tabernacle, I realized that I would have to go back to the beginning to explain why the Tabernacle and the various sacrifices were needed.  So I covered the general story of creation, the Garden of Eden, the fall of mankind into sin and the consequences of sin, part of which was that Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden.

Now we are going back to the place where we were dealing with the construction of the Tabernacle, in Exodus 26:1-6.  To avoid confusion, if you have been following along recently and now want to continue to study the Bible in a sequential manner, continuing on in Genesis, you can click here and it will take you to a post entitled "Prequel".  After reading that, you can keep reading posts which follow it by clicking on the 'newer post' area near the bottom of that page.

If you've been following along for some time and have already read those posts about Genesis 4 to Exodus 26, and now want to continue on at the Exodus 26 place, you can just read the next post, which will follow this one.

Alternately, if you have another particular passage of Scripture in mind which you would like to learn about, you can insert that reference (say, Genesis 5) into the search box near the upper right hand side, and it will pull up any posts which mention that passage.  So far I have only written about most of the material from Genesis 1 to Exodus 26.  However, other Scriptural passages may have been mentioned as part of a blog post, so if I mentioned them anywhere, they may show up even if I haven't reached those books yet.

   

Genesis 3:20-24 Leaving the Garden

"Adam named his wife Eve,
because she would become the mother of all the living.

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

And the LORD God said, 

'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.

He must not be allowed to reach out his hand

and take also of the tree of life

and eat, and live forever.'

So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden

to work the ground from which he had been taken.

After he drove the man out,

he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim

and a flaming sword flashing back and forth

to guard the way to the tree of life."

Genesis 3:20-24 (NIV)

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This is a short passage, but it is really packed full of many things.

First of all, Adam gives his wife a name which indicates that she would become the 'mother' of all the humans who were yet to come:  Eve.  Unlike the naming of the animals, which indicated Adam's dominion over them, Adam chose to give Eve a name which honored her for her position.

Next, God made clothes for Adam and Eve.  This was a very gracious act, covering their nakedness and providing protection from the elements.  One thing which we don't usually dwell upon is that, in order to do so, an animal had to be slain.  That must have been a rather solemn event; I wonder if God used that opportunity to explain to Adam and Eve the concept of death, for they had never seen it before.

Perhaps God explained the concept of sacrifice, and the things which He wished them to do when they wished to make offerings to Him in the future, for in the next chapter of Genesis, their sons seem to have at least some understanding of what is expected of them in this area.

God says that now that mankind has the knowledge of good and evil, they must not be allowed to eat from the tree of life, lest they live forever.  It is not that God is frightened of what they can accomplish, but he may be limiting their potential for evil.  Now that they have to struggle with the sinful nature, it would not be good for them to have an unlimited lifespan as well, lest they become proud and think that they do not need God for anything.  Also, perhaps God is using this limitation upon their lifespans to draw people back to Himself.   Knowing that they were beings with a limited lifespan might make mankind want to seek God, who holds their lives in His hand, and who can give eternal life.

The LORD banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.  To guard against anyone trying to sneak back in, cherubim were stationed at the east side of the Garden, armed with a flaming sword which flashed back and forth, guarding the way to the tree of life.  

Genesis 3:16-19 Sin's Consequences Upon Adam and Eve

"To the woman he said,

'I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;

with pain will you give birth to children.

Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.'

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.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
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.'

Genesis 3:16-19 (NIV)
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Sin has consequences.  For Eve, some of these would show up in the area of childbearing.  She would have increased pains during childbirth.  Yet this would not diminish her desire for her husband, and her desire to have him as a central part of her life.   

In a world where sin had occurred, there would no longer be the same easy level of companionship which Adam and Eve had previously enjoyed.  As sinners, they would both have to strive to keep their own selfish desires under control.  When decisions had to be made, it was likely that at times the couple might arrive at a standstill, where each wanted something exactly opposite from what the other thought was the best course of action.

God gives Adam, in effect, a second vote.  God appoints him to have authority in the couple's relationship.  This does not mean that Eve is any less capable, or mentally less able to make such decisions.  I think of it in the same sense that in the military, one man might be in charge of another.  Both might have the same training, experience, etc, but one has the authority over another because of his appointed position.  The one under authority is no less important or capable, yet he is subject to the one in authority in order that their mission may be completed.

Adam is also going to suffer the consequences of his own sin.  It was not that he had never had to work before -- God had already given him the job of taking care of the garden in which he lived (Genesis 2:15).  However, in a few verses after our current passage, Adam and Eve are going to have to leave this pleasant garden and Adam will have to work the uncultivated ground outside, which would produce thorns and thistles.  In addition to the laborious nature of this work, it is a constant reminder of his own mortality, for Adam had been created from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7) and would eventually return to it.  (Genesis 3:19)

It may seem that sin had wrecked everything.  Instead of unhindered intimacy, there would be an ongoing tendency toward toward strife and misunderstanding.  Instead of satisfying work which abundantly provided for the couple's needs, there would be laborious work with its frustrating reminder of  their own mortality.  Where before they would have lived forever, death seems to have the final victory.

However, the story was not over yet.   Before the world was even created, God had already devised a plan to redeem His people.  Before Adam and Eve even existed, or fell into sin on that terrible day in the garden, a Redeemer had made His decision to come into the sin-burdened world to make things right and to triumph over sin and death.

