Genesis 2: why are we here?
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| Photo credit: shameersrk | Pixabay |
Genesis 2 expands on what we already learn in Genesis 1 about the creation, purpose and context of human beings. Some regard it as a more detailed look at the events of the 6th day, others regard it as a sequel to the previous chapter, or even that the description of the creation of Eve was vision given to Adam, where she is not formed from his rib, but where he is 'cut in half' and God made two people, a revelation as to his purpose and origins (note 1). Regardless of which of these three options we take, the truths we learn about ourselves are the same.
So what are we? We firstly find out that we physical beings infused with the breath of God. We are not, as some may believe, souls trapped in bodies. We learn here that the Lord God formed a 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). Later Bible writers reflect on this intricate, intimate and beautiful forming of the human body, including the often quoted Psalm: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-14). The Genesis illustration brings to mind the image of a potter creating something from clay (an analogy also used explicitly in the Bible), whereas Psalm 139 compares God to someone painstakingly and carefully knitting a garment. In both we reminded not only of exquisite craftsmanship, but also of loving care and intimacy. It is not an image of impersonal mass-production, however good the quality.
But what of the second part of the verse, where God breathes life into the man? He becomes a living being - the Hebrew word for that is nephesh, and if any Hebrew word could be translated as 'soul', this is it (note 2). But this is not the disembodied soul of dualism, but a living, breathing, flesh and blood human being. Our whole bodies are animated by the spirit of God - giving us not only movement, but purpose.
Because that's the next part...
In verse 5 we learn that no 'shrub' or 'plant' had appeared because no one had worked the land. This does not mean the earth was barren - that would contradict the account in Genesis 1. It means that no cultivated plants had been grown. We learn that The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it (Genesis 2:15). But this 'taking care', cultivating (see Genesis 1) was not confined to the physical working of the soil, but also to defining the world around him to some degree. We read: Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name (Genesis 2:19). The purpose of humankind and the way in which we serve God is not some ethereal out-of-body experience, but in the real work of carrying on God's work of cultivation - bringing order to chaos.
And there is a critical part to this - we cannot do it alone. God made man and woman, equal and yet complimentary, to do the work together. We read: for Adam no suitable helper was found. 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. (Genesis 2:20-22). Both reflect the work of God, and together carry on his creation and cultivation of the earth.
However...
Whilst human beings had some scope to define the world around them, good and evil was not theirs to define. God said: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16-17). Knowledge, here, relates to choosing, defining: it was not up to human beings to decide right from wrong - that was God's job. He was their creator and father, he was the one who declared the world good (see Genesis 1).
The final thing we learn is that there was no shame: Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame (Genesis 2:25). There was no wrong, nothing that needed to be hidden. The work of cultivation was still in progress - the world was not a finished article - but it was good.
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