Ep. 42 | GENESIS 2 | The Story of The Gospel: Man and Woman

We continue the Story of the Gospel series "Creation and Fall," with a focused account of the creation of Adam and his wife in Genesis 2.

From meditating on this account, we can see that God was very specific in how and why he created humanity, male and female.

And they were without shame.

This no-shame nakedness is what perfect peace was like in the beginning. and what we will need to remember as we journey through the Story of the Gospel together.

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Transcript

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Welcome to the Well Soul Podcast where we pause to drink and scripture. Reflect and pray. I am your host, Seana Scott, and sometimes life leaves our souls feeling parched, so come to the well of living water that never runs dry.

Today we continue our journey together through the story of the gospel in our creation and fall series. We will drink in the focused account of God, creating humanity, male and female. Genesis one is like a cinematic landscape pan of creation. Where Genesis two is more where we zoom in and see some details.

Moses, who is the main author of the five books of the Law, the first five books of our Bible, draws our attention to important details about the creation of humanity. We are drinking in several verses in chapter two that talks about the creation of humans, male and female. But I encourage you to read the whole chapter in your favorite Bible translation.

Whatever you remember about this account from books or stories, I invite you to put it aside and ask the Holy Spirit to help you hear afresh—and to highlight what he wants you to notice, maybe even for the first time as we listen to the scripture together

Before I read Genesis two, take a deep breath and invite the Holy Spirit.

Come Holy Spirit, come.

Genesis 2:7–9 and 15–25,

7 Then the Lord God formed a man[a] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. 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. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam[a] no suitable helper was found. 21 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[b] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[c] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 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.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

What did you notice? Dwell on this for a moment.

God told Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Clear instructions, clearer than an IKEA kit.

Don't eat.

You see, love must have a choice. God chooses to love us. With his actions to create us and dwell with us and care for us, but we choose to love him by our actions as well. Follow him.

Don't eat trust that his boundaries are good because he loves us. And because love is a choice, God gave Adam a choice to love God to not eat.

I'm going to reread a few verses. 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.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. 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. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam[a] no suitable helper was found. 21 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[b] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[c] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 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.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

 What did you notice this time?

Adam and his wife were both naked and they felt. No shame. 

This no shame nakedness is to be fully known and fully left and fully at peace. The Hebrew word for shalom, everything set right within and around. It's this wholeness that inspired the Well Soul Podcast. 

It is possible to have a well soul, to have shalom in our soul, in spite of the brokenness in the world. 

But I'm getting ahead of the story. 

For now, imagine the wonderful wholeness that existed with Adam, his wife, glorious creation, and the full presence of God. Now take a moment to pray about what you heard in the passage or anything else. The spirit brings to mind or simply enjoy a moment in God's presence.

Let's pray. 

Father, son, holy Spirit one and only true God, we worship you. Thank you Lord for the picture of no shame nakedness that we see in the garden before the fall. So many times we hide because we are insecure or feel shame or feel naked, vulnerable in some uncomfortable way. But in the beginning, there was complete wholeness and no shame.

We pray right now, God, that you would heal the places of shame in our soul with your grace and with your love. Help us feel comfortable being your children in our own skin, delighting in who you've created us to be. In Jesus' name we pray a amen.

Thank you for joining me today on the Well Soul Podcast. For our creation and fall series as part of our Story of the Gospel journey. You can subscribe to the Well Soul community and receive encouragement and resources to live with a well soul directly in your inbox. See the link in the show notes to join us for free.

Like what you hear on the podcast? I invite you to help support the production of the podcast by visiting BuyMeAcoffee.com/wellSoulpodcast. For the cost of a cup of coffee. you can help others drink in Scripture, reflect, and pray. Visit BuyMeACoffee.com/WellSoulPodcast or see the link in the show notes.

In closing, I would like to thank my late friend Brian Vasquez, who made this podcast possible. 

God bless you, and I pray that you have a well soul.