Genesis 2:4-25 Design Process
We will look at the final set up of the amazing work God did. We will see the original garden He planted and its first care takers. What an awesome site that must have been.
I have read this account many times over in my life but always rushed to the “good part” where God made woman. I want to slow down today and look at the process He took to get there. This is creation itself again. He takes us on an abbreviated journey through day 3-6.
Here is a quick recap of what happened those four days. Day 3 He made dry land and plant life. Day 4 He made the sun, moon, stars and seasons; He “pushed the start button” on time. Day 5 He filled the seas and the sky with life. Day 6 He filled the land with animals and made man.
Now let’s look at the artistry that happened during those days. The land is completely empty. Nothing but fresh undisturbed, rich virgin soil. A canvas waiting to become a work of art. We all know that plants need water to grow. Rather than pouring rain over His new canvas and having some parts receive more or less than others, God watered it a different way. “A mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground” (verse 6). There are some places on some days that you can still observe this mist rising out of the ground, watering it as God did in the beginning. It is a beautiful sight to behold!
God took a pause here. He began His work on the inhabitants of this world by gathering a bit of this virgin soil. He sets aside what He has gathered for a very special project He had in mind. He made a few piles from what He had gathered for He had several things in mind but one held special significance for Him. That one would get something special when He was done.
After His “building material” has been set aside, He begins to draw on the canvas. He uses His finger in the moist soil to draw rivers and lakes. He splashes colors onto the canvas and watches as it blends and separated. A field of green grass here, a grove of trees there. Reds, blues, yellows and purples begin to rise up on stems of green. He gently folds, pulls, pinches, and stretches each section into intricate petals. No two are identical in the beginning. And OH the fragrances that they emit as His hands work them into a tapestry of color! They fill His nostrils with their thanks to their Creator.
He puts His fingers into the soil and begins to work it into the shape of trees. From those elegant forms leaves grow and fruit develops. He places within that fruit the promise of “children” for the future in the form of seeds. This is a precious gift as He wants what He has created to display His workmanship throughout time. This canvas will perpetually renew itself because of the life He has placed in it with each stroke of His finger. These gifts are not only beautiful but practical and necessary. These will be the sustenance for what He has planned next.
He returns to His reserved soil and begins to work it into unexpected shapes. Long neck and legs for this one. Ears large enough to fan itself with a nose that can hold water for another. Graceful body built for speed for this one. How about this one, it can even chase its tail! What creativity from our Creator! OH how I would have LOVED to be sitting by Him as He molded and shaped all the animals that day!
Now for His greatest creation! This one would be like Him. It would be His companion. It would have the ability to choose its direction in life, including choosing how much time to spend with its Creator. It would be able to love. That love would be beyond all the other creature’s He had previously made. It’s love wouldn’t be limited to conditional constraints. Not bound by “what have you done for me” but by “how can I show you how special you really are?” For this is the kind of love He has and He passes it on through the very breath He breathes into this one special creation; His created child with a heart, mind and soul just like Him.
The canvas He has painted included a very special place. A place designed just for His created child. It is the most beautiful place on the whole earth. It has everything man could ask for; including the opportunity to exercise that precious gift of “choice.” Yes, He put temptation within reach. But He also explained the consequences of making the wrong choice.
God takes another pause. At this point, I can see man looking around and thinking “This is really nice! Now what do I do?” God answered that first question by saying, “Take care of what I have placed here. There is much work to be done.”
Man jumps right in and tries his hand at caring for what God has made. But there is so much to do! How can he possibly take care of everything on his own? God watches his efforts and thinks, “He is going to need some help.” Surely there is something among all the animals He has created that can help make man’s tasks easier.
As God brings each animal to man He has them demonstrate their skills and allows man to give them names. “That one with the LONG neck will be called a giraffe! He would be great at helping me get fruit from the tops of the trees. But I don’t think he would be much company in the night.” Although they were all created by God they were different from him. Man needed a companion who was like him.
God recognized this need for true companionship so He had one more job to do. He made woman. He didn’t begin from scratch as He had done with man and the animals. He put man to sleep and took part of him to make something to complete him. He fashioned that small piece of man into something so intricate and special that man would recognize her as essential to his existence. No longer would he have to stand alone but now he had someone who share EVERYTHING with him. His helpmate. His companion. “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” (verse 23 emphasis added). Nothing else God had created had fit so perfectly with man.
I wonder if that is a bit like the trinity. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. “Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” so to speak. One became two in the garden but One became Three in order to minister to our needs. God made “lines of demarcation” in Himself so we could relate to Him as never before. He filled our need for a constant companion in the Holy Spirit. He filled our need for one who was “flesh and blood” like me in Jesus. And He fills our need of a TRUE Father in Himself. ALL parts of the one whole.
Father God, THANK YOU for creating this amazing world for me! Thank You for showing me Your handiwork every day. I LOVE looking at the flowers and the trees. It is especially beautiful this time of year as I watch the renewal of color with Spring in bloom.
Thank You also for creating me as a completion to my husband. Neither of us is complete without the other. Thank You for Your plan of continued creation too. That too could not be done without both parts of the whole. I am AMAZED at Your creativity and forethought! I love watching what You have made grow; in form, function and wonder! I wonder what tomorrow will bring to those You have gifted me with. I can’t wait to see Your handiwork in their lives!!! ALL OF THEM! And me too!!!
