Of Heaven and of Earth

 Read Genesis 2

We begin the second chapter by finishing the week begun in chapter 1.  

On the seventh day, God rested, blessed the day, and made it holy.  He modeled the Sabbath which would be further defined once God chose a people through whom to reveal himself to the world and explained more fully once the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

God rested.  It is a model for us.

For those who have been reading faithfully, you might have a little dissonance after reading these first two chapters. To resolve this wrestling match that might be taking place in your mind, I give you one word:  Babylon. OK, it should be two words:  Babylonian Captivity.

Chapters 1 and 2 are essentially two accounts of creation. Basically, they are separated into the account remembered by those in the Northern Kingdom and the account remembered by those in Judah.  We see differences in how God was addressed in the Torah.

In one source, God is addressed as Elohim.  In the others, God is presented as Yahweh or Jehovah. When these accounts were finally put into a single writing, the authors—the scribes—had a choice to make.  They could reconcile both creation accounts into a single account or present both accounts with fidelity to the way they had been told for centuries.  They chose the latter and we have been given both accounts.

Ezra the Scribe, probably directed this effort to put these essential words into writing. In any case, one account gives us seven days and the other picks up somewhere on the third day.

If we look at the chapter breaks by account, the first three verses of chapter two really belong in chapter one.  The biblical scribes did not always use this approach as we shall see later on.

Let’s look at what’s happening in this second account. We pick up on day three when God brings forth plant life and water from the ground to sustain it.  There is no rain. 

In the book of Second Opinions, we find that the Aramaic word for this time with no rain is Oklahoma.  This is 2022, so I am required to advise you that was tongue-in-cheek.

Then we jump ahead to the creation of man.  In the first chapter, we get a summary.  God created man—male and female in his own image. In this second chapter, we get a bit more narrative.

·       God formed a man from the dust of the ground.

·       God breathed life into the man.

·       The man became a living being

That’s a cool story right there, but it is so much more. God created everything, but we are special.  We are:

·       Of the earth

·       Filled with the breath of God

·       Both being and creature

We are very much of the earth.  We are very much of God.  If you want to see the intersection of heaven and earth, just look in the mirror.  We are made from the earth in the image of God and have our life breathed into us by God.

We don’t get that extra tidbit in the first account. Somewhere along the way, I should mention the full biblical witness.  It’s not just Old Testament and New Testament. It can be book to book, chapter to chapter, or verse to verse.

In some cases, the full biblical witness clarifies.  In other cases, it expands our understanding.  Sometimes, it gives us challenges and struggles, but we should take on these challenges and press on in the struggles.

If you are looking for a day-to-day sequence, I hope you got your fill in the first chapter as here we go back to the third day and talk about vegetation and food including the fruit of many trees. The second chapter is less sequential than the first.

Of those trees, two are mentioned.  One is the Tree of Life and the other is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  God puts the latter off limits to Adam.

The account moves on to the rivers and precious stones of the area and describes a very nice place to live, and then we see a little more interaction between God and the man, who we don’t see the man called Adam until after he gave everything else a name.

The name Adam essentially means the man or humankind with some relationship to the earth from which he was made. That plural version might be something to remember as we go forward.

Maybe, Adam just got tired of hearing, “Hey Dirtball” from his Creator.  Of course hearing God say: You da man had to be a boost to Adam’s ego.

God told the man that he placed in this garden that he was to take care of the garden and that he was free to eat from any tree except one—the one called Knowledge of Good and Evil. Those were simple, straightforward instructions.  What could go wrong?

The answer to that question doesn’t come until later, but first God had Adam name all the living creatures.  Even after naming all of the livestock, birds, and wild animals, God found none of them fit to be Adam’s helper.  You know what comes next.

So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh.  Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

The man said, “This is now bone of my bones

    and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called ‘woman,’

    for she was taken out of man.”

Now is the time where I would traditionally insert the what can I get for a rib joke, but I’ll leave that for your lunchtime discussions.

God made humankind male and female alike.  They were as God made them—naked.  They were not ashamed.  They were as God made them.

Next week we will get into the beginnings of the clothing industry, but for now, humankind was content to be just as God made them.

So where does that leave us other than ending the chapter with two naked people in the garden?

How about, we think on this.  We are of the earth and we are of God.  God created everything and every creature, but we are special.  Not only do we have dominion over the earth.  We are told to subdue it.  We are to manage it.  We are stewards of the earth and would one day like to hear our “Well done” from our Lord. 

But we are also of heaven.  God made us to be like him.  Initially, we were like him without having to carry the burden of the knowledge of good and evil.  I think the term for that condition is bliss, perhaps blissful ignorance.  What a wonderful situation to be in.  God created everything good, but he did give us some instructions—very simple instructions at first—but instructions nonetheless.

We know what comes next.  That does not excuse you from your daily reading.  Dig into it.  As you do, think on this.  We are of God and we are of the earth.  We live—and we know that we can live fully on this earth, and we will live with our Father in heaven in our true home.

Jesus has already prepared a place for us.

In the meantime, because we have this full biblical witness, we know that we can live in the Kingdom of God now.  The Kingdom of Heaven is all around us if we have eyes to see.

When we struggle with our decisions, remember, you are of the earth and you are of God.  Our earthly side can make some strong arguments, but we know that it is God who has good plans for us.

All life struggles.  Look at plant life growing towards sunshine and shooting out its roots in all directions.  Look at newborn animal life struggle to walk and avoid becoming the next thing on the predator buffet. There is struggle in life, but we have an additional struggle—to be like the God who created us—to know his goodness. Later, humankind would strive—struggle—to respond to God’s mercy and grace as the most important thing that we do.

You are made to wrestle with the ways of the world and the ways of God.  God will help you choose him and his ways but do not become discouraged when you wrestle with the ways of this world.

If you have made some bad choices in the past—and you think your cause is lost, know that God loved you then, loves you now, and will love you forever. He already chose you to be with him.  Choose him and his ways every moment, every day in spite of the struggle that comes from being of the earth and being of God.

The other day someone asked me what I was doing for the fall.  I thought they meant the fall of civilization, so I started telling them how much ammunition and toilet paper I had stored. They meant fall as a season.  Oh, well, to me the season doesn’t change much as far as what I do, other than when we get to winter, I don’t get to walk into the office much.

Next week we will look at what has been labeled the fall of humankind—subtitled Sin Entered the Word, but there was no fall or sin without God already having a plan of redemption for our shortcomings.

We are of God. We are of the world.  We are unique among all living things in God’s creation. 

We are made in his image and likeness and we know that we are called to bring glory to his name and we should enjoy him as we do—yes, enjoy God very much.

Amen.