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The Book of Genesis Chapter 2
Genesis 2:1-3: “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all of the host of them, were finished.
And on the seventh day YHWH ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the
seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then YHWH blessed the seventh day and
sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which YHWH had created and made.”
First, let’s tackle this important matter of the Sabbath, the position of the Church on Sabbath
and YHWH’s truth about Sabbath from Scripture
This passage tells us the Sabbath is for rest. The Hebrew word is shalom. This passage tells us
the seventh day was sanctified or set apart as holy by YHWH. We will get back to those points
in a moment. Here are other important passages to consider on this matter of the Sabbath.
Exodus 20:8-11: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do
all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of YHWH Elohim. In it you shall do no
work…. For in six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth, the seas, and all that is in
them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, YHWH blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed
it.”
Isaiah 56:2-7: “Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold of it; who
keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” Do not let the son
of the foreigner who has joined himself to YHWH speak, saying, “YHWH has utterly separated
me from His people”; nor let the eunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.” For thus says YHWH: “to
the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My
covenant, even to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name
better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be
cut off. “Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to YHWH, to serve him, and to
love the name of YHWH, to be His servants-everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
and holds fast My covenant-even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them
joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My
altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Isaiah 58:13-14: “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on
My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of YHWH honorable, and shall
honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own
words, then you shall delight yourself in YHWH; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills
of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of YHWH has
spoken.”
Exodus 31:13: “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall
keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know
that I am YHWH who sanctifies you.”
Exodus 20:9: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all
your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of YHWH your Elohim. …Therefore, YHWH
blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
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Hebrews 4:10-11: “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as
YHWH did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fail according
to the same example of disobedience.”
Luke 4:16: “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was,
He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.”
Matthew 12:8: “For the Son of Man is the Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27: “And He said to them, “the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the
Sabbath.”
We will spend a good deal of time on this matter of the Sabbath before we go on with our
study in Genesis chapter 2. We do so because there is much misunderstanding and even false
teaching about the Sabbath in the Church. There is a vital need for understanding of the
importance of the Sabbath as it pertains to our life as a believer and as a witness to Yeshua and
Torah. The relevance of the Sabbath and its importance in our witness as true believers before
others is to be central to our faith walk.
We begin by going back to Genesis 1:1-3 and some important words in the passage which
deserve our attention. YHWH commanded that we “rest” on His Sabbath day. The Hebrew
word used there is the word shabath from which we get the word Sabbath. It means “to cease
and desist; to rest from our labors.” That gives us YHWH’s intent and purpose for setting this
day apart from all other days. Please take notice too that this day is the only day YHWH gives a
name. The other 6 days are referred to by number instead of name. Shabbat or shabath is the
name and in that name we are given His purpose for the day and it is rest. It is His day of rest.
Therefore, we are told that YHWH “blessed” the day and “sanctified” it. The Hebrew word for
sanctified is the word qadash (H6942). It means to be set apart and consecrated as holy and it
is to be treated as such. Therefore for all who keep and guard this day as holy (hallowed) by
YHWH there are blessings and not curses. That means this is a covenant matter being discussed
here. It follows then that we have covenant responsibilities.
Our Isaiah 56 passage speaks directly to this matter of blessings for the keeping of the Sabbath
as His day of rest. In that passage it is made clear that this is for all men, not just the Jew. We
are specifically told that this applies “to the foreigner who has joined himself to YHWH.”
There is another very important point that must be brought up. In our study of Genesis chapter
1 we talked about the light of Genesis 1:3-4 YHWH said, “Let there be light; and there was
light. And YHWH saw the light, and it was good, and YHWH divided the light from the
darkness. YHWH called the light Day, and the darkness, He called Night.” Thus, we are
reminded of the principle of separation. YHWH separates things from Him and to Him. The light
of these verses is owr (H216). It is the illumination or enlightenment of YHWH that is brought
forth here by YHWH. He separated the light from the darkness. The darkness representative of
evil is separated from He who is Light and Life. This is the same principle by which He draws
and separates man from the darkness unto His Light or illumination to be His own. His own are
called His “set apart ones.” These are the people who see the Light of truth and walk in it. Light
brings order to the darkness, the void (absence of order).
