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Genesis Chapter Two

                             

I. Content of the Chapter

 

The Process of God’s Creation

A.  God rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done (v.1-3);

B.  Mention the process of God’s creating the heavens and the earth again (v.4-6);

C.  Mention the process of God’s forming man:

  1. God formed man of the dust of the ground (v.7).

  2. God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden (v.8-15).

  3. God commanded the man not to eat the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (v.16-17).

  4. God made a helper comparable to him (v.18-25).

 

II. Verse by Verse Commentary

 

Gen. 2:1Thus the heavens and the earth and all the host of them were finished.

YLT: “And the heavens and the earth are completed and all their host;”

Meaning of Words: finish”: complete end cause to fail;

Enlightenment in the Word:

  1) The work of God is too complete to be increased or decreased.

  2) We are the workmanship of God (Eph. 2:10). He will make us “perfect”.

 

Gen. 2:2And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

YLT: “and God completeth by the seventh day His work which He hath made and ceaseth by the seventh day from all His work which He hath made.”

Meaning of Words: “rest ... from”: repose keep sabbath ;

Literal Meaning: God had rested His creating works but never stopped His governing works.

Enlightenment in the Word:

  1) Man rests because of weariness but God rests because he has finished al works (Is. 40:28; Ex. 31:17).

  2) Once man was formed he enjoyed the rest with God before his working.

  3) If we desire to work for God and please God we shall firstly enjoy rest in the Lord and let God work in us and then work for the Lord.

  4) We are wrought by God to a point that our spiritual life becomes completely mature so that God will have rest.

 

Gen. 2:3Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

YLT: “And God blesseth the seventh day and sanctifieth it for in it He hath ceased from all His work which God had prepared for making.”

Meaning of Words: “sanctify”: make... Holy separate;

Literal Meaning: this verse is the origin of the Sabbath.

  “God blesses the seventh day” it means that rest is not only for God but also in relation to all human beings.

  “Sanctified it” it means separating the day and sanctifying it unto God.

Spiritual Meaning: the Sabbath typifies the gospel of Christ:

  1. Only the works of the Lord Jesus on the cross can satisfy the righteousness of God and bring reconciliation between God and men and true rest to men.

  2. Only when man has received the salvation of the Lord Jesus can he obtain the life to keep the will of God.

  3. If one receives the salvation of the Lord Jesus he has been satisfied by the works of God and rested in the rest of God.

  4. If one does not receive the salvation of the Lord Jesus it shows that he does not need God and thinks he can reach perfection and become good through himself only.

Enlightenment in the Word:

  1) Only the works of God can bring man true rest.

  2) The Sabbath indicates the will of God: all the divine are for the purpose of letting man enjoy the divine rest. Only when man has enjoyed the rest given by God will man be strengthened to work for God.

  3) If we want to enter into the rest of God we have to receive the work of God. If we think we can do good works of ourselves we have no true rest.

 

Gen. 2:4This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens

YLT: “These births of the heavens and of the earth in their being prepared in the day of Jehovah God's making earth and heavens;”

Meaning of Words: “history”: generation family; “Jehovah”: I AM THAT I AM the eternal God who is and who was and who is to come;

Literal Meaning: “Jehovah” the name of God in relation to man and the name of God who has fellowship with man and makes the covenant which shows that He is a God who humbles Him and is full of kindness.

  Made the earth and the heavens” it referred to the restored creation of the six days. It mentioned the earth first and then the heavens. However it was the heavens and the earth in the initiate creation (Gen. 1:1). In the restored creation of God God focused on the earth.

 

Gen. 2:5before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth and there was no man to till the ground;

YLT: “and no shrub of the field is yet in the earth and no herb of the field yet sprouteth for Jehovah God hath not rained upon the earth and a man there is not to serve the ground ”

Meaning of Words: “field”: land; “plant”: tree; “till”: work serve;

Literal Meaning: this verse describes the situation between verse ten and eleven in chapter one. At that time there was not any living thing on the earth. The water vapor in the heavens was not too much to rain.

Spiritual Meaning: this verse symbolized that there was not the pouring out of God’s Spirit (“rain”) upon all flesh before we had been saved (Joel. 2:23 28) nor human labor (repent and believe) so man had not the divine life. 

