When we read through scriptures, we will see how much God delights in man’s acknowledgement of Him being the Creator. King David understands this very well, and you’ll find his Psalms replete with “God who made the heavens and the earth.” Before we launch into Genesis 2, join me in another moment of worship to the Creator Designer God who made the heavens and the earth.
(Singing: Glorious God, Beautiful King, Excellent God, I bow before Your throne…)
1. GOD BROUGHT US INTO HIS SABBATH REST
Genesis 2:2-3 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
God did not “need” rest on the 7th day as though He was tired. He rested because He was pleased with the work done, not because He was weary. He rested to show that His work of creation was completed. Creation is not evolving. It never evolved. It was finished. Done. Accomplished. Many Bible scholars have also suggested that God’s rest on the 7th day gives us the 7-day week structure of time. Also, it is an indication to man that rest is a blessing.
God sanctified the 7th day because it was a gift to man for rest and replenishment, and most of all because it points to the rest given to us through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. This rest also formed the basis of the Law of Sabbath given to the Israelites in the Mosaic Law (Exo. 20:8, Exo. 31:13-18).
However, believers are not under the law to observe the Sabbath today (Col. 2:16-17; Gal. 4:9-11) because Jesus fulfilled the purpose and plan of the Sabbath for us (Heb. 4:9-11). Every day is a day of rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. But we should not burn ourselves out with work and labour, ignoring the importance of physical rest and devotion to God and His gospel work.
The only way to enter into God’s Sabbath is by believing in Jesus and the work of redemption that He has completed. Rest from your labours. Rest from your strivings to enter heaven by your own works. Rest from the oppression and dominion of Satan. Enter into God’s Sabbath today!
I recommend that we listen to Pastor Dammy’s teaching on “What Grace Says About The Sabbath Day”
2. GOD BROUGHT US INTO HIS ABUNDANCE
Genesis 2:9, 16-17 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil… And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
In today’s Christianity, too much emphasis has been placed on the prohibition God placed on the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”, and only few people are paying attention to the graciousness and abundance of God embedded in these verses.
Notice how Plenty: every tree…
Notice how Pleasant: pleasant to the sight
Notice how Palatable: good for food
Notice how Priceless: tree of life
Notice how Philanthropic: freely eat
God created man with the capacity to obey Him, just as He did not remove the believer’s capacity to disobey. Our obedience is a show of devotion, love, and honour for God. But then, we should always remember the graciousness of God, Who “spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all” and is totally committed to “freely giving us all good things”.
3. GOD BROUGHT US INTO HIS LIFE
Can we take some time to see what this “forbidden tree” represents?
The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil
- This tree brought the knowledge of sin, like the Law. (Rom. 3:20)
- This tree brought death, like the Law. (Rom. 7:5, 9-10, Rom. 8:2, 1Cor. 15:56)
- This tree caused sin to reign, like the Law. (Rom. 5:20, Rom. 7:5,9)
But thanks to God, who has delivered us from the law, made us dead to the law; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. (Rom. 7:6) Through the offering of the body of Christ, He brought us out of the old and death-producing way into a new and life-giving way (Heb. 10:20). He reversed the effects of this tree and gave us His life. We should continually eat freely from the Tree of Life (Grace) and not flirt with the Tree of knowledge of good and evil (Law). That is why GOG is a ministry that points believers to the Tree of Life. We are constantly fed from the Tree of Life, even as we look forward to eating it in Heaven (Rev. 2:2,7,14).
4. GOD BROUGHT US INTO A RELATIONSHIP
Genesis 2:18,21-22 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
For the first time, God saw something that was “not good” – the aloneness of man. God decided to create a companion for Adam – helper comparable to him. Women are not inferior to men. We are equal partners of equal value in God’s grace, although we have different but complementary roles. Adam’s response is remarkable:
Genesis 2:23 “At last this is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man.”
Adam recognized that Eve was both like him (bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh) and not like him (woman… taken out of man). They were one, but they were not the same. He loved who he saw, and he cleaved himself unto her!
God never intended for man to be alone, either in the marital or social sense. We are created for relationships. Our God is a God of community. In our ongoing Bible Study on the Book of Ephesians (during Sunday services), we will explore the new community that God created through Christ. Do well to participate.
Thanks for reading.
Grace to you, Church!
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