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He is that order and all who are separated unto Him walk in His order and He spoke that order
to Moses and thus to Israel. All of Israel entered into covenant and said all that He said they
would do. That has not changed. That is His order and His work of separation. The illumination
of YHWH brings order to the void and to our lives as well. This is not the light of the luminaries.
This is the enlightenment of YHWH Himself that separates light from the darkness, good from
evil, His own from those who will not walk in covenant with Him. We will see this principle of
separation throughout the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. It would be wise of us to keep
it in mind always as we study to be approved for every good work understanding that
obedience to Torah as a response of our love for Him is a very good work. It is loving Him with
all our heart- mind and soul and all that is within us and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
Our Isaiah 58:13-14 passage reminds again that keeping the Sabbath holy is a matter of
covenant relationship with YHWH. First notice that this is a passage that clearly shows us that
the subject of the passage is covenant.
The covenant spoken of is a conditional covenant. It includes the “if” and “then” words of
conditional covenant with YHWH. It tells us that we have covenant responsibilities. It tells us
there are blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. We are to keep and guard Torah.
That means we are to obey and walk as a witness of the Light of Torah and we are to keep Torah
and the name of YHWH from defilement. That is a “must” that is integral to our walk with
Messiah today. Keeping the Sabbath holy is one of the 10 Words or Ten Commandments of
YHWH. To violate this commandment is sin and sin separates us from His presence. Sin defiles
Him and those who defile Him are set “outside the camp” or outside of His presence until they
enter teshuva (confess the sin and turn from it and return to YHWH in obedience to Torah).
Messiah is the end of the Torah or goal of Torah. Righteousness is the way of all those who
believe in Messiah and declare that belief in word and deed in accordance with Torah. Torah
shows us His righteous way. It is the Way we are to follow in step with He who is the Way
(Living Torah), the truth (of Torah), and the Life-Yeshua our Redeemer. Torah is life for those
who know Yeshua as Redeemer. It is the righteous way. Righteousness is not perfection. We
who walk in His righteousness are dying to the old sin nature; our evil inclination. But this death
to old sin nature is a process; a journey. Righteousness is doing the right thing of Torah for the
right reasons at the right time. It is not something that takes place in a moment of time for us.
It is not someone raising a magic wand over us. It is work. It is our greatest work-death to the
old nature. We will not be without sin until we are with Him for all eternity. We must stand
before Him and receive our final cleansing and our new bodies for that to be a “done deal.”
There is a dual truth applied here. Yes, it is finished and that “finished” work in us is a journey
of death unto His new life. Now is the time of pressing on toward that goal to win the prize for
which we are called heavenward in Yeshua our Messiah. As we walk in obedience to the
righteousness of Torah, we are dying to the evil inclination within us. That cannot take place
without walking in obedience to Torah. It is His way and He said, “Come and follow Me.” That
journey leads us through the cross. If we are of the understanding that all has been done in
Jesus and ours calling is to lean on that truth in the Spirit of the Lord aside from the call to die
to self we have missed the process of death unto new life that is this journey we must walk
upon this earth. Much of the Church believes this myth of man.
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They count on the Spirit guiding them, but they neglect walking by the Spirit in obedience to
Torah. If we disobey His Word, if we go in a way that is not of Him, we quench the Spirit. We
grieve the Spirit. At that point we are enabled only by our evil inclination; our sin nature to
guide us. There is no righteousness in grieving and quenching the Spirit. There is no
righteousness in allowing our sin nature to take control of our life.
If we do not take up our cross and follow Him then we do not die to the sin nature and our evil
inclination is to continue the path of our own understanding and the Scriptures are clear on
that one. We are commanded not to lean upon our own understanding but upon every word
that proceeded from YHWH’s mouth. Guess what, that word that proceeded from His mouth
was Torah and it continues to be Torah today.
