The Bible

 

Genesis 2

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1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

5 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.

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 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.

8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9 And out of the ground made the LORD God 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 knowledge of good and evil.

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

   

Commentary

 

Genesis 2 - Synopsis

By Bradley Sheahan, New Christian Bible Study Staff

Genesis 2 tells the story of God’s creation of Adam from the dust of the earth, and the forming of the Garden of Eden at the headwaters of four rivers. In it there are many trees, with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the midst of them. Then God seeks a helpmeet for Adam, and creates Eve from Adam’s rib while he is sleeping.

Here’s a brief outline:

  • God rests on the seventh day, blesses it, and makes it holy. (Verses 1-4)
  • God creates man, Adam, from the dust of the earth (Verses 5-7)
  • God plants a garden in Eden (Verses 8-14)
  • Adam is placed in the Garden of Eden, and warned not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Verses 15-17)
  • God seeks a helpmeet for Adam, and creates Eve from one of Adam’s ribs, and they are married, conjoined. (Verses 18-25)

In its inner spiritual sense, this chapter continues the story of the regeneration, or rebirth, of a human being. The early verses describe a person reaching the seventh stage of rebirth, represented by the Sabbath. It’s the celestial or heavenly state, in which a person has become remade, internally, in the image and likeness of God. Then, God shines through in all that a celestial person does and speaks.

Also, on another level, this chapter begins the story of the most ancient church on earth, sometimes called the Adamic church. “Adam” in Hebrew means “man”, so this is the church of mankind, i.e. a beginning stage of spiritual development in early human beings.

The prior chapter ended with the sixth day, the spiritual stage when a person has been transformed by God into a spiritual person, after the lifelong series of battles that a person encounters in this process. In the opening of Genesis 1, a person is pictured as spiritually dead, void and empty, blind to the love and truth of God, and living his or her life in pursuit of worldly ambitions and sensual pleasures. The evil and falsities that permeate that kind of existence enslave us, and, on our own, we are fighting a losing battle. The bonds that restrain us from evil are fear of the law, fear of the loss of life or loss of wealth, and fear of damage to our reputations. This state is a “natural” one, i.e. not one with much spiritual depth or activity.

If we turn to the Lord for help, though, we can be reformed, and develop a spiritual life, and be reborn. A spiritual person is also in combat with temptations towards evil and falsity, but is victorious. The bonds that restrain such a person are internal – the bonds of conscience. The celestial person, who will be discussed in this chapter of Genesis, is no longer in such combat, because evil and falsities no longer hold any interest.

For this summary, here’s some important insight: In our life in this world, we are very much aware of our physical, natural existence, and largely unaware of our concurrent spiritual one. On the spiritual level, we are continually interacting with people who are already in heaven or hell – spirits, both good (angels) and bad (evil spirits). The classic cartoon image with the little angel on one shoulder and the little devil on the other, both trying to influence us, isn't that far from the truth.

In ancient times, people had a more direct ability to communicate with the spiritual world, but we’ve lost that ability as we’ve become more enmeshed in worldly affairs. In the spiritual battles we need to go through as we’re being reformed, as we become more in tune with God’s love and truth, angels are helping us on our path to reach heaven, both here, as we live out our lives, and then further in the next life.


Spiritual lessons from this chapter:

As we continue in our path to enlightenment, it is God who is still leading us and teaching us about his way. He will continue to feed us the spiritual food that will bring us wisdom and understanding. When we reach the final stage of rebirth, we fulfill the potential He hopes for when he creates us, being made in God's image and likeness -- still uniquely ourselves, but loving and wise, useful and active but internally at peace.

The Bible

 

Ezekiel 31

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1 It happened in the eleventh year, in the third [month], in the first [day] of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude: Whom are you like in your greatness?

3 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches, and with a forest-like shade, and of high stature; and its top was among the thick boughs.

4 The waters nourished it, the deep made it to grow: its rivers ran all around its plantation; and it sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.

5 Therefore its stature was exalted above all the trees of the field; and its boughs were multiplied, and its branches became long by reason of many waters, when it shot [them] forth.

6 All the birds of the sky made their nests in its boughs; and under its branches did all the animals of the field bring forth their young; and under its shadow lived all great nations.

7 Thus was it beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its root was by many waters.

8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it; the fir trees were not like its boughs, and the plane trees were not as its branches; nor was any tree in the garden of God like it in its beauty.

9 I made it beautiful by the multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied it.

10 Therefore thus said the Lord Yahweh: Because you are exalted in stature, and he has set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;

11 I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations; he shall surely deal with him; I have driven him out for his wickedness.

12 Strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: on the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.

13 On his ruin all the birds of the sky shall dwell, and all the animals of the field shall be on his branches;

14 to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves in their stature, neither set their top among the thick boughs, nor that their mighty ones stand up on their height, [even] all who drink water: for they are all delivered to death, to the lower parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with those who go down to the pit.

15 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: In the day when he went down to Sheol I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained its rivers; and the great waters were stayed; and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.

16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to Sheol with those who descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the lower parts of the earth.

17 They also went down into Sheol with him to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were his arm, [that] lived under his shadow in the midst of the nations.

18 To whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth: you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord Yahweh.