1 00:00:00,880 --> 00:00:03,840 Go ahead and turn. You know where we are. 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:09,280 We're on page 2, Genesis chapter 2. 3 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:15,280 We are going to cover a lot of ground this morning, though. 4 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:21,120 Yeah, quite a bit. So I would encourage you if you 5 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:26,320 are not normally in the habit of turning to the text, maybe pull 6 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,080 it up on your phone. We're going to have a good 7 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:33,440 number of verses that we're reading for this morning's text 8 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:39,440 when we get to that point. So Genesis chapter 2 will be in 9 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:41,960 verse 4 is where we'll be at this morning. 10 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:50,360 Late last year, 20 year old James Clarkson won AUK lottery 11 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:56,680 jackpot worth about 9.2 million U.S. dollars. 12 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:01,400 The National Lottery app on Clarkson's phone first notified 13 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,880 him that morning that that he'd won the UK National Lottery 14 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,920 Christmas Day drawing. When he got to his parents house 15 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:13,480 that morning they they called the National Lottery line as 16 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:16,440 soon as it opened in order to confirm the win. 17 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,880 Was this really happening or was it just a dream? 18 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:25,800 News of the windfall spread fast and his family all celebrated as 19 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:28,880 at his grandma and grandpa's that evening with roast beef 20 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:36,080 dinner and champagne. But by Monday morning he was 21 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:41,680 back at work on blocking drains for his parents business. 22 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:47,080 He said I need to have a purpose in life. 23 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,800 Plus dad wouldn't let me not work anyways. 24 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,840 I know people might think I'm mad to still work, but I want 25 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:57,560 to. And of course there will be some 26 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:05,920 nice holidays in between. Clarkson believes it's important 27 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:11,200 to have a reason to get up in the morning, and rightfully so. 28 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:16,320 Work is part and parcel to the human experience and it's 29 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:19,720 command is found here in this morning's text. 30 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:25,520 So this morning, if you're able, would you stand as we read from 31 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:32,080 Genesis chapter 2, beginning at verse 4, reading all the way 32 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,480 through verse 20. So it's going to be a moment. 33 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:40,840 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they 34 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:44,080 were created in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the 35 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:47,760 heavens, when no Bush of the field was yet in the land, and 36 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:50,240 no small plant of the field had yet sprung up. 37 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,920 For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and 38 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:55,760 there was no man to work the ground. 39 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:58,880 And the mist was going up from the land, and was watering the 40 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,400 whole face of the ground. Then the Lord God formed the man 41 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,000 of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the 42 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,560 breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 43 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,880 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the East, and 44 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,120 there he put the man whom he had formed. 45 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:16,520 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree 46 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:18,760 that is pleasant to the sights and good for food. 47 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:21,760 The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the 48 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:23,560 tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 49 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,240 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and they're 50 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:30,720 divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the 51 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:32,600 Pishon. It is the one that flowed around 52 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:36,120 the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold, and the gold of 53 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:40,720 that land is good. Delium and Onyx stone are there. 54 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:43,280 The name of the second river is the Guihone. 55 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,520 It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Kush. 56 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,520 And the name of the third river is the Tigris. 57 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:52,240 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it 58 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,240 divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the 59 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,120 Poshone. Oh sorry, I lost myself. 60 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,040 Verse 14 OK And the name of the third river is the Tigris which 61 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,360 flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the 62 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:09,840 Euphrates. Verse 15. 63 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:12,440 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to 64 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,200 work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the 65 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:18,160 man, saying, You might, you may surely eat of every tree of the 66 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:20,839 garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you 67 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:24,040 shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall 68 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:26,640 surely die. Then the Lord God said, It is 69 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:28,480 not good that man should be alone. 