Lesson 4
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Gen 2:1-3
Verse One. The word "thus" refers to Genesis 1:2-31. The verse simply means: the heavens and the earth and all their host were created just as has been recorded in Genesis 1:2-31. They were definitely finished in six days. Verse Two [Gen. 2:2]. The seventh day of the creative week is set apart by the Lord as a day of rest. The day is not here called the Sabbath; indeed, this word does not occur in the book of Genesis. From the beginning of the world until the resurrection of Christ, the seventh day was appointed by God to be the weekly Sabbath.
It is not correct to say that the Sabbath was instituted with the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai, for the Bible teaches us that it was observed before that time, e.g., Exodus 16:23. The creative week, including the seventh day, was to be the pattern for man to follow.
Since the resurrection of Christ, the first day of the week is the Christian Sabbath. We Christians do not beg-in to realize the value of this day for the propagation of our religion. If, aside from attendance at the regular worship services of the Church, Christian parents would use this day as a day of Bible reading- and study of the Catechism WITH their children, and if the whole family would gather about the piano for the singing of the old Church hymns, a revival of true religion would soon be under way. Sunday is not a day of rigid asceticism. Rather, it should be a day of joyful praise and prayer to Him Who loves us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.
There are old Babylonian traditions regarding the creation, the fall of man, etc., which are characterized by grotesque polytheism, wholly contrary to the pure Biblical narratives. It is utterly false and incorrect to say that the first few chapters of Genesis were taken directly or were borrowed from these Babylonian myths. This has been well demonstrated by competent scholars.
THE GENERATIONS OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH The phrase, "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth," is to be particularly noted. It divides the book of Genesis into eleven great sections. The word "generations" means offspring. Thus, this section which extends from Genesis 2:4-4:26 is an account of the "offspring" which the heavens and the earth produced. We do well here to listen to Dr. William Henry Green, who says, "These titles (i.e., these are the generations of) are designed to emphasize and render more prominent and palpable an important feature of the book (i.e., Genesis) the GENEALOGICAL character of its history.
This results from its main design, which is TO TRACE THE LINE OP DESCENT OF THE CHOSEN RACE FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE POINT WHERE IT WAS READY TO EXPAND TO A GREAT NATION, whose future organization was already foreshadowed, its tribes being represented in the twelve sons of Jacob, and its tribal divisions in their children." Thus, we see that Genesis two is not a summary of Genesis one, nor is it merely a parallel account of creation. In Genesis one the emphasis was upon God as the CREATOR of the heavens and the earth. In Genesis two we find a PARTICULARISTIC account; that is, the emphasis is not upon the creation of the universe in general, but upon the creation of man in particular. The attention is here focused upon man and the preparation of the earth for man. This chapter does not profess to be an account of creation. Rather, it is concerned with the earth which God had already created.
Verse Four [Gen. 2:4]. "In the day of," This is really equivalent to saying "after." We might render it: "after the Lord God had made the earth and the heavens."
"LORD."' This is the first occurrence of the word LORD in the Old Testament. The word LORD (translated Jehovah in the Revised Version) is the sacred, covenant name of God. What its exact meaning is we cannot definitely assert. It is quite probable that it has some relation to the word "to be," but this is by no means definite. In the Hebrew language this word consists of four letters, and is called the Tetragrammaton, which means "four letters."
It was such a sacred name that the old Jews never dared to pronounce it for fear of breaking the third commandment. Consequently we have lost its pronunciation. In the Hebrew, the four letters which compose this word are consonants, and they now have the vowels of another word, Adonai, which means "master."
Whenever the Jews saw the sacred name, instead of pronouncing it, they pronounced the word Adonai. It is from this mixture of the two words that the word Jehovah comes, but this is an incorrect pronunciation. We simply do not know how this word LORD was originally pronounced nor what its original significance was.
Verses Five and Six [Gen. 2:5-6]. Note the tender, loving care of God in preparing the earth for man. God did not put man upon a waste desert without water. But He gave to the earth a mist or vapor which watered the whole ground so that plants might grow. This was done before man was created, God knew what needs man would have, and one of these needs is water, one of the most precious of all God's gifts. These two verses well illustrate the fact that God was preparing the earth for man.
EXERCISES
1.What does the word "thus" in Genesis 2:1 mean?
2.Which day of the creative week did Gad set apart as a day of rest?
3.Why is the first day of the week the Christian Sabbath?
4.Is there any Scripture evidence to show that the seventh day was observed before the giving of the Ten Commandments?
5.What is the chief characteristic of the Babylonian traditions of the creation?
6.What phrase is used to divide the book of Genesis into sections?
7.Into how many sections does this phrase divide the book?
8.What does the word "generation" mean?
9.What is the purpose of the titles "these are the generations of"?
10.What is the main design of the book of Genesis? Let the student thoroughly master this answer.
11.Is Genesis two a summary of Genesis one, or is it a parallel account of creation?
12.Upon what is the emphasis placed in Genesis two?
13.What phrase in Genesis 2:4 shows that the heavens and the earth had already been created?
14.Write all that you can about the word LORD.
15.How does Genesis 2:5-6 show the loving care of God for man? What great gift does God here give?
OPTIONAL EXERCISES
1.Study carefully and commit to memory questions fifty-seven to sixty-two of the Shorter Catechism, or question one hundred and three of the Heidelberg Catechism.
2.Commit to memory Isaiah 58:13-14; Matthew 12:11-12.
HYMNS FOR STUDY
No. 15: "O! Day Of Rest And Gladness."
No. 16: "Safely Through Another Week."
1 Quoted by permission of Charles Scribner's Sons from William Henry Green, "The Unity of the Book of Genesis," 1910, p. 2.