The bottom-line point to be made here is we are called to His order in our Isaiah 58 passage.
Walking in righteousness is walking in His order of things. We are called to honor Him on the
Sabbath day. We are to honor Him by acknowledging that day is holy, set apart unto Him. We
are called to seek Him and set aside our own pleasures and our own way that feeds our sin
nature. That starves the old man; the evil inclination or sin nature. It is how we walk in new life
even as we die to our fleshly desires. Thus, we are to keep the Sabbath holy-undefiled in
obedience to Torah which is worship for those who love Him.
Exodus 31:13 and 20:9 speak to us of the understanding that Sabbath carries with it the
command to keep the day holy. It is also called a “sign.” The Hebrew word used here is oth
(H226). It means “a distinguishing mark, a standard to be followed that sets one apart from
others, a remembrance for the one who carries it.” So, what’s your sign? I am not asking you if
you are a redneck. I am not asking you if you are a Pisces or Capricorn. Yeshua kept the Sabbath
holy (Luke 4:16) as did His disciples, both Jew and Gentile alike. He showed them the way and
they walked in it.
The seventh day Sabbath and no other day is called a “divine sign” in Isaiah 30:13. It is a sign to
YHWH’s people, whether they be Jew or Gentile. It announces for all to see that your witness is
of one who is set apart from the ways of the world and the traditions of man to Yeshua and
Torah. This is the day that the Lord has made for the Sabbath is the seventh day-the only day
given a name by YHWH. The name tells us the purpose of the day and we who are called by His
name are to walk in it. In the mind of YHWH every other day is just a numbered day, but the
seventh day-the day of His completion-is called the Sabbath.
Exodus 20:9 reminds us that this day is to be holy-set apart from all others. YHWH blessed this
day. We should also notice that in the Ten Commandments the first five of those
commandments show us how to love YHWH. The last five show us how to love our neighbor
as ourselves. That means the fourth commandment-to keep the Sabbath holy- shows us how
to love YHWH.
The seventh day is a sign to all of YHWH’s people. As such our obedience to this call makes the
Sabbath a “visual separator” for all who keep it holy-set apart from all other days to YHWH. This
day “marks” His own-Jew and Gentile alike- for all to see. It is a public statement. It is
purposeful and it carries with it a divine invitation to tabernacle with Him on this day.
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We must understand that the Sabbath is a divine appointment set by YHWH. He did not make
the appointment for us to gather in His presence on Sunday. He said the seventh day-His
Sabbath is that time; that divine appointment. This is the day He calls us to His presence to
tabernacle with Him in His rest; His shalom. Sabbath is a public statement that says Yeshua is
my Redeemer and Torah is His way. The divine invitation to tabernacle with Him will continue
into the millennial reign and on into the new heaven and new earth for all eternity. He put the
stamp of authenticity on this day and no other can declare something holy but Him.
The Apostles and disciples continued to walk in the holiness of salvation in obedience to Torah
after Yeshua’s death and resurrection. It will continue so until He returns. The Sabbath is about
walking in our salvation; our redemption. Sabbath is the center piece of our set apart (holy)
walk. The seventh day-the Sabbath serves a dual purpose for the believer. It is both the
completion of our walk in Him and it is the beginning of a new week of walking in Him;
according to He who is the Living Torah. Sabbath shakes hands with the first 6 days and in our
tabernacle with YHWH we are renewed in that pursuit of Him and obedience to Torah for the
week ahead. Sabbath shows us the way in His truth of the overcomer of the ways of this world.
The Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation has established the Sabbath as the day we call
Saturday; the seventh day. It is to be a day of abstinence or fasting from the cravings of the
flesh. It is a day devoted to rest in YHWH and our Redeemer Yeshua.
Yeshua obeyed the call to Sabbath observance and so did His followers-Jew and Gentile alike. It
set them apart unto Him. They presented the picture of the will of YHWH-the two becoming
one. Nothing has changed. He who is the same yesterday, today and forevermore has not
changed His will or His set apart day. Man did that in rebellion against Him.
