God's Design for the Human Race
¯«¬°¤HÃþ¤§³]p
³Ð¥@¬ö Genesis 1:26-31; 2:15-25
Worldwide
Outreach Teaching School
Dr.
Meiman Lai Saidi
Preface: God
created humankind to reflect His image in the world.
Reading
Genesis.1:26, in the text
that would help us to understand that the relationship between God and humanity is so important; God made a way that He would be
revealed in His creation: through humans. God intended to bless His
creation through men and women who embody the goodness of God. (Ge.1:27); God
blessing humankind in three ways: [1] To be fruitful
[v. 28], [2] To rule over earth's creatures [v. 28], and [3] To have God's
provision of food [v. 29].
God put human beings on
this planet is to take care of his creation ¡V to "tend and watch over it"
(Genesis 2:15). (Stephen M. Miller, the Complete Guide to
the Bible [Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour Publishing,
2007], 13)
God delegated some of
his authority to the human race, he expected us to take responsibility for the
environment and the other creatures that share out planet.
We must not be careless about how we take care of it. We are part of God's creation, and he is
pleased with how he made us. If at times you feel worthless or of little value,
remember that God made you for a good reason. You are valuable to him. (Commentary
of N.I.V.P.8)
Scripture Reading³Ð¥@¬ö Genesis
1:26-31:
- Then God said,
"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." - So God created man
in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. - God blessed them
and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." - Then God said,
"I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
30. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so. 31. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day | - ¡@¯«»¡¡B§ÚÌn·ÓµÛ§Ú̪º§Î¹³¡B«öµÛ§Ú̪º¼Ë¦¡³y¤H¡B¨Ï¥L̺޲z®ü¸Ìªº³½¡BªÅ¤¤ªº³¾¡B¦a¤Wªº¬¹¯b¡B©M¥þ¦a¡B¨Ã¦a¤W©Òª¦ªº¤@¤Á©øÂΡC
- ¡@¯«´N·ÓµÛ¦Û¤vªº§Î¹³³y¤H¡B¤D¬O·ÓµÛ¥Lªº§Î¹³³y¨k³y¤k¡C
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A. God Created Us: [The words "image" and "likeness" (1:26) are synonyms in both Hebrew and English. Joseph Coleson writes, "Both terms mean that God created [Adam] like God, or reflecting God, as a mirror reflects the image of the one looking into it, as a child is the likeness of the parent" God created humans in His likeness and in so doing placed His image on earth as a living, visible representation of His presence. It was His intention to bless all of His creation through men and women who embody the goodness of God. God created humankind as the centerpiece of His new creation. Male and female (1:27). They were created by God, in the image of God (1:27). God's treatment of the two suggests a divine impartiality. They were partners when embracing God's blessing and when fulfilling His commission. Blessed by God (1:28-30). After blessing the couple He had created, God gave them instructions for living. | A. ¤W«Ò³Ð³y§ÚÌ: ¤@³¹26¸` "[§Î¹³"©M"¼Ë¦¡"¦b§Æ§B¨Ó¤å^¤å¬O¦P¸q(1:26) ¡CJoseph Coleson¼g¨ì: ¤W«Ò³Ð³y¨È·í¹³¤W«Ò, ©Î»¡¤Ï®g¤W«Ò¥X¨Ó, ¹³¬O¤@´TÃè¤l, ¦p¦P¤p«Ä¹³¨ä¤÷¥À¿Ë (New Beacon Bible Commentary: Genesis 1-11 [Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2012], 67). ¤W«Ò³Ð³y¤HÃþ¹³¤W«Ò¦b¦a²y¤W¥NªíÍ¢¤§¦P¦b¡C¤]¬OÍ¢ªº¥Øªºn¸g¤HÃþ¯¬ºÖ©Ò¦³Í¢ªº³Ð³yª«¡C ©Ò¥H, ¤W«Ò³Ð³y¤HÃþ¤D¬OÍ¢·s³Ð³y¤@¤Áªº¤¤¤ß ¨k¤H©M¤k¤H (1:27). ³£¬O¯«¥H¨ä§Î¶H³yªº. ¯«¹ï¤GªÌ¬O¤½¥¡BµL¨pªº¡C¤GªÌ§"üÍ¢ªº¯¬ºÖ¥h§¹¦¨Í¢ªº¥Ø¼Ð¡C ¤W«Ò¯¬ºÖ (1:28-30). ¤GªÌ³Q¤W«Ò³Ð³y©M¯¬ºÖ«á¡C¤W«Ò´Nµ¹¥L̥ͬ¡«ü¾É¡C |
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B. God
Created with Freedom: Genesis 1:2:15-17
- The LORD God took
the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. - And the LORD God commanded the man,
"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; - 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."
| 15, C©MµØ¡@¯«±N¨º¤H¦w¸m¦b¥ì¨l¶é¡B¨Ï¥Lײz¬Ý¦u¡C 16. C©MµØ¡@¯«§h©J¥L»¡¡B¶é¤¤¦U¼Ë¾ð¤WªºªG¤l¡B§A¥i¥HÀH·N³ð 17. ¥u¬O¤À§Oµ½´c¾ð¤WªºªG¤l¡B§A¤£¥i³ð¡B¦]¬°§A³ðªº¤é¤l¥²©w¦º¡C |
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V.15, is
one of the reason's that God put human beings on this planet. He want us to "tend
and watch over it" ¯«±N¨º¤H¦w¸m¦b¦a²y¤W¡B¤D¬On§ÚÌײz©M¬Ý¦u¡C
V.16-17,
God gave Adam responsibility for the garden and told him not to eat from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil; God gave him a choice, and thus the
possibility of choosing wrongly. God still gives us choices, and we, too,
often chooses wrongly. These wrong choices may cause us pain, but they can help
us learn and grow and make better choices in the future. Living with the
consequences of our choices teaches us to think and choose more carefully (Commentary
of NIV, p.9).
