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Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made 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. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:7-25 Revised Standard Version)
A very happy Friday to you and yours, dear Friend, is my prayer. I want to thank all of you for your birthday wishes yesterday! It was a great day, thanks to the Lord; we enjoyed a safe drive here and spent wonderful time with our three little ones, including Eliana Beth, who turned six. The Mission Hospital had a trick or treat event and we took the kids there and enjoyed seeing them have a little fun before bed. Caleb Eradio wanted to know why a hospital would hand out candy? Good question!
This is a Bible story we should all know; that God created you and me with a personal touch! Last week we looked at the creation story in Genesis 1 and it emphasized the power of God to create with just using the spoke word, and today's story if you read the passage involves the personal touch. We are made from dust and to dust we shall return. You may have heard that as a cross made of ash was placed on your forehead during Ash Wednesday. You may have heard that mentioned in some way, at a funeral. It is a truth. I just read this morning that 57 elements found on the earth's crust are also found in the human body. The photo above shows a modern depiction of an ancient story. That God, on hands and knees, scooped out from the dust and formed the first man. This is a personal touch; God getting His fingernails dirty in the making of the first man. And as some professors have demonstrated during lectures, on hands and knees, they lift up the form of man, and placing him to their lips demonstrate the touch in which God breathed into the first man the breath of life. "And man became a living being." From there, God moves to create, notice the word, "planted" in the formation of this garden called Eden, which is the word for paradise. And the description of that garden goes into ancient detail of where this garden was geographically; namely, what corner of the world it was found. God places trees that are pleasing to the eye and which are good for food, including two trees that bear our knowing; the tree of life (on loan to Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom! (joke)), and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God also gave the man responsibility over the garden, namely to till and keep it, and along with it a positive command, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."
This is the same as placing a bowl of all kinds of candy on a table reachable by your child. You can tell your child in a nice way, "Help yourself to the candy, except the chocolate ones; those make you sick." This is a positive command, freely giving the candy to the child, but with one restriction. The restriction in this case tells a child who has an allergy to chocolate to not eat the chocolate candies. Intended for good, this restriction may cause the child to think about the chocolate candies more than the others. The result your child may or may not understand; you will get sick. In the same way, this first man, who by the way we know to be Adam, the word for "man," is told to freely eat of any tree, save for the one which is the knowledge of good and evil; and the restriction which the man may or may not have known, comes with the consequence of death.
God then declares that it is not good for the man to be alone, and begins to create and present to the man all the creatures of the world. As God forms them, He presents them. The man names them and is coming quickly to the realization that while some may provide some companionship, there is not an ideal "helpmeet" from the King James Version of the Bible, meaning partner and a little more than partner. Companion is another word that comes from this ancient word. Adam liked the dog, and may have liked that the parrot mimics words, and the money is cute, but not cute enough nor close enough to being a companion. Tarzan would disagree - until he found Jane. So God decides divine surgery should take place. A deep sleep comes upon the man, and while he slept, God took a rib from the man, and from that rib made a woman. This woman was called Eve, which means living. God brings the woman to the man and this causes Adam to be poetic, "This at last the bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." In Hebrew, Ishah, woman, meaning taken out of ish, man. And then the basis for marriage in the traditional sense outlined here, "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed."
We know the rest of the story. Adam takes Eve on a tour of the property, showing her all the trees from which they could eat, and then the visit to the off-limits tree. At some point in that conversation, one of the two added their own restriction, "don't even touch it!" Which will come into play in the next story.
What we affirm from this creation story is important. We matter to God. Our belief in a Creator God shows our God to be a God of the personal touch. The God who kissed us into existence and who provided all things for that first couple. In that paradise garden, the true paradise was knowing and walking with God in a relationship that blessed God and blessed the couple. Paradise still happens when we trust God enough to involve Him in our daily lives with our walks and talks with God. While we believe that first couple during their walks with God had nothing to complain or worry about, we do. Imagine the things God revealed to them as they listened to God. And imagine the things God may tell us if we but listen to Him! And while we make time to walk and talk with God, God is hoping to hear from us and to be at work in us. It's up to you to make the invitation.
PRAYER: Awesome God, thank You for loving me enough to care for me. Forgive me those times I have thought I didn't need You or could walk this life without You. I invite you to come into my life as the God who loves and cares for me. Help me to listen as I pray. And let me be a blessing to You and to others. This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a creative creature today; find ways to bless someone!
Eradio Valverde