Not only is the seventh day Sabbath to be set apart and honored as such by all believers, but
the other Sabbaths are to be honored as well. Leviticus 23 names them for us. There are seven
other Sabbaths of YHWH. They too are divine appointments for all believers. Notice they are
Sabbaths of YHWH. They are not the Sabbaths of the Jews. They are Passover, Unleavened
Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles. If you are not familiar
with these Sabbaths and their purpose in our faith walk with Yeshua we invite you to visit the
home page of the website. Click on the “Teachings” heading on the homepage. Then click on
“His Appointed Times” heading and you will find our teaching articles on each of the seven
Feast or Appointed Times of YHWH.
The question then becomes why did the church change the Sabbath day?
Nowhere in Scripture will you find YHWH changing the Sabbath day from the seventh day to the
first day of the week (Sunday). Likewise, nowhere in Scripture are we told to disregard the other
Sabbaths of YHWH. In fact, we are commanded to observe them all! Despite that truth, the
Church defied YHWH and set their own weekly Sabbath and have totally disregarded the other
Sabbaths of YHWH! The seven Sabbaths of Leviticus 23 are to be honored and kept holy as well
as the seventh day Sabbath, yet the Church denies the commandment while falsely claiming
these Sabbaths are for the Jews. In doing so the Church has put itself on another foundation
other than YHWH’s Torah.
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The Church compounds that sin by declaring the Old Testament (Tanakh) as irrelevant! Thus,
sin is heaped upon sin and the Church finds itself in a state of lawlessness today! Let’s look at
the sin of the Church as it pertains to seventh day Sabbath.
In 325 A.D. Constantine wrote a letter to all the Bishops of the Church. His purpose was
twofold. First, Constantine called the Bishops to Nicea to rule on divisive matters in the Empire
and second, to officially establish an Anti-Judaic foundation for the doctrine and the practices
of the Church. He also declares contempt for the Jews and separation from them to be the
only proper Christian attitude.
He went on in the course of the letter to call the Jews “parasites and murderers of our Lord.”
His admonition to all the bishops was that “the church have no fellowship with the Jews.” I
believe the most ridiculous thing Constantine did in his letter was to attribute his own anti-
Jewish sentiments to Yeshua when he said: “We have received another method from the
Savior. A more lawful and proper course is open to our most holy religion.”
Constantine then commands the entire Church to accept and promote the doctrine, attitude
and practices of anti-Semitism. He then threatens all bishops with the statement: “it would be
considered that any dissention in a business of such importance, and in a religious institution
of so great solemnity, would be highly criminal.” Constantine goes on to say that “whatever is
transacted in the holy councils of the bishops, is to be referred to the divine will.”
All of this was written so that no Christian would celebrate Passover on the biblically ordained
day of Nisan 14 of the Jewish calendar. The question that arises and has not be answered is this
one. When did YHWH give such authority over the Church and His Torah to Constantine? The
answer to that question is YHWH did not give such authority over to Constantine. Constantine
took it for himself. The relationship that existed between the Church and Rome that began
under Emperor Constantine was seen as the greatest blessing of God by a majority of the
bishops. Under Constantine the endless persecution of the Church had ended. But with that
end and the beginning of this new alliance came great compromise, which has distorted the
nature of the Church to this day. Constantine also used intimidation to bring those bishops who
sat on this fence concerning this issue to comply with his desires. Constantine used his political
victory in the Empire to gain religious victory as well. From this point on, Church doctrine was
to be enforced by the sword of the State. Those who would not conform were either exiled or
executed. The Church ceased to be the Church of Jesus and became the Church of Constantine.
It was no longer seeking to be the bride of Yeshua. It had become the bride of Constantine.
The voice of the prophetic Church was silenced. The bishops and leadership became one with
the will of the State.