Genesis 3:14-15 Consequences and Hope

"So the LORD God said to the serpent,

 'Because you have done this,

Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.'

Genesis 3:14-19 (NIV)
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God is a holy God and cannot overlook evil.  Some people think that God is just some celestial grandfather, who will just say, "Oh, that's o.k.; I'm sure you didn't mean to do that sin."  If He did, He would cease being holy.  God is also loving, in that He provided a way for us to be forgiven from our sins.

Sin has consequences.  Sometimes these don't appear right away, but they will appear.  I remember a quote which says something like, "Sin comes in on horseback, but it leaves on foot."  In other words, the temptation to sin can come rushing upon us, like a rider on horseback.  However, the consequences of sin often can leave effects upon us for years.  Actually, sin can have eternal consequences, because unless a person repents, they would suffer eternal consequences.

Such is the power of sin that even forgiven sin can leave scars.  There was an old man named Mel who used to show up at our college-aged youth group from time to time, and he once remarked that sin was like a board which had nails hammered into it.  You could remove the nails, but the holes would still be there.  In other words, you could be forgiven, but still have lasting effects from sinful behavior.  I didn't like that analogy, because it seemed to make Christ's sacrifice on the cross for our sins less effective.  However, I think that what Mel was trying to impress upon us was that one couldn't flirt with sin and expect to escape unscathed.  Someone can be forgiven, but still have to live with the effects which sin can leave upon our lives.  For example, if a person was a bank robber, they might sincerely come to faith in Christ while serving time for their crime, yet still have to serve their sentence in jail.  Or, a person who murders someone might later come to Christ, yet he cannot give his victim's life back to him.  So those 'holes' remain, although by God's grace even these can become used by God for His purposes.

In Genesis 3:14-19, God outlines to Satan, to Eve and to Adam the consequences of their sins.  Because this is a very significant passage in the Scriptures, I just wanted to deal with Genesis 3:14-15 in this post.  I will cover verses 16-19 in following posts.

Satan would be cursed above all the livestock and wild animals.  It appears he possessed the body of the snake, for he was originally an angelic being.  Snakes would henceforth be reduced to crawling on their bellies (thus the 'eat dust' part of the curse.)

I have read that snakes have within their bodies some remnants of limbs, possibly evidence that they once possessed some type of limbs.  However, other animals have had similar vestigial 'limbs' which were later found to be structures which had functions of their own apart from locomotion, so we should be careful not to say more than that which the Scripture says about this matter, which is that a change took place as a result of God's curse which forced the snake to crawl upon its belly.
This seems to at least indicate that at one time, snakes did not do so.

There would also be enmity between Satan and Jesus, and between Satan's 'offspring' and that of the woman.  While Satan would strike at the woman's offspring's heel, the 'seed' of the woman would crush Satan's head.  This indicates a fatal blow.  The enmity which is referred to is the enmity which exists between Satan and Jesus, who is the seed of the woman.  In other words, there is a battle going on even to this day between good and evil.  However, when Jesus died on the cross and then was resurrected, He triumphed over Satan and the battle was already won at that point.

Genesis 3:8-13 Hide and See God Knows Where You Are

"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God

as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day,

and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

But the LORD God called to the man, 'Where are you?'

He answered, 'I heard you in the garden and I was afraid

because I was naked; so I hid.'

And he said, 'Who told you that you were naked?

Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?'

The man said, 'The woman you put here with me --

she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.'

Then the LORD God said to the woman,

'What is this you have done?'

The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.' "

Genesis 3:8-13 (NIV) 

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It seems that God would regularly meet with Adam and Eve in the garden which He had provided for them.  However, this time things were different.  Instead of running out to meet with God, Adam and Eve were playing a rather serious bit of hide and seek as they attempted to avoid God's presence.

God called out to the Adam, asking him where he was.  Psalm 139 makes it quite clear that God always knows where we are, and that we cannot flee from His presence.  Here are just some of its verses, but I urge you to read the whole Psalm:

"O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. (v.1-3)

...Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?" (v.7)

I am sure that God knew exactly where Adam was, but He was giving Adam the chance to reveal himself.  To his credit, Adam answered.  He explained that he had heard God in the garden and had hidden himself because he was naked.

Again, God's question was one of which He already knew the answer:  "Who told you that you were naked?"  God knew very well who was behind this matter.  The answer to God's next question was obvious as well:  "Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

At this point Adam throws Eve under the bus.  Not literally, for as of yet this form of public transportation [or any other, for that matter] did not exist.  What I mean by 'throwing someone under the bus' is that Adam passed the blame onto someone else [God, Eve] to save his own skin.  "That woman you put here with me -- she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."  It seems that Adam is blaming God for putting Eve in his life, and blaming Eve for giving him the fruit.

Eve is no less to blame.  God also confronts Eve with her actions.  God is giving her the opportunity to own up to her sinful behavior. By now, Eve knows that she had been misled by the serpent.  She admits that she had been deceived and that she ate from the tree.  She may also be passing the blame a bit by saying that the serpent was responsible for the deception.  However, at least she admits exactly what she did.