70 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:30,800 I will make him a helper fit for him. 71 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:33,760 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of 72 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,800 the field and every bird of the heavens, and brought them to the 73 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:38,760 man to see what he would call them. 74 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,600 And whatever the man called every living creature, that was 75 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:45,360 its name. The man gave names to all 76 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:48,760 livestock, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every beast 77 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,160 of the field. Before Adam there was not found 78 00:04:52,560 --> 00:05:01,760 the helper fit for him. He may be seated now. 79 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:07,880 Again, this morning leading up to this, I have already cut out 80 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:14,440 about 1/3 of my sermon that I could have delivered. 81 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:18,640 There's a lot that could be said this morning in this passage. 82 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:24,360 Some of it will be said in coming weeks, but we're not 83 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:29,320 addressing every single little detail here this morning in this 84 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:31,840 passage. But as we begin to look into 85 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:35,160 this passage, there are a couple points that I want to make. 86 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:39,280 First of all, some critics will look at this text and assert 87 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:45,160 that chapter 2 is a is a second completely different creation 88 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:46,920 narrative. It's it's their way of 89 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,400 discrediting what we read in chapter 1. 90 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:54,000 They don't want to believe that God created everything, so they 91 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,960 adopt the position that these are two different creation 92 00:05:56,960 --> 00:05:59,320 accounts. In chapters 1 and 2. 93 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:03,000 The logic goes like this. If there are two different 94 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,280 accounts, they can't both be rights If they say different 95 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:09,160 things, which means you can't trust the Bible and then you get 96 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,120 to throw the whole thing away including Jesus. 97 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:17,280 That's how their logic goes. These are not 2 separate acts of 98 00:06:17,280 --> 00:06:20,480 creation. What's happening is Genesis 2 is 99 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:25,040 zooming in on the 6th day of creation. 100 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,040 Chapter one said that God created all living creatures and 101 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:33,720 and humans, but but chapter 2 gives us a bit more insight into 102 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:38,000 what some of that might have looked like, what the conditions 103 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:44,640 would have been. Second, those same critics also 104 00:06:44,840 --> 00:06:47,760 examine the language for God in chapters one and two. 105 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:52,800 You see from chapter 1 verse one up through chapter 2 and verse 106 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:59,640 3, God is simply stated using the Hebrew word for God, that is 107 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:05,320 Elohim. However, in chapter 2, verse 108 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:09,000 four and throughout the remainder of chapter 2, this 109 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,280 changes. Instead of writing only Elohim, 110 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:19,600 Moses writes Yahweh Elohim. Now this is significant because 111 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:24,640 this is the very first time in scripture that God's actual name 112 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:29,800 is used. In English, we see it written as 113 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:35,920 Lord, God with Lord in all caps. Anytime you see the word Lord in 114 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:40,040 all caps, it's a reference to God's name, Yahweh. 115 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:44,400 The scribes, you see, had such high respect for God's name that 116 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:49,440 that they didn't want to write it down and instead they 117 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,520 inserted the word Adonai, the Hebrew word for Lord. 118 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:58,560 Then the translators of our English Bibles chose to respect 119 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:04,200 that tradition that our New Testament authors picked up on 120 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:07,760 also they also referred to him as Lord. 121 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,360 So our our translators of our English Bible respected that 122 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:16,000 tradition and and chose to use Lord setting it apart with 123 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:19,920 capital letters so the reader would know that God's name was 124 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,240 in view. Yahweh was being used. 125 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:28,280 Now why does it matter that this is the very first time the text 126 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:35,480 says Yahweh Elohim? Well, KA Matthews writes, Elohim 127 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:39,559 is appropriate for the majestic portrayal of God as creator of 128 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:44,760 the universe since it properly indicates omnipotent deity. 129 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:50,760 The use of Elohim points more towards God's power and 130 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:56,600 transcendence, the Yahweh. Elohim is the name commonly 131 00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:01,360 associated with with God's covenant relationship with his 132 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:07,480 people, Israel. It's very, it's very personal 133 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:11,760 when God is referred to as Yahweh. 