WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.900 Good morning, church. Turn with me in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 2. It's probably 00:00:06.900 --> 00:00:14.620 on page 2 in your Bible. Probably whatever kind of Bible you have, it's page 2. We'll 00:00:14.620 --> 00:00:20.640 be reading chapter 2, verses 4 to 17 this morning. This week and next week, we're looking 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:26.480 at Genesis chapter 2. Next week, Pastor Matt will look at the second part, verses 18 to 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:32.140 25, focusing on God making us for relationship and particularly God's gift of marriage. But 00:00:32.140 --> 00:00:39.140 today, we're looking at the first half of chapter 2, starting at verse 4. So let me read these 00:00:39.140 --> 00:00:44.920 verses for us. Genesis chapter 2, starting at verse 4. 00:00:47.380 --> 00:00:52.960 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created in the day 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:59.620 that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land 00:00:59.620 --> 00:01:05.200 and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:09.920 on the land and there was no man to work the ground and a mist was going up from the land 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:16.780 and was watering the whole face of the ground. Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from 00:01:16.780 --> 00:01:25.359 the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living creature. 00:01:26.340 --> 00:01:32.200 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east and there he put the man whom he had formed. 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:38.579 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and 00:01:38.579 --> 00:01:44.859 good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good 00:01:44.859 --> 00:01:52.039 and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden and there it divided and became four rivers. 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:56.900 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah 00:01:56.900 --> 00:02:02.480 where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bidellium and onyx stone are there. 00:02:02.819 --> 00:02:07.000 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:13.539 And the name of the third river is the Tigris which flows east of Assyria and the fourth river is the 00:02:13.539 --> 00:02:19.819 Euphrates. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:25.739 And the Lord God commanded the man saying you may surely eat of every tree in the garden. 00:02:26.939 --> 00:02:31.840 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:43.000 you shall surely die. Is there a God who genuinely cares about human beings? 00:02:43.539 --> 00:02:50.879 If you look around at the world as it is today and if you rely simply on human reason and experience 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:58.399 the answer to that question is not so clear. Now the vast majority of human beings throughout 00:02:58.399 --> 00:03:04.919 history have believed in some kind of God or gods. Many philosophers have reasoned that the universe 00:03:04.919 --> 00:03:11.519 must have a first cause. Others have argued from our sense of morality that there must be some source 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:18.800 of our moral inclinations. Many of us have listened to a piece of music or looked upon crashing ocean waves 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:26.420 or snow-capped mountains, gazed upon a newborn baby or a cherished loved one with a sense of wonder 00:03:26.420 --> 00:03:35.420 and gratitude and amazement. The world is a fascinating and sometimes awe-inspiring place. Human beings 00:03:35.419 --> 00:03:41.699 seem to have an instinct to believe in something even if we can't figure out or define exactly what it is 00:03:41.699 --> 00:03:51.739 but does this something or someone actually care about us? The world contains awe-inspiring beauty 00:03:51.739 --> 00:03:59.199 but it can also seem scary, unpredictable, hostile, or just indifferent. 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:06.560 In the ancient world almost everyone believed that the gods were prone to be angry with human beings 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:12.719 and they needed somehow to be appeased. In the modern world many people believe that God is remote 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:23.480 and removed from our everyday human experience. Is there a God who truly cares? Now the ancient Israelites 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:29.020 for whom the book of Genesis was originally written would have faced this very same question. 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:36.680 Their lives hadn't been easy. They'd experienced the trauma of dehumanizing slavery. 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:43.240 Then they had to deal with the hardships of living life in the desert along with the uncertainties 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:51.480 of the future. And the nations around them told stories about gods who were fickle and unpredictable 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:59.360 just like humans often are. But the book of Genesis tells a very different story. 00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:10.220 Genesis tells the story of a God who from the very beginning cares deeply for his human creatures. 00:05:12.620 --> 00:05:17.400 What we'll see in the verses we're looking at this morning is that the God who made the world 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:26.799 and everything in it cares about us. And I want us to consider this theme this morning in three parts. 00:05:26.939 --> 00:05:38.279 God cares about us because he made us intimately. Second, God cares for us because he provides for us 00:05:38.279 --> 00:05:45.099 generously. And three, God cares for us because he instructs us wisely. Those are three reasons that 00:05:45.100 --> 00:05:54.760 Genesis shows us or three expressions of God's tender and personal care for us as human beings. 