Genesis 2

Genesis 2 starts out on day 7 of creation.  God rests from all His work.  It says God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.  I've often wondered how a day is holy.  I noticed that it doesn't say here to rest on the Sabbath yet.  That must've come later.  We'll find out.

This was before Adam and Eve sinned so working the ground wasn't hard yet.  Maybe they didn't need a day of rest.  It says that God had not sent rain on the earth yet, but the ground was watered by the large rivers that ran through it.  The Tigris and the Euphrates are two rivers that ran through the Garden of Eden.  These two rivers exist in Iraq today.   I've often wondered where the Garden of Eden was located and if it still exists somewhere today so I looked online.  I found the following from www.answersingenesis.com.  (This was one of the homeschool science curriculums we looked into). 

Some people in reading Genesis 2, think the Garden of Eden must've been located somewhere in Iraq near these rivers.  However, these are not the same rivers that were in the Garden of Eden.  The flood destroyed the Garden of Eden and all rivers were destroyed and covered over by miles thick of debris and rock.  After the flood, Noah and his descendants must have renamed the new rivers that formed using some of the old names.  OK, now I know.  Interesting. 

Genesis 2:18: "The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a helper suitable for him." 

I don't think this verse means that everyone should marry.  I've heard some people use this verse in that way.  I think that's taking it a little out of context.  I think it means that man was alone.  He had no one to talk to (except for God).  As humans, God has made us as relational beings. 

It reminds me of the movie, "Cast Away" with Tom Hanks.  He was stuck on an island by himself with no one to talk to and he starts to go nuts and turns a volleyball into his best friend.  Go a few days by yourself with only a baby to talk to, and you'll find yourself starting to go a little nuts too.  We need to communicate with other humans.  It must be so hard for disabled kids and kids with autism who are unable to speak but yet fully understand what's going on around them. 

Today, man (in general) is not alone.  We're surrounded by other people.  I do think that God was thinking of the man having a partner for life, but I don't think that this verse implies that every man should marry because "it is not good for man to be alone."  He said it was not good for "the" man to be alone, so he was talking about the one man (Adam) that He created, not all men in general.  I think he was more implying that man shouldn't be alone on earth, and in order to accomplish the things that God wanted done (like populating the earth), Adam was going to need a helper.  I could be wrong but that's my opinion. 

Then God says, "I will make a helper suitable for Him."  I think this has been taken out of context and misunderstood many times as well.  Adam had a lot of work and a lot of animals that he was responsible for taking care of.  I think in saying that it wasn't good for Adam to be alone and then following it up with, "I will make a helper suitable for Him," God was also saying, "many hands make light work."  I think God intended it to be more of a 50-50 relationship.  Husbands and wives should be working together to accomplish the things that God gives them.  One main responsibility that God gives husbands and wives is the responsibility of raising a family that loves and glorifies God.

With God referring to woman as a helper to Adam, this implies that the bulk of the work and responsibilites were upon Adam.  I don't think many men understand this passage.  If they did, they'd be doing a whole lot more at home. 

I've seen many households where the women do the bulk of the work.  They are disciplining the kids, paying the bills, working outside of the home, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, helping the kids with homework, cooking, driving the kids everywhere, grocery shopping, leading the family spiritually, and everything in between.  The husband comes home from his 8 to 10 hour work day and plops on the couch and expects his wife to then serve him and meet all his needs.  How in the world can a wife be a helper when she's the one doing all the work?  If anything, she is asking her husband for help.  I think many men need to step up in this area.  If they want a helper, they should start by being a worker like Adam was.

Some people take this verse out of context and think it means that men are superior to women.  This is not what this verse means.  God created men and women equally. 

So, that's what stuck out to me this chapter. 

Genesis 1

Genesis 1:29-30  "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.

And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground - everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food." 


When I read this chapter to my kids at 9 o'clock at night, my smarty pants son said, "God says He's given us every green plant for food, right?  So, does that mean we can eat grass?  It's green!  Can I try it?" 

I said, "Well, I guess, if you want to."  My boys then proceeded to run outside and pick a blade of grass and eat it.  It just so happened that my next door neighbor was pulling in to his driveway and saw my two kids outside in their pajamas searching for a perfect blade of grass to eat.   He slowed down a little to see if they were OK.  Yeah, hi, just looking for a little midnight snack.  :)

I decided to grow some wheatgrass after that.  If they really want to eat grass, let it at least be healthy.  And please don't eat our poisonous house plants!

So, my kids learned that God has given us every green plant for food.  But, when I was looking this over I realized that He was referring to the animals!  Although, almost all vegetation has some green to it.  My son studied the first few books of the Old Testament in school so I've learned some things from him too. 

