Today, we’re continuing our series on the second creation story in Genesis. Last week, we learned the Bible tells two stories about creation. Genesis 1 gives us the cosmic view—God’s powerful voice speaking everything into existence. The second story, found in Genesis 2, focuses on the Garden of Eden and God’s close, personal involvement in creation. Here, God doesn’t just speak. He gets His hands dirty. He forms humanity from the dust of the ground. He breathes life into Adam’s lungs. He plants a garden and walks with Adam and Eve. This is a God who is not just powerful but personal.
Today,
we’re going to explore what this intimacy means for us. We’ll see how God’s
personal touch in the creation of Adam and Eve shows us that we are made for
close, loving relationships—with Him and with each other.
Genesis 2:4-9, 18-22
4 This is the account of the creation
of the heavens and the earth. When
the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 neither
wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the Lord God
had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate
the soil. 6 Instead, springs came up from the ground and
watered all the land. 7 Then the Lord God formed
the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the
man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.
8 Then the Lord God planted
a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. 9 The Lord God made all
sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that
produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of
life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
18 Then the Lord God said,
“It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right
for him.” 19 So the Lord God formed from
the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them
to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for
each one. 20 He gave names to all the livestock,
all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no
helper just right for him.
21 So the Lord God caused
the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God
took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the
opening. 22 Then the Lord God made a
woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
Let’s start by looking at how God created Adam. Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.”
This image
is so powerfully intimate. In Genesis 1,
God simply speaks, and the universe comes into being. But here, in Genesis 2, we see God forming
Adam with His hands, shaping him from the dust like a potter molds clay. This
is personal. God didn’t just speak us into existence—He formed us with
intention and care.
I want you
to think of the Almighty God, with His perfect divine hands squeezing and
pinching and shaping a lump of muddy clay, until it forms the perfect shape of
a human being.
We are not
just one of many things God created. We are crafted by His hands, shaped with
purpose. God is deeply invested in who we are. His fingerprints are all over us. Is oil of His hands has soaked into us. His DNA is mixed with our own. And He knows every part of us
because He formed us Himself.
This
hands-on act of creation shows God’s desire to be close to us. He’s not afraid
to get His hands dirty. He wants to be
involved in our messy, muddy lives—shaping us, guiding us, walking with us
every step of the way.
Next, after forming Adam, what does God do? He breathes life into him. Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.”
See that,
in your mind. The Divine Creator
stooping down over Adam’s lifeless body, breathing His breathe into
mankind. This breath of life is more
than just air filling Adam’s lungs. It represents the spirit, the soul, the
divine spark that makes us human. God didn’t just give Adam a body—He gave him
life, both physically and spiritually.
And this
life carries with it a kind of sovereignty.
God wants humanity to love Him.
But love must be freely given. It
cannot be forced. It cannot be
coerced. Therefore, God gave us free
will—the freedom to choose if we will love God. There is every reason for us to love
God, and no reason not to love God.
But the choice is always left up to us.
God filing
Adam with His divine breath, is a powerful reminder that we are not just
physical beings. We are made in the
image of God, filled with His spirit, and eternity is in our hearts. Our lives
are not just about surviving day to day. We are made for something deeper. We
are made to connect with God, to experience His presence, His love, His
guidance.
When God
breathed life into Adam, He was giving humanity the gift of relationship with
Him. It wasn’t just about existence—it was about communion with God. We are
spiritual beings, designed to live in close relationship with our Creator.
After forming Adam and breathing life into him, God creates a beautiful garden for Adam to live in. Genesis 2:8-9 says, “8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. 9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
The Garden
of Eden wasn’t just a place to live. It was a place where God provided
everything Adam needed. There was food, beauty, and peace. Here was work to do,
but work wasn’t a burden; it was a joy! But
more importantly, the Garden was a place where Adam could walk with God. The
garden represents the ideal relationship between God and humanity and creation—one
where God provides for us and we live in His presence as we tend the beautiful
Garden.
God wants
to provide for us, not just physically but spiritually. He wants us to live in
relationship with Him, trusting Him for our needs and walking with Him daily.
Eden was more than just a garden—it was a picture of what life with God can
look like. It was a place of perfect provision, protection, and presence. It is a place where we have purpose and know
the joy and peace of working out our purpose with the help of God.
Finally, God recognizes that Adam needs more than just a beautiful garden. He needs companionship. Genesis 2:18 says, “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.””
So, God
creates Eve, not from the dust like Adam, but from Adam’s rib. See God in your mind, God laying Adam down
into a deep sleep and then reaching tenderly into Adam’s body to remove part of
him—a rib. He shapes that rib into a
companion perfectly designed for Adam, to be his equal partner in life for
eternity.
The
creation of Eve shows that God values human connection. He didn’t just create
us to worship Him—He created us to love and care for each other. Relationships
are part of God’s design. Whether it’s marriage, friendship, or community, we
are meant to live in connection with others.
As we reflect on the second creation story in Genesis, we see a God who is deeply involved in His creation. He forms us with His hands, breathes life into us, provides for us, and creates us for relationships. This is a God who is not distant but near, not detached but personal.
We need to
embrace the intimacy of God’s relationship with us. He knows us, He loves us,
and He wants to walk with us daily. It also means we need to value the
relationships God has given us—our families, our friends, our communities. Just
as God created Eve for Adam, He created us to be in relationship with each
other.
Our
Brokenness
Yet we also see the great divide between the beautiful vision God gives us in the Garden of Eden and the brokenness we experience in our daily lives
We do not live in harmony with each other. We sin. We are selfish. We betray and are betrayed. We hurt each other. There is war.
We do not live in harmony with creation. Work is a chore. There is famine. We thirst; We worry and our world sometimes seems out to get us. (As I right this, thousands are recovering from the effects of Hurricane Helena.)
We do not live in harmony with God. We are guilty. We feel ashamed. Or worse, we don’t care about our disharmony with God.
Jesus
came to take us back to Eden. Romans 6:23 – “The wages of sin is
death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.” When we sinned, Jesus came and
died for us so that whoever believes in Him and repents of their sin and turns
to Him and follows Him will be forgiven and inherit the eternal life. Jesus came to take us back to the Garden of
Eden.
And He
came for all of us. He came for you and He came for me.
It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or how far you’ve strayed, Jesus can bring
you back.
You can come back today. Jesus says,
“Come to me all you who are weary and heaven laden. I will give you rest.” Won’t you decide to come back with Him today?
No matter
what mess you've made in your life, isn't it comforting to know that God isn't
afraid to get down in the dirt and remake you? Just as He formed Adam from the
dust, God can reach into your broken, sinful life and restore you. He can
reshape you from the ground up if needed, giving you a new heart, a new life,
and the promise of an eternity where you'll live forever in the beautiful
Garden of Eden once again. Won’t you
turn to Him today and ask for help?
Prayer
Lord, we thank You
for Your intimate love and care in creating us. Thank You for breathing life
into us and walking with us through life. Help us to deepen our relationship
with You and with others, recognizing the beauty of the connections You’ve
created for us. When we stray, bring us back.
Forgive us through Jesus grace.
There are some who need to come back today. Bring us back. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
