Adam and Eve Day 2

Mankind is God's crowning jewel over all of His creation. We are the goal. God desires a more intimate relationship with us than He does with the plants or the animals. Not that God doesn't care for all of Creation, He simply cares most for us. Every detail of Genesis chapter 2 points to the unique relationship God desires to have with men and women.

"This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens-and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and not plant of the the field and yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." Genesis 2:4-7

You may have noticed that beginning in verse 4 through the rest of the the chapter God bears a new name, LORD God (depending on what translation you are using it might read Lord God instead of LORD God). I'm afraid I must (again) complain that most English translations do an injustice to the text by using the generic words God, Lord and LORD in place of the Hebrew name, so much can be gleaned from knowing God's many names. In the Creation Day 2 lesson we discussed Elohim, which is most often translated God in the Old Testament, and it's implications of power and creativity, as well as its peculiar plural tense, now we are introduced to the LORD God, Yahweh Elohim.

Yahweh (or Jehovah) is the personal name of God and is considered the most sacred. It is the name God declares to Moses on Mount Sinai in Exodus 3:14, it represented His special relationship with Israel. Jewish tradition holds the name is such high regard that it is never pronounced in fear of blaspheming. Yahweh means: Self existent, the One who will always be, I AM THAT I AM. It comes from the root word Hayah which means: to be, to exist, having being, to breathe. It is used exclusively for the God of the Bible, and refers to His covenant relationship with Israel. All of the other names for God in Scripture describe Him in terms of His works, only Yahweh describes who He is, the Self-existent One.

There is a bit of discussion among scholars about whether Adam and Eve knew God as Yahweh or if Moses referenced the sacred name here to emphasize the intimate nature of God's relationship with Adam and Eve. Personally I find the debate to miss the point, clearly the Holy Spirit inspired the use of Yahweh in the text demonstrating that God's covenant with humanity began with Adam and Eve.

What is even more revealing than the use of Yahweh in Genesis 2, is that it is combined with Elohim. Though both names are by far the most commonly used for God in the Old Testament, this compound name appears only in Genesis chapters 2 & 3 and once more in Exodus 9:30. The clear implication is that Elohim, the Creator God, is one and the same as Yahweh the Self-existent One, who enters into Covenant with His people. By using Yahweh Elohim, the Creator God is revealing a unique, personal relationship with Adam and Eve, as well as making a clear connection between them and His covenant. When Adam shows up in Luke's genealogy of Christ (Luke 3:38), God confirms that His covenant actually began with Adam and Eve. In Romans 5, Paul connects Adam and Jesus through the Covenant, Adam (essentially) created the sin problem, Jesus was God's promised solution. (We will talk a bit more about the covenant ties between Adam and Christ in future lessons.)

Our uniqueness, however is not limited to how God reveals Himself to us, but also in how He created us. He made us to be different from the animals, He made us to have a relationship with Him.

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:26 & 27

God created us to be like Him. The Hebrew word for image, is tzelem, it implies the nature or essence of something. This is different from the Hebrew word for body, to'ar, which is the physical form. The word for likeness is damut, and it implies similar to, but not identical in shape or pattern.**

Scholars have spent eons seeking out the specifics of what about us is patterned after God. Is it our intellect, our creativity, our emotions, our spirit, our triune nature (body, mind and spirit)? What I would like to focus on is that His image sets us apart from the rest of Creation. He did not mark the plants or the fish with His likeness, even the awesome lion or the majestic eagle. They bear their own image, we alone bear God's, and we alone were given His breath.

"The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7

When I read this verse I immediately picture a sculptor. After carving out the shape of the man with His bare hands, God bends low (I picture the sculpture laying down), takes a deep cleansing breath and exhales into the face of His creation. It feels so personal, so intimate. Can you imagine waking up to the face of God? Still feeling the warmth of His sweet breath on your skin? Maybe, like a good father, God reached out and helped Adam to his feet and held him as he took his first steps.

I know we've talked a lot today about the meaning of words and how the Holy Spirit's word choices have impact on the text, but just for a moment let's step out of academia and imagine Adam's first moments alive, with lungs filled with God's breath. It's only one verse but the imagery is beautiful and intimate, God took special care to create Adam and would soon take great joy is bringing to him his suitable helper, Eve.

God's breath brought life into Adam. Jesus came to restore life, to offer once again the full and abundant life God had breathed into Adam in the beginning.

I'd like to close with one last thought: our uniqueness comes from God. Genesis 2: 7 & 19 make it clear that both mankind and the animals were made from the dust of the earth. There is nothing special about our chemical make up, it is our identity in Christ, image bearers of the LORD, His breath in our lives that sets us apart.

"From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. 'For in Him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said , 'We are his offspring.'" Acts 17:26-28

* Smith, Stelman ; Cornwall, Judson: The Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names. North Brunswick, NJ : Bridge-Logos, 1998. pg. 84

**Rich, Tracey. Human Nature. 1996-2001. http://www.jewfaq.org/human.htm (accessed April 13, 2010)