00:05:57.180 --> 00:06:05.320 So the first point, God is for us. God cares for us because he made us intimately. We see this in 00:06:05.320 --> 00:06:11.500 verses four to seven. Now verse four is an introduction to this section. These are the generations of the 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:16.560 heavens and the earth when they were created. It's the first of 10 such headings in Genesis. 00:06:16.939 --> 00:06:21.399 And they all begin with that phrase. These are the generations of so-and-so. This one is unusual 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:28.060 because it refers to the heavens and the earth. All the others refer to individual people such as Adam, 00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:33.860 Noah, and Abraham. But in every case, the heading refers back to someone or something that has already 00:06:33.860 --> 00:06:38.720 come into existence that has already been mentioned in the previous section of Genesis. In this case, 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:43.960 the heavens and the earth, God creates in chapter one, verse one, and then it points forward to what 00:06:43.960 --> 00:06:51.120 will be generated by that something or someone. So the phrase could also be translated, these are the 00:06:51.120 --> 00:07:00.800 offspring of the heavens and the earth. So chapters two through four are not a second account of God 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:04.820 creating the heavens and the earth as he did in chapter one. They're a fuller development, 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:11.920 showing us what comes forth from the heavens and the earth as God continues to be involved with them. 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:18.680 You might say that Genesis one has provided us with the wide angle panoramic view and Genesis two is the 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:28.399 close up zoomed in view of what develops. Dietrich Bonhoeffer many years ago observed that Genesis one is 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:34.719 written from above, from God's point of view. From Genesis one, which we've looked at the last two 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:41.060 weeks, we've seen that God is transcendent and sovereign before all things, above all things, 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:48.840 the one for whom and through whom all things exist and human beings exist for God, to bear God's image, 00:07:48.940 --> 00:07:58.900 to display God's glory. Genesis two, by contrast, is written from below, from an earthly point of view. 00:07:58.899 --> 00:08:04.799 The camera angle zooms in and we see the man form from the dust. We see the garden with its abundant 00:08:04.799 --> 00:08:13.539 fullness and we see the instruction given to the garden's caretaker. Bonhoeffer put it this way, 00:08:13.599 --> 00:08:22.279 in Genesis one, we find man for God. In Genesis two, we have God for man. There we see the creator and 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:34.000 Lord here, the God who is near and fatherly. God cares for us. God is for us. You see, some people 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:38.120 have tried to pit these two chapters against each other, Genesis one and Genesis two, as if they 00:08:38.120 --> 00:08:42.819 contradict each other or if they're at odds with one another. But in order to see who the God of the 00:08:42.819 --> 00:08:48.779 Bible really is, we need both of these chapters. They complement each other. They shed light on each 00:08:48.779 --> 00:08:55.339 other. Genesis one, if you've noticed, refers to God about 35 times. The Hebrew word is Elohim. 00:08:55.939 --> 00:09:00.379 It's a word that emphasizes God's majesty and God's authority over all creation. 00:09:01.659 --> 00:09:09.000 And you know, it's right for us to begin there. Genesis does not begin by saying, 00:09:09.220 --> 00:09:18.120 God loves you and really wants you to be happy. No. Genesis begins with a rather more bracing message. 00:09:18.120 --> 00:09:25.379 This world isn't about you primarily. It's about God, the eternally wise ruler of all things. God is 00:09:25.379 --> 00:09:30.259 God and you are not. And unless you understand that, nothing else in the Bible will make sense. 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:33.820 But Genesis two takes it one step further. 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:41.500 Starting in chapter two, verse four, it doesn't just speak about God. It speaks about the Lord God. 00:09:41.500 --> 00:09:50.820 Hebrew words are Yahweh Elohim. See, Yahweh is the covenant name for God, the name by which God revealed 00:09:50.820 --> 00:09:57.340 himself to Moses at the burning bush. It's a word that means I am or even I am here. 00:09:59.240 --> 00:10:05.500 It's a name God used when he wanted to say to his people, I am with you. I am for you. I will rescue 00:10:05.500 --> 00:10:12.039 you and I will never, ever leave you. Now, this is not a different God. He's still the one true God 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:17.460 over all the earth, but he's also the Lord who is near to us, who is for us, who has bound himself to 00:10:17.460 --> 00:10:28.720 us by his promise. He is, as Jesus says, our heavenly father who made us intimately. Look in particular 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:37.139 at verse seven. The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils 00:10:37.139 --> 00:10:46.700 the breath of life. What an amazingly intimate picture. The Lord of the universe giving shape 00:10:46.700 --> 00:10:56.160 to our human bodies like a potter shaping the clay with his very own hands, fashioning it into something 00:10:56.159 --> 00:11:07.699 beautiful. And then coming face to face with us, awakening us with a kiss, breathing into us his 00:11:07.699 --> 00:11:20.799 very own life giving spirit. What an amazingly intimate picture of God's love. And this is not only true of 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:26.599 the first human beings ages ago, God has been intimately involved in making you. 00:11:29.479 --> 00:11:35.659 Job chapter 10, verse 8 to 12 says, your hands fashioned and made me like clay. 00:11:36.599 --> 00:11:43.279 Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? You clothed me with skin and flesh and knit 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:49.240 me together with bones and sinews. You have granted me life and steadfast love and your care 00:11:49.240 --> 00:11:59.360 has preserved my spirit. Or Psalm 139, which we read earlier this morning. You formed my inward parts. 