Enlightenment in the Word:no man to till the ground” this verse vaguely shows God’s will toward man ---- He will let man fulfill the responsibility of cooperation with Him on the land He had created.

 

Gen. 2:6but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

YLT: “and a mist goeth up from the earth and hath watered the whole face of the ground.”a

Meaning of Words: “went up”: ascend arise up; “water”: drink moisten;

Literal Meaning: at that time the land appeared out of the waters not long (Gen. 1:9) so there was a mist going up from the earth.

Spiritual Meaning: it symbolizes that everything out of man is by nature without any moisture from the heavens before he is saved.

 

Gen. 2:7And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

YLT: “And Jehovah God formeth the man -- dust from the ground and breatheth into his nostrils breath of life and the man becometh a living creature.”

Meaning of Words: “form”: fashion; “breath”: spirit inspiration; “dust”: clay Adam;

Literal Meaning: this verse passes forward verse eleven to twenty-five chapter one and describes God’s making man in verse twenty-six in detail.

  “Form” the word in the original means the potter made vessels by clay so here it shows that the workmanship of God is exquisite.  

  “Breathe” it indicates the heart of God is kind and gentle.

  This verse proves that man is constituted of spirit and soul and body (1Thess. 5:23): man’s physical body was made from dust and man’s spirit is given by God’s spirit. And the spirit enters into man’s body and man becomes a living soul.

  Man’s body is a faculty of touching the physical world. And “soul” a faculty of touching the mental world is man’s personality including mentality emotion will etc. And “spirit” a faculty of touching God and receiving God and God’s life. The gift of spirit is the difference of man from the animals.

Enlightenment in the Word:

  1) Man’s physical body is made of dust so man shall return unto dust when he dies (Gen. 3:19; 1Cor. 15:47).

  2) Man is noble for he has spirit. Therefore let us not take forethought for the flesh but pay attention to the growth of spiritual life.

  3) God forms the spirit for man to let man touch Him and worship Him (John 4:24).

  4) May God often “breathe into” us so that we may be more filled with the holy Spirit.

 

Gen. 2:8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden and there He put the man whom He had formed.

YLT: “And Jehovah God planteth a garden in Eden at the east and He setteth there the man whom He hath formed;”

Meaning of Words: Eden”: delight pleasure joy; “put”: place put on;

Literal Meaning: “eastward” the word in the Bible contains a meaning of glory (Ezek. 43:2).

  God sets Eden for the purpose of “putting” the man.

  This verse suggests that man is the center of all creatures.

Enlightenment in the Word:

  1) God not only formed man but also put man. All the situations we are in today are arranged by God according to his good will (Rom. 8:28).

  2) God put man in Eden where is delightful and pleasant. Therefore man’s suffering is not the will of God. Instead God desires to let man rejoice always (Phil. 4:4)

 

Gen. 2:9And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

YLT: “and Jehovah God causeth to sprout from the ground every tree desirable for appearance and good for food and the tree of life in the midst of the garden and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

Meaning of Words: pleasant”: covet delight desire lust; “knowledge”: ignorance awareness; “evil”: adversity affliction mischief;

Spiritual Meaning: “the tree of life” symbolizes God (Ps. 36:9; John 1:4; 11:25; 14:6; 1John 5:12).

  “The tree of the knowledge of good and evil” it indicates that man rejects God and does not rely on God. God is the origin of life. If man refuses God and does not rely on God death will be brought in (see v.17).

Enlightenment in the Word:

  1) After God had formed man he had prepared abundant food for man to keep man’s life. He has also prepared abundant spiritual food for the spiritual life of believers.

  2) If we believers want to be grown up in spirit we have to enjoy the spiritual food everyday.

  3) Today we have also two trees in our hearts: do we want to choose God and rely on God or rely on our natural life? It depends on the choice of everyone.

  4) Do we live according to “knowledge”? Or according to “life”?

 

Gen. 2:10Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden and from there it parted and became four riverheads.

YLT: “And a river is going out from Eden to water the garden and from thence it is parted and hath become four chief;”

Meaning of Words: riverhead”: river beginning;

Spiritual Meaning: this verse symbolizes that the living water of life goes out of where God is (Rev. 22:1) to deal with all the needs of man.