134 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:16,840 So Yahweh Elohim speaks more to God's eminence, his his being 135 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:23,360 personal and near to us. These are not two different gods 136 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:28,000 as as some critics would argue. Rather, these are two different 137 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,920 aspects of the same God, and each chapter is communicating 138 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:38,560 something specific about God. So it's entirely appropriate for 139 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:44,320 chapter 1 to focus on God being all powerful as and it's equally 140 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:50,880 as appropriate for chapter 2 to look at God as more personal as 141 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,840 it talks about God's crowning creations, humanity. 142 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:01,960 The astute reader will notice that in chapter 1 God caused 143 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:09,000 everything to grow, but here in chapter 2 it says there was 144 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:11,520 there was nothing out in the field. 145 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:15,600 First of all, both accounts are right. 146 00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:19,880 The true source of it all is of course, God. 147 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:27,360 He's the 1 causing the growth. Second, there was no rain in the 148 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:31,400 land, the text says. And when there's no rain, then 149 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:35,120 what do you need to do? You need to irrigate the land. 150 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:40,200 You need to find a way to bring water out to the fields in order 151 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:45,400 for things to grow. Only the garden, the place that 152 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,840 had the headwaters of these of these four rivers, the Tigris, 153 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:52,560 Euphrates, Guichon and Pichon, had water. 154 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:55,600 That when there's plenty of water in a place, what happens? 155 00:10:56,200 --> 00:11:01,640 Things grow naturally, right? And so this was a luxuriant, 156 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:07,000 beautiful paradise. Now this garden isn't like the 157 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:11,680 little gardens some of you have where you grow your vegetables 158 00:11:11,680 --> 00:11:17,720 and and go out to them and bring them in, cook them, enjoy them 159 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:23,040 in this little space of land, a little plots that you call your 160 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:26,040 garden. This garden, the Garden of Eden 161 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:31,280 is more of a park like setting featuring trees and even 162 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:35,000 animals. You'll recall one of the wonders 163 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:38,040 of the ancient world, the the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. 164 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,760 The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built next to King 165 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:46,240 Nebuchadnezzar's palace. And of course, this is just a 166 00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:53,000 rendering of what it might have potentially looked like, being 167 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:55,960 that we don't have any photographs, of course, from 168 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,600 this moment. And there's a lot of discussion 169 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:02,480 over whether or not this happened in Babylon or whether 170 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:06,440 it happened in Nineveh. And there's actually evidence 171 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:10,000 for for both locations. So it's possible maybe that 172 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:11,960 something was built in both locations. 173 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:16,840 I don't know exactly. But regardless if this was a 174 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:22,640 remarkable feat of engineering because what was happening is a 175 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:27,560 garden was being built in the desert. 176 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:36,640 So they had to take all sorts of engineering marvels and and 177 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:42,120 inventions to bring the water to this place so that then 178 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:45,360 everything could grow in this garden, in these hanging 179 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:51,000 gardens. Now, as grand as that was, the 180 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,600 first Garden in Eden was even better. 181 00:12:56,080 --> 00:13:00,360 Now Eden means delights or pleasure or paradise. 182 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:04,000 And when we consider what we know of Eden, those words all 183 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,680 make sense. But then other scholars maintain 184 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:11,320 that the word Eden actually means abundant. 185 00:13:12,560 --> 00:13:15,720 And if we think about that, that makes sense as well. 186 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:20,360 There is in the Garden of Eden, there's an abundance of water 187 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:25,280 and there's an abundance of precious resources. 188 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:31,560 That was the the gold delium and Onyx that are mentioned. 189 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:34,360 There's an abundance of water and abundance of precious 190 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:39,200 resources. Now, there's something else 191 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:44,280 that's very important for us to take note of in regards to the 192 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:49,080 garden. This is actually something I 193 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:51,120 hadn't realized until the last couple years. 194 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:58,120 You see, the garden actually prefigures the Tabernacle and 195 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:00,840 the temple. It's temple like. 196 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:07,040 It is actually a predecessor to what we see in the Tabernacle 197 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:11,240 and temple and is the place of God's presence. 198 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:16,400 The Tabernacle and and temple housed God's presence and and 199 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:19,960 they are intended to remind us of the garden. 200 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,280 When you start comparing the garden to the Tabernacle and 201 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:26,920 Temple, the similarities become quite clear. 