00:12:00.419 --> 00:12:06.860 You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I'm fearfully and wonderfully made, 00:12:07.180 --> 00:12:14.000 intricately woven together in the depths of the earth. Take time to study. Take time to meditate how 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:20.000 each one of our bodies developed from the tiniest microscopic beginnings within our mother's womb 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:31.320 into the people who we are today. This is cause for wonder and worship, love and praise. 00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:40.860 God made us intimately. And therefore our bodies matter deeply. 00:12:40.860 --> 00:12:47.320 Now it's not because our bodies are made out of particularly special materials. 00:12:49.139 --> 00:12:55.899 We're made out of very, excuse me, very ordinary stuff. Dust from the ground. 00:12:57.259 --> 00:13:03.580 In verse 19, the animals too are formed of out of the ground. In fact, there's a play on words in the 00:13:03.580 --> 00:13:11.379 Hebrew. The word for man or humanity, Adam, which is also the name of Adam, sounds like the word for 00:13:11.379 --> 00:13:20.560 ground, Adamah. It's as if God was, in English, probably the closest thing we have is earthling 00:13:20.560 --> 00:13:28.759 from the earth. Our bodies are ordinary and fragile. They're not inherently indestructible. 00:13:28.759 --> 00:13:34.639 They are not in themselves something that we can boast about. And yet God has breathed his very own 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:43.439 life into our human bodies. He has raised us from the dust to reign over creation. Sometimes we refer 00:13:43.439 --> 00:13:52.240 to this as being created body and soul. And that's appropriate. But I think the emphasis here above all is 00:13:52.240 --> 00:14:00.960 on the unity of the human person. The formed body filled with God's life-giving spirit. God does not 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:09.279 create a human soul separate from a human body here. From the very beginning, we see God's intention to 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:13.980 make his dwelling place within our human bodies. 00:14:13.980 --> 00:14:22.000 And that's why the New Testament says your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:28.120 A sacred space in which God himself has come to dwell. 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:38.860 So what we do with our bodies matters to God very much. How we treat one another's bodies matters to God 00:14:38.860 --> 00:14:48.120 very much. We'll see later in chapter 2 that this includes what we do with our bodies in the 00:14:48.120 --> 00:14:54.340 specifically male or female way that God has made us. But we'll get to that next week. 00:14:56.080 --> 00:15:03.639 So first, God is for us because he made us intimately. That's the first point. 00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:10.019 Second point is that God is for us because he provides for us generously. We see this in verses 00:15:10.019 --> 00:15:21.620 8 to 14. Verse 8, the Lord God planted a garden. Again, the Lord is portrayed as getting his hands dirty. 00:15:23.860 --> 00:15:29.600 Now, this was a major contrast with all of the gods of the surrounding nations in the ancient world. 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:38.360 You see, the gods of the surrounding nations despised manual labor. In fact, one of the creation stories 00:15:38.360 --> 00:15:44.259 from the ancient Near East talks about the gods creating human beings to do their dirty work, 00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:49.860 to do the work they didn't want to do. In particular, anything that involved manual labor and repetitive 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:59.540 tasks and things like that. But the God of the Bible is not an elitist. The God of the Bible 00:15:59.539 --> 00:16:07.159 does not only value professional kinds of jobs. Cultivating the ground, painting a house, 00:16:07.620 --> 00:16:13.059 changing a diaper, cleaning an office. These are honorable tasks in the sight of God. 00:16:15.219 --> 00:16:21.679 The Lord of heaven himself did not shrink back from washing his disciples' feet. 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:31.979 Here, the Lord God planted a garden and cultivated it for the good of humanity. Our heavenly Father 00:16:31.979 --> 00:16:38.139 didn't throw us into a howling wilderness or a ferocious jungle, but in his mercy and generosity, 00:16:38.139 --> 00:16:48.019 he made us a delightful home. Notice the contrast between the description of the land in verses 5 and 6 00:16:48.019 --> 00:16:51.299 and the description of the garden in verses 8 through 14. 00:16:53.500 --> 00:17:00.939 Verses 5 and 6 describe a wasteland. No desert shrubs, no edible crops. Why? 00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:08.139 Well, there's no rain and there's no farmer. You see, in order to get crops, everybody in the ancient world 00:17:08.139 --> 00:17:13.519 knew this, you need two things. You need God to send the rain, because human beings can't make that happen 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:18.200 in the rain. You need a forest. You need a forest. You need a forest. You need a forest. You need a forest. 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:24.700 But in verses 5 and 6, there's neither. Instead, there's what verse 6 calls a mist, or perhaps that may be 00:17:24.700 --> 00:17:31.579 better translated as a spring or a flood, even watering the face of the ground. So, the land is a watery waste, 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:39.059 not a hospitable place to live. The description in verses 5 and 6 might even remind us of chapter 1, 00:17:39.059 --> 00:17:47.220 verse 2, which talks about the earth being formless and empty and dark. Now, verses 5 and 6 aren't 00:17:47.220 --> 00:17:52.099 necessarily a comprehensive statement about the condition of the entire earth from the very 00:17:52.099 --> 00:17:56.480 beginning of time until human beings come on the scene. They're most likely simply a description of 00:17:56.480 --> 00:18:03.220 the local context leading up to verse 7. But in contrast to the wasteland of verses 5 and 6, 00:18:03.220 --> 00:18:11.680 verses 8 through 14 describe a fruitful garden. The Hebrew word Eden, where the garden is planted, 00:18:12.500 --> 00:18:23.180 means delight or pleasure. It's a garden of paradise, a luxurious park, a royal forest full of trees that 00:18:23.180 --> 00:18:30.600 are not only useful and nourishing, but also beautiful, pleasing to the eye, including the tree of life itself. 