Sermon Cloud

Where Genesis 1 gives us a wide-angle view of creation, Genesis 2 zooms right in; this is the same creation story, but viewed from a different perspective. Three headings here: 1. Work and Rest, 2. Men and Women and 3. Creation and the New Creation. 1. God is a working God - Humans, reflecting God's character, are workers. They have responsibility for stewarding creation - for working the earth. All kinds of work have the potential to be acts of service to God. After Genesis 3 God's work (which we are ordained to further) is generally about salvation, or re-creation. Rest - on the 7th day God rested, not because he was tired, but because the work was done and He wanted to reflect on and enjoy the 'good' results of his work - and so we too should take time out to reflect on God's creation and to enjoy God. 2. Men and women are created differently - not to compete, but to complement each other. In the Bible, the word 'Helper', used to describe women's role and often taken to indicate subservience, is actually most often used to describe God! "shield and helper" (Deut 33), "helper of the fatherless" (Ps 10). The first reference to something being 'not good' in creation is a reference to man being alone and needing a helper. Woman is created to complete Man; to be one flesh, within the ordinance of marriage - to help each other serve God, providing each other with mutual encouragement in that service. 3. The description of Eden: on a hill, the source of four rivers, mention of gold, fine jewels - these descriptions point towards the temple, but most especially reflect the imagery of the final chapter of the Bible; the re-creation where this time Jesus, God-made-man is there, and we can be there too. How marvellous is that!