The Creation of Man and Woman, Genesis 2:4-25

Last time we looked primarily at the first six days of creation. Now beginning in chapter 2 and vs 4 we see a recapitulation of creation, which I believe is an expanded account of what happened in the six days of creation but also includes what happens in the next week or weeks to come. Moses begins this section by saying in vs 4 “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.”  

A more literal translation might read, “these are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created….” This is the first of ten such designations in Genesis.  It’s a formula used often by Moses to add detail that might not yet have been fully presented.  Oddly, it seems God says through Moses that these are the offspring of the heavens and the earth.

There is also a different term used for the name of God.  In chapter one, it was Elohim, which is in plural form, meaning the Supreme God.  Beginning in chapter 2 vs 4 though, He is called Jehovah God, translated, Lord God.  In Chapter 1 we are dealing with the making of things, and God is presented to us under the name of Elohim, as the Creator. But when man appears on the scene God is spoken of in a different character. He now appears under His personal name of Jehovah, which means essentially the covenant-making God, the God who keeps a promise.  Jehovah is God’s personal name, which indicates His relationship with man.

He also says “in the day” God made the heavens and the earth.  I think the usage of that word in this case is not speaking of a single day, but figuratively speaking of the time period when God made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. I believe there were six literal days as described in chapter 1, and now he speaks of that time period in which God made all that is in the earth.

However, I think that the logical understanding of the sequence indicates some of the events described here take place after the first week.  Notice vs  5 “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.  But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.  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.  The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.  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.”

Some Bible scholars say that this reference to “no shrub on the field was yet in the earth because there was no rain, and there was no man to cultivate the ground” is not a reference to the general plant life of the earth.  We know that the plants were created on day three. But what the shrub of the field speaks of is cultivated plants which were specifically for food, such as what God planted in the Garden of Eden.

Last week we looked briefly at the creation of man on day six, and what we have in this account is an expansion of how that occurred. And not only how, but I think this account answers the question “why.” Why was man created?  Every thing that God created He spoke into existence.  But when God made man, we see something different.  God formed man from the dust of the earth.  In other acts of creation, God spoke something into existence where there was nothing.  But in this case, God forms man out of the dust.  Some commentators have pointed out that this word translated as “formed” is used in Jeremiah 18:2 as well as in other places, to describe a potter who would make a jar or vessel from a lump of clay.  In the NT, In Eph. 2:10, Paul says we are His workmanship, poema, which speaks of a work of art. 

The point I would emphasize is that man was created differently and for a different purpose than all the other creatures that God made.  We see God crafting, forming man with His hands, shaping him into His own likeness, in His own image, and then breathing the breath of life into His nostrils. One of the commentators says this has the intimacy of a kiss. And so God crafted man, He breathed into him the breath of life.  It’s very much reminiscent of the Lord Jesus Christ’s word to the disciples after the resurrection. He breathed upon them and said, receive the Holy Spirit.  And so here we see the distinguishing feature of man. He has

 [nešāmâ], the breath that has come from God. And this word nesama is always used in reference to God’s Spirit.

And the text says that man became a living soul. He breathed the breath, the spirit of God into man, and man became a living soul.  God made man in His image, in His likeness.  And man was made spirit, soul and body. Notice the order in which God made man.  The spirit is the part of man that has communion with God, fellowship with God.  It is to rule over the soul.  The soul of man is made up of his intellect, his emotions and his will. So the spirit is to rule over the soul.  And the soul is to rule over the body. The body is to be subject to the soul which is subject to the spirit.

Now that’s the order of God’s creation.  But when man sinned, and fell, the order was reversed.  God said in the day you eat of it you shall die.  What died that day when Adam sinned was his spirit. And so the order of creation was overturned.  Man was then ruled by his body, his fleshly lusts, and they ruled over his soul, his intellect, emotions and will. So man became enslaved to his baser passions.  At regeneration, at conversion, God reestablishes the divine order of creation by giving life to our spirit, and as we walk by the Spirit, and no longer by the flesh, we renew our minds according to the design of God.  