 

Gen. 2:11The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah where there is gold.

YLT: “the name of the one Pison it that which is surrounding the whole land of the Havilah where the gold ”

Meaning of Words: Pishon”: dispersive spread; “skirt”: surround round about; “Havilah”: bring forth bear;

Literal Meaning: it is not sure where both “Pishon” and “the whole land of Havilah” are. Probably they were swamped under the bottom of Persian Gulf.

Spiritual Meaning: “gold” symbolizes the nature of God.

  This verse symbolizes that the living water of God’s life is given to man freely (Is. 55:1; Rev. 22:17). Once man drinks this water of life he will have the divine life (Ezek. 47:9 12) and become a partaker of the divine nature of God (2Pet. 1:4).

Enlightenment in the Word: where there flows the living water of life there will be full of life.

 

Gen. 2:12And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there.

YLT: “and the gold of that land good there the bdolach and the shoham stone;”

Spiritual Meaning: Bdellium” it means pearl which is the precious thing secreted by the mussel after it is wounded by the sandstone symbolizing the works of the cross on us so that we are transformed and renewed and thus pleased by the Lord (Matt. 13:45).

  The onyx stone” symbolizes the glorious image of God (Rev. 4:3).

  The whole verse looks like the result of man’s enjoying the living water of life that man will become the partake of God’s nature and be transformed and renewed to manifest the image of God.

 

Gen. 2:13The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush.

YLT: “and the name of the second river Gibon it that which is surrounding the whole land of Cush;”

Meaning of Words: Gihon”: stream; “Cush”: black;

Literal Meaning: the Cush” here does not refer to the Ethiopia in Africa but a province in Mesopotamia in the ancient times. The riverbed had been early swamped without any trace.

Spiritual Meaning: this verse shows that the living water of life will overflow out of man (John 7:38) and change the sinners whose sinful nature cannot be changed (Jer. 13:23) even like God (Eph. 4:22-24).

 

Gen. 2:14The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

YLT: “and the name of the third river Hiddekel it that which is going east of Asshur; and the fourth river is Phrat.”

Meaning of Words: Hiddekel”: swift; “go toward”: go forward; “Assyria”: plain successful level; “Euphrates”: expand;

Literal Meaning: Hiddekel” it is the present Tigris River.

Spiritual Meaning: this verse shows that the living water of life in men is mightily powerful so that all will be provided and bear sweet and good fruit of life (John 15:5; Phil. 1:11).

 

Gen. 2:15Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

YLT: “And Jehovah God taketh the man and causeth him to rest in the garden of Eden to serve it and to keep it.”

Meaning of Words: “take”: bring carry away place; “tend”: till serve; “keep”: take heed reserve beware;

Literal Meaning: “tend” is to cope with destruction. And “keep” is to deal with attacks. Therefore at that time the external destruction and attack had already existed (it refers to the enemy of God Satan).

  “Tend” it also means tilling so that there will be life.

Enlightenment in the Word:

  1) The will of God upon man is to let man cooperate with Him. Positively man shall manifest the divine life in his daily conversation on the earth. And passively man shall deal with the enemy of God on the earth.

  2) As long as man lives he has to work. If any man does not like to work let him not eat (2Thess. 3:10).

  3) Today in our spiritual garden we are still responsible for tending and keeping: a) the day spiritual life needs to be moistened. The weak and fruitless life needs to be purified. The lifeless spiritual condition needs to be restored. The life barriers between the Lord and us need to be removed. He who has a complaint against other believers shall be reconciled with one another; b) The Lord commands us to watch and be sober unceasingly. Let us watch our words and conversations and activities and mind and thoughts and give no room for the devil.

 

Gen. 2:16And the Lord God commanded the man saying “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;

YLT: “And Jehovah God layeth a charge on the man saying `Of every tree of the garden eating thou dost eat;”

Literal Meaning: freely eat” God gives man the right of freedom.

  This verse also implies a meaning that God desires man to choose the fruit of life to eat.

Enlightenment in the Word: we have ample “freedom” to do whatever is according to the will of God.

 

Gen. 2:17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

YLT: “and of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou dost not eat of it for in the day of thine eating of it -- dying thou dost die.'”