202 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:34,240 First of all, Eden as a whole is like the courtyards of the 203 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:36,640 temple. It's a place approaching God's 204 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:41,200 presence, and the further in you go, the closer to God you get. 205 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:49,440 Whether you end up in the Garden or in the Holy of Holies, these 206 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:52,200 are the places where God's presence was found. 207 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,600 Both are oriented towards the East. 208 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:02,360 Eden has an abundance of water and a river that feeds four 209 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,920 other rivers. Ezekiel and Revelation both 210 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:09,880 describe the future temple as having a river flowing from 211 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:17,240 under it that goes out. The Tree of Life is the 212 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,360 prototype for the tree shaped lampstand. 213 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:27,600 When the temple is built, it's decorated with carvings of 214 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:35,880 fruits and trees, immediately reminding you of the garden. 215 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:43,720 Ezekiel 28 refers to Eden as the holy mountain of God, and this 216 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:47,880 is language that is used to refer to the Tabernacle or 217 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:51,000 temple. So that that Eden is a 218 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:55,160 predecessor to the temple is without disputes. 219 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:05,000 Eden is a special place, but Genesis 25 tells us there there 220 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,040 were no bushes or plants outside the garden out in the field 221 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:14,720 because there was no rain yet and and there was no man to work 222 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:18,480 the ground. Then in verse 15 Yahweh gives a 223 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:20,840 command. The Lord God took the man, put 224 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:24,760 him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 225 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:30,880 Man was expected to work. It's part of his purpose and 226 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:34,160 it's part of God's plan for the land. 227 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:39,200 The words used here work and keep. 228 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:44,920 These are actually the very same words used in referring to the 229 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:49,120 priestly duties in the Tabernacle and temple systems. 230 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:57,800 The man had become a priest. He is tasked with taking care of 231 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:04,839 God's sacred space. Notice, Notice sin hasn't even 232 00:17:04,839 --> 00:17:11,119 entered the human realm yet. And still the man is expected to 233 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:16,520 work In their book, How Now Shall We Live? 234 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:20,319 Chuck Coulson and Nancy Pearcey make the following assertion. 235 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:28,160 In our materialistic culture, work is reduced to a utilitarian 236 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:33,160 function, a means of attaining benefits for this world, this 237 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,040 life. Whether material gain or self 238 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:41,120 fulfilment, work no longer has a transcendent purpose as a means 239 00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:46,440 of serving and loving God. No wonder then that many are 240 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,800 questioning the very meaning of work. 241 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:54,880 It is time for the church to reclaim this crucial part of 242 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:59,480 life, restoring A biblical understanding of work. 243 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:05,520 So in our remaining time, I want to briefly look at biblical 244 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:09,720 understanding of work as derived from this passage. 245 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,960 Now I know many of you are retired. 246 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:21,040 Well, I would like to refer you back two weeks to the message 247 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:25,920 that my father delivered. Still, there is some application 248 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:30,240 to be found here even for the retired person. 249 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:38,120 So first of all, our first points, we jump back to Genesis 250 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:41,640 126. Man was given dominion over the 251 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:45,760 fish, over the birds, livestock and over every creeping thing. 252 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:51,560 To work in God's image is to exercise dominion. 253 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:56,520 A work in God's image is to exercise dominion. 254 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:05,160 A few weeks ago in the message on the 6th day of creation, I 255 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:09,600 talked about what it means to have dominion end and the call 256 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:13,760 on humanity to rule the world in a God honouring manner. 257 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:19,600 Part of ruling in this world is being obedient to God's command 258 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:24,080 to work. I said more in that message. 259 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:28,960 But just as a quick fly over, exercising dominion isn't to 260 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:33,360 abuse the land and the resources available to us, but to act in a 261 00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:39,480 manner consistent with God's expectations of Israel's kings. 262 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:45,000 Man exercises royal authority and he's not to live in excess, 263 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:50,080 whether it be in relation to wealth or military power or in 264 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:54,840 accumulating wives. He was to be obedient to Yahweh 265 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:57,840 and show wholehearted devotion to him. 266 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:04,000 Humanity should lead with justice and righteousness, doing 267 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:08,000 all they can to help everything function at its full potential. 268 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,040 So this is what it means. To have dominion. 