But at creation, man was given the spirit of God,  made a living soul, and he was made for fellowship, for life with God. Then next we see what I think is one of the most mysterious things in the creation story. The tree of knowledge of good and evil, and the tree of life which God planted in the garden along with other trees and shrubs that were good for food.

First of all though notice that God planted a garden. This would seem to be a separate act of creation.  This seems to have occurred after the six days of creation.  God planted a garden that would produce food for man, and He gave man the job of cultivating, or tending the garden. The whole earth was not the garden, nor was the garden necessarily the place where God lives. But it was planted by God and given to man.

But the mysterious thing is that God also planted there the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  I think these are literal trees with real fruit.  But they are also symbolic.  The tree of knowledge of good and evil is mentioned only here and in vs 17.  But the tree of life is referred to many times in scripture, not the least of which is in Revelation chapters 2 and 22.  This tree seems to have had the power to convey immortality to man, and as such is used in Scripture as a symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the book of Revelation the tree of life appears as a symbol of the person of Christ. Paul wrote in 2 Tim.1:10  and said of Christ that he "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” 

But in regards to the other tree, It’s not a tree of good and evil, but the knowledge of good and evil.  The fruit of the tree was not inherently sinful. Everything God made was good. I’m sure it was just a normal fruit tree that had good tasting fruit upon it. But the point was that in disobeying God and deciding to eat of that fruit, then the knowledge of evil, the knowledge of sin entered man.  There are many theories as to  what this means, but the best view I believe is that it indicates moral autonomy. What is forbidden is that man has the power to decide for himself what is good and what is evil. This is a decision that God has not delegated to man, and when man usurps that authority, then he has made himself the arbiter of good and evil, and has put himself in God’s place of authority. It also indicates that sin starts in the mind.  It’s the knowledge of good and evil.

Now we read that there wasn’t rain on the earth in those days.  Last week we mentioned the firmament or the expanse and the waters being separated above and below so that it would have made a greenhouse effect on the earth.  Not only would this canopy of water have blocked out harmful ultraviolet radiation, but it would have likely caused a mist to cover the earth in the morning, and dew on the ground, which would have watered the earth and provided a moderate temperature.  

But the Garden of Eden was also placed at the mouth of three rivers, which watered the Garden.  You can locate the likely location of the Garden by a map which shows the Tigris and Euphrates River, though the names of the other river have been changed. And perhaps the rivers themselves have been altered in their locations due to the flood.  But you can get a general idea from a map that the Garden of Eden would have been in modern day Turkey.  And that also gives us assurance of the reality of these events, that they happened as described, and they were in an actual place.  This isn’t a fairy tale.

Vs 15 “Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.  The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;  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 will surely die.”

First of all, God put man in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.  This was Adam’s job. I don’t know that it was a very difficult job, because God planted it, and there were not thorns and thistles at that time. But he was given a job to tend the Garden which provided him food.  It also seems that man was a vegetarian at that time.  After the flood, God said that man could, or perhaps should eat meat.  We aren’t told why, but it may have to do with the canopy of water that had shielded man from harmful ultraviolet radiation was no longer provided, and so man needed the extra nutrients that can come from eating meat.  But that is not directly stated in the text.

The first commandment given to man was that he could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the punishment for breaking that command was that he would die. It’s interesting that Adam isn’t told that he can’t eat from the tree of life.  There seems to be no prohibition in that. In fact, I can’t help but wonder if God wasn’t presenting a choice to man, to eat of the tree of life, which symbolized the immortal life given by Christ, or eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was to chose to live life according to one’s own standards, which is rebellion against God, which is sin, resulting in death.  Seems like an obvious choice, but unfortunately, as we know man was deceived into thinking that he could have a better life if he chose his own version of morality.  Man is still confronted with that choice today. To submit to the Lord and have eternal life, or to chose to live according to your version of right and wrong, to live according to the desires of the flesh.

