The second creation. Now why, a second account of the creation? Is the first only in the spiritual realm? Is the second how it manifests in the physical realm? Spirit comes before physical. So did the earth exist physically or was it all in the spirit realm before this? I mean, hubby and I are one. In spirit. How do we work that oneness out in the physical?
Hebrews 11:3
3Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Also, I've got to say that the Bible isn't broken up into chapters in the original. So it's not as if Moses wrote chapter one then went off for a couple of days and came back and wrote chapter two. He's writing it all at a stretch (the westerners divided it into chapters) and he is aware of what seems like a discrepancy to us. But it's a discrepancy to us only if we see God's creation as immediately coming into the physical realm. In the Bible, God is always saying, "I have done this" when it hasn't even been done yet. (Abraham, I have made you a father of many nations."
Genesis 2:
And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made.
4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.
CM: So, God's work of calling everything into being is finished.
5 And no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Jehovah God had not caused it to rain upon the earth: and there was not a man to till the ground;
CM: So, although chapter one says the earth was filled with plants and everything was created by God's word And although Moses has stated that God rested from His work, still...there is no evidence of this work to the physical senses.
6 but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
CM: Okay, so here we are in this earth that is not really the earth we have now. The earth God created had water above an atmosphere of air called sky, then an earth which had water on one side and land coming out of the water. All this before God divided the earth in chapter six and caused the continental drift. And such was the atmosphere that mist came up and watered the ground. The solar system has many planets. Some of gas, some of liquid, some with atmospheres.
7 And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
CM: Once again, the physical account of the creation. Man was made spiritually in the first section. And now we see the forming of man. So then, faith without works is dead. God spoke this and the angels sang when they saw his creation. But this creation of Man and the world seems to be in the spiritual realm. It hasn't been wedded to the physical yet. Everything that is Man has already been created in the spiritual realm but it's waiting for God to make man from the dust of the earth and to breathe into man's nostrils? The forming is necessary, the breathing is necessary. Not just the word alone. But STILL the word finished making man even before man was formed. In the beginning was the word.
8 And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
CM: So there is the earth, then there is region called Eden, then there is a garden in the east of Eden.
10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became four heads.
11 The name of the first is Pishon: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
12 and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush.
14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth in front of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 And Jehovah God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
CM: Okay, whence this digression about rivers? And why the change of tense? Moses has been talking about the past...and suddenly he says, "this river IS" and "there IS much gold there." Uhm. Is he just trying to get the location fixed in our head?
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
CM: Interesting that God doesn't tell them what to do, but what not to do. He doesn't say "Eat the Tree of Life." He only says "Don't eat the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
18 And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.
CM: First try. So it wasn't obvious to God that Adam needed a woman? I mean...we think immediately "oh yeah, God's gonna make a woman?" Or maybe God wanted Adam to see what he needed. In chapter one, God had told all the animals to be fruitful and to multiply. So one would think he wanted humans to multiply on the earth. But did he make Adam to be alone without thinking Adam would need to multiply humans?
19 And out of the ground Jehovah God formed every beast of the field, and every bird of the heavens; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them: and whatsoever the man called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
20 And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every beast of the field; but for man there was not found a help meet for him.
CM: Second try for the helpmeet. And again a second creation of the beasts. Here the plants depend on man being made. And the ground is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of men to till it. Everything here is dependent on man. But it's not the second creation. It's the bringing forth of them, after the word spoke them into being. Again, the beasts are being formed in the physical realm although they were already spoken into being and created by the word in the first chapter. So when a thing is finished in the spiritual realm, what must be done in the physical realm to bring it into physical manifestation?
I also wonder what the naming implies. Does it mean only a name? Or does it mean attributes as well?
21 And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof:
22 and the rib, which Jehovah God had taken from the man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And the man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
CM: Ah, Adam! Created as both sexes? Created sexless? So when God made Adam and Eve he said "Let us make man in our own image and likeness. Male and female created he them" which means Eve was created as part of the "them" of Adam when God spoke. So Eve was already "in" Adam. Uhm.....
Also, about the naming. This man is no dummy. He is aware that he and his wife are to be the mother and father of all living humans.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
CM: They do not know evil or comprehend conscience in any way. Shame doesn't come when we are covered in God's love. Shame comes not because we have done evil but because we KNOW we have done evil. Adam and Eve could've been sinning right and left...but there was no consciousness of what evil is.
God doesn't change his mind. So it's not as if occurrences in physical time or space affects his works. He sees the future from the beginning. There is order on earth -- things are done in sequence. But in heaven -- the land of eternity-- no such thing.
St Peter says, "By Jesus wounds we were healed." So, whether we see it in the physical realm or not, in the spiritual realm we are healed. And we are called to wrestle to say "Thy Kingdom Come" and to believe.
St Paul says, "We are seated in the heavenlies with God."
Jesus said, "I am the lamb slain from the foundation of the earth."
Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am."
Jesus said, "If I tell you about earthly things and you don't understand, how will you believe when I tell you about heavenly things?"
1 comment:
Wow, pretty deep stuff here, Carole. Are you going to do this through the whole Old Testament? Quite fascinating though. Particularly Eve being in Adam. But the spiritual and the physical is probably the best part. You should do a series on it. Thanks for sharing!
Post a Comment