Under the call from Constantine, Eusubius wrote a history of the Church that eliminated any
positive reference to the restoration of Israel and the earthly reign of Yeshua to come. The only
place given to the Jews in the plan and purpose of YHWH was to serve as the earthly and
temporary representation of the eternal misery and condemnation that awaited all who were
outside the Church.
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The Church was now officially anti-Semitic. The council of Nicea had produced a new will and
purpose of man that was falsely attributed to YHWH. The Church had replaced the power of
YHWH within the power of the Roman Empire. The Church had built a new foundation for the
church to rest upon that was in opposition to the will of YHWH. That foundation excluded the
Tanakh as being relevant to believers in their Christ.
Gone were the days of prophets and apostles-men willing to tell religious authorities in the
Church that we must obey YHWH rather than man. What had been approved by over 300
bishops was to be considered the will of YHWH, who indwelled the minds of these worthy men
and clearly showed His plans through them.
From this point forward YHWH’s truth was to be determined by Church councils and man’s
theological bent and not by the Word of YHWH. A new hierarchy had been formed that gave
man greater voice than YHWH. Constantine did what he did for the sake of peace in the land.
He sought a way to bring a divided Empire together and religion became his rod of discipline to
bring the dissident in line.
He used religion to bring a compromise for peace to the table. Much of the population of the
Empire worship the sun god and their day was “Sunday” named for the sun god. Constantine
believed that much of the internal turmoil in the Empire could be averted if he brought
compromise to the land in this manner. He was anti-Jew, anti-Torah and this plan seemed to him
to catch “two birds with the same stone.”
The catechism of the Catholic church states that the Catholic church changed the Sabbath from
Saturday to Sunday. They make no apology for their decision. It is stated that it was an
“ecclesiastical” decision. YHWH made no such declaration. It was man in his ultimate arrogance
wo stood with fist raised in the face of YHWH and said, “my will shall be done.”. Thus, the
Catholic church set the will of YHWH aside. The Protestant church said, in as many words, that
is good enough for us, we will do the same! The decision was also given credence by the
teaching that the death and resurrection of their Jesus made the Feasts of YHWH and the Old
Testament irrelevant for those of the Church.
The celebration of the Sabbath has been an entirely different celebration in the Church than
that which was instituted by YHWH. Seventeen hundred years ago the Church decided to stop
observing YHWH’s seventh day Sabbath. Some within the Church will say that they are free to
declare the Sabbath to be any day they choose because every day we are to be a Sabbath rest
with YHWH. The Catholics and much of the Protestant Church declare that this seventh day
Sabbath is a Jewish thing and side with Constantine and the decision of man to remove itself
from all things “Jewish.”
What are we true believers to say to that? We are to let YHWH do the talking through His
Torah. He established the Sabbath to be on the seventh day immediately after He finished
creation. We also know from Scripture that when He instituted the Sabbath there was no such
thing as Jews or Israelites on the face of the earth. Therefore, the Sabbath was clearly not
reserved for a specific group of people. It was and remains the Sabbath for man.
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We are told as much in Mark 2:28: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the
Sabbath, therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.” The Sabbath was given to all
humanity upon the completion of His creation.
We must go back to the matter of the Sabbath being a sign for all who put their trust in YHWH.
At Mt Sinai YHWH entered into a ketubah (marriage covenant) with Israel, which included all
strangers or sojourners who united with Israel and the members of all twelve tribes of Israel.
The covenant was and continues to be an outward sign of covenant and it can be likened to a
wedding ring. This covenant is eternal; therefore, it is for all believers-yesterday, today and
forevermore.
Sadly, today we see the influence of Constantine and the rulings of the Council of Nicea to be
the established traditional thought and practices of mainline Christianity. But change is coming.
YHWH says, “come out of her.” That is the call upon all to come out of that which is not of Him
and defiles Him. Many are separating themselves both individually and corporately from the
anti-Torah, false Sabbath ways of the Church.
