
he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it;
ISAIAH 45:18

This coming Sunday we will continue our study in Genesis as Eric Twisselmann reminds us that this world was made with us in mind. We were anything but an afterthought!

Derek Kidner says that just as male and female are the climax of Genesis 1, the story expands in chapter 2, pivoting around them, promoting their felicity and nourishing their welfare. It’s as though earth has been holding its collective breath, waiting for the arrival of mankind.

Kidner says, “The world is revealed as we are meant to see it, a place expressly prepared for our delight and discipline.” And so as soon as Adam draws his first breath, he is placed in a garden that is prepared to be enjoyed and delighted in, providing sustenance, alive with trees that are pleasing to the eye and good for food.”

Not surprisingly, Eden is a waterpark, with rivers flowing seemingly from everywhere to everywhere, and Adam is given a role, to not just tend but to enjoy the benefits of his labor. All the while, God is observing, thinking, “Is Adam happy? What else might make him even happier? I know….”

And Eve makes her grand and glorious entrance.

Talk about a feel-good story; this one’s a true feel-good story! Sure, we know that chapter 3 is coming. But until it does, let’s jump wholeheartedly and enthusiastically into the delight of our Creator God, and rejoice over this world that is ours while we wait and long for the second Eden, the one that will be unspoiled for all eternity.


Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,

2 covering yourself with light as with a garment,
stretching out the heavens like a tent.

3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
he rides on the wings of the wind;

4 he makes his messengers winds,
his ministers a flaming fire.

5 He set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.

6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.

7 At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.

8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you appointed for them.

9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.

10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;

11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.


13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth

15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

17 In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.

18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

19 He made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows its time for setting.

20 You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep about.

21 The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.

22 When the sun rises, they steal away
and lie down in their dens.

23 Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until the evening.

24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

25 Here is the sea, great and wide,
which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.

26 There go the ships,
and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.

27 These all look to you,
to give them their food in due season.


29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.

and you renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works,

32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke!

I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.

35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!

Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.