Features Sampler: Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 10
GENESIS 2
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page 8
8Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the 2:8
3:23; 13:10
man he had made. 9The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees Gen
Ezek 28:13
that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he 2:9
Gen 3:22
placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Ezek 47:12
10A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into
Rev 2:7; 22:2, 14
11
four branches. The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed around the entire land of 2:10
Havilah, where gold is found. 12The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic Rev 22:1, 17
resin and onyx stone are also found there. 13The second branch, called the Gihon, flowed 2:11
Gen 25:18
around the entire land of Cush. 14The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east of the 2:14
Gen 15:18
land of Asshur. The fourth branch is called the Euphrates.
Deut 1:7
15The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.
16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the 2:16
garden—17except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you Gen 3:1-3
2:17
are sure to die.”
Deut 30:15, 19-20
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a Rom 6:23
Jas 1:15
helper who is just right for him.” 19So the Lord God formed from the ground all the 2:18
wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man* to see what Gen 3:12
he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. 20He gave names to all Prov 18:22
the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no
helper just right for him.
21So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the
CROSS- REFERENCES —
Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs* and closed up the opening. 22Then the
Lord 2:22 placed in the
Conveniently
1 Cor 11:8-9
God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
1 Tim 2:13
margins,
cross-references
23“At last!” the man exclaimed.
2:23
help the reader
find related
Gen 29:14
Eph 5:28-30
passages
quickly.
“This one is bone from my bone,
and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
because she was taken from ‘man.’”
24This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and
the two are united into one.
25Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
2:19 Or Adam, and so throughout the chapter .
2:24
†Matt 19:5
†1 Cor 6:16
Eph 5:31
2:21 Or took a part of the man’s side.
2:7 “From the dust of the ground” implies that there is nothing fancy
about the chemical elements making up our bodies. The body is a lifeless shell until God brings it alive with his “breath of life.” When God
removes his life-giving breath, our bodies once again return to dust.
Our life and worth, therefore, come from God’s Spirit. Many boast of
their achievements and abilities as though they were the originators of
their own strengths. Others feel worthless because their abilities do not
stand out. In reality, our worth comes not from our achievements but
from theAPPLICATION
God of the universe,
& who chooses to give us the mysterious
and miraculous gift of life. As we come to understand this truth, we begin
toEXPLANATORY
value life as God does.NOTES—
Begins
2:9,
16-17with
Wereunderstanding
the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good
God’s
word,
then
shows
the
and
evil real
trees?
Yes, but
two different
views of their significance are
often expressed:
Theabout
trees were
real but symbolic. Eternal life with
reader
what to(1)do
what
God
was pictured as eating from the tree of life. (2) The trees were real
is being read, and motivates
and possessed special properties. By eating the fruit from the tree of
reader
tocould
respond
to eternal life, enjoying a permanent
life,the
Adam
and Eve
have had
what God
is teaching.
relationship
with God
as his children.
In either case, Adam and Eve’s sin separated them from the tree of life
and thus kept them from obtaining eternal life. Interestingly, the tree of
life again appears in Revelation 22 in a description of people enjoying
eternal life with God.
2:15-17 God gave Adam responsibility for the Garden and told him not
to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Rather than physically preventing him from eating from the tree, God gave Adam a choice,
and thus the possibility of choosing wrongly. God still gives us choices,
and we, too, often choose wrongly. These wrong choices may cause us
pain, but they can help us learn and grow and make better choices in
the future. Living with the consequences of our choices teaches us to
think and choose more carefully.
2:16-17 Why would God place a tree in the Garden and then forbid
Adam to eat from it? God wanted Adam to obey him, but God gave Adam
the freedom to choose. Without this freedom, Adam would have been
like a prisoner, and his obedience would have been hollow. The two trees
provided an exercise in choice, with rewards for choosing to obey and
sad consequences for choosing to disobey. When you are faced with a
choice between right and wrong, remember that God is giving you an
opportunity to obey him.
2:18-24 God’s creative work was not complete until he made woman.
He could have made her from the dust of the ground, as he had made
man. God chose, however, to make her from the man’s flesh and bone. In
so doing, he illustrated for us that in marriage man and woman symbolically become one flesh. This is a mystical union of the couple’s hearts and
lives. Throughout the Bible, God treats this special partnership seriously.
If you are married or planning to be married, are you willing to keep the
commitment that makes the two of you one? The goal in marriage should
be more than friendship; it should be oneness.
2:21-23 God forms and equips men and women for various tasks,
but all these tasks lead to the same goal—honoring God. Man gives life
to woman; woman gives life to the world. Each role carries exclusive
privileges; there is no room for thinking that one gender is superior
to the other.
2:24 God gave marriage as a gift to Adam and Eve. They were created perfect for each other. Marriage was not just for convenience,
nor was it brought about by any culture. It was instituted by God and