Thus, we see current evidence of the principle of separation that began with the Light of His
illumination coming on the first day of Creation coming into play in the lives of those He calls His
own today. False tradition and thought is being righted by millions around the world who have
begun to walk in their Hebraic roots of the faith. Jews and Gentiles alike are accepting Yeshua as
their Redeemer and are embracing all of Scripture. They are walking in the righteousness of
YHWH given to us in Torah. Yeshua is the Living Torah and people of faith are walking in His will
to the glory of YHWH.
This movement of YHWH is built upon the true foundation of Torah and Yeshua our
Messiah. The prophecies of Ezekiel 37-38 are beginning to be fulfilled in our day. The two-
Judah and Ephraim-are becoming one in His hand. It will continue into the millennial reign
and see its consummation in the eternal state.
For more study on the matter of the Sabbath I invite you to visit our website homepage. Under
the “teachings” heading you will find a section titled “All things Sabbath.” There you will find
articles on the Sabbath for your consideration.
Genesis 2:8: “YHWH planted a garden eastward of Eden.”
How often have you read this passage and then gone onto the next verse without realizing
what has just been said? I did so often until one day YHWH got my attention and asked me to
really consider what has just been said to me; to all of us in this verse. This verse tells us the
“Garden” is “east of Eden.” That tells us there is an important distinction to consider here.
The Garden of Eden is not the same as the land of Eden. The land of Eden was a large area of
land. The Garden of Eden was a specific area within the land of Eden. YHWH created Adam
outside of the Garden of Eden. We are told here that this Garden was located somewhere in the
eastern part of the land of Eden. So, this Garden, like the land of Eden, had boundaries. In the
middle of the Garden was the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The Tree of Life was
planted there as well. We will have more to say about these trees as we go along in our study.
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We are told that the Garden is east of Eden. The word east has special significance throughout
Scripture. It is associated with holiness. We should take note of that and remember it each time
we see the word “east” in Scripture. This Garden was YHWH’s bet or house for His own-Adam
and Eve.
When Yeshua returns at the consummation of this age we are told in Matthew 24:27 that the
Son of Man shall come out of the east. He shall be seen by all as He comes out of the east. His
glory; His light shall be seen by all coming out of the east and going westward across the
heavens. The glory of YHWH came into the temple from the East. When YHWH removed Adam
from the Garden because he sinned, He set Cherubim with flaming sword at the entrance or
east side of His holy Garden. Those are only a handful of references to “east” found in
Scripture.
YHWH creates man
In Genesis 1:26-27 YHWH said, “Let Us make man in Our Image, according to Our likeness…
male and female He created them.” Man is created according to His likeness. The plural used
here tells us that Yeshua and YHWH, who are One are Creator. Man was created in His
likeness. Man was created on the sixth day. Mankind was made male and female. Therefore, it
is blasphemous to speak of homosexuality and the transgender that defiles His name and His
likeness. He created neither and they defile His image. That is why homosexuality and all the
dark shades of it being presented before man are an abomination in the eyes of YHWH and are
judged accordingly. This is an abomination because it defiles His nature; His likeness, His
image.
We, as believers, are called by the shema (see Deuteronomy 6) to both keep and guard His
name and His Word from defilement. We will talk more about this matter of guarding and
keeping in a moment.
Genesis 2:7: “And YHWH Elohim formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” YHWH created man from the dust
of the earth. At that point man was lifeless; only an outward form of YHWH. But then we are
told that YHWH breathed life into the form He had created. YHWH’s life-His Spirit was
breathed into man. That Spirit is eternal. The man was called Adam. The Hebrew root of the
name Adam speaks of the color red (royalty, majesty and blood) and the word for soil or earth.
It is Adam- ah. Adam was created in YHWH’s image which is eternal. He was to live in covenant
with YHWH without end! YHWH then brought Adam into the Garden to live in His presence in
covenant fellowship with Him. That was to be the eternal state of man!
The Garden of Eden was the earthly model of heaven-the presence of YHWH-in the spiritual
realm. It was created by YHWH as a physical shadow of life in His presence in the spiritual
realm. Yeshua will tabernacle with His set apart ones and among the Nations in the millennial
reign and then YWHW will be present in the eternal reign with Yeshua and all of His set a part
ones.