Meaning of Words: knowledge”: awareness; “die”: hinder separate;

Literal Meaning: “shall not eat” it is the commandment of God. If man does not eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil he obeys God.

  Here “die” includes spiritual death ---- the spirit loses its function and becomes alienated from God and the physical death (Gen. 5:5; Heb. 9:27) and the second death in future (Rev. 21:8). Though the flesh of Adam did not die immediately after eating the fruit the element of death had been brought in.

Enlightenment in the Word:

  1) It was not the tree but man’s rebellion against God that makes man die .

  2) The independence of believers toward God is death.

  3) If believers do not live by the word of God their spiritual condition will fall into death.

 

Gen. 2:18And the Lord God said “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

YLT: “And Jehovah God saith `Not good for the man to be alone I do make to him an helper -- as his counterpart.'”

Meaning of Words: “helper”: aid;

Literal Meaning: God will make a helper comparable to Adam so that he can have fellowship with her face to face and become partners that cooperate with and help one another together.

  Unless man has the gift of virgins (Matt. 19:11-12; 1Cor. 7:7) or has some particular physical defects he shall marry when he has grown up according to the will of God.

Spiritual Meaning: Adam typifies Christ.

  It is not good that man should be alone” according to the sight of God Christ is not enough and there should be still Eve namely the church so that God will be satisfied.

Enlightenment in the Word:

  1) The husband and the wife together are fellow-heirs of grace of life (1Pet. 3:7) so they have to help one another.

  2) Be not diversely yoked with unbelievers (2Cor. 6:14).

 

Gen. 2:19Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature that was its name.

YLT: “And Jehovah God formeth from the ground every beast of the field and every fowl of the heavens and bringeth in unto the man to see what he doth call it; and whatever the man calleth a living creature that its name.”

Literal Meaning: at that time the wild beasts were docile so man and beasts dwelt together in peace. And since man was able to call the names of all living creatures man was gifted by the ability of speaking and the wisdom of discernment once he was made. Therefore man was made to work with God together to have dominion over all things.

  The right of naming something shows the ownership of it (see the “Literal Meaning” of chapter one verse five).

 

Gen. 2:20So Adam gave names to all cattle to the birds of the air and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

YLT: “And the man calleth names to all the cattle and to fowl of the heavens and to every beast of the field; and to man hath not been found an helper -- as his counterpart.”

Literal Meaning: “give names”: know their nature;

  We can see the Adam was rather wise from this verse.

Spiritual Meaning: Christ is the only and first man in the universe. He does not like to be alone. He needs a helper comparable to Him. However He finds no one comparable to Him in all things.

Enlightenment in the Word:

  1) If one has not been regenerated to obtain the divine life he is unworthy of Christ.

  2) Every believer shall take heed to choose his or her spouse lest he or she should suffer loss all his life.

 

Gen. 2:21And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam and he slept; and He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place.

YLT: “And Jehovah God causeth a deep sleep to fall upon the man and he sleepeth and He taketh one of his ribs and closeth up flesh in its stead.”

Meaning of Words: “rib”: a part of the side of body; “close up”: shut up;

Spiritual Meaning: “deep sleep” typifies the death of the Lord on the cross. That Adam wakened from sleep typified the Lord’s resurrection from the dead.

 

Gen. 2:22Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman and He brought her to the man.

YLT: “And Jehovah God buildeth up the rib which He hath taken out of the man into a woman and bringeth her in unto the man;”

Meaning of Words: “women”: out of man;

Spiritual Meaning: God made Eve by the rib taken out of Adam which typified that the Lord Jesus gave Himself on the cross and his side was pierced and forthwith came out blood and water (John 19:34). The blood was for remission and water gave life. God built the church by the risen life of Christ.

  He brought her to the man” God made the church unto Christ (Eph. 5:26-27).

Enlightenment in the Word:

  1) Woman was made by the “rib” of man which shows that: a) man and woman are equal in person (the rib is not the feet); b) woman shall be protected by man (the rib is under the arm); c) woman shall be beloved by man (the rib is near the heart).

  2) The church is out of Christ. And that is of Christ is the church. All that is not out of Christ is not the church.

