The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.” The Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man no helper was found corresponding to him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said:
This one, at last, is bone of my bone
and flesh of my flesh;
this one will be called “woman,”
for she was taken from man.
This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.
GENESIS 2:1-3
SABBATH
Rhythms of rest and renewal are built into the creation story. The Biblical term for this kind of practice is “sabbath”. Below are some practices and resources to help you pursue this spiritual discipline.
CONTENT DRAWN FROM THE FOLLOWING LCF SERMON
GENESIS 2:4-14
PERSONAL AND TRANSCENDENT
Genesis 1 paints a picture of God as incomprehensibly transcendent. In Genesis 2, looking at the Hebrew words help us see that He is also intimately personal.
CONTENT DRAWN FROM THE FOLLOWING LCF SERMON
GENESIS 2:15-17
GOD’S COVENANT WITH ADAM
Genesis 2:15-17 focuses us in on the Bible’s first covenant: a covenant of works between God and Adam.