We will have more to say about this as we go along in our study of the Book of Genesis.
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YHWH put the man He had created in the Garden to “dress and keep it”
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“YHWH planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
YHWH created every plant and tree and there were rivers put in place and the good things of
the ground were put in place and then YHWH put man in the Garden. In Genesis 3:15 we are
told man was put in the Garden “to dress and keep it.” Man was commanded by YHWH to
dress and keep the land. Let’s look more closely at that command. The Hebrew words used
here are abad (dress) and shemar (keep). The Hebrew word abad (H5647) means “to serve; to
work or labor and tend to.” Shemar means “to guard and keep from defilement.” The call upon
Adam is the call upon all of us. It is the call restated for us in Deuteronomy 6. That call that is
upon all who He calls His own. We were created for this work; this labor of love. It is service to
Him and it is worship of Him before others in word and deed.
The call upon Adam concerning the land is the call upon all of mankind who follow YHWH. It is
a call that applies to every area of life. We are to plant and keep YHWH’s Torah-the seeds of
righteousness for our sustenance and we are to guard Torah-from defilement just as we are
called to care for the seeds of His bounty we plant in the earth for our sustenance. Man was
created for this purpose! Man was given dominion over His creation. He was called to rule over
it in this manner.
YHWH gave Adam one commandment to obey. Genesis 2:16-17: “And YHWH commanded the
man saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
And so, man was given the first commandment of Torah-the teachings and instructions of
YHWH. We will connect this command with the fall of man in context in Genesis 3.
The creation of woman and the institution of marriage
Genesis 2:18-24: “And YHWH said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a
helper comparable to him.” Out of the ground YHWH formed every beast of the field and
every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And
whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all
the cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not
found a helper comparable to him. And YHWH caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he
slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which
YHWH had taken from man he made into a woman, and He brought her to man. And Adam
said: ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because
she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined
to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his
wife, and were not ashamed.”
So, what we see here is that YHWH created women to complete man, and He officiated at their
wedding. He pronounced them as husband and wife, as it should be. This is a covenant pattern
of marriage for man to follow. One man and one woman are to become one flesh in the eyes of
YHWH and with His blessing He ordained it as such.
That should be the end of all demonic talk about man with man and woman with woman and
the blasphemy of homosexuality and transgender defilement. YHWH calls such things an
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abomination because it defiles His word and His nature and will. All else is a lie and hated by
YHWH and so must be considered likewise by all who are called by His name. In the face of such
lies we are given a clear commandment to keep and guard His holiness and His Torah from
defilement by our words and our witness of life before others.
Marriage is a most significant covenant relationship for man because it most closely emulates
the call upon each man and woman in their personal covenant relationship with YHWH and
Yeshua our Messiah. Israel was called to marriage with YHWH at Mt. Sinai. YHWH gave them
His ketubah (marriage vows) there. He gave them their marriage vows in Torah and they said,
all that you say we will do (the familiar “I do” today). Adam and Eve were joined in the
marriage relationship as His ambassadors and witnesses of this eternal covenant to be entered
by man with YHWH.
Marriage is to be a picture of covenant life before others. YHWH said, “It is not good for man
to be alone.” In His wisdom, He knew that man living in the physical world needed a life
breathing witness of His intention for man with Him in the spiritual realm. Scripture tells us
that two or more witnesses validate His truth. That is to be the witness of the marriage before
others. We are called to be one with Him. It is no good for man to be alone. Without Him we
have no covenant life. Marriage is the witness of His covenant life and the responsibilities of
covenant with YHWH before man.
Adam said, “she is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” Woman came from man. The
marriage covenant reunites them as one. Therefore, the understanding of “the two shall
become one” in marriage is that the man is not complete without the rib (woman at His side).
The woman finds here place in the man.
