God Makes Adam and Eve

God talked it over. For light and land and animals, God simply said, “Let there be.” For people, He said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (1:26). Many Christians see the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in that word Us. What is an image? An image is a likeness, like your face in a mirror. People are not God, but we are made to be like Him. We can think, choose, love, make things and, best of all, know God Himself. Both of them. “Male and female He created them” (1:27). The man and the woman were both made in God's image. Neither one is worth more than the other. Blessed with a job. God said, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (1:28). God put people in charge of His world. That means caring for it the way a good king cares for his land and his people. Food from God. God gave seeds and fruit for food (1:29). He took care of people before they ever asked. Very good. After people were made, God saw everything “and indeed it was very good” (1:31). Then He rested on the seventh day. He was not tired. His work was finished (2:2). What this means for you. Every person you meet carries God's image, even the kid nobody wants to play with. Treat each one with kindness. And remember that God made you so you could know Him.

“Let Us” (1:26). For people, God speaks as if taking counsel with Himself. The word for God, Elohim (say: el-oh-HEEM), is plural in form but used with singular verbs. Many Christians see a first glimpse of the Trinity, one God in three Persons. The New Testament shows the Son at work in creation: “All things were made through Him” (John 1:3). Image and likeness. The Hebrew tselem (say: TSEH-lem) means image, and demut (say: deh-MOOT) means likeness. In the ancient world a king set up statues of himself to show who ruled a land. God placed living images of Himself in His world. People are meant to show what God is like and to rule for Him. Ruling well (1:26, 28). Dominion does not mean using the world selfishly. “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness” (Psalm 24:1). We are managers caring for what belongs to Someone else. Equal worth (1:27). Male and female both bear God's image. James warns against cursing people “who have been made in the similitude of God” (James 3:9). Similitude means likeness. This is why all human life is sacred, from the womb (Psalm 139:13) to old age. The first words (1:28-30). God's first words to people were a blessing, and then a gift of food for them and for every animal. He provided before they asked. Very good and rest (1:31–2:3). Only after people were made did God call His work “very good.” Then He “blessed the seventh day and sanctified it” (2:3). Sanctified means set apart as holy. Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27). Rest is God's gift. The perfect image. Jesus “is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). If you want to see what being truly human looks like, look at Jesus.

God made people different from everything else. He said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness.” That means people are like God in special ways. We can think and choose. We can love and make things. Best of all, we can know God and talk to Him. Animals cannot do that. God made both the man and the woman in His image. So every person matters to God. Babies matter. Grandmas matter. Kids who look different from you matter too. God gave people a big job. They were to take good care of His world.

God made people in His image. We are a little like God. We can know and love Him. Every person matters to God.

The Lord God. Genesis 2:4 calls Him “the Lord God.” When your Bible prints LORD in capital letters, it stands for God's own name, the name He later told Moses at the burning bush. The Creator of the whole universe is a God you can know by name. Waiting for a gardener. No plants had sprung up yet, “and there was no man to till the ground” (2:5). Till means to work the soil. God's world was waiting for someone to care for it. Formed by hand. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground” (2:7). Formed is the word for a potter shaping clay. God made Adam up close and with great care. Breathed into him. God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (2:7). Adam's life came straight from God. Dust and breath together. Dust reminds us to be humble. We are small, and we need God for everything. Breath reminds us that we are precious. God shared His own life with us. Pointing to Jesus. The Bible calls Jesus “the last Adam,” who “became a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45). The first Adam received life. Jesus gives it. What this means for you. Every heartbeat and every breath is God's gift. Thank Him for your life today, and ask Him for the new life that only Jesus gives.

The Lord God (2:4). Creation is first told with the name Elohim, the mighty Creator. In 2:4 He is “the Lord God,” YHWH Elohim. YHWH (say: yah-WEH) is His personal name, the name He gave Moses (Exodus 3:15). The God who made the galaxies made Adam by hand and wants to be known by name. An empty field (2:5-6). No plant of the field had grown, for there was no rain and “no man to till the ground.” A mist watered the earth. The world was ready, but it was waiting for its caretaker. Formed (2:7). The verb yatsar (say: yah-TSAR) is a potter's word. Jeremiah watched a potter shaping clay and heard God say that Israel was like clay in His hand (Jeremiah 18:1-6). Adam was not an accident. He was shaped on purpose. Adam and the ground. The ground is adamah (say: ah-dah-MAH), and the man is adam (say: ah-DAHM). His very name ties him to the earth he came from and was made to work. After sin, God would say, “For dust you are, And to dust you shall return” (3:19). Breath (2:7). The breath of life is neshamah (say: neh-shah-MAH). God breathed it into Adam's nostrils, and he became nephesh chayyah (say: NEH-fesh khai-YAH), a living being. Animals are living beings too (1:24), but only the man received life by God's own breath. The last Adam. Paul quotes 2:7: “The first man Adam became a living being.” Then he adds, “The last Adam became a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45). After He rose, Jesus breathed on His disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). The One who breathed life into Adam breathes new life into everyone who trusts Him. Why it matters. You are dust, so you can never save yourself. You carry God's breath, so you are never worthless.

God made the first man in a very special way. He did not just speak this time. He took dust from the ground. Then He formed the man with care, like a potter shapes clay. Next, God breathed into the man's nose. The man came alive and became a living person! Adam's name sounds like the Hebrew word for ground. That reminds us that we are small. God is big, and we need Him. But God's own breath brought us to life. That shows how much He loves people. Every breath you take is a gift from God. You can thank Him for it right now.

