Mar 27 - God Forms Man

Read Genesis 2:4-17

Context: God has completed his creation and he rested on the seventh day. The author of Genesis then retells the creation story with more details.

Text:
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 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth [b] and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth [c] and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams [d] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- 7 the LORD God formed the man [e] 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 And 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 [f] and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. [g] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. 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 of it you will surely die." (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

Like a potter, God formed Adam out of the dust of the earth, then he breathed life into him. What does it mean to be made in the image of God? Did Adam look like him, as if looking in a mirror? Or is it more the qualities of man that mirror God? Does God have a physical form -- two legs, two arms, ten fingers?

We know that God gave man a job to do...to take care of the Garden. He created in us a purpose and the ability to be useful. In the image of God, we have a part in his greater plan. And we have the ability to create gardens (and other things) of beauty using the basic items that God created!