Vs. Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” I believe that the sequence of these events indicates this happened at some time after man was created. I believe when it speaks in chapter one of man being created, male and female He created them, it is referring to Adam being created, in whom was the blueprint for male and female, the male and female chromosomes. God always intended to bring a woman from Adam, but in day six of creation, God made all the hormones and chromosomes of male and female in Adam, but had not yet brought forth Eve from Adam.

But one thing should be clear from this passage, and that is that woman was made to be man’s companion. A helper suitable for him. Like him, corresponding to him. It’s also obvious that for some time, we don’t know how long, man was alone.  I find it very hard to imagine all of this happening on day six. I think God wanted Adam to realize that he was alone.  And to bring that into focus, God did something interesting before creating woman.

Vs19 “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.  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.”

We know that Moses isn’t saying that after Adam was created, God then formed the beasts and cattle and birds.  Those were created before Adam was created, according to chapter one.  But I think he is just referring to that act of God creating the animals and the birds and so forth in the past, and then bringing them at some point to Adam to name them all.  I mentioned last week that scientists say that there are at least 18000 species of birds.  Scientists have observed and classified around 1.2 million species of animals, but they estimate that there are approximately 8.7 million living animal species on earth.  There are 86400 seconds in a day.  So if Adam named one animal per second, then it would take about a hundred days for Adam to name all the animals.  That’s if he worked really fast and never stopped to eat or sleep.

The end result though was that Adam did not find any animal or creature that would be suitable for him. I would think he felt more alone after naming all the animals.  Now I surmised last time that I believe this was symbolic of something that was a similar experience for God. God looked at all the worlds and creatures that He had created since the beginning, before the earth was formed, and did not find a helper suitable for Himself.  And so wanting to have a companion, a helper, God made man.  That correlates to the description of the creation of man we looked at earlier when God crafted and formed man out of the dust of the earth with his hands like a potter would shape a vessel, and breathed the breath of His Spirit into his nostrils so that man became a living soul, made in His likeness, in His image.

In Isaiah 54:5 it says "For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the LORD of hosts; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth.”  Man was made to be the bride of Christ. Your husband is your Creator.

So because man could find none among the animal kingdom to be a suitable helper for him, vs.  21 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.  The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and 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, Because she was taken out of Man.”

It seems that some pastors in the past have concluded that because of this act of creation man has one less ribs than women.  Of course that’s not true, and the Bible doesn’t teach that.  That’s akin to God making a man with 10 fingers and if he lost one in an accident, then his child would be born with 9 fingers. 

But irregardless, God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, took a rib from him and closed up the flesh.  Then the Lord fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man.  All the raw material for woman was already made in Adam, God just used part of Adam to make woman.  That still is a miracle of creation that we cannot really comprehend.  I’m not sure Adam could comprehend it any better.  But his first words recorded in scripture are “this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”  Adam recognized that she was a part of him. And I think that to this day man feels like something is missing in his life until he finds that woman who completes him. I remember my own dad telling me when I was single, that when I found a wife she would complete me. And I think that’s true.

Some have suggested that bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh is a covenantal statement similar to the marriage vow, “in weakness and in strength.”  Saying that circumstances will not alter the loyalty and commitment to one another. And just as Adam named all the animals and creatures, so he names her Woman, for she came out of man.  The word for woman in Hebrew is Issa, which also means wife.  So from the Biblical rendering of the word  wife it can only be used for a woman. 

And in Vs24 we see that marriage commitment further delineated.  “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”  Marriage is what is being spoken of here, a man and his wife form the marriage bond. Marriage is the joining together so that they are one.   Woman was made to be the companion, helper to man, and thus be his wife.  And together they become one flesh. There is solidarity in this relationship as they are joined together as man and wife. 

Jesus quotes from this verse in order to confirm the sanctity of marriage.  In Matt. 19:4 Jesus said, "Have you not read that He who created [them] from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE,  and said, 'FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH'?  "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."

