Genesis 2 contains a second account of the creation story. This devotional reading look at how it expands the creations story by adding details.
Nuggets
- It seems strange that we start over with another account of creation.
- Some plants created on Day 3 did not sprout right away.
- The first reason given for this delay was there was no rain as of yet to water the earth.
- The second reason given was there was no people to tend to it.
When we look at Genesis 1, some think it is a bare-bones account of creation. They think they can discount God’s workings because it sounds so improbable.
What we get in Genesis 1 is only enough to begin our faith. “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see” (Heb. 11: 1 NLT).
We get Shabbat – a day of peace – beginning in Genesis 2. We think we are going to move on.
Then comes Genesis 2: 4. We get a second account of the creation story.
We shouldn’t look at this as a different story. We should see the little details of how God did what He did.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the Celebrating Creation’s Story series
The Second Account of Creation
“This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth …” (Gen. 2: 4 NLT)
It seems strange that we start over with another account of creation.
True, Moses didn’t write in chapter and verse. His Book of Genesis would have been one long document with no breaks.
Why? Well, if Moses was recording the oral history present of the time, he may have been documenting two different accounts.
There might be another reason. Last year when we were reading through Revelation, we encountered the same thing several times. I think this second account was included here for a specific purpose.
When we first learn new information, it has to build a foundation. Genesis 1 is basically a narrative on the physical aspects of creation.
Then we go back and add more specific information that we hook onto that foundation. It tells a more detailed account on more of a moral level. It focuses more on our relationships with God.
That follows the basic building blocks of learning. It also follows the structure of an outline. Genesis 1 show us the main points (identified by Roman numerals). Genesis 2 is the numbered paragraphs underneath it.
Look at it this way. If I text my sister or my Springfield Mom, I might say I made a cake today. I may follow that up with it was a Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake.
I don’t tell them I used butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and oats today — especially not right off.
If I led off with the ingredient list, they may not know if I am making a cake or cookies. (If I said it was an oatmeal cake, Mom would ask what time would we and the cake get to her house.)
Some things have to be set up. It is really easy to go through the sermons doing a devotion and see the structure of the devotion – or picking out the minutia and realizing it needs an introduction.
That may have been what Moses was a doing.
Hannah saw a difference between the two accounts. He wrote,
“The object of revelation is to deal with man’s moral and religious, but not with his material interests. It is obvious, therefore, that the physical account of creation must come first, though it was not necessary that we should be told more about it than would be sufficient to mark man’s precise place in the creation, of which he forms so prominent a part. This, and no more than this, is the duty discharged by the first of these narratives.”
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Hannah also reminded us that God does not reveal Himself to us all at once. His Word is an introduction to Him. Once we become His children, He gradually reveals Himself to us even more.
Case in point.
- “In the beginning Elohim created hashomayim (the heavens, Himel) and haaretz (the earth)” (Gen. 1: 1 OJB emphasis added).
- “These are the toldot of HaShomayim and of Ha’Aretz when they were created, in the Yom that Hashem Elohim made Eretz v’Shomayim” (Gen. 2: 4 OJB emphasis added).
Remember, Elohim means a plural God. Hashem Elohim, on the other hand, means name of God. Moses would have used this because of the idea they could not say the name of God.
But then we aren’t told God’s name until Moses was at the burning bush. “God replied to Moses, ‘I am who i am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you’” (Ex. 3: 14 NLT).
It went from God to Jehovah. That is how our relationship with God is supposed to go from just knowing about God to knowing Him personally.
Neither Wild Plants nor Grains Were Growing
“… When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth …” (Gen. 2: 4-5 NLT)
Some plants created on Day 3 did not sprout right away.
Wait! What????
On Day 3, dry land appeared, and vegetation began to grow, including trees. We are told in Genesis 2 that bushes were not growing yet.
Gibson interpreted this to have a limited meaning. He wrote,
“Again, it is not the vegetable kingdom as a whole that is referred to in the fifth verse, but only the agricultural and horticultural products. The words ‘plant,’ ‘field,’ and ‘grew’ (ver. 5) are new words, not found in the creation record. In Genesis 1. the vegetable kingdom as a whole was spoken of. Now, it is simply the cereals and garden herbs, and things of that sort; and here, instead of coming into collision with the previous narrative, we have something that corresponds with what botanists tell us, that field and garden products are sharply distinguished in the history of nature, from the old flora of the geological epochs.”
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Bonar made a good observation. He pointed out that God could create and maintain His creation without starting the processes that He put in to make it self-sufficient – what we think of as nature.
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Bottom line, the earth can spin on without humankind if God wills it so be so. True, it may cause some decay. Think of an abandoned house.
But only God is needed to sustain the earth. He has done it before on His terms and could do it again.
Not Yet Sent Rain
“… For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth…” (Gen. 2: 5 NLT)
The first reason given for this delay was there was no rain as of yet to water the earth.
Instead, it was watered by spring that came from the ground (Gen. 2: 6). The Complete Jewish Bible called it a mist.
That would have been logical. Plants could have taken the water in through their roots.
The spring could have created the mist. That would have allowed those plants that take water in through their leaves.
This may be supported in Hebrews 11: 7. “It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith” (Heb. 11: 7 NLT).
Some interpret this to mean that it didn’t rained until the flood. It is the “… things that had never happened before …” (Heb. 11: 7 NLT) part that makes some to believe this interpretation.
But we have to remember. We are just talking about the Garden of Eden here, a very limited area.
No People to Cultivate Soil
“… and there were no people to cultivate the soil. Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land” (Gen. 2: 5-6 NLT)
The second reason given was there was no people to tend to it.
This is logical. Plant life was created on Day 3. Humankind was created on Day 6. There were two whole days in between, which in actuality could have been thousands of years.
But when did God ever need us? He could have tended it all on His own.
I think there is a better explanation. Go back to Genesis 1: 29. “Then God said, ‘Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food’” (Gen. 1: 29 NLT).
Humankind wasn’t created yet, so there was no need for food. God never does anything early or late. He always does it on time — His time.
Whatever the reason, it is obvious that three conditions were needed to encourage growth, as Candlish said: soil, climate, and culture.
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But as we said before, only God is needed to sustain His creation.
Making the Connections
We said that wild plants and grains may have not appeared because humankind didn’t need the food yet.
But wild animals, birds, and small animals also were given plant to eat as food. They had already been created.
Did God throw them out there without a food supply?
No, of course not. God provided for the animals.
“And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground — everything that has life.’ And that is what happened” (Gen. 1: 30 NLT).
Not all of the plants created on Day 3 would have been considered wild plants and grains. Animals would have been able to eat them.
How Do We Apply This?
- Show our gratitude to our Creator.
- Praise Him for He can sustain His creation without our help.
- Be humbled by the fact that He doesn’t need us but wants us.
- Develop God’s treasures.
- Learn moral issues from God’s creation to interpret and apply them to our lives.
- See the presence of God in His creation and walk reverently with Him.
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Father God. We praise You for Your wonderful creation. Thank You for understanding how we have to be taught to actually learn things. Thank You for blessing us with more details. Help us to understand. Amen.
What do you think?
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