Genesis 2

Ge 2:1.

THE

NARRATIVE OF THE

SIX

DAYS'

CREATION

CONTINUED.

The course of the narrative is improperly broken by the division of the

chapter.

1. the heavens--the firmament or atmosphere.

host--a multitude, a numerous array, usually connected in

Scripture with heaven only, but here with the earth also, meaning all

that they contain.

were finished--brought to completion. No permanent change has

ever since been made in the course of the world, no new species of

animals been formed, no law of nature repealed or added to. They could

have been finished in a moment as well as in six days, but the work of

creation was gradual for the instruction of man, as well, perhaps, as

of higher creatures

(Job 38:7).

Ge 2:2-7.

THE

FIRST

SABBATH.

2. and he rested on the seventh day--not to repose from

exhaustion with labor (see

Isa 40:28),

but ceased from working, an example equivalent to a command that we

also should cease from labor of every kind.

3. blessed and sanctified the seventh day--a peculiar

distinction put upon it above the other six days, and showing it was

devoted to sacred purposes. The institution of the Sabbath is as old as

creation, giving rise to that weekly division of time which prevailed

in the earliest ages. It is a wise and beneficent law, affording that

regular interval of rest which the physical nature of man and the

animals employed in his service requires, and the neglect of which

brings both to premature decay. Moreover, it secures an appointed

season for religious worship, and if it was necessary in a state of

primeval innocence, how much more so now, when mankind has a strong

tendency to forget God and His claims?

4. These are the generations of the heavens and of the

earth--the history or account of their production. Whence did Moses

obtain this account so different from the puerile and absurd fictions

of the heathen? Not from any human source, for man was not in existence

to witness it; not from the light of nature or reason, for though they

proclaim the eternal power and Godhead by the things which are made,

they cannot tell how they were made. None but the Creator

Himself could give this information, and therefore it is through faith

we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God

(Heb 11:3).

5, 6. rain, mist--(See on

Ge 1:11).

7. Here the sacred writer supplies a few more particulars about

the first pair.

formed--had FORMED MAN OUT OF THE DUST OF THE

GROUND. Science has proved that the substance of his flesh,

sinews, and bones, consists of the very same elements as the soil which

forms the crust of the earth and the limestone that lies embedded in

its bowels. But from that mean material what an admirable structure has

been reared in the human body

(Ps 139:14).

the breath of life--literally, of lives, not only animal but

spiritual life. If the body is so admirable, how much more the soul

with all its varied faculties.

breathed into his nostrils the breath of life--not that the

Creator literally performed this act, but respiration being the medium

and sign of life, this phrase is used to show that man's life

originated in a different way from his body--being implanted directly

(Ec 12:7),

and hence in the new creation of the soul Christ breathed on His

disciples

(Joh 20:22).

Ge 8-17.

THE

GARDEN OF

EDEN.

8. Eden--was probably a very extensive region in Mesopotamia,

distinguished for its natural beauty and the richness and variety of

its produce. Hence its name, signifying "pleasantness." God planted a

garden eastward, an extensive park, a paradise, in which the man was

put to be trained under the paternal care of his Maker to piety and

usefulness.

9. tree of life--so called from its symbolic character as a sign

and seal of immortal life. Its prominent position where it must have

been an object of daily observation and interest, was admirably fitted

to keep man habitually in mind of God and futurity.

tree of the knowledge of good and evil--so called because it was

a test of obedience by which our first parents were to be tried,

whether they would be good or bad, obey God or break His commands.

15. put the man into the garden of Eden to dress it--not only to

give him a pleasant employment, but to place him on his probation, and

as the title of this garden, the garden of the Lord

(Ge 13:10;

Eze 28:13),

indicates, it was in fact a temple in which he worshipped God, and was

daily employed in offering the sacrifices of thanksgiving and

praise.

17. thou shalt not eat of it . . . thou shalt surely

die--no reason assigned for the prohibition, but death was to be

the punishment of disobedience. A positive command like this was not

only the simplest and easiest, but the only trial to which their

fidelity could be exposed.

Ge 2:18-25.

THE

MAKING OF

WOMAN, AND

INSTITUTION OF

MARRIAGE.

18. it is not good for the man to be alone--In the midst of

plenty and delights, he was conscious of feelings he could not gratify.

To make him sensible of his wants,

19. God brought unto Adam--not all the animals in existence, but

those chiefly in his immediate neighborhood to be subservient to his

use.

whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name

thereof--His powers of perception and intelligence were

supernaturally enlarged to know the characters, habits, and uses of

each species that was brought to him.

20. but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him--The

design of this singular scene was to show him that none of the living

creatures he saw were on an equal footing with himself, and that while

each class came with its mate of the same nature, form, and habits, he

alone had no companion. Besides, in giving names to them he was led to

exercise his powers of speech and to prepare for social intercourse

with his partner, a creature yet to be formed.

21. deep sleep--probably an ecstasy or trance like that of the

prophets, when they had visions and revelations of the Lord, for the

whole scene was probably visible to the mental eye of Adam, and hence

his rapturous exclamation.

took one of his ribs--"She was not made out of his head to

surpass him, nor from his feet to be trampled on, but from his side to

be equal to him, and near his heart to be dear to him."

23. Woman--in Hebrew, "man-ess."

24. one flesh--The human pair differed from all other pairs,

that by peculiar formation of Eve, they were one. And this passage is

appealed to by our Lord as the divine institution of marriage

(Mt 19:4, 5;

Eph 5:28).

Thus Adam appears as a creature formed after the image of God--showing

his knowledge by giving names to the animals, his

righteousness by his approval of the marriage relation, and his

holiness by his principles and feelings, and finding

gratification in the service and enjoyment of God.