Ephesians 6 tells us that the husband and wife relationship speaks to the relationship of Christ and the church.  The church of course not being an institution, but a people, conformed to the image of Christ, made in HIs likeness.  These people are the bride of Christ, taken from the wound from His side. Eph 5:28-33  So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;  for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also [does] the church,  because we are members of His body.  FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.  This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.  Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must [see to it] that she respects her husband.”

Finally, Moses tells us in vs25 “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” In the marriage relationship there is no sin. That is what I think is being indicated here. Outside of marriage sexual relations are sinful.  But in a marriage relationship there is no sin.  And in our relationship with Christ there is no sin.  Our sin is not counted against us when we are in Christ.  But outside of Christ we remain in our sins.  

I trust that you are in Christ today.  That you have accepted Him as your Savior and Lord, believing in Him, submitting to Him as your Lord and Master.  Forsaking all others, clinging only to Him.  

Creation, Genesis 1-2:3

The first four words in the Bible really set the basis for our theology.  “In the beginning, God…” God does not offer evidence for His existence. He does not tell us how or when He came into being.  And as the rest of the first chapter of Genesis unfolds, we aren’t really given a lot of detail or scientific evidence about how the earth or how humans came into being either.  Though a lot of things presented in the Bible can be corroborated by science, or by verified history, God doesn’t seem to be concerned about trying to prove that He exists, or prove that He created the world, but He expects us to believe in Him by faith.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” The point is, that if you can believe that God exists, that in the beginning was God, then you should be able to believe in creation and everything else that God tells us in the scriptures.  And God’s word says that creation is evidence enough for a person to believe in God. Rom 1:20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

So as a person who is not a scientist, nor particularly educated in the sciences such as biology or astronomy or any of the sciences, I would be amiss if I were to try to explain creation according to some scientific criteria. Neither will I try to debunk evolution. I think evolution requires as much faith to believe as does creation.  I think that you could make the argument that evolution isn’t really science, but a form of religion.  And you can choose which religion to believe.  But I would say that you cannot logically say you believe in the God of the Bible and yet believe in evolution as well.  You must choose between one or the other. If you believe in the first four words of the Bible, then you will have no trouble believing in the rest of the story. But if you don’t believe in creation, then you obviously do not believe in the God of the Bible.

Last time we started with that premise of “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and we didn’t get much further than that.  We introduced the first day, when God said, “Let there be light.”  And we said that “in the beginning” has no beginning.  God existed from eternity past which has no beginning as we can understand it.  And I must confess I certainly cannot understand eternity, past or future. My mind balks at trying to comprehend eternity.  But somewhere in eternity past God created the heavens and the earth and that includes all that is in our universe. And as Paul said, when you consider the creation, all that God has made, it should reveal to you the eternal nature of God. The finite explains the infinite.

In the first stage of creation, Genesis says “the earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”  The earth was made of some form of earth, and water covered the earth.  It was a water covered orb in space, and in some fashion the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the water.

Some critics have tried to say the Biblical description of creation is only an allegory.  I don’t believe that.  I think it’s a literal description.  God was somehow controlling, keeping together all the elements that made up the earth.  I suppose that at that time the Spirit of God set the earth’s rotation and orbit in motion, and is perhaps still controlling that rotation and orbit. Or maybe once the Spirit of God set it in motion, it continues in perpetual motion. I don’t know, but I believe that the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the waters for some reason, and to some effect.  And I believe that in some way the universe is still under His control. Col 1:17 says, “He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.”

Then God said… might have been an hour later, might have been eons later, we don’t know.  Then, or you could interpret then as next, God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” That indicates it happened immediately.  God said it, and it happened immediately.  And perhaps due to the rotation of the earth in relation to the light, there was evening and their was morning, one day.  Light came into being on day one.  And time began to be counted with the advent of light.

Notice Moses says that God divided the light from darkness. All of this was accomplished without the sun, moon or stars yet created.  The light then was a supernatural light, the light of God.  God is light, and He manifested His light unto the world. But there was darkness which God called night, and light which God called day.  And evening and morning constituted one day.  We know today that evening and morning constitutes 24 hours, and 24 hours are in one day.  So I think it’s clear that scripture defines a day in regards to the creation as a literal day.

