Gen 2:11-20

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.

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Reflections:

(1) From the very beginning of Creation, God knew that Eve would cause Adam to betray Him and eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, yet He wanted to create Eve for Adam, because He knew that Adam's life wouldn't be complete unless if he had an equal, a mate of his own. It's not because God had plotted the downfall of man in order to bring about the rise of His Son, no, as nothing bad can come from God. It's because God hates sin itself and not the person who commit it.

In fact, God loves us so much, that He's already forgiven all our past, present and future sins, even as He was creating the world. He wants the best for us, and that's why He created Eve for Adam, with the full knowledge of the Fall of man, and what it takes to redeem us again, the death of His very own Son.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, and whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16

(2) And He also shows an important characteristic of His role as our Father, as He didn't just say "I know Eve is the best for you, I'll just create her and give her to you." Instead, He let's Adam see for himself that all the animals were given to him to choose and name, and he could not find a helper from those. And then, God takes from Adam's own flesh, as He had from His Image when He created Adam, to make Eve, showing Adam that Eve was of the same making, and that they were one in flesh, hence creating the special bond that exists between husband and wife, and romantic love as we know it.

Gen 2:1-10

¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

² By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

⁴ 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 streams 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.

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Reflection:

God made the birds and the beasts in plural form and all at once, but He then made "a man", and individually singled him out and breathed the breath of life into him. Then he puts him to a self-watering garden with no maintenance, and trees to look in wonder at and trees from which there are fruits. Trees of all kinds for the man to enjoy.

God took care of mankind, even before we knew how to take care of ourselves. He's always looked after us, even from the start. When He created vegetation, He had already planted the Garden of Eden for us, and there He singled us out and put us in the middle of His Universe. This is a God who loves us, who is consistent and unconditional with His love. Even knowing what's going to happen next, He still gave us the best, and still gives us the best.

It's so hard to fathom how unconditional His fatherly love can be. Maybe that's why we fall and stumble, because we can't see the whole picture, but we do understand that in His Grace and Mercy, that He will always catch us, and give us what's best, because He loves us, and He is true to His Word.

Gen 1:21-31

²¹ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. ²⁵God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
²⁹ Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

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Reflection:

God had intended for us to enjoy all the earth with all his creations, each and everyone perfect and designed for a purpose. The waters were teeming with creatures, and so was the earth, and every plant was fearfully and wonderfully made, to give us a complete world to live on. He created the salmons knowing that we would enjoy watching them splash up the streams, and the maple trees knowing that we would sigh in awe every autumn as we watch the beautiful red and yellow leaves fall. We see so much beauty in nature that we don't always think twice about. God didn't just make them perfect, with love and beauty of their own kind, but He made them beautiful so that we can live in a beautiful world.

This world was made to fill all our five senses with wonder. Even every fish tastes different, and different parts of different animals have different uses. And cures and medicines of all types can be synthesized from many plants in the world, and even the minerals, the salts of the earth were created for our use. God intended for us to enjoy life on earth, as His children and inheritors of the earth.

But our God is also a loving and fair God that takes care of not only mankind, but also have blessed every living creature with the right to live, the ability to survive, and have provided for their needs. He also intends for all His other creations to enjoy this world, and hence, created us in His own image to govern over this world. To name and take care of all His creations.

Gen 1:11-20

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. ¹² The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”

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Reflections:

God is very definite. He starts each day with a purpose to complete, and does only that. Then He ends the day satisfied with His work. And He also follows a plan, Creation wasn't an ad hoc thing. It was planned. He gave us seeds in our vegetation that would sustain which He has created, and He gave us stars in the sky to mark the seasons, and the days.

Genesis 1:1-10

Genesis 1 (New International Version, ©2010)

Genesis 1

The Beginning

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

⁶ And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” ⁷ So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸ God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

⁹ And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

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Reflections:

It seems to me that, when God told these things to Moses, He knew that we would have questions about the Creation, and He made things very clear to us about what happened. He stated something, and then it was created as so. Already reinforcing that His Word is definite, that what He says, will be so. Though also, as a father is teaching his children, explaining each step of the way.

He could be like other impersonal gods in other religions, where they just narrate how their gods created the world, and a lot of which contains a lot of mystery and glory, but not a lot of them created the earth thinking it was for us to live on.

This passage brings to mind how Jesus also did the same thing, at one time when He was praying, He had prayed out loud for the benefit of His disciples, as He didn't need if He was just praying to His Father.