269 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:20,040 A part of exercising dominion is having authority over it. 270 00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:27,360 Now you can say that that home is my domain, if you will. 271 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:30,520 God has given me authority at home. 272 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:35,520 Some of the members of our household respect my authority 273 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:43,520 and some, like our cats and dog, don't. 274 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:50,480 For me to exercise dominion at home is to help everyone be the 275 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:56,640 best that they can be. For me to lead our home well, to 276 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:00,040 lead Louvienne, Arya and Michael well, and following God and 277 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,400 being all that God has designed them to be. 278 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:07,320 It means for me to help all four of us in navigating life while 279 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,040 accomplishing all the things that need to be done. 280 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:13,960 Whether it be taking care of a couple bathrooms that have been 281 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:17,760 in some sort of state of construction for quite a while 282 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:26,040 now, or ensuring that the cats, Elsa, Raja and the dog London 283 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:33,840 are all fed and cared for. My authority doesn't grant me 284 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:40,480 permission to be a harsh dictator, but rather to to lead 285 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:45,160 and steward our home well as I'm accountable to God for my 286 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:50,120 family. So God commands us to work. 287 00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:55,760 But but that's not a problem because you see, we were 288 00:21:55,760 --> 00:22:00,720 actually created to work. We were created to work. 289 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:02,760 It's not just an arbitrary command. 290 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,320 We were created to do this. And that's the next point. 291 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:10,640 Verse 15 assumes that that someone is needed to work the 292 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,560 ground and it tells us no one yet existed who could do the 293 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:17,600 job. Man wasn't just given a task 294 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:22,240 that God didn't want to do. That's actually how the 295 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:27,200 Mesopotamian gods functioned. They didn't like doing work, so 296 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,320 they created man so that man could do the work. 297 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:35,360 That's not how Yahweh is. Yahweh created humanity with a 298 00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:39,080 purpose, and that purpose is to work. 299 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:43,440 God commanded Adam to keep and tend to the garden. 300 00:22:44,360 --> 00:22:48,680 Now, of course, this was this was much easier before sin came 301 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:52,160 into the world than it was after the curse. 302 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:59,520 At first, work wasn't laborious like we like we think of it now. 303 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:02,560 So we were commanded and created to work. 304 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:10,200 Next, to work in God's image is to work in relationship to 305 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:15,280 others. To work in relationship to 306 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:20,200 others. At the end of each creation day, 307 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:26,520 God said it was good. Then at the end of the sixth 308 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:35,320 day, he said it was very good. However, as the Creator gazes 309 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:42,920 upon this new creation, the man, he found something that's not 310 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:47,480 good. Verse 18, God said it's not 311 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:51,920 good, that man should be alone. I will make him a helper fit for 312 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:54,040 him. And then the last phrase of 313 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:56,640 verse 20. But for Adam there was not found 314 00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:03,480 a helper fit for him. The man needed a helper, someone 315 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,880 to come alongside him and and help him with his work. 316 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:12,560 The man was created for relationships, so God created a 317 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:17,080 woman to be his counterparts, his compliments and help. 318 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:21,600 There was much work to be done in exercising dominion and in 319 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:25,960 subduing the earth and the woman Eve would help in accomplishing 320 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:30,200 the various tests of cultivating the garden, pruning bushes and 321 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:33,280 plants, and harvesting fruits and vegetables. 322 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:42,040 It is important to say being a helper doesn't mean Eve was 323 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:51,520 inferior to man as as many have supposed she was his equal. 324 00:24:53,360 --> 00:25:00,760 The Hebrew word for helper is azare, and in Psalm 115 we find 325 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:05,600 it used to speak of God as our helper. 326 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,720 Certainly God isn't inferior to humans, so it would be 327 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:15,320 inappropriate to view the woman as inferior to the man. 328 00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:22,480 Eve would be a fit for him, a sort of maybe opposite of him. 329 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:26,280 She was his compliment and and this relationship served to 330 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,760 augment humanity's capacity for work. 331 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:36,040 We were made to work in relationship to and with others. 332 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:43,960 Next, to work in God's image is to be fruitful. 333 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:50,080 To work in God's image is to be fruitful. 334 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:55,400 It's interesting to think about what God created in those six 335 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:58,160 days. He could have created 336 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:03,360 everything, the entire earth completely full of vegetation, 337 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:06,440 all the people. He intended all the vegetation 338 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:08,200 to automatically take care of itself. 