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:38.279 Further, the garden was amply watered by a river, natural irrigation, another big benefit from the 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:44.240 perspective of people who were living much of their lives in the desert. It was exactly the place you'd 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:51.659 want to live. And this river also provided access to precious metals, including gold, and it flowed out 00:18:51.659 --> 00:18:59.659 from Eden to the rest of the earth. It was the hub of everything. Now, many people have puzzled over 00:18:59.660 --> 00:19:08.320 the description of the rivers in verses 10 through 14. The last two rivers mentioned, the Tigris and 00:19:08.320 --> 00:19:13.300 the Euphrates, were two of the most powerful rivers in the ancient Near East, so they joined together 00:19:13.300 --> 00:19:19.540 and empty into the Persian Gulf. The names of the first two rivers, however, are not mentioned elsewhere, 00:19:19.779 --> 00:19:25.300 so scholars have made various guesses about what they might refer to, perhaps the Nile in Egypt or some 00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:33.659 smaller rivers east of the Tigris. But if we see verses 10 through 14 as a set of obscure clues about 00:19:33.659 --> 00:19:41.359 the geographical location of Eden, I think we're missing the point. After Genesis 3, human beings no 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:47.460 longer have access to the garden. Figuring out its original geographic location would give us 00:19:47.460 --> 00:19:59.100 absolutely no help. So what are verses 10 to 14 trying to show us? Well, Ezekiel chapter 28 verse 14, 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:08.000 a later poetic description, speaks of Eden as the holy mountain of God. Now, if Eden is a mountain, 00:20:08.620 --> 00:20:16.039 then here's the picture that we have from verses 10 to 14. A river originating from the mountain of God, 00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:22.500 God's palace, watering the garden of God, God's temple where he dwells with human beings, 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:30.259 and branching out from there to the four corners of the earth. Rivers sometimes diverge naturally, 00:20:30.899 --> 00:20:39.180 but they almost never do so near their source in the mountains. So verses 14 aren't merely describing an 00:20:39.180 --> 00:20:45.639 ordinary natural phenomenon, they're describing a supernatural river of heavenly life flowing out 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:55.280 from the garden of God to the ends of the earth. And if that picture is right, then we can see a 00:20:55.280 --> 00:21:02.740 progression, a gradual progression in these verses. Verse 7, God breathes his life-giving spirit into the 00:21:02.740 --> 00:21:12.220 man. God comes to inhabit and dwell in our very own bodies. But then God doesn't stop there, 00:21:12.220 --> 00:21:18.720 he makes a home for us where we can dwell with him. He plants a fruitful garden where we can enjoy 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:23.759 fellowship with him, a place of complete security, abundant provision, and joyful union. 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:30.980 But he doesn't stop there either. From that garden, God's people are to convey his presence 00:21:30.980 --> 00:21:37.319 and declare his praise to the ends of the earth as far as the rivers run. 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:46.639 Derek Kidner put it this way, the Lord God's provision is a model of parental care. 00:21:47.779 --> 00:21:53.019 The man is sheltered but not smothered. He is given ample nourishment for his aesthetic, 00:21:53.539 --> 00:21:59.279 physical, and spiritual appetites. On all sides, discoveries and encounters await him. 00:21:59.579 --> 00:22:02.659 There is work set before him for body and mind. 00:22:02.660 --> 00:22:09.100 You see, the Garden of Eden was not only a place of safety and security in God's presence, 00:22:09.360 --> 00:22:14.900 it was also the beginning of God's great adventure for the human race. 00:22:16.540 --> 00:22:23.160 You know, the life that Genesis describes before sin entered the world was not boring or static 00:22:23.160 --> 00:22:28.480 or confined or lacking in potential for growth. No. 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:33.339 Back in chapter 1, verse 28, God blessed human beings and said, 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:40.720 Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and spread the garden. 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:46.220 Fill the earth with the knowledge and love and praise of God. 00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:52.819 We actually see a similar progression in the New Testament. 00:22:52.819 --> 00:22:56.299 How does God start his work? 00:22:57.079 --> 00:22:59.179 Well, he breathes new life into us. 00:22:59.259 --> 00:23:00.519 We come alive to Jesus. 00:23:00.700 --> 00:23:05.119 We see him for who he is and we treasure him and he comes to dwell in us by his spirit. 00:23:05.480 --> 00:23:08.700 But God doesn't leave us alone as individuals. 00:23:08.919 --> 00:23:11.960 No, he brings us into his family, into the church, into a garden 00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:15.879 where we can feed on him and receive his good gifts 00:23:15.879 --> 00:23:18.759 and cultivate them and be strengthened by his grace. 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:23.799 And then he sends us out to the world to take what we found here in Jesus 00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:26.599 and bring it to the rest of the world. 00:23:27.640 --> 00:23:30.799 Jesus came to his disciples after his resurrection and said to them, 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:33.119 Peace be with you. 