“Answers for a study in the book of Genesis” is a weekly post in addition to the regular “apologetics” posts on the weekend where the original questions can be found at the bottom of the study, and then answers appear here mid-week. This gives you time to do your own research, and then check your answers. Keep in mind these will be basic answers with a little depth, but you can go much deeper for discussion if you’d like.
Note: The answers will focus on what the text of the Bible says, and commentaries and speculative answers will be noted as such. There are many scholarly commentaries out there but it will be important, as students of the Bible, to keep the text of the Bible as our first source. Commentaries can be used, keeping in mind that they are human thoughts about God’s Word. Scripture references here are taken from the NASB, unless otherwise noted.
The Goal for the notes, questions and answers: Share and reuse to lead your own Bible study!
Note: Class presentation, videos, reflections and Bible study questions are posted on the weekend – Bible study answers (like these) are posted mid-week.
Review and Bible Study
Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us when we commit to growing closer to the LORD.
Questions are taken directly from the chapters, and answers should be found and cited from the Scripture text in order to be Biblically accurate (unless asked to summarize in your own words). Study Bibles, commentaries and your own thoughts can be used for Discussion or Going Deeper questions. If you use these kinds of sources share them with your group.
1. Review of Class Topic: With your table group, discuss today’s presentation by summarizing what you learned, commenting or asking any questions.
Answers will vary…
Read Genesis Chapter 2 with your group then, to the best of your ability, answer the following questions:
2. What did God do on the seventh day? Cross-reference by reading Exodus 20:9-11—How does this passage support the Creation account in Genesis? How is the concept of the seven-day week still relevant to us today (and do we follow God’s model of a day of rest)?
- On the seventh day God rested from all the work that He had done.
- Exodus 20:8-11 (NASB) says: 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 For six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
- The above passage speaks to the six-day creation (not ages or long periods of time). The Hebrew word for day is Yom and it is used both here and in the creation account of Genesis chapter one. Some will say the word Yom can mean a period of time or an era, but when it is used with numbers, and in the context of literal 24-hour days, it always means a regular day. The Exodus passage supports this view.
- The concept of the seven-day week is used around the world and has been for thousands of years. Modern medicine today supports this idea where work should be done in the day, 6-8 hours of sleep at night, and at least one day of rest each week is optimal for human health and longevity.
3. Discuss: In chapter two, notice the great relationship Adam had with God when they were in the Garden together, and God let Adam name all the animals! What is our role in relationship to the rest of creation, and how are we fulfilling that role God gave us?
- Adam and God had a face-to-face relationship in the beginning. How awesome that must have been. Some skeptics will say that Adam could have not had enough time to name all animals in one day. However, it is feasible to conclude that Adam had enough time if we keep in mind the use of the word “kind” which is a larger category than species (for example: dog kind, cat kind, cow kind etc.). Also notice that verse 20 says: “The man gave names to all the cattle, to all the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field.” It does not say all the fish, insects and other living things. We must also remember that this is the beginning of creation, so there are not a lot of offspring yet and the “kinds” would be carrying the genetic information to reproduce the various species later on that we see today.
- The concept of being created in God’s image is important to understand because it helps to frame our worldview concerning others. If we treat others as being created in God’s image, just as we are, then decency, respect and care for one another should be of utmost importance. This also includes respect for the precious sanctity of life; whether we are discussing racism, abortion, euthanasia or any other related issues we must remember that ALL human life is special and important in God’s eyes, as it should be in ours.
- Jesus emphasized this when He gave us the Great Commandment in Matthew 22:37-40 saying, “’YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments depends the whole Law and the Prophets.”
4. Application: Re-read Genesis 2:19-25, then cross-reference by reading Matthew 19:4-6. When is the only time God uses “it is not good” in the creation account and why? From these passages what do you think God’s desire and design for marriage is, and how are we following, or not following, His original intention today?
- God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” The man, Adam, was not meant to be alone. God models in the Trinity the concept of relationship, and we see this relationship concept played out in the idea of marriage between two humans that “fit together” perfectly to create a family unit along with their offspring. Jesus supports this concept in Matthew 19:3-6
“Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.””
- God’s design for marriage is that it is to be between and man and a woman for the purpose of relationship and to be fruitful and multiply. They are to provide for the next generation, not only so the species continues to flourish, but so that God can be shared with the future generations as well – so they will know who God is (but as we see throughout the Old Testament, generations would forget about God, and God would send in prophets and leaders to remind them all the time).
- Today, the idea of marriage is constantly under attack, changing and swaying to the whims of a secular culture and educational institutions. Even the idea of gender is under attack today, and we ask what is a man, what is a woman? God clearly defines these things in His Word from the beginning, anything outside the will of God is the definition of sin.
5. Going Deeper: In Hebrew literature authors often give an overview of a story and then retell it with a specific emphasis. Genesis chapter one is the overview. What is being emphasized in chapter two? What does it mean to be made in the “image of God” and why is that important for us to understand?
Answers may vary, but can include…
- The creation of humankind is emphasized in chapter two. This is a retelling of details from day-six in the Creation. This is the story of God’s grandest creation because we are told that God created humans in His image.
- (From question three above) The concept of being created in God’s image is important to understand because it helps to frame our worldview concerning others. If we treat others as being created in God’s image, just as we are, then decency, respect and care for one another should be of utmost importance. This also includes respect for the precious sanctity of life; whether we are discussing racism, abortion, euthanasia or any other related issues we must remember that ALL human life is special and important in God’s eyes, as it should be in ours.
Please continue to join us as we read and study the Bible as part of our Christian Apologetics’ class each week!
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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in! Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.
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Teri Dugan
TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com
1 Peter 3:15
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