Genesis 2:4-7                  Kevin E. Jesmer

Key Verse: 2:7                          1-12-24

“then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living creature.”  (ESV)

Dear Lord, heavenly Father, thank you for teaching me that our bodies are made from the dust of the earth. They serve a great purpose, but they are not eternal in their present form. Thank you for shedding light on this issue and giving me the proper perspective on my own body. Grow in me a heavenly hope that longs for the return of Christ, the resurrection and eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Plant your words in my heart today. I thank you and I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: No Man To Work The Ground (4-5)

Verses 4-5 read, “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,”

     This seems like a strange paragraph. Verse 5 is filled with “no’s”. There was “no bush”, “no small plant”, “not caused”, “no man”. When an author puts all of these “no’s” in a sentence, there is reason. One can picture that the seeds were in the ground and everything was ready to spring to life, waiting to be watered–but there was no man to work the ground and take care of the earth. I believe that this is a literary method to let the reader know that the world was prepared, yet empty and imperfect until mankind appeared.

        Let us use a wedding as an analogy. Imagine organizing a huge wedding party. You get caterers to make food. The invitations are sent out. The hall is decorated. The families and friends are gathered. The DJ is ready. The officiating pastor is there. But until the bride and groom show up, there is no wedding. The preparations are made, but everything is in waiting. No one can say that a wedding is happening. But when the bride and the groom show up, then everything is put into motion. A beautiful wedding erupts. Joy is everywhere. The celebration of this new family begins. It is all about the bride and groom coming onto the scene.

      This shows the importance of mankind in God’s plan. God made man to work and take care of the garden (Gen 2:15). Mankind was meant to be the steward of God’s world. This world could not fulfill its purpose in God, until mankind was created and began to serve his ordained purpose. God made it thus.

       Nowadays there are a growing number of people who think that this world would be a better place if mankind never existed. We can see how they can feel this way with global warming, plastic garbage, wars, pollution, deforestation, criminal activity, urbanization etcetera. But that is not how God feels about mankind. God feels that mankind is the crown and glory of creation. When Adam and Eve were created God saw all that he had made and said that it was very good (Gen 1:31). Yes, God knows that in this fallen world, people are led astray because of sin and that they do cause a whole lot of suffering and damage.  But God also knows of mankind’s potential to grow in the image of God and become a blessing when they are redeemed. He looks on us with faith, hope and love. God loves this world with mankind in it, and co-working with him. His love for us is why he sent Jesus to be our Savior (John 3:16).

     God made mankind in his image with a wonderful and glorious hope. Mankind was made a little lower than the angels (Heb 2:7-9). Adam and Eve were endowed with a huge brain and heart capacity so that they could be the stewards of creation (Gen 2:15). God had an immense vision for them. Adam and Eve were to work together with God to spread the blessings of the Garden of Eden around the world and glorify the name of Lord throughout all generations. Their descendants would love one another as well as worship and love God their creator, who loved them first (1 John 4:19).  That is why human beings were created.  God is love (1 John 4:7-21). He was so full of love and hope for us, right from the beginning.

     I must always have the right viewpoint of humanity. I read a lot of news. Every day I browse the news and almost all of it is bad news … sad to say. Mankind and our sinful nature is ruining God’s creation and causing a whole lot of pain and suffering. It has been like this ever since the fall of mankind, when Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden. It is so easy to be a casualty of daily news watching. But I must determine to see things from God’s point of view. I must maintain hope and love for humanity and even for myself. I must see us as God’s sees us, people full of potential to do good and bring glory to God’s name. It all begins by fixing our eyes in Jesus (Heb 12:2-3) and holding onto the word of God. “Lord, give me a heart full of faith, hope and love for those around me and for myself. I know that it all begins with you.”  

Part 2: God Formed Adam From The Dust For His Glory (6-7a)

Verses 6-7a read, “and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground…”

       The time came for God to bring forth mankind. The gentle mist signaled that the rest of creation was nurtured and beginning to bloom. The whole face of the ground was moistened. Life flourished.  Now it was time for God to usher forth the crown and glory of his creation, mankind. Everything is accomplished in God’s right time.

      God chose to form man from the dust of the earth. Being made from dust is very significant. God could have made humans, right from the beginning, with eternal, glorious heavenly bodies in a flash, in a twinkling of an eye (1 Cor 15:52), but he did not. He chose to make us out of the dust of the earth. Why?

     It was a humble beginning. God’s way always takes the humble path. The Israelites started out as humble shepherds and then were formed as a nation while in slavery in Egypt. The Tabernacle was a portable tent. Jesus was born in manger, grew up as a poor carpenter apprentice, and had no place to lay his head. The birth of Christ was first announced to poor shepherds in the fields. The kingdom of God grew through Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. The early church met in house churches and suffered persecution. All great things in God began from humble beginnings, even the formation of mankind.

