In the first two chapters of Genesis, we learn about God as creator. We learn how He created the earth and that all of it was good!
“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” Genesis 2:1-3 NIV
His provision
As we move through the second chapter of Genesis, we can see God’s creativity and goodness. God created man and woman in His image and provided for them food and a place to stay.
From the beginning of creation, God has been supplying the needs of His people.
His protection
Rules are not something we like to follow, especially if it gets in the way of our ambitions or creativity.
“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.” Genesis 2:9 NIV
“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 from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:15-17 NIV
We don’t always know the why behind specific commands, but God provides them as a boundary to keep us on the right path.
This is the situation that Adam and Eve find themselves in.
And then the serpent tempts them,
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
Genesis 3:6-7 NIV
We learn more about the character of God.
God’s mercy
According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, mercy is compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power.
Eve and Adam disobeyed God. God had told them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. One of the consequences was death. God did not say how soon death would come. We see from the narrative that death would come but not until later.
Unlike Ananias and Sapphira, in His mercy, God did not strike them done right then and there. (See Acts 5 for this narrative)
God’s promise
In His punishment to the serpent, God foretells the coming of Christ to save mankind.
“And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 3:15 NIV
God reveals His plan for correcting this wrong that Adam and Eve had done.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—” Ephesians 1:3-5 NIV.
From the beginning, even before Adam and Eve sinned, God was gracious and loving. He cared for them because He loved them.
Just like God shows here at the beginning of time, God is still taking care of us!