339 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:13,720 He could have created the earth as fully complete and full, but 340 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:19,000 he chose not to. He created the animals, the 341 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:24,520 vegetation in the garden, the man and woman, and then he 342 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:28,680 stopped there. The humans would need to be 343 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,840 productive and and fruitful in their working and keeping the 344 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:36,360 garden in order for that to happen. 345 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,960 They needed to use their imagination to envision what the 346 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:44,040 end product would be like, to take steps to enact that vision 347 00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:49,400 and then bring in the harvest, reaping the rewards from their 348 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:52,840 work. For those of you who have 349 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:56,880 gardens, you understand what it takes to create a garden. 350 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,080 You remember what it was like before that garden was there. 351 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:04,280 It may have just been grass, or it could have been weeds, or 352 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:08,000 perhaps you even had to clear a little bit of timber in order to 353 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:14,720 make room for the garden. Whatever the case, you came up 354 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:18,480 with an idea in your mind, and you took the next necessary 355 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:24,000 steps to enact that vision and make it a reality, and in turn 356 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:31,680 to make that garden fruitful. That is exactly the task that 357 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:39,080 was before Adam and Eve. In Ecclesiastes 3, the teacher 358 00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:42,680 addresses the issue of work and and its usefulness. 359 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:48,800 In verses 12 through 13, he says, I perceive that there is 360 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:53,080 nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long 361 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:57,000 as they live. Also that everyone should eat 362 00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:59,760 and drink and take pleasure in all his toil. 363 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:08,040 This is God's gift to man. So we are to take pleasure in 364 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:11,520 our work and in the fruit of our labor. 365 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:15,640 That is what Ecclesiastes 3 is telling us. 366 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:21,480 Take pleasure in our work and in the fruit of our labor, our work 367 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:26,200 and enjoyment of it. He's a gift from God. 368 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:32,600 Doing the work is a blessing, and the bearing of fruits is 369 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:36,120 also a blessing. Adam imagined what needed to be 370 00:28:36,120 --> 00:28:39,600 done in the garden and then took the appropriate actions to 371 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:44,320 realize the dream of making the garden fruitful and productive. 372 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:55,920 Next, to work in God's image is to receive God's provision to 373 00:28:55,920 --> 00:29:00,080 work in God's images to receive his provision. 374 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:08,880 Back in chapter 1, verses 29 and 30 read, God said, behold, I 375 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:13,040 have given you every plants yielding seed that is on the 376 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:16,640 face of all the earth, and every tree was seed in its fruits. 377 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:22,760 You shall have them for food and then verse 30 and to every beast 378 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:25,280 of the earth and to every bird of the heavens, to everything 379 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:28,160 that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath 380 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:32,560 of life. I have given every green plant 381 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:38,000 for food. God had provided for the man's 382 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,120 needs. He provided for all of the 383 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:44,840 animals needs. Sure, the man would put in in 384 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:49,720 the work, but man isn't the source of the the provision 385 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:53,560 here, right? God was. 386 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:58,520 He was the source of everything the man and woman needed. 387 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:06,920 When I think of God's provision, I'm reminded of a season that we 388 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:13,040 went through in 2020. Louvianne was in school so she 389 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,520 could be officially licensed as a teacher in Iowa. 390 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:21,680 You see, back in California, she was never officially licensed. 391 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:23,960 Even though she got her bachelor's, she never got her 392 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:27,360 license because she was always teaching in the private schools. 393 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:33,520 So in order to become an official teacher in Iowa, she 394 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:37,040 went back to get another bachelor's degree and get 395 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:42,440 officially licensed. Now in 2020, she was set to do 396 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:46,120 her student teaching from January through May. 397 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:51,280 We were a little anxious over over losing her income. 398 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:55,960 Sure, we try to live reasonably and with within our means, but 399 00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:02,720 losing her income for what would be a total of 8 to 9 months from 400 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:06,240 December all the way through until she started working again 401 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:10,640 probably in September, that was quite, quite a while. 