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:37.519 As the Father has sent me, so I send you. 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:40.099 And then he breathed on them and said, 00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:42.059 Receive the Holy Spirit. 00:23:42.059 --> 00:23:45.379 The Holy Spirit is the one who equips us, 00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:47.960 who fills us with God's peace, 00:23:48.259 --> 00:23:52.879 and who equips us for the mission that God has given us. 00:23:55.539 --> 00:23:56.679 Let me tell you, 00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:00.639 you will never find a better mission in life 00:24:00.639 --> 00:24:04.559 than the one that Jesus Christ has given to his people. 00:24:05.980 --> 00:24:07.679 Nothing is more meaningful. 00:24:07.919 --> 00:24:09.019 Nothing is more lasting. 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:11.960 Nothing is more ultimately exciting and satisfying 00:24:11.960 --> 00:24:14.319 than receiving the love of Jesus 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:17.519 and going forth in the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:23.940 Don't settle for pursuing any lesser purpose than God's. 00:24:26.259 --> 00:24:28.879 God is for us because he made us intimately. 00:24:29.099 --> 00:24:31.900 God is for us because he provides for us generously. 00:24:33.160 --> 00:24:36.019 And finally, we see God is for us 00:24:36.019 --> 00:24:38.819 because he instructs us wisely. 00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:40.019 God is for us because he is not for us. 00:24:40.019 --> 00:24:40.519 God is for us. 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:42.079 Verses 15 to 17. 00:24:42.920 --> 00:24:46.420 You see, in order to enjoy fellowship with God 00:24:46.420 --> 00:24:49.000 and in order to carry out the mission of God, 00:24:49.079 --> 00:24:53.000 we must listen to God's wise instruction. 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:58.859 Verse 16 and 17, we see God's first command, 00:24:59.160 --> 00:25:01.799 his first word to the man. 00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:06.039 You may surely eat of every tree of the garden. 00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:09.039 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, 00:25:09.139 --> 00:25:11.440 you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it, 00:25:11.500 --> 00:25:12.720 you shall surely die. 00:25:13.399 --> 00:25:14.799 Now, for many of us, 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:17.720 this is the hardest part of the passage to see 00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:22.579 as a good thing from a God who is for us. 00:25:22.579 --> 00:25:26.679 We say, okay, God made us intimately. 00:25:26.899 --> 00:25:28.879 Yes, I can see the goodness of that. 00:25:28.980 --> 00:25:30.359 God provides for us abundantly. 00:25:30.519 --> 00:25:31.839 Yes, I can see the goodness of that. 00:25:31.899 --> 00:25:33.359 But what are God's commands? 00:25:34.179 --> 00:25:35.019 His law? 00:25:35.139 --> 00:25:35.779 His rules? 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:42.099 See, we've been conditioned to ask questions like, 00:25:42.579 --> 00:25:44.799 why did God put the tree in the garden 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:46.500 if they weren't supposed to eat from it 00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:48.240 and if he knew they would eat from it anyway? 00:25:50.119 --> 00:25:52.160 Or was it actually a step up 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:54.079 to eat from the tree of knowledge 00:25:54.079 --> 00:25:56.000 rather than remain in blissful ignorance? 00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:00.180 Such questions are very common, 00:26:01.180 --> 00:26:02.539 but at the same time, 00:26:02.599 --> 00:26:03.980 they are profoundly misguided. 00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:09.640 We've already seen that the life God gave 00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:12.079 to humanity in Eden was not boring. 00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:14.700 He gave them a commission 00:26:14.700 --> 00:26:17.080 to spread life to the ends of the earth. 00:26:18.120 --> 00:26:19.759 But let me address God's command 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:22.200 by saying three things 00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:25.480 to help us see, I think, 00:26:25.539 --> 00:26:27.519 the goodness of God's command here. 00:26:27.640 --> 00:26:29.680 First, God's command begins 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:31.640 with a broad permission. 00:26:33.100 --> 00:26:35.539 You may surely eat, literally eating, 00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:37.660 you may eat of every tree in the garden. 00:26:37.779 --> 00:26:40.000 God's first word is not a no, 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:41.420 but a yes. 00:26:42.059 --> 00:26:43.480 God richly provides us 00:26:43.480 --> 00:26:44.940 with everything to enjoy. 00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:48.220 You see, whenever we struggle 00:26:48.220 --> 00:26:50.759 with something that God says no to, 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:52.759 we need to ask ourselves, 00:26:52.980 --> 00:26:56.099 what good things has God said yes to 00:26:56.099 --> 00:26:57.700 that we are ignoring 00:26:57.700 --> 00:26:59.660 and neglecting to receive? 00:27:00.660 --> 00:27:02.440 If we're starving ourselves 00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:04.059 by refusing to take part 00:27:04.059 --> 00:27:06.240 in the meal that God has laid out for us, 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:08.220 in his word, 00:27:08.360 --> 00:27:09.160 in his spirit, 00:27:09.420 --> 00:27:10.299 in community, 00:27:10.299 --> 00:27:12.639 then of course we'll feel hungry 00:27:12.639 --> 00:27:13.799 for the forbidden fruit. 00:27:16.539 --> 00:27:17.680 Because we're focusing 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:19.899 on God's single prohibition 00:27:19.899 --> 00:27:21.899 and neglecting the broad freedom 00:27:21.899 --> 00:27:22.759 that he has given us 00:27:22.759 --> 00:27:23.639 in Jesus Christ. 