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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. 2:1 “Thus 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. 2:2 “And 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. 2:3 “Then 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. 2:4 “This 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. 2:5 “before 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. 2:6 “but 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. 2:7 “And 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
YLT:
“And Jehovah God planteth a
garden in
Meaning
of Words: “
Literal
Meaning: “eastward” the word
in the Bible contains a meaning of glory (Ezek. 43:2).
God sets
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
Gen. 2:9 “And 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. 2:10 “Now a river went out of
YLT:
“And a river is going out
from
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. 2:11 “The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the
whole
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
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. 2:12 “And 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. 2:13 “The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes
around the whole
YLT: “and the name of the second river Gibon
it
that which is surrounding the whole
Meaning
of Words: “Gihon”: stream; “
Literal
Meaning: the “
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. 2:14 “The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes
toward the east of
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; “
Literal
Meaning: “Hiddekel”
it is the present
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. 2:15 “Then 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. 2:16 “And 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. 2:17 “but 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. 2:18 “And 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. 2:19 “Out 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. 2:20 “So 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. 2:21 “And 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. 2:22 “Then 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. 2:23 “And 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
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. 2:24 “Therefore 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. 2:25 “And 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 Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Mary Zhou