St Louis UBF UBF Bible Study : Genesis 2:4-25

Bible Materials

Genesis 2:4-25

by Paul Choi 05/12/2022 Genesis 2:4~25

BibleNote

THE CREATION OF GARDERN OF EDEN

Genesis 2:4-25 Lesson 3

Key verse: 2:7,8

This chapter teaches us the creation of the Garden, of marriage, and of a family.

1. Read verses 8-14. Why does the author refer to God as “the LORD God?” (Ex 6:2,3,7) Describe the garden which God planted in Eden. What do the trees suggest about man’s needs?

⁸Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. ¹¹The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹²(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin^[d] and onyx are also there.) ¹³The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.^[e] ¹⁴The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

²God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord.³I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty,^[a] but by my name the Lord^[b] I did not make myself fully known to ….⁷I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

Jehovah (English pron) Yaweh, Yehowah: YHWH –Tetragrammaton (the four letters)---

-----The true name of God of Israel: means ‘self-existent’ or ‘eternal’

Adonai is used as replacement of Jehovah. It shows the character of God (Grace and Truth)

Exodus 3:14: I AM THAT I AM (haya, haya)---exist, exist---Become, become

Eden means joy, pleasure. The Garden provides all necessary things for men’s happiness.

Trees that satisfy all men’s needs--- beauty, goodness, truthful, eternity….these are all

human beings desire, seek, pursue to gain…invest, spend time and energy,

Trees that pleasing to the eyes---beautiful Tree of life----provides eternal life

Good for food-----good

The tree of knowledge of good and evil---truth.. (Ge 3:24, Rev 22:2)

2. Read verse 15-17. What work did God give man to do? (15) What did God command the man? How do they give man real freedom and establish spiritual order? How does obedience to God’s command bring true happiness to men (Ro 1:19-21)

¹⁵The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” ¹⁹since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. ²¹For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

God put the man into the garden to work it and take care of it.

God commanded to keep his words after he gave him freedom.

God did not make man a robot, which only moves programmed. God made men in his own image to think, to discern, to choose, to decide by freedom. This is God’s profound love for men.

Men are truly happy when they keep the order between God and men. The order is established by God’s command on the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Obedience to God’s command brings true happiness and peace because it brings right relationship with God.

3. Read verses 18-23. Why and how did God make woman? What does this show about God's love for and understanding of man? Why could no suitable helper be found among the animals? How did Adam receive her? (23)

¹⁸The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” ¹⁹Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam^[f] no suitable helper was found. ²¹So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs^[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. ²²Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib^[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

²³The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”

God made a woman as a suitable helper for man. The original purpose of woman’s existence is to support man to do the work of God effectively.

God saw man’s loneliness even though all other creatures were made male and female. Man needs a suitable helper.

Animals cannot become man’s suitable helper because they were not created in God’s image. They had animal’s image.

Therefore, a marriage should be established by God, in God, and for God.

4. Read verses 24-25. How did God confirm and establish the family? What does it mean that they become one flesh? (See Mk 10:6-9) What does verse 25 suggest about their relationship? Describe God who established the Garden, marriage, and family for men’s happiness.

²⁴That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. ²⁵Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

⁶“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’^[a] ⁷‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,^[b] ⁸and the two will become one flesh.’^[c] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”