402 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:12,480 It was going to be difficult for us. 403 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:18,000 I remember how in in late 2019, we were constantly reminding 404 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:25,240 ourselves that God was our provision, not the North Scott 405 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:28,840 Community School District and not Cornerstone. 406 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:34,840 Those were merely tools that God used to provide for our for our 407 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:39,240 needs. So as we entered 2020, we were 408 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:46,080 diligent to thank God beforehand for how He was going to provide. 409 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:54,640 As it turns out, 2020 was a spectacular year for the Webs on 410 00:31:54,640 --> 00:32:01,200 numerous levels. But here, related to this, we 411 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:05,880 saw God's provision over and over and over again. 412 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:11,480 I can vividly recall one Monday morning I got into the office 413 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:16,160 and and there was a small note envelope in my box. 414 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:24,720 All it said was I hope this blesses you along with $100 in 415 00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:28,400 cash. I was stunned. 416 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:33,520 I knew God was going to provide for our needs but this was 417 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:39,520 completely unexpected and and humbling and I was just 418 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:45,400 dumbfounded. But I don't even know how many 419 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:49,120 more times that happened. I would come in on a Monday 420 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:56,000 morning to the same exact notes. I hope this blesses you and 421 00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:01,200 $100. It would just happen randomly. 422 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:09,040 God was providing for our needs. I wish I knew who that person 423 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:14,960 was because I would have thanked them profusely, but God was 424 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:20,320 using them to help provide for our needs as we trusted in His 425 00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:24,000 provision. He proved Himself faithful. 426 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:30,880 Now, since work involves being active and is and is usually on 427 00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:35,640 behalf of someone else, we need to be careful to not place our 428 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:41,200 trust in our work, not place our trust in our employer, but 429 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:46,080 rather to trust in God and His provision. 430 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:51,920 Our last principle related to work is this. 431 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:58,840 To work in God's image is to be blessed by the limits that He 432 00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:02,560 sets. It's to be blessed by the limits 433 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:09,560 that he sets. Last week I focused on God's day 434 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:18,639 of rest, Shabbat or Sabbath. God rested not because he needed 435 00:34:18,639 --> 00:34:24,880 the rest, because he didn't need rest, but has assigned to us for 436 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:31,960 us to rest also, the Old Testament scholar and theologian 437 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:36,560 Walter Bruggeman wrote. Sabbath provides a visible 438 00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:40,480 testimony that God is at the center of life. 439 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:44,920 The human production and consumption take place in a 440 00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:49,800 world ordered, blessed, and restrained by the God of all 441 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:56,000 creation. By taking note of God's limits 442 00:34:56,000 --> 00:35:01,240 on our work, we're declaring our freedom from work, that we are 443 00:35:01,240 --> 00:35:08,960 not enslaved to work. As I engage God during Sabbath, 444 00:35:08,960 --> 00:35:16,800 I'm resting in His provision and visibly demonstrating my life is 445 00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:22,600 ordered by God in His ways, not man's. 446 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:27,920 And I said much more about that last week, so if you want to 447 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:32,640 know more about that, check out that message now. 448 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:38,560 By God's grace, we have been gifted something better than of 449 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:43,760 winning lottery tickets. We are declared a royal 450 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:50,320 priesthood and now we get to assist God in ruling, not just 451 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:55,120 in a future sense, yes, we will do that, but here and now as we 452 00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:58,480 get to work each day and upholding God's creation and 453 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:04,120 helping all around us live up to their full potential. 454 00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:10,440 That is God's desire for work in our lives. 455 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:13,280 Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. 456 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:32,480 God, we are grateful that you have given us this task, that it 457 00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:39,880 isn't meaningless but but the task of work fulfills purpose as 458 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:46,240 we serve you. We work as to you, not as to our 459 00:36:46,240 --> 00:36:51,880 employer or as to a man, but as to God is how we work. 460 00:36:57,190 --> 00:36:59,430 So we are grateful for the work that we have. 461 00:37:01,190 --> 00:37:04,750 May we be diligent to work in relationship to others, to be to 462 00:37:04,750 --> 00:37:14,710 be fruitful in our work, trusting in your provision and 463 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:18,640 living within the limits that you have set. 464 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:27,360 Work is good, but let us not become workaholics, constantly 465 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:36,560 driven to work, work, work, but to rest in our Creator who 466 00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:43,840 modeled this for us. So this morning, God, we thank 467 00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:51,160 you that you are our provision. You provide for all of our 468 00:37:51,160 --> 00:38:05,400 needs, everything that I need. God, you provide as we thank 469 00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:09,000 you. Thank you for meeting here with 470 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:13,800 us in this time. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.