Genesis 3:1-7 Deception vs. Truth: The Fall of Mankind

"Now the serpent was more crafty
than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.

He said to the woman,

'Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden"?'

The woman said to the serpent,

'We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say,

"You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden,

and you must not touch it, or you will die." '

'You will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman.

'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened,

and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food

and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom,

she took some and ate it.

She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened,

and they realized they were naked;

so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."

Genesis 3:1-7 (NIV)

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Some observations:

• "The serpent"  (Genesis 3:1):  This verse makes it sound like God created the devil as a serpent from the beginning.  However, Satan is a spiritual being, a former angel who tried to usurp God's authority.  He used to have a high position, but lost it, since God threw him (and the 1/3 of the angels who joined Satan in his rebellion) out of heaven.  Apparently he just assumed the form of a serpent when approaching Adam and Eve.
• "Did God really say...?" (Genesis 3:1):  Satan first tried to distort God's Word.  He made it sound like God had forbidden Adam and Eve from eating from any tree in the Garden.  Actually, the truth is nearly the opposite of this.  They could eat from any tree in the Garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
• Eve corrects this distortion.  (Genesis 3:2-3)  She correctly asserts that she and Adam could eat from the trees of the Garden.  However, she acknowledges that they were forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  She also adds something to God's Word by saying that they were not to even touch that tree.  It would probably be a good idea to avoid the temptation by staying away from the tree.  However, as far as we know, God had never said this to her.
• Satan's next move is bolder.  (Genesis 3:4-5)  He insists that Adam and Eve would not die if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  This is in direct opposition to what God had told them.  Not only that, but Satan accused God of not wanting Adam and Eve to share in the wisdom which eating the fruit would impart.
• Eve fell for it.  When she saw that the forbidden tree's fruit was good for food and looked good and would give her and Adam a source of wisdom which would be independent from God, she took and ate some of it.
• Adam fell, too.  He also ate from the forbidden tree.  Notice that Genesis 3:6 says that Adam was there with her during these proceedings.  Adam was also the one to whom God had originally given the command to not eat from the tree.  (Genesis 2:15-18)  At that time, Eve had not even been created.  So, far from being deceived, Adam also knew that what he was doing was wrong.  Check out these other Scriptures which deal with this matter:

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NIV)  "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ"

I Timothy 2:14 (NIV)  "And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner."

Now before someone accuses me of anything, let me say that all Scriptures must be understood in their context for the fullest picture of what is taking place.  However, one main point which Scripture seems to be making is that Eve was deceived, and Adam wasn't.  They both ate, so they both sinned, but somehow Adam did it with a fuller recognition of what he was doing.  Does that make it a worse sin on his part?  Actually, I think that all sins are equally rebellion against God and thus equally evil, so in a way it doesn't matter.  Both sinned.  Furthermore, why did Eve give some to her husband?  Why didn't Adam try to stop Eve from acting upon the Devil's lies?  We do not know.

• At any rate, Adam and Eve's eyes were opened, but not quite in the way that Satan had implied.  Although they had known the difference between right and wrong even before they sinned, they had sought an independent wisdom, a wisdom which they could grasp for themselves instead of the wisdom which God gives.  However, now something was terribly wrong.  Instead of wonderful insights and lofty wisdom, they realized with some sense of embarrassment and discomfort that they were naked.   Immediately they sought to remedy the problem by constructing coverings for themselves out of fig leaves.  Anything in a pinch, I suppose, but to me those garments don't seem like anything which would last.
• One more thing:  God had said that if Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die. (Genesis 2:1-17)  I think we can safely assume that this applied to Eve as well, for at some time after her creation Adam must have told her of these matters.  She certainly seemed to know all about it when she was answering Satan.  Yet there they were after eating from the tree, alive and sewing their fig-leaf garments.  Well, God hadn't said that they would drop dead immediately.  However, they would eventually experience physical death, which they wouldn't have if they had not sinned.  Also, as we will see in the coming passage, their relationship with God was fractured.  From the moment they had sinned, they were in some sense separated from God, and spiritually dead.  
• As usual, Satan had lied and deceived, while God had told them the truth.     

Genesis 2:15-25 Adam and Eve

"The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden

to work it and take care of it.

And the LORD God commanded the man,

'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;

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.'

The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone.

I will make him a helper suitable for him.'

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.

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.

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.

Then the LORD God made a woman

from the rib he had taken out of the man,

and he brought her to the man.

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.'

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother

and be united to his wife,

and they will become one flesh.

The man and his wife were both naked,

and they felt no shame."

Genesis 2:15-25 (NIV)

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I just realized that I got ahead of myself in that last post in the telling of the story of Adam and Eve and their sin in eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  I had been trying to distinguish between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and ended up giving away most of the information of the story before its time.  For at that point, all we had was a man and the Garden of Eden, where God had placed him.  Let me continue:

God had placed the man in the Garden of Eden to work in the garden and take care of it.  He had given Adam permission to eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  God warned Adam that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die.

God brought all the beasts of the field and the birds of the air to Adam and allowed him to name them.  Naming these animals was an act which demonstrated Adam's position of authority.  However, none of these creatures was a suitable helper for Adam.  So God made him one.

