Genesis Part 1 - Week 4

Day 1 

READ 

Genesis 2:1-2 

1 So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 

Notice that the work of creation included “everything” in the heavens and the earth. Nothing else needed to be added. It was “completed.” God did not rest because He was tired. The word simply means that He ceased from His work.  

REFLECT 

Ponder what it means that God was finished with His creative work on these six days. 

RESPOND 

With a friend, examine Exodus 20:8-11 to see the Old Testament instructions to observe the seventh-day of the week as a day of rest, paralleling God ceasing from His creative work after six days. This is another indication the days of creation were 24-hour days.  

Day 2 

READ 

Genesis 2:3-4 

3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. 4 This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. . . .  

Of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, only the Sabbath day is not mentioned in the New Testament. It was a special covenant between God and Israel (see Exodus 31:12-14). The apostle Paul was an ardent Pharisee who kept the Old Testament laws. After he was saved, however, he wrote in Colossians 2:16-17 that people were not to be judged about different diets or for not celebrating certain holy days, such as the Sabbath.  

REFLECT 

Are you making a distinction of days now rather than considering all days to be holy? 

RESPOND 

Genesis 2:4 has the expression “This is the account of.” This expression occurs many times in Genesis. It normally has to do with a family and descendants. In Genesis 2:4 it relates to the “creation of the heavens and the earth.” 

Day 3 

READ 

Genesis 2:5-6 

5 neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the soil. 6 Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land. 

This describes things at the beginning of time. It had not yet rained, but the land was watered by “springs coming up from the earth.” There were also no people to cultivate the earth. This indicates work was needed to be done.  

REFLECT 

Think about the fact that work was needed even in the Garden of Eden.  

RESPOND 

Work is something needed to give a person the feeling of self-worth. Colossians 3:23-24 tells one how to work. Ephesians 4:28 tells what to do with the income earned. 2 Thessalonians 3:9-11 tells what to do with those who could but are not willing to work. Compassion would help those unable to work.  

Day 4 

READ 

Genesis 2:7 

7 Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. 

This is not a different creation than seen in Genesis 1; it is just a more detailed description of what took place on the sixth day of creation. God used dust to form man and breathe into him the breath of life. This enabled what resulted to be a living person. Those who do not believe in a miracle-working God use the theory of evolution to attempt to explain man’s existence. The knowledge of DNA proves evolution could never produce such a being. It takes more faith to be an atheist than to believe in a God who can do miracles.  

REFLECT 

Is your confidence in God or in evolution to explain what exists?  

RESPOND 

With a friend, read 2 Timothy 3:16 to see that all Scripture is inspired, or literally God-breathed, just as He breathed life into the first man.  

Day 5 

READ 

Genesis 2:8-9 

8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. 9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

Notice that the trees that grew were “beautiful and that produced delicious fruit.” This point is crucial to remember as one reads on later. Here two trees are mentioned in verse 9. The tree of life was not forbidden in what God later restricted (Gen. 2:17). Perhaps it is only mentioned here as the reason God later did not want them to remain in the Garden. The truths of Genesis 2:9 figure prominently into what is said later in this chapter and chapter 3.  

REFLECT 

Be sure to notice the details as you read as they may be important in what you later read. 

RESPOND 

Talk with a friend about noticing the context around a particular verse. Often a verse may not be understood until reading further. For example, read Revelation 12:3. Who or what is the dragon? Revelation 12:9 tells you.