That picture and that witness of two who are walking in Torah and know Yeshua as their
Redeemer is the picture of Yeshua and His Bride walking as His witness before man. The two
who have become one in the physical realm are to be a picture of the two who have become
Bride of the Bridegroom Yeshua in the spiritual realm. That is covenant life. Two becoming
one is the crown jewel of the marriage testimony. It is to be a witness of our individual
relationship with Yeshua. We are called to be one with Him-the Bride of Yeshua.
A wife cannot be anything but a woman. She is isha which means “out of man.” It was a woman
that was made from Adam’s rib, not another man. That takes us back to the abomination of
homosexuality and it must be said once more that all else is an abomination and a false witness
of His will, His Torah, His love. That is all defiled in the abomination of homosexuality.
The wife is called to be a help meet for the husband. The word help is the Hebrew word ezer
(H5828). The word describes one who is a helper. It means to succor or “to give assistance and
aid in times of need.”
The Hebrew word for meet is neged (H5048). It speaks to “what is in front, or before you, the
presence or disposition of one before another.” Yeshua is to be the one before the marriage
couple leading the way and we are to follow as one after Him.
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The wife stands alongside the husband as an equal but with her own calling in the marriage,
Just as the husband stands alongside the woman in his calling. The husband makes the final
decisions in marriage but never without hearing and relying on the wife’s input to make those
decisions. The man is the covering for the woman in marriage after the example of Yeshua-our
covering. Yeshua is the husband and we are called to be His Bride. The woman of a marriage
has her place ordained by YHWH and it is at her husband’s side. She is highly valued by her
husband. He is not complete without her, just as we are not complete without Yeshua.
We men must remember that YHWH put Adam in a deep sleep when He created woman from
his rib. Adam had nothing to do with her creation, nor did he own her. She was placed back at
the man’s side to complete him. The rib was in place and they were one. But we must always
remember that this completion is realized as we become one in Yeshua. Marriage is a constant
reminder of that truth both for the married couple and to those who witness the marriage as
well. There is a giving and receiving required of both marriage partners. Life and death are
represented in both marriage partners. Both must die to the old sin nature in order to walk in
the newness of life in Yeshua. The two becoming one in Yeshua is the only way the husband
and wife can fulfill their true calling from YHWH.
YHWH ordained marriage and gave it to man as His gift to him. Man, in turn, is to cherish that
gift and use it as intended-with grace and mercy, with care and love, always with Yeshua
leading the way as both come to say amen, so be it.
The second chapter of Genesis ends with verses 24-25: “Therefore, a man shall leave his father
and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both
naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” Oh, what a glorious life…. but then
comes the temptation and the fall of man. That takes us to the study of Genesis 3.
A Footnote
As I complete the study on chapter 2 of Genesis, I am struck by the relevance of this chapter
with what is taking place in America today. As I sit here at my desk, the House of
Representatives has just sent Articles of Impeachment of President Trump to the Senate. It is
eerie to see people in power, leaders of government so easily swayed by the politics of the day
and the evil of our times. It is my contention that the left-wing contingent of our American
government is deceived as was Constantine and those bishops who set aside the rule of law-
the Torah for another way. They sought relief of inner turmoil in the Empire through political
means which were directly against the will of YHWH. These men had instigated a coup against
the will of YHWH and His government. That is what the Democrats are attempting to do in our
country today. They have instituted a coup against the government of the land for their own
political gain to the ruin of law and the constitution. The coup by its nature is lawless and it is
absent of the will of YHWH because those who propagate this coup are secular humanists, pro-
abortion, against the rule of law and intent upon throwing over the governance of the land for
their own purposes. Rome eventually fell because of these same internal and anti-YHWH
errors. It will be most interesting to see how this all comes to fruition in this country. Man is his
own worst enemy since the fall. His evil inclination given opportunity to mature presents a
most evil deception of self-rule and self-proclamation that will be its end.
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Rome fell from inner defilement and we are headed down that path here in America. Could it
be that this is the Babylon of Revelation? I am afraid it is more than just a possibility. It all
begins with man taking the government from upon His shoulders and doing things their way in
rebellion. YHWH help us!.