C. God Created for Relationship: Genesis 2:18-25
18, the LORD God said, "It
is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." 18, C©MµØ¡@¯«»¡¡B¨º¤H¿W©~¤£¦n¡B§Ún¬°¥L³y¤@Ó°t°¸À°§U¥L¡C
- Now the LORD God
had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. - So
the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. - So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and
while he was sleeping, he took one of the man''s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. - Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of
the man, and he brought her to the man. - The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my
flesh; she shall be called ''woman, '' for she was taken out of man." - For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be
united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. - The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Commentary from NIV: | 19, C©MµØ¡@¯«¥Î¤g©Ò³y¦¨ªº³¥¦a¦U¼Ë¨«Ã~¡B©MªÅ¤¤¦U¼Ë¸³¾¡B³£±a¨ì¨º¤H±«e¬Ý¥L¥s¬Æ»ò¡D¨º¤H«ç¼Ë¥s¦U¼Ëªº¬¡ª«¡B¨º´N¬O¥Lªº¦W¦r¡C 20. ¨º¤H«Kµ¹¤@¤Á¬¹¯b¡B©MªÅ¤¤¸³¾¡B³¥¦a¨«Ã~³£°_¤F¦W¡D¥u¬O¨º¤H¨S¦³¹J¨£°t°¸À°§U¥L¡C 21, C©MµØ¡@¯«¨Ï¥L¨IºÎ¡B¥L´NºÎ¤F¡D©ó¬O¨ú¤U¥Lªº¤@±ø¦Ø°©¡B¤S§â¦×¦X°_¨Ó¡C 22.C©MµØ¡@¯«´N¥Î¨º¤H¨¤W©Ò¨úªº¦Ø°©¡B³y¦¨¤@Ó¤k¤H¡B»â¥L¨ì¨º¤H¸ò«e¡C 23. ¨º¤H»¡¡B³o¬O§Ú°©¤¤ªº°©¡B¦×¤¤ªº ¦×¡B¥i¥HºÙ¥L¬°¤k¤H¡B¦]¬°¥L¬O±q¨k¤H¨¤W¨ú¥X¨Óªº¡C 24. ¦]¦¹¡B¤HnÂ÷¶}¤÷¥À¡B»P©d¤l³s¦X¡B¤G¤H¦¨¬°¤@Åé¡C25, ·í®É¤Ò©d¤G¤H¡B¨ª¨ÅSÅé¡B¨Ã¤£²Û®¢¡C |
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God's creative work was not complete until He made woman. He could have
made her from the dust of the ground, as he made man. God chose, however, to
make her from the man's flesh and bone. In so doing, he illustrated for us that
in marriage man and woman symbolically become one flesh. This is a mystical
union of the couple's hearts and lives.
Throughout the Bible,
God treats this special partnership seriously. If you are married or planning
to be married, are you willing to keep the commitment that makes the two of you
one? The goal in marriage should be more than friendship; it should be oneness.
God forms and equips
man and women for various tasks, but all these tasks lead to the same
goal-honoring God. Man gives life to woman; woman gives life to the world. Each
role carries exclusive privileges; there is no room for thinking that one sex
is superior to the other. (2:21-23)
God gave marriage as a
gift to Adam and Eve. They were created perfect for each other. Marriage was
not jus for convenience, nor was it brought about by any culture. It was
instituted by God and has three basic aspects: 1) the man leaves his parents
and, in a public act, promises himself to his wife; 2) the man and woman are
joined together by taking responsibility for each other's welfare and by loving
the mate above all others; 3) the two become one flesh in the intimacy and commitment
of sexual union that is reserved for marriage. Strong marriages include all
three of these aspects. (v.24)
V. 25, about "naked", have
you ever noticed how a little child can run naked through a room full of
strangers without embarrassment? He is not aware of his nakedness, just as Adam
and Eve were not embarrassed in their innocence. But after Adam and Eve sinned,
shame and awkwardness followed, creating barriers, between themselves and God.
We often experience these same barriers in marriage. Ideally a husband and wife
have no barriers, feeling no embarrassment in exposing themselves to each other
or to God. But, like Adam and Eve (3:7), we put on fig leaves (barriers)
because we have areas we don't want our spouse, or God, to know about. Then we
hide, just as Adam and Eve hid from God; in marriage, lack of spiritual,
emotional, and intellectual intimacy. In the same way, when we fail to expose
our secret thoughts to God, we break our lines of communication with him.
CONCLUSIONS: µ²½×
God created Eve to satisfy Adam's deep-felt need for companionship. The
Scriptures tell us that when God introduced the first man to the first
woman. Adam spoke his first recorded
words: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh³o¬O§Ú°©¤¤ªº°©¡B¦×¤¤ªº ¦×" (2:23)" This was
an impassioned exclamation celebrating his new companion and recognizing that
she was connected to him.
Here God initiates family life: "That is why a man leaves his father and
mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh³o´N¬O¤H¬°¦ónÂ÷¶}¤÷¥À¡B»P©d¤l³s¦X¡B¤G¤H¦¨¬°¤@Åé¡C2:24"
Becoming "one flesh" is a reference to the enduring commitment of the marriage
union. However, it also refers to the physical intimacy that is reserved for
marriage. (Bill Manning, Former Adult Faith Connections editor."
QUESTIONS:
- Why is it important for us to care for
the world God created? (Caring
for God's creation is an honor.") - Is there anyone you know who
might benefit from knowing God take special care in his/her creation? What have you learned here that
you can share with that person? - In what ways do you participate with
God in the ongoing care and creation of this world?