3) Without Christ the church has no position no inner life no daily life nor being.

4) The church will be built only when we are thoroughly dealt with by God. Everything that is out of oneself is natural and fleshly and shall be purified by the cross.

 

Gen. 2:23And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman Because she was taken out of Man.

  YLT: “and the man saith `This the step! bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!' for this it is called Woman for from a man hath this been taken;”

Spiritual Meaning: Eve ---- the bone of Adam’s bones and the flesh of Adam’s flesh ---- who typifies the spouse of Christ (2Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-32).

  Bone typifies the risen life (the bone of the Lord was not broken on the cross). “My bone of bones” it shows that the church was made by the risen life of Christ.

  “Flesh of my flesh” it shows that the church is the fullness of Christ. 

Enlightenment in the Word:

  1) The church and Christ are of the same life and same nature.

  2) The church shall manifest Christ before the world and bear witness concerning the glory of Christ.

3) No matter what good motivation or how rightly we have done we will not profit the building of the church by ourselves.

 

Gen. 2:24Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh.

YLT: “therefore doth a man leave his father and his mother and hath cleaved unto his wife and they have become one flesh.”

Meaning of Words: “leave”: loosen forsake; “be jointed to”: cling to adhere to;

Literal Meaning: “a man shall leave his father and mother and be jointed to his wife” it means that the relationship between the husband and the wife shall surpass their relationship with their parents.

“They shall become one flesh” it shows that God appointed monogamy instead of polygamy in the beginning. “Become one flesh” what God has jointed together let not man separate (Matt. 19:6). 

Spiritual Meaning: “father and mother” symbolize the old natural life.

Enlightenment in the Word: man will be jointed to the Lord through putting his old life to death by the cross.

 

Gen. 2:25And they were both naked the man and his wife and were not ashamed.

YLT: “And they are both of them naked the man and his wife and they are not ashamed of themselves.”

Literal Meaning: in other words it is shameful for those who are naked outside the relationship of marriage. 

Spiritual Meaning: this verse indicates that since the church is sanctified and purified by the water in the word of Christ having no spot or wrinkle or any of such things (Eph. 5:26-27) she does not know what is sin.

Enlightenment in the Word:

  1) The husband and the wife shall be frank with one another and hide nothing.

  2) The normal marriage life is an important testimony of glorifying God. Satan knows it so it often assails the marriage life of the children of God.

 

III. Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons

 

God’s Counsel on Man

  A. Man is the center of God’s creature (v.8).

  B. God hopes that man uses his freewill to choose the fruit of the tree of life (v.9 15).

  C. God hopes man to drink the water of the river of life so that his life will be grown up and bear fruit (v.10-14).

D.  God hopes that man will be His fellow worker (v.15).

 

God’s Appointments toward Male and Female and the Husband and the Wife

  A. Male and female were both created according to the image of God (1:27) so both of them are equal in position.

  B. It is not good for man or woman to be alone unless he or she has the particular gift (v.18; Matt. 19:11).

  C. It is the order set by God (1Cor. 11:8-9; Eph. 5:22-25; 1Pet. 3:1 7) that man is before woman (v.22).

  D. Marriage is set by God and is holy (v.24; Gen. 13:4).

  E. The husband and the wife shall help one another (v.18 24).

  F. The husband and the wife shall become one in spirit and soul and body (v.24) to be fellow-heirs of grace of life (1Pet. 3:7).

  G. What God has jointed together let not man separate (v.24; Matt. 19:6).

  H. The husband and the wife shall hide nothing but respect and believe one another (v.25).

 

Adam and Eve are the types of Christ and the Church

  A. God would make a helper comparable to Him (v.18): the church is the helper to Christ;

  B. Adam had not found his helper in all living creatures (v.18-20): Christ came to the earth to seek those who are lost;

  C. God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam (v.21): Christ was crucified on the cross for us;

  D. God made Eve by the rib of Adam (v.21-22): the church is constituted of the risen life of Christ;

  E. God led Adam to Eve (v.22): one day the church will be prepared to meet Christ;

  F. Adam and Eve would become one flesh (v.24): Christ and the church will be one forever;

 

── Caleb HuangChristian Digest Bible Commentary Series

Translated by Mary Zhou