Putting Adam into a deep sleep, God removed one of his ribs and made a woman from it.  Then He brought her to the man.  The man realized that she had been fashioned from part of his own body.  The word 'woman' in Hebrew sounds like the word for 'man', which seems to have been Adam's intent in naming her.  She was separate from him, but also intimately a part of him -- "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh".

The text goes on to assert that this is why a man and wife leave their parents and establish their own family unit.  It also indicates that monogamy is God's intention -- that a man and woman would be so united -- so 'one flesh' -- that as long as they live they would be only for each other.  Sexual union is a God-given, physical expression of that oneness.  In the context of a marriage between a man and a woman, there is nothing shameful about it.  However, outside of such a marriage, sexual union would be a perversion of that God-given intent of indicating the 'one flesh' and lifelong commitment which exists between the husband and wife.

Another aspect which should be considered is that a Christian believer is considered part of Christ's body.  In the New Testament, some people were claiming that it didn't really matter what they did with their bodies -- that it didn't affect their inner spiritual life.  However, in I Corinthians 6:12-20, the apostle Paul says that this is not so:

"...The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the LORD,

and the LORD for the body.

By his power God raised the LORD from the dead,

and he will raise us also.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?

Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!

Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body?

For it is said, "The two shall become one flesh."

But he who unites himself with the LORD is one with him in spirit.

Flee from sexual immorality.

All other sins a man commits are outside his body,

but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit,

who is in you, whom you have received from God?

You are not your own;

you were bought with a price.

Therefore honor God with your body."

I Corinthians 6:12-20 (NIV)

There are some quotes from the NIV Study Bible on these verses (I Corinthians 6) which I found helpful:

"Paul here declares the dignity of the human body:  It is intended for the LORD...a body destined for resurrection should not be used for immorality...It is not merely one's spirit that is a member of Christ's body; it is the whole person, consisting of spirit and body...There is a higher union than the marriage bond:  the believer's spiritual union with Christ, which is the perfect model for the kind of unity which should mark the marriage relationship...Christians should also realize that by the Spirit's presence and power they can be helped against such sins as sexual immorality."

OK, I kind of went off on a tangent there.  However, it does relate very much to our passage.  It also helped me to be able to explain why sexual immorality, in whatever form it takes, is so serious.  Despite what our culture may tell us, God says that sex is not just a physical thing, a temporary pleasure, a meaningless pastime.

Meanwhile, back at the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve felt no shame in their nakedness.  As of yet (Genesis 2:15-25), they had not disobeyed God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:8-14 The Garden of Eden

"Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden,

and there he put the man he had formed.

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.

A river watering the garden flowed from Eden;

from there it was separated into four headwaters.

The name of the first is the Pishon;

it winds through the entire land of Havilah,

where there is gold.

(The gold of that land is good;

aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)

The name of the second river is the Gihon;

it winds through the entire land of Cush.

The name of the third river is the Tigris;

it runs along the east side of Asshur.

And the fourth river is the Euphrates."

Genesis 2:8-14 (NIV)

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God planted a garden in the east as a home for the man he had created.  What does "in the east" mean? East of where?  Well, in the Bible, Jerusalem is considered the center of the world.  Check out these verses:

"This is what the Sovereign LORD says:

This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations,

with countries all around her."

Ezekiel 5:5 (NIV)

The NIV Study Bible note on this verse says in part: "God had chosen for his people Israel and for his earthly temple a place at the crossroads of the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe so that Israel and what he does for them might be a strong witness to the nations that he is the one and only God with whom all peoples have to do and from whom alone come life and blessing."

Another verse in the Bible says this:

"I will plunder and loot

and turn my hand against the resettled ruins

and the people gathered from the nations,

rich in livestock and goods,

living at the center of the land."

Ezekiel 38:12 (NIV)

This verse is predicting the thoughts which will be coming from Israel's enemies in the last days as they consider invading Israel's land.  A mighty army will advance against Israel, yet God plans to show himself  as being holy and great in the sight of many nations when He delivers Israel from these forces. (Ezekiel 38:16,20,23 and Ezekiel 39:6-7,21-23,27-28)  From that day forward, Israel would know that He is the LORD their God. (Ezekiel 39:22)  An account of these matters is written in Ezekiel chapters 38-39.

When Jerusalem is spoken of as being at the center of the world, it is not just some ethnocentric statement or nationalistic cheerleading.  Israel has been set by God at the center of the world stage so that they can be a witness to all nations of the power and holiness of God.

God made a garden paradise in Eden.  No doubt there were many beautiful things in this garden, but in  our passage, Genesis 2:8-14, it is the trees which are singled out.  There are trees which provide beauty.  Located at the middle of the garden are particular trees which are mentioned:  the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

First, we will take a look at the tree of life.  Of course, only God can impart life.  However, apparently the fruit from this tree would enable that God-given life to continue indefinitely.  Why do I say this?  Well, later, when Adam and Eve sin by partaking of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis chapter 3), God decides to remove them from the garden, because otherwise, if they also decided to take some of the fruit from the tree of life, they would live forever, while still remaining in their sinful, rebellious state.  We can only begin to imagine what kind of  ever-increasing sin and wickedness would result.