00:27:25.339 --> 00:27:26.799 So God's command begins 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:27.619 with a broad 00:27:27.619 --> 00:27:28.919 and generous permission. 00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:30.000 Second, 00:27:31.379 --> 00:27:33.240 God's boundaries are good 00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:34.279 and even necessary 00:27:34.279 --> 00:27:36.419 for our creaturely existence. 00:27:36.420 --> 00:27:38.820 Verse 15 tells us 00:27:38.820 --> 00:27:40.060 God installed the man 00:27:40.060 --> 00:27:41.560 as the garden's caretaker. 00:27:42.700 --> 00:27:44.019 The Lord God took the man 00:27:44.019 --> 00:27:45.300 and put him in the garden of Eden 00:27:45.300 --> 00:27:47.300 to work it and keep it. 00:27:47.360 --> 00:27:49.340 Now the same verbs appear 00:27:49.340 --> 00:27:51.180 in Numbers chapter 3, 00:27:51.259 --> 00:27:52.240 verses 7 to 10. 00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:54.140 There, 00:27:54.279 --> 00:27:55.000 they are translated 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:56.460 minister and guard, 00:27:56.600 --> 00:27:58.200 but they are the same words, 00:27:58.360 --> 00:27:59.920 work or serve 00:27:59.920 --> 00:28:00.720 or minister 00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:01.880 and keep 00:28:01.880 --> 00:28:02.820 or guard 00:28:02.820 --> 00:28:03.380 or protect. 00:28:03.380 --> 00:28:05.760 They're used in Numbers, 00:28:05.860 --> 00:28:05.980 though, 00:28:06.020 --> 00:28:06.920 to describe the task 00:28:06.920 --> 00:28:07.760 of the priests. 00:28:09.940 --> 00:28:11.600 So just as the priests 00:28:11.600 --> 00:28:13.260 were supposed to take care 00:28:13.260 --> 00:28:14.220 of God's house 00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:15.440 in the Old Testament, 00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:17.200 the man here 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:18.540 is supposed to take care 00:28:18.540 --> 00:28:19.600 of God's garden. 00:28:20.860 --> 00:28:21.880 And his job 00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:23.180 as God's priest 00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:24.620 is to cultivate the garden, 00:28:24.840 --> 00:28:26.080 to bring out its fullness, 00:28:26.360 --> 00:28:27.360 and to guard it 00:28:27.360 --> 00:28:29.740 against any potential intruders. 00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:33.480 God left him in charge. 00:28:34.579 --> 00:28:35.420 And so he gave him 00:28:35.420 --> 00:28:36.980 wide latitude. 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:39.440 Eat of any tree 00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:40.460 in the garden. 00:28:41.700 --> 00:28:42.180 However, 00:28:42.500 --> 00:28:43.660 as the rightful maker 00:28:43.660 --> 00:28:44.960 and owner of the garden, 00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:46.400 God reserved 00:28:46.400 --> 00:28:47.680 one tree within it. 00:28:47.759 --> 00:28:48.980 He left one thing 00:28:48.980 --> 00:28:52.099 to symbolize 00:28:52.099 --> 00:28:53.420 his unique role. 00:28:54.700 --> 00:28:56.140 One tree stood 00:28:56.140 --> 00:28:57.220 in the midst of the garden 00:28:57.220 --> 00:28:58.160 as a monument 00:28:58.160 --> 00:29:00.200 to God's rightful authority 00:29:00.200 --> 00:29:01.460 over humanity. 00:29:02.380 --> 00:29:03.880 One tree stood there 00:29:03.880 --> 00:29:05.079 to remind the man 00:29:05.079 --> 00:29:07.059 of what Psalm 100 says. 00:29:07.500 --> 00:29:09.039 Know that the Lord, 00:29:09.380 --> 00:29:10.640 he is God. 00:29:11.940 --> 00:29:13.339 It is he who made us 00:29:13.339 --> 00:29:14.360 and not we ourselves. 00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:15.500 We are his people, 00:29:15.779 --> 00:29:17.259 the sheep of his pasture. 00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:19.079 You see, 00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:19.839 in the Old Testament, 00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:21.180 the phrase, 00:29:21.319 --> 00:29:22.920 the knowledge of good and evil, 00:29:23.940 --> 00:29:25.460 it's used a few times. 00:29:25.460 --> 00:29:28.000 And it means 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:29.140 the authority 00:29:29.140 --> 00:29:31.000 to decide independently 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:33.480 what is good and evil. 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:36.980 So it talks about children 00:29:36.980 --> 00:29:38.160 who are too young 00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:39.360 to know good and evil, 00:29:39.460 --> 00:29:41.100 that is to have the responsibility 00:29:41.100 --> 00:29:42.880 to decide between good and evil. 00:29:43.299 --> 00:29:44.360 It talks about the king 00:29:44.360 --> 00:29:46.400 as one who discerns good and evil. 00:29:47.180 --> 00:29:47.299 Right? 00:29:47.360 --> 00:29:48.500 It's speaking about authority 00:29:48.500 --> 00:29:50.480 to determine independently 00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:53.200 what is good and evil. 00:29:53.200 --> 00:29:55.299 And so the tree 00:29:55.299 --> 00:29:55.819 of the knowledge 00:29:55.819 --> 00:29:56.319 of good and evil 00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:57.819 represented God's authority 00:29:57.819 --> 00:29:58.559 to determine 00:29:58.559 --> 00:29:59.700 the moral boundaries 00:29:59.700 --> 00:30:00.799 of human existence. 00:30:02.539 --> 00:30:03.480 Honoring God's tree 00:30:03.480 --> 00:30:04.920 by not eating from it 00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:05.779 was an expression 00:30:05.779 --> 00:30:07.299 of trusting God's goodness 00:30:07.299 --> 00:30:08.480 and accepting 00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:09.880 our creaturely status 00:30:09.880 --> 00:30:11.440 and honoring God's authority 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:12.860 over us. 00:30:14.920 --> 00:30:15.740 You see, 00:30:15.819 --> 00:30:16.580 part of the reality 00:30:16.580 --> 00:30:17.940 of being a finite creature 00:30:17.940 --> 00:30:20.100 is that we do not flourish 00:30:20.099 --> 00:30:21.079 when we attempt 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:22.179 to live without 00:30:22.179 --> 00:30:23.339 any boundaries. 