Genesis 2:7

Again we see the name “Lord” used in reference to God, suggesting a personal or intimate involvement.  This is so fitting for chapter 2 of Genesis.  In chapter 1 we see God (Elohim) create with His words, now we see Him rolling up His sleeves and personally apply His very image into the creation.

The word “formed” is the term for a potter’s shaping of vessels.  Just as a potter takes a mixture of earth and water and shapes a vessel, the Lord takes the dust of the ground (Gen.2:7) mixed with the spoken word of His breath (Gen.1:26) and forms a living man.

Being a blue collar guy this means a lot to me.  I really love and respect the personal investment put into the work of the hands.  One thing I’ve noticed is you can tell a lot about a person by their hands, the work they have accomplished, and the pain they have endured.

“Scars tell tales”, as they say. 

It’s interesting to me how God chose to tell His tale of creation to salvation through the illustration of a tradesman.  Here with the intimate, tender skill of a potter, and through Jesus with the strong, loving, nail scarred hands of a carpenter.

Genesis 2:4-7

Here is the first time in the Bible that God refers to Himself as Lord.  The Hebrew word for “Lord” is “Yehovah” meaning “the existing one”.  More interesting to me is the primitive root of the word “Yehovah” which is “Hayah” meaning “to become like” or “to exist as”. 

As God takes time to introduce Himself as Jehovah, we also see what is to come in the root of this name…to make man in the likeness of Himself.  Reading on we see the mention of a perfect atmosphere set up on the earth, the things that needed this perfect atmosphere had not yet been created (i.e. plants, animals, and mankind).  You see God knew His root intention was to make man in His image, and we see Him making a perfect preparation for that which He has in mind to do.

Skeptics would say, “I guess His perfect plan fell apart when man sinned.”

I would say, “Man’s sin didn’t take God by surprise, The issue of Man’s sin is still perfectly provided for in God’s perfect plan to make us in His image.” 

How?  In the Person of Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ (Jehovah Elohim, the full deity of God) came as a man (Hayah, in the likeness of God) and died on the cross making the perfect provision for God’s perfect plan to have us abide with Him. 

I Love how intricate and deep the bible goes.  We don’t always understand what the reason is for God’s present actions but when we really consider Jehovah we know that His present plans are always perfectly tying in with His future goodness.  We know the end of the story!  The good guys win!  Jesus saves and death is overcome, and we can look forward to abiding with God for eternity. 

“For I know the thoughts that i think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” 

John 3:16,17

Put your faith in Jesus Christ and experience the peace that He gives as He perfectly provides for your life.

Genesis 2:4

Here we see Moses (the author of the first five books of the Bible) take a moment and stop for review. 

Why is it that Moses stops here? 

If you look at the life of any of the great leaders in the Bible, you notice they all have learned the discipline of remembrance.  As we’ll find in the chapters to come, “Man” will sin and separate Himself from the perfection God desired to include Him in.  Part of falling out of perfection includes flaws in humanity.  One flaw that is an everyday battle is forgetfulness. 

Have you ever been in conversation with someone and totally forget what you were about to say?  Maybe you find yourself scrambling for your keys after just setting them down seconds before?

This seemingly small imperfection is a huge problem for our relationship with the Lord.  Forgetting God in the illusion of the important things of the day is a mistake we are all prone to make.  That’s why early in Moses’ relationship with the Lord God instructed Him to hold onto and observe all the things He learned in His walk with the Lord.  Every word that proceeded from God’s mouth to Him was to be remembered and taught to the children of Israel,  then they in turn would teach their kids, then they would live it out and show the neighboring nations how good it is to be in close abiding with the Lord.  (Deut. 8)  Moses learned this and we see as He jots down the things God has shared with Him, he practices the discipline of stopping and remembering.

“And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.  So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”

Genesis 8:2, 3

What is it that Man will “Live” by?  The Word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.

What is it that you’re relying on to live?  Chances are those things eventually will end.

If you choose to live relying on temporary things, that is exactly what your life will be…temporary.  You might have chased after everything in the book looking for a satisfied life.  The fact is you’re never going to really live unless you are taking in God’s word.  That’s why daily time in the word is so important.  To remind us of how great the Lord is.  As you remember you’ll find the warmth return to the cold relationship that has been forgotten in the temporary cares of the day.  Spend time with the Lord reading His words and reviewing His loving work in your life and you’ll see a renewed joy start filling you again. 

Stress will turn to Peace.

 Depression will turn to Joy.

 Hate will turn to Love… as you remember.

