Explanation of Genesis 2:19
By Brian David
![three panels of Adam This wall-painting, in the Sucevita Monastery in Romania, shows God creating Adam and Adam being alone, which led to the naming of the animals.](/bundles/ncbsw/media/Sucevita_murals_2010_04.webp)
The people of the Most Ancient Church had begun wanting to lead themselves and think from themselves instead of from the Lord. The Lord knew it would be their downfall, and sought to fulfill them through the spiritual gifts they already had in their celestial state.
Here we see the Lord showing them the presence in themselves (the ground) of all the beautiful things of their state: affections springing from love to the Lord (the beasts of the field), thoughts inspired by mutual love (fowl of the air) and all other spiritual activity filled with life from the Lord (living creatures). And theses things were gifts; the fact that the people were invited to name the animals means they were shown the nature of all those wonderful things.
(References: Arcana Coelestia 142, 143, 144, 145)
Jeremiah 31:27-28
27
Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of animal.
28
It shall happen that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, says Yahweh.