Daily Devotional Saturday 2nd January 2021

by William Moody

Genesis 2

The Seventh Day, God Rests

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

The Creation of Man and Woman

  These are the generations
  of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
  in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.

When no bush of the field1 was yet in the land2 and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist3 was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat4 of it you shall surely die.”

18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for5 him.” 19 Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed6 every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam7 there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made8 into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

  “This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
  she shall be called Woman,
    because she was taken out of Man.”9

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Footnotes

[1] 2:5 Or open country
[2] 2:5 Or earth; also verse 6
[3] 2:6 Or spring
[4] 2:17 Or when you eat
[5] 2:18 Or corresponding to; also verse 20
[6] 2:19 Or And out of the ground the Lord God formed
[7] 2:20 Or the man
[8] 2:22 Hebrew built
[9] 2:23 The Hebrew words for woman (ishshah) and man (ish) sound alike

(ESV)

Here we have a second account of creation as the focus goes particularly on the creating of man and woman. Verses v4-6 recounts some aspects of creation to help build up to the climax of creation in making mankind (v7). God’s very personal involvement is seen in making Adam from the dust and breathing life into him. We don’t have a Creator who is distant but One who from the very beginning is very intimately involved in people’s lives.

Reflect on how you have been made to know and love God in an intimate relationship. Think of how God’s heart of love longs to share your life.

We’re introduced to the Garden of Eden(v8) and particularly to the trees there (v9). The trees, that Adam was allowed to eat of, were pleasing to the eye and good for food. The Creator is caring and generous in His provision.

The tree of knowledge of good and evil (v9b, 16-17) was one tree not to be eaten of. Not eating of this tree meant Adam was accepting the Creator’s right to decide what was right and wrong. Adam would have a life of perfect blessing if he obeyed God’s loving commands.

Thank our kind God who gives wonderfully good gifts to His people and who deserves our wholehearted and thankful obedience.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®),
copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.