The Creation Of man - Part II
August 2018 |
“And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.” — GENESIS 2:5
The Plants And The Herbs
“And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground” (Gen. 2:5).
The second day of creation is addressed here, which obviously preceded day three when plant life was developed.
It seems that rain came to the earth on day three, which caused the earth to “bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind” (Gen. 1:11).
All of this was before man was created, showing that he had nothing to do with the creation, with that being altogether of God.
The phrase, “And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew,” presents the fact that the earth did not bring forth vegetation of itself—by any innate virtue of its own—but purely by the almighty power of God, who formed every plant and every herb before it grew in the earth.
In these few words, the Holy Spirit is informing all and sundry that creation is altogether of God. This completely debunks evolution and, as well, man’s involvement, as we shall see. There is nothing that is created that is a product of man, with God always being the first cause. It is on this one truth that fallen man runs aground. While man can further develop God’s creation, which God originally intended, man cannot bring something out of nothing. That domain lies completely in the realm of God.
Humorous Story
There is a joke of sorts which says that man approached God and informed Him that he (man) was now so brilliant that the services of God were no longer needed.
So, God proposed a little contest, to which man readily agreed. God would create a man, and then it was proposed that man would do the same. Man agreed, thinking he could easily clone a specimen.
God reached down and gathered together a little pile of dirt from which His man would be made. But when man reached down and did the same thing, God asked what he was doing.
“I’m getting a pile of dirt in order to make man exactly as You have done,” he replied.
The Lord answered, “Get your own dirt.”
Rain
The phrase, “For the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth,” proclaims the fact that there had not yet been any rain, even though God had divided the waters and had put some in clouds and left some on the earth with an expanse between, which was called “the firmament” (Gen. 1:6–8).
The insinuation is that God did cause it to rain upon the earth on day three and, thereby, caused the earth to “bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed,” etc.
This shows us that all of creation is subject to God, and that God is subject not at all to creation. We must never forget that!
When all the seed in the earth had been placed there by God, and they were properly ready to bud and bring forth, then God caused it to rain.
Even though everything has been somewhat perverted due to the fall, which means that it doesn’t quite function properly, still, that which God originally created continues to function exactly as He originally created it to do, with the exception of the perversions. By perversions, we’re speaking of droughts, hurricanes, earthquakes, storms, floods, etc. All of these types of things were never intended by God but came into being due to the fall. As we have previously stated, that’s the reason “that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now” (Rom. 8:22).
The Involvement Of Man
The phrase, “And there was not a man to till the ground,” more than anything else, refers to the fact that man had nothing to do with creation. Consequently, man should be very careful about taking credit for anything as it pertains to the works of God. In fact, man is due no credit at all!
When we think of plants growing, we think of man putting seed in the earth and cultivating the ground. Plant life was developed on day three, some three days before man was even created.
To understand these particular words, we must bear in mind that the object of the narrative is not the formation of the world, but man’s relation to Jehovah, hence, the introduction of the new name of God—Jehovah Elohim.
Man’s proper relationship to God is, in essence, a very simple relationship. In other words, it’s not difficult to understand, and if it is complicated, it is that man has complicated the process himself.
We must recognize God as the Creator of all things. As such, we must give Him proper praise and glory. However, due to the fall, man has great problems on both counts.
He doesn’t want to recognize God as the Creator, thereby, he substitutes the mindless drivel of evolution to explain creation and, accordingly, refuses to give God praise and glory.
The idea is that if man will not recognize God as Elohim, his Creator, then he will not recognize God as Jehovah Elohim, his Redeemer.
A Mist
“But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground” (Gen. 2:6).
This pertains to day two of creation.
At that time (day two), there went up a mist from the earth, which prepared the earth for the seed that God evidently planted on the beginning of day three.
Once again, we see God as the original cause of all creation.
The phrase, “But there went up a mist from the earth,” was done, as stated, on day two, which prepared the earth for the seed that was to be applied by God, which the rain would bring forth on day three.
The Ground
The phrase, “And watered the whole face of the ground,” presents the fact that the earth was made ready for that which would take place the next day.
Some commentators have attempted to use these passages as proof that the days mentioned in Chapter 1 were not literal 24-hour days. However, once it is understood what is actually being said, even as I think we have satisfactorily explained, we are given to understand that the Holy Spirit is portraying here through Moses the manner and the way in which God carried this out, which was done in literal 24-hour days.
The Way Man Was Created
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7).
Man being formed of the dust of the ground proclaims this physical body of clay. To understand and remember this, such ought to inspire a feeling of genuine humility. It should keep men from pride and reference to their renowned ancestry, their apparel, or their wealth inasmuch as we are the workmanship of His hands and, therefore, must not contend with our Maker.
While it is true that the material of which man is made is next to nothing, the one who made us is the Creator and, thereby, able to do all things. Consequently, we should say as David said, “I will praise You; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Your works; and that my soul knows right well” (Ps. 139:14).
Men judge the value of an item according to the material of which it is made. The worth of that which God creates pertains to Him. His hand can make something of nothing.
The Breath Of Life
The statement, “And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul,” pertains to man being unique in that nothing else in God’s creation received the breath of God. This means that life came not as the result of man’s bodily organization or as derived by evolution from any animal but as a gift directly from God.
Delitzsch said: “By an act of divine omnipotence man arose from the dust, and in the same moment in which the dust, by virtue of creative omnipotence, shaped itself into the human form, it was pervaded by the divine breath of life, and created a living being, so that we cannot say the body was earlier than the soul.”
The breath of life, which comes from God, pertains to the soul and spirit of man. This was done with the first man with God breathing the soul and the spirit into man, and, thereafter, it comes automatically at conception.
The Garden Of Eden
“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed” (Gen. 2:8).
This garden was the garden of Eden. It was actually planted before Adam was created.
It was planted eastward in Eden, which some scholars believe was ultimately the site of the city of Babylon.
There He placed the man.
“Eastward in Eden,” no doubt, meant east of Israel. Of course, at the time this was written, Israel did not exist; however, the Holy Spirit definitely knew that in time, it would exist.
Man’s Home
The phrase, “And there He put the man whom He had formed,” proclaims the place especially prepared for man.
From this we realize that God began preparing for man even before he was created. After the fall, the greatest preparation of all was undertaken in respect to redemption, which would require a price to be paid that beggars all description. Then, concerning the eternal abode, Jesus said: “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (Jn. 14:2–3).
So, in all of this, we see the tender love, mercy, and compassion of God as it regards His choice creation—man. He prepared a garden for man; He prepared salvation for man; and now, He has prepared a paradise that so far outstrips the garden of Eden as to be no contest. As stated, all of this portrays the love of God.
This article is an excerpt from the book 'The Fall Of Man' by Jimmy Swaggart.
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