The fact that this tree of life was even in the garden at all indicates that God intended to allow them to eat of its fruit.  He had never forbidden Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of life -- it was only the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which they were to avoid. They were meant to live forever with God.  However, by sinning against God, they were now in a state where such everlasting life would only bring increasing sin and misery to them and to the rest of God's creation.

It is not that God was afraid of what they might accomplish with an unlimited lifespan.  After all, He is God and could wipe them out at any time if He ever wanted to do so.  Perhaps God was limiting mankind's lifespan so that a person might be drawn back to Himself.  If mankind had a source of unlimited life, why would they care if God didn't like how they were living?  But if they were subject to death eventually, they would be more inclined to be careful about how they were living, and to consider what might be beyond this life...and to seek God, who can give eternal life.

There are more verses about this tree of life in the Bible:

Genesis 2:9   "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." (NIV)

Genesis 3:22-24  "And the LORD God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.  He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.'  So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from
which he had been taken.  After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." (NIV)

Revelation 2:7  "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God." (NIV)


Revelation 22:14  "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city..." (NIV)
 
Revelation 2:19  "And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." (NIV)


I don't think we read any more about the other tree -- the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Most of the verses about knowledge in general which I saw in a concordance were indicating that God has perfect knowledge and is the source of our knowledge about Him and about other matters.  The Bible says that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Proverbs 1:7 NIV)

II Peter 3:18 (NIV) says:  "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ.  To him be glory both now and forever!  Amen."

One other thing which I read somewhere regarding these matters was that in choosing to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve were trying to assert their independence from God by taking hold of another source (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) to determine what was good for themselves, instead of relying upon God's continued guidance.  Even before they ate from that tree they already knew the difference between good and evil -- at least enough to know that it was good for them to listen to God's command to avoid eating from that tree and bad for them to insist upon doing so.  Apparently they wanted the ability to know about such things without reference to God.  That is a rather familiar theme, isn't it?  At times we all have thought that we know best, instead of listening to our Creator.


Location, Location, Location:

The passage in Genesis 2:8-14 tells us some things about the location of the Garden of Eden:

• It was to the east, in Eden.
• A river which watered the garden flowed from Eden and separated into four headwaters.

These headwaters were:

• 1)  the Pishon, which wound through the entire land of Havilah, where there was gold, aromatic resin and onyx.
• 2)  the Gihon, which winds through the entire land of Cush.
• 3)  the Tigris, which runs along the east side of Asshur (at one time a capital city of Assyria)
• 4)  the Euphrates.

Of course we would love to figure out just where this Garden of Eden was, but we only know the general area.  No doubt great changes occurred later during the Flood, so the current physical geography is probably quite different from the original.  We are familiar with the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, but the other two rivers are not definitely known, which gives us some idea of the great geographical changes which may have occurred.  This is just as well, for one has to wonder if the cherubim which had been stationed with his flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24) has ever been relieved of his duty!

Fortunately we have access to this tree of life through Jesus' death on the cross in our behalf.  I will be having much more to say on this matter, but for now this verse sums things up nicely:  "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (I Corinthians 5:21 NIV)  Jesus, who had no sin, atoned for our sins by his death on the cross.

Jesus' resurrection indicated that God had accepted this sacrifice.  When we acknowledge and repent of our sins and accept that Jesus is God and has made this atonement on our behalf, it is as though Jesus' righteousness has been deposited in our account.

Of course we have to accept this gracious gift on an individual basis.  When we do, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us and begins His work of sanctification in us.  By the Spirit's power we can overcome sin which used to hold us in bondage.  This work will not be completely finished until we go to heaven, but out of gratefulness to our Savior we will have a new desire to obey and live for Him.  Then one day, as Revelation 22:7 (see above) indicates, we will have the right to eat from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.

Genesis 2:4-7 Zeroing In, Not Doing Over

"This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens --

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,

but streams came up from the earth

and watered the whole surface of the ground --

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."

Genesis 2:4-7  (NIV)
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Our first reaction to this part of Genesis may be to wonder why it seems that the book is starting over again.  After all, didn't we just get through Genesis 1:1-Genesis 2:3, which dealt with the six days of creation, and the creation of mankind?  Why now does it seem that the author is beginning to repeat himself?

Critics are quick to point this out with the attitude of  "Aha...see, Genesis is just an assemblage of myths about creation."  Others see this as an indication of  what I will call a "do-over" -- that is, that God created mankind and then there was some kind of gap of time between the two accounts, in which there was a second creation of mankind.  Some have thought that perhaps this allows for evolution and accounts for the supposed branches of mankind (i.e., Neanderthal, etc.).

I don't believe that they have that correct.  There is a much simpler explanation of what appears to be two accounts.  This can be summed up in two words:  literary device.  Instead of Genesis being just a collection of several accounts of man's history, it seems instead that God is just a very skillful Author.  [Which makes sense, because if Someone is God, you would think that He would be quite skilled at, well, everything.]

