The Creation of Adam and Eve

Genesis 2:4-25 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

⁵ Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, ⁶ but stream came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being

⁸ Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹ The 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.

¹⁰ A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. ¹¹ The 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 and onyx are also there.) ¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush ¹⁴ The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

¹⁸ The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

¹⁹ Now 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. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

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

²³ The 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.”

²⁴ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

²⁵ Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Adam is created, but not like the rest of creation - by a word of command. The Lord Himself formed Adam from the dust of the earth, then breathed into Adam’s nostrils the very breath of His own life.

As in Adam’s creation, so in Adam’s early environment, the Lord God is pictured as personally planting an enclosed park where He later intended to place man. The word Eden means “park”. It had to be beautiful! The Lord deliberately set in the midst of the park the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Later, Adam was not forbidden to eat from the tree of life until after he had sinned. Before the fall, apparently man’s body was not exactly “mortal” for it didn’t have to die. But neither was it “immortal” because it could die if sin entered. (As it did.)  Apparently this tree could keep them alive forever.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a test of Adam and Eve’s obedience. The fruit wasn’t anything special. The sin wasn’t in the fruit they ate, but in their choice to disobey God.

After Adam is created, God takes charge of his development. He gave Adam work in the garden. God wants our work to be a joy and train us to trust Him and develop our physical, mental and moral capacities. God gave Adam dominion over the whole earth and brought each animal to Adam to name. (Naming in the ancient world was primarily an exercise of sovereignty and command.)

One commentator wrote that another reason God had Adam name all the animals would be so he would realize he couldn’t have a relationship with even the smartest animal and it would create a longing in him for someone he could have a relationship with. And then God could fulfill his desires.

Another commentator wrote that men and women are driven to each other because woman was taken from man. She’s a piece of him. And that’s why marriage says “two shall become one” – you can almost add “again” here.

And Eve wasn’t created just to make more people. She was to be Adam’s helper. His companion.

God intended that this relationship of man and woman in love, and in joy and service on earth, should lead them to understand their individual love relationship to God and to Christ. All through the Old Testament God compares His love for His people to the love of the husband for his wife.

Isaiah 62:5 As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.

Hosea 2:19-20 I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. ²⁰ I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.

In the New Testament, Jesus is portrayed as the Bridegroom of the church.