 There is no need to try to accommodate science and say that a day could be a thousand years, or a million years.  And actually, for evolution to even have a remote chance of being possible in the minds of it’s scientists, they don’t need millions of years, they need billions of years.  So it’s pointless to try to stretch a 24 hour day into some million year age.  We believe a supernatural God supernaturally created the earth and all that is in it in 6 literal days.  

After the first day of creation, there is the work of the second day. Vs 6 Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."  Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were] under the firmament from the waters which [were] above the firmament; and it was so.  And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.”

Some translations of the Bible interpret firmament as an expanse.  The waters of the land are separated from the water vapor in the sky.  Some creationists think that there was a significant type of blanket of water vapor in the sky.  This canopy of water above the earth would have created a very different environment and climate on the earth than what we have today.  

Henry Morris said of this water canopy; “The waters above the firmament thus probably constituted a vast blanket of water vapor above the troposphere and possibly above the stratosphere as well, in the high temperature region now known as the ionosphere, and extending far into space.” It would serve as a global greenhouse, maintaining an essentially uniform, pleasant temperature all over the world.

Without great temperature variations, there would be no significant winds, and the water-rain cycle could not form. There would be no rain, as we know it today. There would be lush, tropical-like vegetation all over the world, fed not by rain, but by an evaporation and condensation cycle, resulting in heavy dew or ground-fog.

This vapor blanket would filter out ultraviolet radiation, cosmic rays, and other destructive energies bombarding the planet. These are known to be the cause of mutations, which are said to decrease human longevity. So under this canopy human and animal lifespans would be greatly increased. A vapor blanket would also provide the necessary reservoir for a potential worldwide flood.  And notice Moses repeats the statement, that there was evening and morning, marking the second day.

Vs 9 Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry [land] appear"; and it was so.  And God called the dry [land] Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that [it was] good.  Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb [that] yields seed, [and] the fruit tree [that] yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed [is] in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.  And the earth brought forth grass, the herb [that] yields seed according to its kind, and the tree [that] yields fruit, whose seed [is] in itself according to its kind. And God saw that [it was] good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.” 

Having separated the water of the earth by an expanse, having water above and the water below on the second day, now on the third day God separates the water on the earth to let dry land appear.  Some creationists imagine that at this point in creation the land formed one large continent surrounded by water, rather than the various continents that we have today. God called the dry land Earth, and the water He called Seas.

On this same day, God created grass, herbs and trees. The plants were created not as seeds, but as full-grown plants each bearing seeds.  So they were created as mature plants, having the appearance of age.  Someone has speculated, I believe correctly, that the trees bore growth rings, and yet were created in one day.  God built in age in His creation. That answers the great question, which came first, the chicken or the egg?  The answer is that the chicken came first.  Now you know.

Notice also the repeated statement in each day of the creation account; And God saw that it was good.  There can be no good without God.  God is good.  God did not create evil. But God created good. I would suggest that the devil created evil.  And in turn man creates evil. But God creates good.

So the earth was created, and the foliage of the earth was created, but as of the third day there was no sun, only the light of God.  Vs 14, Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;  and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so.  God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; [He made] the stars also.  God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,  and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.  There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.”

God made the sun and the moon — these lights in the firmament of the heavens to be for signs and seasons. Since the beginning, man has used God’s provision of the sun, moon, and stars to mark and measure time and direction. Already had God used light to mark a day, evening and morning, but now He adds the sun and moon and the stars as physical manifestations of light.  And man being able to track the sun and moon and stars is able to differentiate seasons and days and months and years. These orbits are not random, sporadic movements, but are very mathematical calculations which were set in motion by intelligent design.