In this case, the first section of Genesis (1:1- 2:3) covers an account of the story of creation in general (which obviously includes the creation of mankind).  What appears to be a "different" account of  the creation of mankind (Genesis 2:4 and following) is simply a zeroing in upon the history of mankind specifically.  In others of the ten 'accounts' which we find in Genesis, this "zeroing in" continues.  We read accounts of Adam, Noah, Shem, Terah, and Abraham, with whom God made a covenant.  Further Scriptures in other books of the Bible will continue to point ever more specifically to the One who had been promised to Adam and Eve after they had fallen into sin -- the Redeemer who would deliver them, the Messiah.  We will read of Abraham's son Isaac, Isaac's son Jacob, and Jacob's twelve sons who form the nation of Israel.  Judah, one of these sons, has further descendants which lead to King David.  As you probably already know, the Messiah is prophesied to come through the line of David.  Eventually, Jesus Christ comes from this very line.  I will discuss these things in far greater detail eventually, but here I am just trying to give you a quick overview.

It may seem that I have spoiled the story by going all the way to the end where Jesus is revealed to be the Messiah. However, there are countless beautiful and intricate things and events which God has built into His Word which will lead to that conclusion, and I want you to see them.

Just as one example, there are Old Testament scriptures which point to the coming of the Messiah to the temple in Jerusalem.  Remember that account in the Bible [Matthew 21] where Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, and people are waving palm branches and shouting "Hosanna!"?  Well, other OT Scriptures had predicted in greater detail both the precise time period and the way that this event was to take place.  For this was no ordinary ride into Jerusalem.  This was the Messiah coming unto His own people.  [Which is also why, when the authorities told Jesus to silence the crowds and the children who were proclaiming him as Messiah, He replied that if they were silenced, the very stones would cry out. (Luke 19:28-44)]

Some might say, that Jesus just purposely 'fulfilled' this prophecy by choosing to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, as prophesied.  However, there is more background to this story.  Do you know about the prophecy in Daniel which indicates that the Messiah would come prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple?  If Daniel was a true prophet, then the Messiah would have had to come by the time the destruction took place -- in 70 AD.  There is no other person who both fulfilled the Messianic requirements and arrived before that time, besides Jesus of Nazareth.  I will write a post about these things in greater detail.  Yet I want us to remember that Daniel is respected as a prophet, and that the succession of four major world powers was revealed to him way back in his own time when Babylon was the superpower.

It was revealed to Daniel that Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece and then Rome would fill that position of dominance -- which is exactly what happened.  The test of a true prophet was that their predictions always came to pass.  Daniel had a flawless track record in this regard.  Imagine yourself trying to figure out which nation will be the next superpower.  Then think of how Daniel was able to predict four such superpowers.  Not to mention that he included such detailed descriptions of certain events that critics automatically assumed that the predictions had to have been written after the events, for otherwise they could not understand how such knowledge could be possible.

I believe that Jesus is the only One who could have fulfilled that prophecy about the Messiah coming before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.  I know of no one else whose name has been submitted instead for that position and who perfectly fulfilled all the prophecies about himself, including ones which a person could not fake, like those about their ancestry [It's pretty difficult to arrange one's own ancestors!], the time and place of one's own birth and the precise manner and details of one's death.  As I wrote before, other posts will be needed to flesh out these prophecies and the way Jesus fulfilled them, but if one is willing to look, the evidence is graciously, wonderfully, and quite specifically there. 

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OK, now back to the passage (Genesis 2:4-7).  Some observations:

• Man was made by God, who formed man's body from the dust and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
• At that point, it seems that rain had not yet occurred.  Instead, the plants and trees were watered by streams which watered the surface of the ground.

Genesis 2:1-3: The Seventh Day: Master of the Universe

"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed

in all their vast array.

By the seventh day

God had finished the work he had been doing;

so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

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."

Genesis 2:1-3 (NIV)

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One phrase which sticks out for me in this passage is "in all their vast array".  I am sure that you have probably seen pictures of the Milky Way Galaxy, which show it as just one of a countless number of other galaxies, stretching out seemingly into infinity.

God made all that.

Not only that, but I do not believe that God needed to take a week to complete all His work of creation.  He could have spoken and it would have appeared in an instant.  However, I think He set up this week as a pattern for us.  On the seventh day He rested, but not because He was tired.  The word rested can also mean "ceased".  His work was complete.  Sin had not yet entered the world, so there was nothing to be fixed -- as we previously saw in Genesis 1:31, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."

Genesis 2:3 says that God did set this day apart, though.  He blessed it and made it holy, because on that day He had completed all His work of creation.  By doing so, He created a pattern for us, that we might set aside a day out of our week to just stop and acknowledge Him.

Why is that so important?  Well, I think that we are each prone to get very caught up in our own little worlds, as it were.  We all have things which we love to do, or feel we need to do.  It would be extremely easy to forget about our need for God.

We also are prone to think that we are where we are,

                     and have what we have,

                     and have accomplished what we have accomplished,

                     because of our own doing. 

And that, my friend, is a very dangerous place to be.

Believe it or not, thankfulness is a very important part of our relationship with God.  It is not just something that your daddy or mama taught you so that you could get along with others in this world.  The clearest example of how important an attitude of thankfulness to God is, is found in the Bible in the first chapter of the book of Romans.  I am thinking especially of verses 18-32 of that chapter.  Let me give a summary:

People suppress the truth about God,

 even though creation itself gives everyone ample evidence that there is a God.

Since people willfully choose to ignore that God exists,

instead of being thankful for all that He has done for them,

even though in their hearts they know that He does exist,

their thinking process becomes futile and darkened.