God made Adam from dust. Then God breathed into him. Adam came alive! Your breath is a gift from God too.

God the gardener. “The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed” (2:8). God got the home ready before He moved Adam in. Beautiful and good. God made trees “pleasant to the sight and good for food” (2:9). He cares about beauty as well as needs. Two special trees. In the middle stood “the tree of life” and “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (2:9). One tree gave life. The other was a test of trust. A river of gifts. A river watered the garden and parted into four (2:10). One land nearby had good gold (2:12). God's world was rich with gifts. Work before sin. God put the man in the garden “to tend and keep it” (2:15). Work is not a punishment. It was part of the very good world. Freedom first. “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat” (2:16). God's first command to Adam began with a big yes. One no. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” (2:17). God warned that eating from it would bring death. What this means for you. God's rules come from a loving Father who has already given you so much. Trusting Him means obeying Him, even when you do not understand every reason.

Eden (2:8). The name Eden (say: EH-den) sounds like the Hebrew word for delight. God planted the garden “eastward” and placed Adam in a home made ready for him. Before Adam did any work, he received a gift. Beauty and food (2:9). The trees were “pleasant to the sight and good for food.” God gave both beauty and provision. Enjoying His world is part of His design. Two trees (2:9). The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil stood in the middle of the garden. Life itself was God's gift. Trusting His word was the one test. Rivers and riches (2:10-14). Eden's river parted into four heads, among them the Hiddekel, which is the Tigris, and the Euphrates. Those two rivers are still known today. Gold, bdellium (say: DEL-ee-um, a sweet-smelling tree gum) and onyx were found nearby. Work in a perfect world (2:15). God put Adam in the garden “to tend and keep it.” Adam worked before sin ever entered the world. Work is part of being made in the image of a God who works (2:2). “Freely eat” (2:16). The command opens with generous freedom. Every tree but one was Adam's to enjoy. “You shall surely die” (2:17). Sin would cut people off from God, the source of life, and death would follow. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Real love, real choice. God did not make robots. He gave Adam a real choice, so that his love and trust could be real. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Living by His word. Jesus lived by “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Obeying starts with believing that God is good.

God did not leave Adam in an empty field. He planted a garden and put Adam there. The garden was in a place called Eden. It was full of trees that were pretty and good to eat. A river flowed through it. God gave Adam a good job too. Adam was to take care of the garden. Work was a gift, even before sin came. Then God gave Adam one rule. Adam could eat from any tree but one. God said that if Adam ate from it, he would die. God gave Adam so much. He asked Adam to trust Him and obey.

God planted a garden for Adam. Adam worked and took care of it. God gave him one rule. God gives good rules.

Not good. Over and over during creation, God saw that what He made was good. Then He said, “It is not good that man should be alone” (2:18). We were made for people, not just for things. A helper. God said, “I will make him a helper comparable to him” (2:18). Helper does not mean someone less important. The Bible uses the same word for God: “My help comes from the Lord” (Psalm 121:2). Comparable means just right for him, the same kind as him. Naming the animals. God brought the animals “to Adam to see what he would call them” (2:19). Adam used the mind God gave him. But no animal could be his partner (2:20). Made from his side. God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam and took one of his ribs (2:21). Then God “brought her to the man” (2:22), like a loving father walking a bride to her groom. Adam's song. Adam cried out, “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh” (2:23). He was full of joy. God's plan for marriage. “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (2:24). Jesus taught this very verse (Matthew 19:4-6). No shame. “They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (2:25). There was no sin yet, so they had nothing to hide. What this means for you. God made you to love and help others. Be a good helper at home, and thank God for the people He has put in your life.

The first “not good” (2:18). In a world with no sin, one thing was not good: the man was alone. People are made in the image of a God who has always lived in love as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We were made for each other. A helper comparable (2:18). The Hebrew ezer kenegdo (say: EH-zer keh-neg-DOH) means a help that corresponds to him, a partner who matches. Ezer is used of God Himself: “My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2). A helper is not a lesser person but a strong partner. Naming (2:19-20). Naming the animals was Adam's first act of ruling. It took careful study. It also showed him that none of the creatures was like him. Built from his side (2:21-22). The word for rib, tsela (say: TSEH-lah), often means side. God built the woman from the man's side. She was made of the same stuff as Adam: equal in nature and worth, different in design. Man and woman (2:23). Adam's poem uses two words that sound alike: ish (say: EESH), man, and ishshah (say: ee-SHAH), woman. “She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” Leave and be joined (2:24). Joined translates dabaq (say: dah-VAK), to cling or hold fast. Marriage makes a new family: one man and one woman, joined by God for life. Jesus said, “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6). A great mystery. Paul quotes 2:24 and adds, “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32). Marriage is a living picture of Jesus' love for His people. Not ashamed (2:25). They were open with God and with each other. Sin would soon bring hiding and shame (3:7-10). Jesus came to take our shame away.

Everything God made was good. But God said one thing was not good. Adam was alone. God said, “I will make a helper who is right for him.” First, God brought the animals to Adam. Adam named every one of them. But none of them was right for him. So God made Adam sleep very deeply. God took a rib and made a woman. Then God brought her to Adam. Adam was so glad! She was like him and just right for him. God made marriage. A husband and wife belong together for life.

God made Eve to be Adam's wife. Adam was so happy! God made them to love each other. God planned families.

God Makes Adam and Eve

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