Genesis 2:1-3

Have you ever stopped and considered what “rested” means here?  Sometimes we read through the Bible so fast that we don’t stop and consider what’s really going on.  Take a look at what just happened,

“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested…”

“Rested” falls into the lineup as the little verb that got ignored, often relocated to the realm of nouns, “rested” just can’t get the love and respect He deserves.  Kind of like the hidden talent that rides the bench, never getting the chance to show His stuff. 

You know you desire to do it, you talk about it all week and when you have the opportunity to do it, you don’t.  I know for myself when I hear the word ‘rest,’ my mind immediately drifts to some tropical beach, or hanging with friends, sometimes I even picture things like a pillow or blanket, even now as I write this I’m sitting on a bed.  As I’ve come to find, and maybe you have too, REST is not people, places, or things.  It’s a deliberate and intentional action. 

So what is God doing?  Why waste a perfectly good day?

“He could have gotten more done.”, we say.

The fact is God didn’t rest because he got a cosmic case of fatigue.  God chose to rest, setting a divine example from the beginning for all of us.  He stopped creating and started proclaiming.  Through the action of resting He proclaimed His satisfaction and contentment with His finished work.

Why don’t we follow the Father’s example and sanctify a day, set it apart from the daily hubbub?  Take a chance to stop thinking and toiling over the latest project and start celebrating the finished work of Jesus (Matt. 11:28).  Proclaim in praise the wonderful works of the Lord, we will find a rest that satisfies, giving us the strength and the fulfillment we need to continue. 

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever.  Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, And gathered to of the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south.  They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in.  Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them.  Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses…For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” 

Psalm 107:1-9

Genesis 1:26-28

In the study of mankind, one aspect that has been a staple in every culture throughout history is worship.  Mr. Webster describes “worship” as:  reverent honor and homage paid to God, or regarding God with adoration, reverence, glory, and adulation. 

Interestingly enough worshipping something has never been difficult for man, the subject that is being worshipped is often where the problem lies.  If you look at different civilizations it’s obvious…The Mayans worshipped snakes, The Polynesians often worshipped the Turtle, The Native Americans had the Eagle, The ancient Egyptians worshipped the Sun.  However, all of these so called “gods” are simply the creation of the creator.  They are nothing more than the creation of God, the birds of the air, fish of the sea, and firmament of the heaven.  Creation wasn’t meant to be above us as our subject of worship, the bible tells us it was placed under our dominion. (Verse 26, 28)  Meaning we have authority and responsibility to be stewards of it. 

“Elohim”, is the standard Hebrew term for deity and the Hebrew word that is in the original manuscript of the bible to describe God.  What intrigues me about this word is that it’s presented as plural.  Just take a look and see in verse 26 God says, “let us make man in OUR image.” (Emphasis mine)  Since the beginning we have the picture of the trinity, the three in one, God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.  Elohim is He who brought us into being and the only one worthy of our worship. 

Genesis 1:14

While reading verse 14, I find my heart encouraged.  We read that God took into consideration not just the present need of lights in the heavens but what would be necessary for the future.  Man was not created at this point, and neither were the creatures of the earth.  But God here “divided the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons and for days and years…”  He knew man’s need for direction and He placed it in the stars.  For thousands of years sailors have found direction from them.  Today we have a “farmer’s almanac” that gives guidance to the passing of seasons, weather, and length of daylight according to the placement of the sun, moon, and stars.  We see God’s present actions worked together for His overall good purpose of what was to come. 

I like that, because I don’t always see the purpose of my present circumstances, or even my past for that matter.

 As a hobby I like to rock climb, sometimes outdoor, occasionally indoor.  While at the climbing gym a friend of mine was belaying for me.  While my perspective was limited to what I could touch and see, my friend who was anchoring me spoke guidance to me where I should reach, and where I could find a firm foothold.  I didn’t always see it, but he had a perfect understanding and view, and guided me straight to the top. 

In the same manner, I don’t know what tomorrow holds.  God on the other hand looks upon our present circumstance and instructs us to take hold of the promises of His word, giving us the security He has established for our life.  Sometimes it doesn’t make sense and as I’ve found, I don’t have the ability to get a firm hold on where He’s leading, I fall, I slip, I lose my grip.  But, He graciously holds our rope; He anchors us in the moments of weakness and shortcomings.  The better we understand that we are safely in the grip of God and He will lead us safely in His sovereign purpose, the more we will enjoy the journey. 

God’s will is to get us to the top. He desires to have us abide with Him.   Romans 8:28 tells us,

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to HIS PURPOSE.”