      Dust reminds us of our weakness. The fact that we are dust tells us that our bodies are weak. Strength is relative. Yes, there are some people who appear very strong. They work out a lot. They eat well. But no matter how much they exercise, they will have physical weakness. There were some athletic people who succumbed to a tiny COVID virus. Their muscular strength and endurance only lasts for a short time. One day they will need help getting out of a chair. Later their weak bodies will give out and they will die. Our bodies are only made of dust. We are very weak in and of ourselves. We desperately need God.

     I always thought that my body was strong. I did a lot of walking and light weights. My nursing job kept me moving. I ate healthy breakfasts and climbed lots of stairs at work. But this arthritis pain in the right hip was more that I could bear. It made me weak. In the end I had a limp and I could barely climb stairs. I could hardly lift my leg to get into the car to drive. I could not escape the pain, no matter what I did. But I knew that I should not be surprised about this hip degeneration. What is so unusual about that? My hip is only the dust of the earth. It is only by the grace of God that I have been able to do some exercise and continue working over the decades. But dust crumbles. And I know that I must depend on God’s strength alone every day that I live.

      God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. Paul testified to this fact. He had many weaknesses. He faced incredibly difficult circumstances as he ministered the gospel. Yet he gave this testimony in 2 Corinthians 12:9-11, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” This was Apostle Paul’s personal testimony about how God’s was working through him despite all his weaknesses. God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. That is what we are here for. We are to draw near to God and glorify God. That is, we are to reveal God. We think that we can glorify God in our strength. But the opposite is true. We can more fully glorify God in our weakness.

     Dust shows our utter dependence on God. We are weak but God is strong. We are barely strong enough to take care of our own needs properly. God made it this way too. He may choose to not take away our weaknesses for through our weakness, we will cry out to God in prayer and he will deliver us in his way and in his time.

     Despite my pain I needed to keep working as a nurse. I still needed to exercise to control my weight and glucose levels. I could not stop and just live a sedentary lifestyle. Before the replacement, the hip hurt a lot, but God always gave me strength. I could work and exercise. I could remain active. Swimming was God’s gift. After my surgery, a person on the OR team told my wife that they were surprised that I was still working. “He must have been in a lot of pain.” I was, but I tried to give glory to God whenever people saw my limp and asked about my condition. How could I not? It was faith in him that enabled me able to carry on. As Apostle Paul said, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Part 3: God Made Our Bodies To Be Special, Though They Are Dust

    There is nothing innately precious or valuable about the stuff of which we are made. Our bodies are made of dust. But the hand of the Master Workman molded us. His touch makes our dust special. There are physical reasons why our bodies are special. On a biological level, this pile of dust is an amazing feat of bioengineering. There is no machine in this world that is able to accomplish what God has accomplished. With our bodies we can fly to Mars. We can do amazing works. And these bodies of dust can function for over one hundred years.  It is simply amazing!

      There are also spiritual reasons why our bodies of dust are amazing. The Bible says that our bodies are the temple of the Lord (1 Cor 6:19-20). We need to honor God with our bodies. Because of sin, our bodies became unholy, yet they are meant to be a place that God chooses to dwell (John 14:23). That is possible when we repent of our sins and receive God’s grace of complete forgiveness. Then, when we are completely forgiven by God and declared holy. Then, through faith in Christ, the holy God comes to dwells in us through faith. When God dwells in us, we love God for freeing us from the power of sin and death and granting us a new life. We yearn to follow him. This begins our eternal relationship with Christ. It begins now, as we live in this body of dust and it continues on into eternity. The point is, if God chooses to dwell in this body of dust, and making it holy, then it must be very important to him.

     I need to have the proper perspective of our bodies. Being a nurse, it is easy to fall into negative thinking about bodies. After spending 25 years working in the hospital, I have seen so many things. I have seen peoples’ bodies at different stages of breaking down and approaching death. I am also highly aware of the ageing of my own body. The other day I was struck by the fact that in twenty-one years I will be eighty years old. Wow! But instead of falling into negativity about this pile of dust I live in, I need to stand in amazement and awe at what God has accomplished. Life in this body is the best that it can be accomplished in a fallen world. My hope is in eternal life in the kingdom of God.

Part 4: One Day We Will Have Resurrection Bodies

      I say, “in this fallen world”, because there will be a time when we will be given brand new resurrection bodies. 1 Corinthians 15: 50-55 reads, “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ 55 ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’”.  

      Yes, when Jesus comes, we will be given imperishable, powerful, glorious resurrection bodies. There will be no more weakness, pain, and disease. But for now, we do our best to live in these bodies made from dust, glorifying God in our weakness, as we await the Second Coming of Jesus.

       When Jesus comes again, I will be set free from physical concerns. I will be free from further joint replacement surgeries. I will not have to worry about weight loss and insulin resistance. I will not feel tired. I will not want to keep my titanium hip as a souvenir. All of that will be in the past, as I launch out into eternal life in the Kingdom of God with my brand-new resurrection body (1 Thess 4:17).