00:30:28.059 --> 00:30:28.659 All right? 00:30:28.719 --> 00:30:29.619 Try not setting 00:30:29.619 --> 00:30:30.480 any boundaries 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:33.259 on your time 00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:33.859 by staying, 00:30:33.939 --> 00:30:34.899 try staying awake 00:30:34.899 --> 00:30:36.519 for three days straight. 00:30:37.919 --> 00:30:38.819 Pretty soon, 00:30:38.899 --> 00:30:39.919 you'll start hallucinating. 00:30:41.879 --> 00:30:42.319 All right? 00:30:42.359 --> 00:30:43.679 If we don't live 00:30:43.679 --> 00:30:44.659 with some boundaries, 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:45.199 I mean, 00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:46.319 there's all kinds of examples 00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:47.000 one could give. 00:30:47.139 --> 00:30:47.819 If we don't live 00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:48.599 with some boundaries, 00:30:48.779 --> 00:30:49.939 we very quickly 00:30:49.939 --> 00:30:51.019 fall off the edge. 00:30:53.139 --> 00:30:53.919 And here, 00:30:54.039 --> 00:30:54.939 God confronts us 00:30:54.939 --> 00:30:56.039 with the most fundamental 00:30:56.039 --> 00:30:57.299 boundary of all, 00:30:58.240 --> 00:30:58.919 the boundary 00:30:58.919 --> 00:31:01.079 between the almighty creator 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:03.559 and a finite creature. 00:31:05.259 --> 00:31:06.519 In other words, 00:31:07.299 --> 00:31:08.220 the tree was there 00:31:08.220 --> 00:31:10.559 to remind the man 00:31:10.559 --> 00:31:13.319 that God is God 00:31:13.319 --> 00:31:15.200 and we are not. 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:18.319 God's boundaries 00:31:18.319 --> 00:31:18.840 are good. 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:19.779 They're even necessary 00:31:19.779 --> 00:31:21.220 for our creaturely existence 00:31:21.220 --> 00:31:23.120 and for our own flourishing. 00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:25.080 Third, 00:31:25.500 --> 00:31:26.680 God's consequences 00:31:26.680 --> 00:31:28.140 are entirely appropriate 00:31:28.140 --> 00:31:28.799 and fitting. 00:31:30.360 --> 00:31:31.200 In the day 00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:31.940 that you eat of it, 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:33.400 you shall surely die. 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:36.920 This consequence 00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:38.420 is neither arbitrary 00:31:38.420 --> 00:31:39.319 nor excessive. 00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:42.080 For the man to eat 00:31:42.080 --> 00:31:42.660 from the one 00:31:42.660 --> 00:31:43.360 and only tree 00:31:43.360 --> 00:31:44.180 reserved for the one 00:31:44.180 --> 00:31:44.900 and only creator 00:31:44.900 --> 00:31:46.720 would be to utterly despise, 00:31:47.019 --> 00:31:47.500 reject, 00:31:47.660 --> 00:31:48.960 and seek to replace 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:50.820 the one who had breathed 00:31:50.820 --> 00:31:51.720 life into him, 00:31:51.780 --> 00:31:52.900 who had planted the garden 00:31:52.900 --> 00:31:54.440 and provided so generously 00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:54.940 for him 00:31:54.940 --> 00:31:56.100 and who had installed him 00:31:56.100 --> 00:31:57.380 as the responsible guardian 00:31:57.380 --> 00:31:58.140 over it. 00:31:58.180 --> 00:31:59.280 If God is the ultimate 00:31:59.280 --> 00:32:00.220 life giver, 00:32:00.360 --> 00:32:01.019 any attempt 00:32:01.019 --> 00:32:01.900 to replace him 00:32:01.900 --> 00:32:02.640 or push him 00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:03.340 to the side 00:32:03.340 --> 00:32:04.240 is cutting off 00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:04.680 the branch 00:32:04.680 --> 00:32:05.700 that we are sitting on. 00:32:06.980 --> 00:32:08.640 It can only result 00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:09.640 in death. 00:32:09.640 --> 00:32:14.500 See, God's commands 00:32:14.500 --> 00:32:15.400 to us are good. 00:32:16.600 --> 00:32:18.400 And even his most severe 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:20.060 warnings are expressions 00:32:20.060 --> 00:32:21.840 of his deep care 00:32:21.840 --> 00:32:23.759 for us. 00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:28.460 Is there a God 00:32:28.460 --> 00:32:29.780 who really cares? 00:32:31.340 --> 00:32:33.180 Genesis 2 says 00:32:33.180 --> 00:32:34.840 absolutely yes. 00:32:34.839 --> 00:32:38.119 From the very beginning 00:32:38.119 --> 00:32:38.659 we can see 00:32:38.659 --> 00:32:39.879 God is for us. 00:32:40.319 --> 00:32:41.439 He's our heavenly father 00:32:41.439 --> 00:32:42.659 who made us intimately, 00:32:42.859 --> 00:32:44.220 who provides for us generously, 00:32:44.379 --> 00:32:46.319 and who instructs us wisely. 00:32:49.439 --> 00:32:50.259 And yet, 00:32:50.959 --> 00:32:53.099 some of us might say, 00:32:53.220 --> 00:32:54.459 but we are so far 00:32:54.459 --> 00:32:56.699 from the world 00:32:56.699 --> 00:32:58.859 described in Genesis 2. 00:32:58.859 --> 00:33:02.159 Maybe we can admire 00:33:02.159 --> 00:33:02.699 the beauty 00:33:02.699 --> 00:33:03.579 and tranquility 00:33:03.579 --> 00:33:04.240 of the scene 00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:05.139 painted here, 00:33:05.259 --> 00:33:06.439 humanity at home 00:33:06.439 --> 00:33:07.199 with God, 00:33:08.059 --> 00:33:09.559 but we can only 00:33:09.559 --> 00:33:10.219 look upon it 00:33:10.219 --> 00:33:11.279 with wistful longing. 00:33:13.159 --> 00:33:15.639 It seems so far away 00:33:15.639 --> 00:33:17.279 from our own experience 00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:23.339 in this world. 00:33:24.679 --> 00:33:26.679 Leon Kast wrote this 00:33:26.679 --> 00:33:27.359 in his commentary 00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:28.179 on this chapter. 00:33:28.859 --> 00:33:31.519 He wrote, 00:33:31.579 --> 00:33:32.679 no matter how sophisticated 00:33:32.679 --> 00:33:33.799 and civilized 00:33:33.799 --> 00:33:34.679 we have become, 00:33:36.059 --> 00:33:37.179 most of us respond 00:33:37.179 --> 00:33:37.959 to this portrait 00:33:37.959 --> 00:33:39.379 of our remotest past 00:33:39.379 --> 00:33:40.839 with something 00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:42.959 that feels like nostalgia. 