In His time you’ll see He has drawn you to trust, obey, and abide in intimate relationship with Him through all circumstances.

For a look at God’s heart and vision for us read Psalm 139, take your time and consider how the Lord has been involved with you through the years.  

Genesis 1:6-8

Here in Genesis 1:6 we see God continuing to separate and make distinctions.  Through this separation of firmament and waters God shows His power to make order from disorder.  He powerfully forms purpose from seeming chaos.

When translated, the word for firmament meaning “Heavens”, also has a literal meaning of “stretching something” like when a metal worker hammers metal. Such a small tidbit of information, but like most small things, this tidbit is fully packed with significance. 

You see, metal work was familiar to the guys and gals who lived during the time Moses was penning the Creation story under divine inspiration.   The process of stretching metal is arduous.  The metal worker will strike the metal thousands of times spreading, stretching, and shaping the metal.  The amount of pressure determines how much it stretches.  Excessive hammering on the other hand is often a problem that a well trained metal worker will watch for.  Each blow is important and has a desired purpose.  If the metal is hammered excessively the metal will harden, become brittle, and difficult to shape.  Often to prevent this, the metal worker will put the metal aside for a time until he finds the metal to respond better to His technique. 

This is so applicable to our lives today.  Our destination is Heaven, every day God is fully molding and shaping us through the “blows” of life’s circumstances.  Our faith gets stretched, our relationship with the Lord and others gets shaped, and the things that pressure us, and hammer our thoughts, emotions, actions, and spirits are working into us God’s purposeful design for our eternity.  Here’s the thing many of us run into in this process, we just don’t want to respond to the Lord’s techniques of shaping us for eternity, because the Lord masterfully knows how to shape us, He will never “Hammer” us excessively, He will use the precise amount of blows needed to shape us perfectly (1 Cor. 10:13).  We’re not just here on earth for the heck of it.  God is actually shaping us here on earth for what is to come in Heaven.  

But there’s more!

The text shows the firmament divides the waters beneath and above. (Verse 6)  No matter who you are or where you’re from, everyone needs water.  Water is a necessity for survival.  In the bible water often represented the Lords blessing of abundant life and provision.  It’s found below in the ground, or high in the sky.  Water in the ground is exclusively found where a spring is flowing, and water in the sky is only found where precipitation gathers, the same is true spiritually.  The water in our hearts is exclusively found in the flowing spring of Jesus Christ (John 4:13, 14, John 7:38).  Jesus is and always will be the portion we need (Is. 61:7-8), the provision we cry out for (Phil. 4:19), and the life we long to abide in (John 3:15).

The fact is the Lord desires to shape us, which can be disheartening when we lose sight of the fact that there is purpose to the process.  When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we’ll find that surrounding our difficult moments God desires to draw out the blessings from the depths of our hearts and pour out His blessing from His floodgates above.

Genesis 1:1-5

In the beginning “God” created.  Probably one of the most hotly debated subjects today, Creation, here in the text, literally means “to fashion anew”.  The fact is throughout the bible (and life itself for that matter) things created bear testimony by design that God is ultimately responsible for “Creation” or “fashioning anew” what was. 

What was it that needed new fashioning?

 “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was^[a] on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

Since the beginning of time God has taken formless, void, dark things only to shed some light on the matter (vs.3) and make these things “good” in His sight (vs.4). 

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.  (for the fruit of the Spirit^[b]is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.  And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.  For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.  But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.  Therefore He says:

“Awake, you who sleep,
      Arise from the dead,
      And Christ will give you light.”" (Ephesians 5:8-14)

The same is true for our hearts today.  Whether you believe in God or not, everyone has felt as though their life has lacked order.  Darkness has invaded our lives in certain circumstances.  I have yet to meet one person who hasn’t wondered at what the purpose to their life is.  As the bible tells us, in all these wonderings, God simply states, “Let there be light.” 

Through Jesus Christ God brought light into the world and ultimately refashioned what was dark and sinful and void, into His abundant shining purpose. 

“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend^[a] it.  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.^[b]
 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own,^[c] and His own^[d] did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” (John 1:4-12)

When you agree with your mouth and by faith believe in your heart that Jesus’ death on the cross overcame the darkness of sin, God says, “I give them the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)  In other words:

The chaos that surrounds you will be brought to order by Jesus

The darkness that blinds you will be turned to a shining clarity in Jesus

The void you feel in your heart will be filled through Jesus

And we will find ourselves understanding what God saw… “And God saw the light, that it was good”.
*all the scripture used is found in the NKJV bible.