Genesis 5
You know sometimes we see something and we really don’t know how it came to be. We know a little bit of its origin, but not the details. Like with Mount Rushmore.
[Mount Rushmore creation illustration.]
So if you want more detail of the creation of Mount Rushmore, you can go to websites, libraries and even watch programs on tv that describe the process more thoroughly.
That’s kind of what our passage tonight is – a more detailed, personal description of God’s six-day creation of the universe.
[Read Genesis 2:4.]
Moses tells us that we’ll now get a closer look at some of the things God did as He created the earth. And we also need to recognize that Moses starts to refer to the Lord using His most significant Old Testament title Yahweh. This is the name for God that means the self-existing holy One; the Redeemer of Israel.
Remember that as we go along. Because as we’re going to see, the One who can self-exist provides for the earth and for the man that can’t exist on their own. And His provision for His creation started right in the beginning with the earth itself.
I. The Lord God provides sustenance for the land.
[Read Genesis 2:5-6.]
In the beginning, while the firmament was still surrounding the earth as a protective shield, there was no rainfall to water the ground. So the Lord made springs of water to well up from the earth and distribute water to the vegetation that needed it to survive.
Wouldn’t that be great today? No scary thunderstorms. No delays on picnics and ball games because of rain. And no rusty water coming through our sprinklers systems staining our sidewalks and driveways and houses!
God simply provided nourishment for the land through internal streams of water.
But along with nourishment for the land:
II. The Lord God provides a keeper of the land.
[Read Genesis 2:7.]
God’s greatest creation, humanity, was created as we’ll soon see, to be a keeper of the land that the Lord had created. But this verse shows us a more personal side of creation. It shows us the handiwork of a master sculptor working with His clay.
1. Man made from the earth, (humanity, earthly)
2. Man made alive by the breath of God, (spirituality, eternal)
Different from the rest of creation, man was alive and well and ready to reflect the image
of God, as he was made in His likeness. But this man needed something to do and somewhere to do it! So:
III. The Lord God provides a home for the keeper of the land.
[Read Genesis 2:8.]
Remember your first home that you lived in with your spouse? It usually wasn’t a dream home was it? I mean, when you first get married you usually don’t have a lot of money or even have a for need a big place, so you take what you can get.
[Our first home story.]
But Adam’s first home? What an incredible place! God called it Eden, which actually means delight. And in the midst of Eden God planted a garden that was incredible. A garden that’s described by it’s trees, it’s rivers and it’s precious metals.
[Read Genesis 2:9.]
1. Trees
- Beautiful
- Fruitful
- Tree of life
- Tree of knowledge of good and evil
[Refer to tree set-up for demonstration.]
Not only did this garden have the most magnificent trees, it also had several rivers flowing through it and was also decorated with precious metals.
[Read Genesis 2:10-14.]
2. Rivers
- Pishon
- Gihon
- Tigris
- Euphrates
Now we don’t really know where the first two rivers were located. Most guess they were around the area of Egypt and the Persian Gulf. But we do know where the Tigris and Euphrates are because they still exist. (Remember, we’re talking about a pre-flood world that was very different from today.) So because of the location of the rivers, that places the Garden of Eden in ancient Mesopotamia or modern day Iraq. How ironic.
Along with beautiful trees and rivers the Bible mentions some precious natural resources that are found in the garden.
3. Precious metals
- gold
- bdellium, (aromatic resin)
- onyx, (agate)
Now this was some place. A beautiful place of trees, rivers, gold, pleasing aromas and the most fresh fruit in the world. And this was Adams home. Now all he needed was something to do. So:
IV. The Lord God provides a purpose for the keeper of the land.
[Read Genesis 2:15-17.]
We were created to serve the Lord. First of all:
1. Man is to serve God by caring for His creation.
The Lord gave man a perfect place to live. Perfect in every way. Pleasing to all the
Senses. But the land did need to be cultivated and cared for. Now, this probably wasn’t anything like having to care for the land in today’s world.
Eden Florida
Land waters itself through underground springs We pay for expensive, dirty water and have to get it onto the plants somehow
Pruning trees and bushes in the cool of the day Heat stroke while walking out to prune
Picking fruit and veggies planted by God Buying permits to plant trees in my yard
No weeds, thorns or thistles Please, my yard is all weeds!
Man was created to work. But I’m sure that the work was actually pleasing to do and that work gave man, like it does today, a sense of purpose, dignity and self-esteem. So by working the land, man was actually serving the Lord because the Lord asked him to do it. Also:
2. Man is to serve God through complete obedience.
In the midst of the garden was a tree that the Lord had labeled as the tree of knowledge
of good and evil. Now, was there something within the fruit that when eaten cause a person to have the knowledge of good and evil? I don’t really think so. I think the fruit on that tree was just as good to eat as any other fruit in the garden. I think that just the act of disobeying the Lord would open the eyes of any that would choose to blatantly defy a command of God.
[Read Genesis 2:17.]
You see, to disobey God is to understand evil, for that’s exactly what evil is – disobeying God. Our creator alone has the right to establish the way we must live. So when we defy His instructions we know evil. And that evil leads to death. Both spiritual and physical death.
So God made man to serve Him by caring for creation and by obedience. This is what would give Adam purpose. And when you think about it, this is what gives us purpose today.
We’re to care for the world, and it’s people, that are all around us. And we’re to follow the Lord in complete obedience. The purpose for man has remained the same, just the surroundings are different.
We need to be about serving the Lord by caring for the world and the people in it. And we need to stay away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil whenever we see one. And those trees are everywhere. Any opportunity to disobey God is like picking from that same tree that the Lord told Adam to stay away from.
So as we close, think about this. God had made this beautiful world. Perfect in every way. Then He created man, gave him a home in the garden of Eden, and gave him purpose. All he had to do was work the garden a little bit and stay away from one tree.
Sounds great doesn’t it? Except for one thing. He was alone. “All the animals have someone like them to be with. What about me?”
Well God wasn’t done providing yet. So next time we’ll look at how God provided a woman for the man. Someone to walk with him all the days of his life as one.
[Pray.]