00:33:44.439 --> 00:33:45.559 With at least part 00:33:45.559 --> 00:33:46.199 of our souls, 00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:47.659 we long for a condition 00:33:47.659 --> 00:33:49.159 like this. 00:33:49.879 --> 00:33:50.959 Simple innocence 00:33:50.959 --> 00:33:51.839 and goodness, 00:33:52.419 --> 00:33:53.219 inner wholeness 00:33:53.219 --> 00:33:54.199 and spontaneity, 00:33:54.379 --> 00:33:55.259 lack of troublesome 00:33:55.259 --> 00:33:56.119 self-division 00:33:56.119 --> 00:33:57.839 and corrosive self-consciousness, 00:33:57.839 --> 00:33:59.039 being at home 00:33:59.039 --> 00:33:59.980 in the world. 00:34:00.779 --> 00:34:02.179 Is there a way back 00:34:02.179 --> 00:34:03.919 into this paradise 00:34:03.919 --> 00:34:05.079 that we have lost? 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:06.859 Is there a way 00:34:06.859 --> 00:34:07.480 to reconnect 00:34:07.480 --> 00:34:08.360 with this God 00:34:08.360 --> 00:34:09.079 who is near 00:34:09.079 --> 00:34:10.119 and fatherly 00:34:10.119 --> 00:34:11.119 to know that he cares 00:34:11.119 --> 00:34:11.719 for me 00:34:11.719 --> 00:34:13.199 and for us 00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:13.980 today? 00:34:16.500 --> 00:34:17.719 And the New Testament 00:34:17.719 --> 00:34:18.860 answers that question 00:34:18.860 --> 00:34:20.099 with a resounding yes. 00:34:20.099 --> 00:34:23.119 John 3, 16, 00:34:23.339 --> 00:34:24.039 one of the most 00:34:24.039 --> 00:34:25.079 oft-quoted verses 00:34:25.079 --> 00:34:25.719 in the Bible 00:34:25.719 --> 00:34:26.799 says, 00:34:26.920 --> 00:34:28.539 God so loved the world 00:34:28.539 --> 00:34:30.900 that he gave 00:34:30.900 --> 00:34:31.940 his one and only son 00:34:31.940 --> 00:34:34.839 that whoever believes 00:34:34.839 --> 00:34:35.239 in him 00:34:35.239 --> 00:34:36.000 would not perish 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:37.400 but have eternal life. 00:34:37.539 --> 00:34:38.219 Jesus Christ, 00:34:38.299 --> 00:34:38.980 the son of God, 00:34:39.079 --> 00:34:40.000 entered into a world 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:40.920 that was nothing 00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:42.440 like the garden 00:34:42.440 --> 00:34:43.159 of Eden. 00:34:43.159 --> 00:34:45.599 He came into a world 00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:46.420 that was dark 00:34:46.420 --> 00:34:47.299 and hostile, 00:34:47.659 --> 00:34:48.579 full of conflict 00:34:48.579 --> 00:34:49.619 and anguish. 00:34:50.139 --> 00:34:51.899 He came into a world 00:34:51.899 --> 00:34:52.799 under the sentence 00:34:52.799 --> 00:34:53.420 of death. 00:34:55.980 --> 00:34:57.420 He came to reconcile 00:34:57.420 --> 00:34:58.519 people to God 00:34:58.519 --> 00:35:00.199 and to bring them back 00:35:00.199 --> 00:35:01.139 into God's 00:35:01.139 --> 00:35:02.219 life-giving presence. 00:35:02.679 --> 00:35:03.679 And in order to do this, 00:35:03.719 --> 00:35:04.739 he endured rejection 00:35:04.739 --> 00:35:05.719 and torture, 00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:06.500 betrayal, 00:35:06.719 --> 00:35:07.480 and mockery. 00:35:07.739 --> 00:35:08.739 He hung on a tree 00:35:08.739 --> 00:35:10.219 and bled 00:35:10.219 --> 00:35:11.259 and died. 00:35:13.219 --> 00:35:14.279 Is there a God 00:35:14.279 --> 00:35:15.219 who really cares? 00:35:18.479 --> 00:35:20.079 Look at God's son himself 00:35:20.079 --> 00:35:21.399 hanging on a cross. 00:35:25.099 --> 00:35:26.079 Romans 8 says, 00:35:26.219 --> 00:35:27.099 he who did not spare 00:35:27.099 --> 00:35:27.939 his own son 00:35:27.939 --> 00:35:29.319 but gave him up 00:35:29.319 --> 00:35:29.919 for us all, 00:35:30.019 --> 00:35:30.839 how will he not 00:35:30.839 --> 00:35:31.959 also with him 00:35:31.959 --> 00:35:33.719 graciously give us 00:35:33.719 --> 00:35:34.759 all things? 00:35:37.679 --> 00:35:38.519 Let us pray. 00:35:38.739 --> 00:35:47.579 Father, 00:35:47.659 --> 00:35:48.119 we thank you 00:35:48.119 --> 00:35:48.659 for this 00:35:48.659 --> 00:35:51.099 portrait 00:35:51.099 --> 00:35:52.019 that we see here 00:35:52.019 --> 00:35:52.699 of your tender 00:35:52.699 --> 00:35:53.539 care. 00:35:54.299 --> 00:35:55.159 That you, 00:35:55.359 --> 00:35:56.239 the almighty God, 00:35:56.319 --> 00:35:57.099 would draw near 00:35:57.099 --> 00:35:57.859 to us, 00:35:59.119 --> 00:36:00.079 breathing life 00:36:00.079 --> 00:36:00.979 into us, 00:36:01.879 --> 00:36:03.179 shaping and fashioning 00:36:03.179 --> 00:36:03.959 us in your own 00:36:03.959 --> 00:36:04.579 likeness, 00:36:05.339 --> 00:36:08.139 making a beautiful 00:36:08.139 --> 00:36:10.059 home 00:36:10.059 --> 00:36:12.099 for us to dwell 00:36:12.099 --> 00:36:12.639 with you 00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:15.400 and guiding us 00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:16.219 with your wise 00:36:16.219 --> 00:36:16.719 word. 00:36:18.019 --> 00:36:18.819 Thank you 00:36:18.819 --> 00:36:20.239 that you have, 00:36:20.759 --> 00:36:21.539 that the same 00:36:21.539 --> 00:36:22.799 God that we see 00:36:22.799 --> 00:36:23.639 here in Genesis 00:36:23.639 --> 00:36:27.440 is the God 00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:27.960 and Father 00:36:27.960 --> 00:36:28.579 of our Lord 00:36:28.579 --> 00:36:29.339 Jesus Christ 00:36:29.339 --> 00:36:30.279 whom we can rely 00:36:30.279 --> 00:36:31.119 on today. 00:36:31.119 --> 00:36:33.639 Lord, 00:36:33.759 --> 00:36:34.339 fill us, 00:36:34.440 --> 00:36:34.859 we pray, 00:36:34.960 --> 00:36:35.679 by your spirit 00:36:35.679 --> 00:36:36.380 with the knowledge 00:36:36.380 --> 00:36:37.199 of your love 00:36:37.199 --> 00:36:38.679 and deep care 00:36:38.679 --> 00:36:39.359 for us 00:36:39.359 --> 00:36:41.239 that we would 00:36:41.239 --> 00:36:42.900 rest in you 00:36:42.900 --> 00:36:45.699 and delight 00:36:45.699 --> 00:36:46.179 in you 00:36:46.179 --> 00:36:48.139 and become 00:36:48.139 --> 00:36:48.779 the people 00:36:48.779 --> 00:36:49.460 that you have 00:36:49.460 --> 00:36:51.039 created 00:36:51.039 --> 00:36:52.819 and redeemed 00:36:52.819 --> 00:36:53.400 us to be. 00:36:53.400 --> 00:36:54.800 in Jesus' 00:36:54.980 --> 00:36:55.180 name, 00:36:55.860 --> 00:36:56.099 amen.