They believe they are so wise, yet they end up worshiping other things,

effectively exchanging the true God for an idol of some type,

thus worshiping only a created thing rather than their Creator.

Such idolatry and the willful exchange of truth for a lie leads next to other sins,

specifically various forms of perverse sexual immorality,

which is degrading to them.

Not only that, but their minds also become given over
to other forms of wickedness and depravity.

Some of the things which they become full of are:
  envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip,
slander, hatred of God, insolence, arrogance, boasting.

They invent ways of doing evil and disobey their parents.

They become senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Finally, although they know that God sees such things as worthy of death,

they not only continue to practice these things,

but also give their approval to others who are doing the same sinful things.

That was so long a summary that I should have just quoted the passage itself.  (Romans 1:18-32)  In fact I will, because God's Word, not my summary of it, should be the main focus here: 

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven

against all the godlessness and wickedness of men
who suppress the truth by their wickedness,

since what may be known about God is plain to them,

because God has made it plain to them.

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities --

his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen,

being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

For although they knew God,

they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him,

but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools

and exchanged the glory of the immortal God

 for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts

to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie,

and worshiped and served created things

rather than the Creator -- who is forever praised.  Amen.

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.

Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.

In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women

and were inflamed with lust for one another.

Men committed indecent acts with other men,

and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the 

knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind,

to do what ought not to be done.

They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.

They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.

They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful;

they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;

they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Although they know God's righteous decree
that those who do such things deserve death,

they not only continue to do these very things

but also approve of those who practice them."

Romans 1:18-31 (NIV)

I thought it was interesting that several of the sins that are mentioned are ones which we typically don't think are so bad:  gossip, arrogance, boasting, disobeying parents.  Yet there they are, right next to murder and hatred of God, because all sin is equally wrong and has serious consequences.

All this to say that it is a good idea that God set aside a day for us to acknowledge Him and thank Him.  We all need to step off the hamster wheel of our daily activities and recognize that we are not Master of our Universe, but creatures of His Universe.   

Genesis 1:28-31 Blessed, Directed and Fed

"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.'

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.

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.

God saw all that he had made,

and it was very good.

And there was evening and there was morning --

the sixth day."

Genesis 1:28-31 (NIV)

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As we've already covered in the previous section, God created man and woman on the sixth day of creation.  Both are created in the image of God, and both receive the blessing which occurs in this section.

God directs Adam and Eve to be fruitful and increase in number.  They are to fill the earth and exercise dominion over it.  As God's representatives in this earthly realm, this implies that they are not to exploit the resources given to them, or the creatures over which they rule, but to manage them effectively for the good of creature and mankind alike, for the glory of God.

Apparently mankind was originally vegetarian, for God gives Adam and Eve every seed-bearing plant and every tree that has fruit with seed in it for their food.  The other creatures are given every green plant for food. 

I found it interesting, but don't know if it is significant, that God specified the seed-bearing aspect of the plants and fruit which were to be food for humans.  In contrast, the beasts, birds and creatures which move on the ground seemed to have been given every green plant for food, with no mention of whether these had seeds or not.

[After all the effort to grow seedless watermelons and other fruit, wouldn't it be ironic if there was something in the seeds which was actually especially good for us?!]

Several times during the discussion of God's work of creation on specific days, God declares His work "good". (Genesis 1:10; 1:12; 1:18; 1:21; 1:25)   At the end of this passage, though, "...God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."  Just sayin'.  [This is probably partly why I get a little testy when people say that men and women are just another form of animal, instead of acknowledging that humans are made in God's image.]

Genesis 1:26-27 Day Six: God Creates Mankind

"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.'

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27 (NIV)

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We are still looking at the sixth day of creation.  We already briefly examined how God created the land animals on the sixth day.  Now we are going to look at God's creation of mankind on the sixth day as well.

First, the obvious question:  Who is God speaking to when He says "Let us..."?  Well, some people think that this is only what is sometimes called 'the plural of majesty'.  That is when a royal personage says something like "We are not pleased." -- when he/she really means "I am not pleased."  It is as if the person were speaking in behalf of the office which he/she holds.  However, that to me is just side-stepping the issue here, for God seems to be speaking to someone, and He includes that person in both the creative act itself ("Let us make...") and in the goal/purpose of that creative act ("...Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..." )   So it doesn't seem to fit that this is just a 'plural of majesty' type of situation.  [Besides, such plural of majesty conversations always reminds me of something out of a Monty Python film, where a royal dowager frostily asserts, "We are not amused."]

What about the angels?  They seem to have been created before mankind, and are most likely present in God's throne room, as it were, when this conversation is taking place. We don't have too many details about the creation of angels, but they seem to have been rejoicing and praising God as He created the earth and its inhabitants:

"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?

Tell me if you understand.

Who marked off its dimensions?

Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?

On what were its footings set,

or who laid its cornerstone --

while the morning stars sang together

and all the angels shouted for joy?"

Job 38:4-7 (NIV)

However, God wasn't speaking to the angels, for He says, "Let us make man..." -- if He had been speaking to the angels, that would mean that they took part in our creation, which they didn't.

He also says, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..." -- so if He were talking to angels, we would have been made in their image as well as God's image...which we aren't.  Angels are created beings, not creators.  So who is He speaking to?

