An Introduction To The Creation Of The Man And The Woman (Part 1)

On the sixth day of creation, God created the man and the woman and placed them in a garden. Because this is such a critical and far-reaching matter, I hope to deal with it in some depth. 

Genesis 2:7-25 details for us the creation of the man and the woman and the circumstances around that creative act, of which we are all the result. We continue to live and work and play in the condition in which God design and created the man and the woman, except for the changes that occurred in the judgment of the flood. In that flood, the topography of the entire earth and the condition of the atmosphere changed, but God’s purposes and intentions and the ultimate mandate for the man and the woman would stay the same. This creative purpose of God is still the expectation for mankind today.

 In the beginning of chapter 2, God has rested from His labors and declared that day a blessed day, a day in which God’s magnificent and powerful creative act, through which His glory is declared (Psalm 19:1-6), is remembered and He is revered for His work. This is a perfect creation and there is nothing more that could have been done to it in order to improve upon it. It is beautiful, functional and enjoyable. “Behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31).

 Into that world, He placed Adam. God formed man from the  dust of the ground (2:7) and gave him breath (which I also believe is the time in which He gave the man a soul which was also to be in the ‘image and likeness’ of God-1:26) and the man became a living being. In the East, in a place God called Eden, He placed the man. In that garden, Adam would cultivate (‘work’-Genesis 3:23; 4:2) and watch over its produce. Adam would be a worker and a manager of what God has given to him. God would render from Adam productivity in the garden as God always expects a return for His labors (Luke 19:11-27). What exactly would Adam do for eternity? Till the ground? Work in soil? Yes. That is exactly what he would do for insodoing he would be able to provide food for himself and his family. It does not appear that God simply would have food grow on trees and Adam and Eve simply lounge all day and enjoy God’s work. He actually was expected to, indeed created for, work. It was not toil and it was not aggravated by fallen vanity. However, the work that Adam was supposed to do was in reflection of God Himself in that He also worked to create the entire existence in which Adam lives. Thus, work is a righteous endeavor as long as it is for the sake of glorifying God who designed and epitomized it.

 Next, we need to see the act of the commandment of God toward Adam in vv. 16-17. In these verses we learn that the original Word of God was given to Adam and thus the precedence of the man’s responsibility to disseminate God’s Word is established.