Now I am unable to articulate it all scientifically, but the sun and moon especially exert gravitational forces on the earth which control many aspects of our climate and tides and even the orbit and rotation of the earth.  So in the beginning when God made the heavens and the earth He was the light, and the Spirit of God controlled the earth.  But at this point in creation God appoints the sun and moon and stars to give light, and the gravitational forces of those objects control the direction and orbit and rotation of the earth as well as other significant factors like climate and tides and so forth.  Scientists tell us that the Earth orbits around the Sun at an average speed of about 67,000 miles per hour. This forward motion is crucial in counteracting the pull of gravity from the Sun and the Moon.  There is obviously a critical, delicate balance in gravity in regards to the earth’s orbit which makes Earth habitable at all, and keeps life from either burning up or freezing, that provides enough gravity to keep us on the earth and yet doesn’t pin us to the ground.  The thought that all of that is the result of random chance requires much more blind faith than believing in intelligent design.

Vs 20 Then God said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens."  God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.  God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."  There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

One of the primary characteristics of God is that He is Creator.  Again and again in Isaiah we read where God extolls the fact that He created the heavens and the earth.  And what is really amazing to consider is the immense diversity in creation. It’s interesting that God takes a day to create sky and sea creatures, the fish and the birds, and then another day to create land born creatures.  But consider how many different species of fish and birds He created. One scientific source has concluded that there are 18,000 different species of birds, and possibly more still to be discovered.  Plus what is possibly now extinct.  Google says that there are 33000 species of fish. It’s really incredible to research all the different species and with modern technology such as computers, to see how incredibly diverse fish are, with a vast array of amazing designs and colors.  Again, a testament to a Almighty Creator.  So many attributes of fish and birds that have no evolutionary reason for their existence or color or shape according to necessity, but it would seem just because God enjoyed creating incredible creatures.

Day six. Vs 24 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind"; and it was so.  God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.”

All animal life was created according to its kind. God deliberately created plenty of variation within a kind, but one “kind” does not become another. For example, the teacup poodle is very different from the Great Dane, but they are both dogs. However, they will never become mice, no matter how much breeding is done or how much time elapses. Evolutionists often give convincing examples of microevolution, the variation of a kind within its kind, adapting to the environment. But there has been no change outside of the kind. Microevolution does not prove macroevolution.

And then God created the crowning achievement of creation on the sixth day. Vs 26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."  Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;  and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, [I have given] every green plant for food"; and it was so.  God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

First of all, notice  the repeated use of the plural pronouns (Let Us… in Our image, according to Our likeness) which  is consistent with the idea that there is One God in three Persons, what we call the Trinity.  So our fundamental understanding of who God is, is taught in Genesis 1. And secondly, an understanding of who man is begins with knowing we are made in the image of God. Man is different from every other order of created beings because He is created in the image of God, according to His likeness.  Man was created spirit, soul and body, and in that sense, we are made in His likeness.   Man is distinct from the animal kingdom in that they are not only physical beings, but spiritual beings.  And only in spirit can we have fellowship with God.  We were created to have fellowship with God.

Notice also that man was made to rule over the world, both the plant and animal kingdoms. When God created man, He decreed that man would have dominion over the earth. Man’s pre-eminence of the created order and his ability to affect and care for his environment is part of God’s plan for man and the earth.  But notice that the earth was made for man, not man for the earth.  Creation is in opposition to the tenets of evolution and the religion of environmentalism which says that man is evil for utilizing nature.  But creation says that nature was made for man, and man has a responsibility to rule over it responsibly.  The earth was made for man, to support his life and to provide for his needs.  God gave man dominion over the whole earth, but only vegetation is specifically mentioned as being for food. Seemingly, before the flood, the human race was vegetarian, but after the flood, man was given permission to eat the flesh of animals (Genesis 9:3), if not the necessity to eat meat. We may discuss that further when we get to chapter 9. 

But we are plainly told God created man fully formed, and created him in one day, not gradually over millions of years of progressive evolution. It’s impossible to conceive of a man that was only partially evolved to even survive, much less continue to reproduce and populate the earth.  So man was made fully formed, fully mature, with all the signs of having lived already on the day that he was made.

