In the beginning… God.

• The two accounts of Creation introduce God in two different ways:
  • Genesis 1:1-2:3 introduces a powerful God: He can create just with His voice. His great power motivates us to praise Him and worship Him (Psalm 95:3-6).
  • Genesis 2:4-25 introduces a close God: He prepared a home for us and molded us with His own hands. He cares for our happiness and teaches us how to live.
• Today we are separated from God’s presence because of sin. However, we can still appreciate His power and closeness. We can enjoy the wonderful and lovely presence of God in our lives.

The work of God:

• Perfect Creation.
  • The expression “good” [tov in Hebrew] is used to explain that Creation worked well; that it was perfect and beautiful and there was nothing evil in it. Of course there was no death. Death was not part of the creation process.
  • A process during thousands or millions of years is not compatible with Creation. Trees bear fruit (Genesis 1:12; 2:9). Birds fly, animals walk (Genesis 1:20, 25). Adam was created as an adult person who could speak and think (Genesis 2:19).
  • When Creation ended, “the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed” (Genesis 2:1 NLT). It was just six literal days.
• Perfect time.
  • Light¹, the sea², the earth³, vegetation⁴, the stars⁵, the fish⁶, the birds⁷, the animals⁸, human beings⁹. Everything was done in six days. But something important was missing, the tenth element that would put the cap on the process: the seventh day¹⁰.
  • A time for rest, meditation, human company, and communion with the Creator. Those perfect humans needed this special time, so we need it even more after thousands of years of sin (Exodus 20:8-11).
  • Sabbath reminds us of our origin, and of our glorious future through Redemption
    (Deuteronomy 5:15; Isaiah 66:23).
• Perfect humankind.
  • The image of God involves:
    • A spiritual nature that enables us to communicate to God.
    • A physical resemblance to our Creator.
    • The ability to think and to make moral decisions.
  • According to Genesis 2:7, when the breath (spirit) went into the clay figure God had molded (body), a living being was created (soul).
  • Then God performed a second creative step (Genesis 2:21-22), thus completing the perfect “human being”: male and female, man and woman.

The gifts from God.

• When God created the first man, He gave him three gifts that implied three responsibilities:
  • The Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8): It was the perfect home. He had to look after it and to cultivate it. We must preserve what God has given us.
  • Food (Genesis 2:16): God gave him the suitable food for his perfect body. He added a restriction so he could prove his loyalty to the One who had given him everything (Genesis 2:17).
  • The woman (Genesis 2:22): The perfect gift. Someone to love. Someone with whom he could share everything. Someone to “become one flesh” with (Genesis 2:24).