2:2, 3 We live in an action-oriented world! There always seems to be something to do and no time to rest. Yet God demonstrated that rest is appropriate and right. If God himself rested from his work, we should not be surprised that we also need rest. Jesus demonstrated this principle when he and his disciples left in a boat to get away from the crowds (see Mark 6:31, 32). Our times of rest refresh us for times of service.
2:3 That God blessed the seventh day means that he set it apart for rest and worship. The Ten Commandments emphasize this distinction by commanding the observance of the Sabbath (Exodus 20:1-17).
2:7 “From the dust of the ground” implies that there is nothing fancy about the chemical elements making up our bodies. The body is a lifeless shell until God brings it alive with his “breath of life.” When God removes his life-giving breath, our bodies once again return to dust. Our life and worth, therefore, come from God’s Spirit. Many boast of their achievements and abilities as though they were the originator of their own strengths. Others feel worthless because their abilities do not stand out. In reality, our worth comes not from our achievements but from the God of the universe, who chooses to give us the mysterious and miraculous gift of life. Value life, as he does.
2:9, 16, 17 Were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil real trees? Two views are often expressed: (1) The trees were real, but symbolic. Eternal life with God was pictured as eating from the tree of life. (2) The trees were real, possessing special properties. By eating the fruit from the tree of life, Adam and Eve could have had eternal life, enjoying a permanent relationship as God’s children.
In either case, Adam and Eve’s sin would separate them from the tree of life. Interestingly, the tree of life again appears in a description in Revelation 22 of people enjoying eternal life with God.
2:15-17 God gave Adam responsibility for the garden and told him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Rather than physically preventing him from eating, God gave Adam a choice and, thus, the possibility of choosing wrongly. God still gives us choices, and we, too, often choose wrongly. These wrong choices may cause us pain, but they can help us learn and grow and make better choices in the future. Living with the consequences of our choices teaches us to think and choose more carefully.
2:16, 17 Why would God place a tree in the garden and then forbid Adam to eat from it? God wanted Adam to obey, but God gave Adam the freedom to choose. Without choice, Adam would have been like a prisoner, and his obedience would have been hollow. The two trees provided an exercise in choice, with rewards for choosing to obey and sad consequences for choosing to disobey. When you are faced with the choice, always choose to obey God.
2:18-24 God’s creative work was not complete until he made woman. He could have made her from the dust of the ground, as he made man. God chose, however, to make her from the man’s flesh and bone. In so doing, he illustrated for us that in marriage man and woman symbolically are united into one. This is a mystical union of the couple’s hearts and lives. Throughout the Bible, God treats this special partnership seriously. If you are married or planning to be married, are you willing to keep the commitment that makes the two of you one? The goal in marriage should go beyond friendship; it should be oneness.
| What the Bible Says About Marriage | |
| Genesis 2:18-24 | Marriage is God’s idea |
| Genesis 24:58-60 | Commitment is essential to a successful marriage |
| Song of Solomon 2:8-13 | Romance is important |
| Song of Solomon 4:9-15 | Marriage holds times of great joy and pleasure |
| Malachi 2:14-16 | Marriage creates the best environment for raising children |
| Unfaithfulness breaks the bond of trust, the foundation of all relationships | |
| Matthew 19:6 | Marriage is permanent |
| Romans 7:2, 3 | Ideally, only death should dissolve marriage |
| Ephesians 5:21-33 | Marriage is based on the principled practice of love and commitment not on feelings |
| Ephesians 5:23-32 | Marriage is a living symbol of Christ and the church |
| Hebrews 13:4 | Marriage is good and honorable |
2:21-23 God forms and equips men and women for various tasks, but all these tasks lead to the same goal—honoring God. Man gives life to woman; woman gives life to the world. Each role carries exclusive privileges; there is no room for thinking that one sex is superior to the other.
2:24 God gave marriage as a gift to Adam and Eve. They were created perfect for each other. Marriage was not just for convenience, nor was it brought about by any culture. It was instituted by God and has three basic aspects: (1) The man leaves his parents and, in a public act, promises himself to his wife; (2) the man and woman are joined together by taking responsibility for each other’s welfare and by loving the mate above all others; (3) the two are united into one in the intimacy and commitment of sexual union that is reserved for marriage. Strong marriages include all three of these aspects.
2:25 Have you ever noticed how a little child can run naked through a room full of strangers without embarrassment? He is not aware of his nakedness, just as Adam and Eve were not embarrassed in their innocence. But after Adam and Eve sinned, shame and awkwardness followed, creating barriers between themselves and God. We often experience these same barriers in marriage. Ideally a husband and wife have no barriers, feeling no embarrassment in exposing themselves to each other or to God. But, like Adam and Eve (3:7), we put on fig leaves (barriers) because we have areas we don’t want our spouse, or God, to know about. Then we hide, just as Adam and Eve hid from God. In marriage, lack of spiritual, emotional, and intellectual intimacy usually precedes a breakdown of physical intimacy. In the same way, when we fail to expose our secret thoughts to God, we break our lines of communication with him.
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Source: Life Application Study Bible , (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1988), WORDsearch
CROSS e-book, 9-10.
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