Now there is some speculation and debate among Bible scholars as to whether or not Eve was created in the same day as Adam.  I personally am of the opinion that on day six God made man, Adam, singular. But in making man, God created the blueprint for male and female, and put the DNA and chromosomes necessary for male and female in the body of Adam.  Now I cannot be dogmatic about that, but reading chapter 2 it is difficult to see all of the planting of the garden, the order to Adam to tend to the garden, the naming of the all the animals and creatures in creation, all of that to occur in 24 hours.  I suppose it’s possible but I don’t see that it’s necessary to see all of that happening in one day.

Furthermore, I believe God delayed the creation of woman by some indefinite period of time to illustrate a greater principle, which answers the question of why God created man to begin with. In chapter 2, after creating man, God says it is not good for man to be alone.  Obviously, that means that man was created alone at first.  But although God intended from the beginning to make man a helper, a mate, yet He allows some time to elapse as God brings all the animals of creation before Adam to name them.  The result was that Adam did not find in all of creation a mate suitable for him. Then after that fruitless search, God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and God made woman from his rib.

Now I think that could very well illustrate something that may have occurred before Creation. I know it’s speculation on my part to some extent, but I can’t help but think this is the reason the Bible presents the creation of man and woman in this way.  We know that God is the Creator, creation of immense diversity of creatures is a primary characteristic of God.  But perhaps at some point in eternity past, God looked at all the creatures, all the heavenly hosts if you will, in all the galaxies that He has made, and God found no creature suitable to be a help mate for Him. 

And so God created man in His image, in His likeness.  God desired a help mate to share life with, to be His bride, to have fellowship with.  And God chose to create man for that purpose. The Westminster Shorter Catechism first question asks, What is the chief end of man? And the answer given is, Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever.

As we will see in our next study, in all of creation, God spoke everything into existence. God needed only to speak  things into existence, and it was so.  Yet with man we see a different approach.  With man, God formed him out of the clay of the ground, presumably  with His hands, and breathed the breath of life into His nostrils.  We see an intimacy there that is unmatched in the rest of creation.  One can almost visualize the love that God has toward man, stooping to scoop up the clay, lovingly forming him into His own likeness, and then bending down in almost a kiss to breath the breathe of life into Him.

Now I hope that imagery is not offensive in some way, either God or to you.  But I do think it perhaps answers the question why God created man, and how God loves us enough to die for us. I think it reinforces the principle that man was made for God, for fellowship with God. But I realize that I also have taken liberties with the word of God that are not explicitly stated in scripture.  But I hope that I am not being presumptuous in my speculation.

The last day of creation is one where God rests from His work. Ch. 2 vs 1, Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.  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. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

God did not need rest on the seventh day because He was tired. God rested to show His creating work was done, to give a pattern to man regarding the structure of time (in seven-day weeks), and to give an example of the blessing of rest to man on the seventh day. God sanctified the seventh day because it was a gift to man for rest and replenishment, and most of all because the Sabbath is a shadow or illustration of the rest available through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 2:16-17 and Galatians 4:9-11 make it clear that Christians are not under obligation to observe the Sabbath today because Jesus fulfilled the purpose and plan of the Sabbath for us and in us (Hebrews 4:9-11). Though God rested on the seventh day of creation, He did not institute the Sabbath as an ordinance for man at that point or show us His rest for His own sake. God does not take the Sabbath off. Jesus Himself said, My Father has been working until now, and I have been working (John 5:17). God does not need a day off, but man needs to see the finished work of God and know he can enter into that rest  by the finished work of Jesus.

The description of each other day of creation ended with the phrase, so the evening and the morning were the second day and so forth. However, this seventh day of creation does not have that phrase. This is because God’s rest for us isn’t confined to one literal day. In the new creation, God has an eternal Sabbath rest for His people.

Heb. 4:9-16 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through [following] the same example of disobedience.

2Cor. 5:17  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, [he is] a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.