Genesis 2
Verse 2 “On the seventh day he rested.” This does not mean God was tired. In a modern courtroom setting, a lawyer might say, “The defense rests.” This means the defense is finished with its case, not that it is going to stop doing
any work. The Lord rested because he was finished with creation.
Verse 4 “When”-The creation of Adam and Eve took place on the sixth day (1:26). Genesis chapter 2 is a flashback, giving more details about their creation. For the first time, Moses uses God’s proper name: YHWH (Yahweh, or Jehovah). This name reminds us of God’s free and faithful grace. The NIV indicates that the Hebrew is using this word with the spelling “LORD.”
1. How was man’s creation different from that of the animals?
2. Contrast the theory of evolution with God’s statement that everything was very good.
3. Was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil a bad tree?
(I’ve given the answer to this question at the end of the devotion.)
4. How did God reveal to Adam that he still lacked something?
5. Here in verse 25 it says Adam and Eve were naked and felt no shame. How is shame and embarrassment connected with sin?
Answer to Number 3. God planted two special trees. Each tree had a purpose. Adam and Eve could worship God at both of these trees. They could eat the fruit of the tree of life and continually be given the gift of eternal life. They could worship God by obeying his command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree was not evil in itself. It only gave Adam and Eve the awareness that there was evil, which was disobedience to God.
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Genesis 1
Today we begin our look at the book of Genesis. I’ll be printing the text below, but I suggest that you have out your own Bible, so that you can underline/highlight/make notes in it. Before each devotion, I’ll give you some notes about key words and phrases, and also some questions that you’ll then be able to answer as you read the chapter.
Verse 1 “In the beginning God created . . .” This phrase contains three important words. There was a “beginning” to all things. In the beginning, “God” was already present. He doesn’t have a beginning or an end. God “created” the heavens and the earth. The verb translated as “create” is a special word (1) used only of God’s activity and (2) always expressing the origin of something extraordinary, unique.
Verse 5 “And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.” This sentence appears at the end of each of the six days of creation. We understand them to be specific days of 24-hour duration and not epochs or eons as some believe.
Verses 21,22 “According to their kinds”-This phrase is repeated regarding the fish, birds, and animals. God gave the command for animals to reproduce along specific lines that cannot be crossed.
Verse 26 “Let us make man.” God speaks of himself in the plural, which is completely compatible with the teaching of the Trinity found throughout Scripture.
“In our image”-God is spirit. Therefore, to be made in his image cannot mean that we look like him but that we are like him in holiness and perfection. (See Ephesians 4:22-24 and Colossians 3:9,10.)
Questions:
1. Can you find a reference to the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in the first two verses? (Also look up John 1:1)
2. What did God create on each day?
3. God saw that everything he created was good. What does that tell us about God?
4. What commands did God give to Adam and Eve.
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