     Every ache and pain, every moment of weakness can be a reminder of what is to come. Such things can grow our faith and our longing to be with Jesus. I don’t want to downplay the plight of many whose pain is unbearable and whose weakness makes live unlivable. They suffer so much. Their quality of life is severely diminished. They need to find some relief with pain meds, and treatment. But, even in the worst of cases, the real hope is a brand-new resurrection body granted to those who have hope in Christ. This is the best medication our physical degeneration.

     There is one obvious, final point. God created us and therefore he owns us. He is our creator and therefore we belong to him. He created us because he loves us. His heart overflowed with joy as he saw Adam rise from the ground after receiving God’s breath of life. His heart with brimming with love like a parent loves their newborn. He has wonderful plans for us as well great joy and hope in us. We can trust God and we follow him and serve his divine purpose for us. 

Part 5: God Breathed the Breath of Life (7b)

Verse 7b read, “…and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living creature.”

     God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being–an immortal soul. There are so many things to discover about God and us through this short text. Let’s see.

        First, God is intimate with us. He chose the hands-on approach. The imagery of this verse moves us to imagine God placing his lips over the nose and mouth of the formed man. It is almost like infant CPR. God could have done it some other way. He could have simply blew his breath of life over the body of the man and brought him to life standing away at a distance. But no…he chose the intimate way.

     Our God is a personal, intimate God. We can see that through his acts of creation. The spirit of God hovered over the waters (Gen 1:2). The Ark of the Covenant traveled among God’s people (Ex 13:17-18; 21-22). Jesus, our Savior, came from heaven to take on the form of a man to dwell among sinners and die among them in order to save people from their sins (John 1:14). By his grace God can dwell among in us in deep communion. Our God is an intimate God. 

      Deism is a belief system where God is believed to be disconnected from his creation. He may have created it and set things in motion, but he is not intimately involved with his work. He is not dwelling with creation. He dwells somewhere out there in the cosmos and we are on earth. But that is not the way the God of the Bible operates. He is right here with us. He dwells among his people, in the hearts of the faithful. He is at work in all of creation in a very intimate way.

      Second, mankind has two natures. There are two parts to being a human being, body and spirit. We have a physical aspect and a spiritual aspect to our being. Both are important. We cannot ignore either of our two parts. God wants us to take care of both, living a balanced life. Our bodies are the temple of the Lord (1 Cor 6:19). We must honor God with our bodies. We must offer up our bodies to God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him.

      But we also need to take care of our spirits. That involves living in a vine and branch relationship with Christ. He is the vine. We are the branches (John 15:5). It involves feeding our souls with good things, like the word of God, faithful prayer and good, Christian Fellowship. We need to be strong in the grace of Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:1). Then the spirit within us will be healthy and strong. Our souls will be nourished. We must thank God for breathing on us with his spirit.   

     I thank God for helping me to realize that I need to take care of both body and soul. We are surrounded by messages to simply take care of your body and the enjoy life with our bodies to the max. People are in the gym. They consume supplements. They are forever practicing mindfulness. They are obsessed with beautifying their bodies. If they cannot take care of their bodies they despair. I would be the same way. I would trying hard to focus exclusively on the preservation of my body to the detriment of my soul and my relationship with God. Focusing in on preserving my body is a losing game for my body is perishing away. My hip was severely arthritic. My other hip has a narrowing of the cartilage. There are other ailments. All of this is happening even with all my best efforts. I need to focus on my soul too.

     But Jesus taught me another way. Matthew 6:33 reads, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” The Bible teaches me, “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2 ESV). The NIV version says “Fix your eyes on Jesus…” Take care of your body…yes…but don’t forget about your soul. Seek Jesus and God’s kingdom as top priority in your life and fix your eyes on Christ.

     We are not fully alive until God fills us with the breath of life. He breathes into us both physical and spiritual life. We cannot just think that our bodies are everything and our souls are nothing. It is quite possible to be biologically alive, but spiritually dead. In fact it is possible to be dead in one’s sins (Ephesians 2:1-3). Jesus once told a prospective disciple to “let the dead bury their own dead” (Luke 9:60).  And so, it is very possible to be biologically alive and yet be spiritually dead. Adam was not declared a living being until God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Then he became a living being.

      There is a hymn called, “Breath On Me Breath of God”, written by Edwin Hatch in 1878. The lyrics are a prayer.

1 Breathe on me, Breath of God,

fill me with life anew,

that I may love the way you love,

and do what you would do.

2 Breathe on me, Breath of God,

until my heart is pure,

until my will is one with yours,

to do and to endure.

3 Breathe on me, Breath of God,

so shall I never die,

but live with you the perfect life

for all eternity.

Prayer: “Father, I am only dust, so I cannot be proud nor self-reliant. But because your life is in me, I know that I am precious to you–and so are my neighbors and all human beings. I also know that I can find strength, new life and hope in you to live by faith and bring you glory.”

One Word: Made from dust–but God-breathed