Himself.  No, He is not crazy.  The Bible indicates that there are three persons in the Godhead.

• There are verses in the Bible where each person -- God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, either address each other or are addressed as individual persons.
• There are other verses where each person of the Godhead is acting as a separate person.  
• There are other verses where each seems to have the quality of deity, of being God.
• As if that weren't puzzling enough, there are also places in the Bible where it says that they are 'one' with each other.   Or that God is 'One'.

Yikes.

Here's my take on it.  First, I think it is not unusual that there are things about God that we do not fully understand with our finite minds.  That is not surprising.  He is God, after all.  We can only relate things to our own experiences, or to the extent of our rather limited knowledge or imagination.  It would be pretty arrogant of us to think that only the things that we can understand are real or true.

The Bible never uses the word 'trinity'.  We use that word to try to give a name to that concept where three-are-one, where there is a tri-unity.  It seems strange to us.  We are not used to that kind of one-yet-three concept.

Or are we?  What about the way we can readily understand that water is three-in-one?

The idea that really helps me relate to that concept of three-yet-one is water.  Yep, good old H2O.  See, water can come in three forms:  solid, liquid and gas.  As water, it can be in the solid form, like ice cubes.  It can be in the liquid form, like water that you can drink out of a glass.  Or it can be in the form of gas, like the steam which you might see rising from your tea kettle.

These three forms can seem very different, and even function very differently.  (Ever try pouring yourself a glass of steam?!)  Yet they are one in the sense that each form (the water, the ice, the steam) is still H2O in its elemental state.  And nothing else is H2O, besides H2O.

I think the same is true about God.  He is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, with different, sometimes concurrent jobs to do.  [Like ice in a glass of water.]  Each person of the Godhead is fully God [like the ice, the water, and the steam are each fully H20].  And nothing else is God, besides God. 

That example does not answer every question we might have about the tri-unity of God.  However, these ideas help me to think that there quite reasonably could be a God who is three-in-one. 

There is much more to be said about this issue, but this was just a brief overview of it.

Oh, one other thing which I found which was interesting:  The NIV Study Bible notes on Genesis 1:26 states in part:

 "...(In the ancient Near East, kings marked their conquest of lands by setting up images of themselves in the conquered territories as a sign of their authority and ruling presence.  An especially noteworthy example is the life-size statue of the ninth-century B.C. Hadad-Yithi, ruler of Gozan, found at Tell Fekheriyeh in northeastern Syria in 1979.  An Aramaic inscription on the statue identifies it as the "image" and "likeness" of the ruler, using the Aramaic cognates of the Hebrew words.)"

I think it is interesting because in our passage we have God creating mankind in His image and likeness, and bestowing upon them the rulership over the earth He had created.  In the rest of Genesis 1:26, mankind is given rulership over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.  No wonder, then, that Satan [in Genesis chapter 3] came to tempt Adam and Eve [as opposed to, say, a giraffe or a fish or some other creature] -- Adam and Eve were the living representatives of the authority and rule of God over the earth.

God created mankind (both male and female) in His own image and likeness, according to Genesis 1: 27.  [In the next post we will see that both shared in the blessing which follows in Genesis 1:28-30.]  Genesis 1:27 is the first example of poetry in the Old Testament, according to the NIV Study Bible.  It also notes that the verb 'created' is used three times in this verse, as if to emphasize that this creation of mankind is the central divine act of the sixth day.  Although it is written at the beginning of this post, I think I will will repeat it here:

"So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them."

Genesis 1:27 (NIV)  

A beautiful Psalm which celebrates God's creation -- and mankind's role in it -- is Psalm 8.  Part of it reads:

"When I consider the heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?

 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him ruler over the works of your hands;

you put everything under his feet:

all flocks and herds,

and the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air,

and the fish of the sea,

all that swim the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

Psalm 8:3-9 (NIV)

Genesis 1:24-25 Day Six: God creates land creatures

"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.

God made the wild animals according to their kinds,

the livestock according to their kinds,

and all the creatures which move along the ground according to their kinds.

And God saw that it was good."

Genesis 1:24-25 (NIV)
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On the sixth day, God created the land creatures and mankind.  These verses in Genesis 1:24-25 first deal with the land creatures.  It seems that there are several distinct categories of land creatures:  livestock, wild animals, and a catch-all category of other 'creatures that move along the ground'.

Again there is quite an emphasis upon each category of animal being made "according to their kinds."  There is no mention of one type evolving from another.  Instead, this emphasis of the various kinds of animals seems to point toward an Artist carefully creating all of the creatures which He formed to live in the garden of Eden.

 

In fact if God did make a place for these creatures, and these various types were all present in the Garden of Eden, that would rule out a gradual evolution over millions of years.  Soon we will read of Adam naming these animals, and thus these various types of land animals would have to be contemporaries, and not steps in a process.

I know that all this will sound like nonsense to you if you do not believe in the Bible as the Word of God, infallible and inerrant.  I will get to that matter soon, those reasons why I believe that the Bible is true and trustworthy.  It is important, and I do not mind that you need to take your time and examine this matter carefully.  Spoiler alert:  There are good reasons to believe it is true.

Of course, the fact that God saw that all that He had created as 'good' is repeated.