I'm in to food.  I didn't really have a choice at first.  My kids have food allergies.  So, I've researched and read a lot about diets, food, and eating healthy.  I've read the book, The Maker's Diet, which is supposed to be based on scripture.  I don't remember all of the book, but I remember not agreeing 100% with all of his recommendations, but it was a good read.  So, anyways, when I see anything in the Bible that talks about food or health, I pay close attention.  I'm going to start making a list of all the verses. 

When I read this verse and talked to my son, it occured to me that in the beginning, man did not eat meat.  He only ate fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc. and maybe fish?  Fish is extremely healthy for you though.  It says right in verse 29 that He has given us every seed bearing plant for food.  I guess that would make sense because I'm thinking God probably only made about two of each kind of animal at first and then let them reproduce.  If they ate the animals for food, the animals would go extinct pretty quickly.  Well, at least the chicken and cows if it were me.  I'd leave the ostriches.  Plus, it would have made making dinner a whole lot easier if they didn't have to kill their dinner every night.  Lot less messy too. They just went apple picking. 

I've been wanting to read some books on vegetarian diets because I had my gallbladder removed a couple years ago, and I can't eat a lot of meat any more.  I'm bummed.  I really like meat.  Although I do only buy grass fed meat now.  See, it says right in the Bible, that animals are supposed to eat green plants for food, not corn! 

Anyways, I know later in the Bible (my son says after Noah), they did start eating animals for food.  But, I have to wonder if that's part of the reason the people from Adam on up till Noah's time lived to be in their 100's!  900 years!  Can you imagine the human body lasting that long?  I wonder if it had partly to do with the fact that they ate so healthy.  No processed food, probably no sugar, definitely no pop, no meat, and brace yourselves...no McDonald's!  How else could they live to be 900 years old and not die of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or the like? 

I've also read and noticed in pictures that people who eat a vegetarian diet look awesome!  They look years younger than their age, their skin is beautiful and glowing, the whites of their eyes are whiter, their teeth are whiter, and they're healthy! 

In reading about the liver, the one thing that you must do to clean out your liver is refrain from eating meat (mainly beef and chicken; lean meats and fish are OK).  When I was having gallbladder attacks, I couldn't eat any meat, or I'd have an attack.  Meat is hard for the body to digest.  I don't believe that meat in itself is bad, because God did give it to us for food, but I have to wonder if eating a vegetarian diet is the way to go to be healthier.  I definitely think cutting back on meat is a good idea.  I don't think people ate meat every day.  It was probably too hard to catch.  Other than the Israelites who ate quail every day for 40 years.  However, what I'm talking about is beef and chicken that we Americans eat a lot of (my family included).  Quail is actually healthy. 

But, I'm sure a lot of our health issues also have to do with how the animals today are grown and fed.  That's why I only buy organic chicken and grass fed beef.  How we eat and process our meat today is way different than how they ate it back then. 

So, anyways, what did I take away from this passage? 

God gave us food to eat and we should eat what He gave us if we know what's best for us!   This is part of the rationale behind why we do the Feingold Diet.  The Feingold Diet eliminates artficial colors, flavors, preservatives, etc. so that you only eat real food, not man-made chemicals.  It is my personal conviction that our family avoid these chemicals not just because they can cause my kids to be hyperactive.  It's because God didn't intend for us to eat them.  He gave us all we needed for food.  Why should we turn up our noses to it? 

Can you imagine if everyone in the U.S. ate only fruits and vegetables and plants?  Doctors and cancer specialists would probably go out of business.  We all know that eating this way is much healthier.  Some people wonder why God allows cancer or diseases.  I don't think that was His plan, but man had his own ideas when it came to food, especially in the last 50 to 100 years, and I don't think anyone can argue that we are seeing the consequences of that now. 

We are eating no where even close to the way that God first set it up.  Adam and Eve were on God's meal plan and it didn't include processed foods.  There were no doctors around to treat them if they came down with a life threatening illness, so how did they manage to live so long and be so healthy (we can only assume they were healthy)?  I know that God allowed them to live longer back then and then capped the age of man at 120 after Noah's time, but still, they were still human beings with the same working bodies that we have today.

Now, we're not perfect, and we don't eat all of our foods from scratch or from our back yard.  We live in the Midwest, so it'd be hard to do that all year round anyway.  But, we do try our best to eat as healthy as possible and stick to real foods.  For me, it is part of our worship to God, in treating our bodies as temples, and taking care of the bodies that God has given us so that we can be as fruitful as possible for His Kingdom.  It's hard to do much when you're laying in a hospital bed sick. 

That's what stuck out to me.  I'd be surprised if anyone else had the same thoughts. :) 

If the Holy Spirit spoke something to you in these passages, please share!