Sermons

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It Was Not Good
September 22, 2002
Pastor Dan Baumgartner
Third in a sermon series,
"Back to the Beginning," on Genesis 1-11

Genesis 2:15-25

If you want to hold your finger in Genesis 2:15, we’re actually going to read different verses as we go this morning. I just came back last night from the Men’s Retreat on Whidbey Island, and wanted you to know what a great thing is going on there. The weather, of course, was fabulous, and the setting on the beach and with the mountains was just stunning yesterday. Bruce Murphy, the former pastor here at Bethany and a friend to many of us, was sharing from the scriptures. Good times of worship. And I have to tell you, I really believe that God is doing some wonderful things there…there is a strong sense of God’s Holy Spirit moving, healing and encouraging. As we gather here this morning, those 50-60 men are also gathering for worship, and I’d like for us to pray for and with them right now...

One of the traditions at the Men’s Retreat is that at least a portion of the guys have a big Ultimate Frisbee game on Saturday afternoon on one of the big fields up at Camp Casey. Ultimate Frisbee requires a LOT of running. When I got home last night, Anne said, “How’d it go?,” and I said, “I think I fooled the young guys for another year into thinking I could still run with them!” I could run yesterday…I’m not so sure I could today!

This is our third week to look into the early chapters of Genesis together. The first week we read the story of creation, and concluded that Life is not an accident, but purposefully created by God. Last week we talked about humanity as created in God’s image…and we focused on “freedom” as part of that image. This morning, I’d like for us to just peek into three places in this story: A peek into the Garden, a peek into a characteristic of God, and a peek at the community God creates.

Genesis 2:15-17

What we didn’t get a chance to read here was some of the description of the beauty of this Garden of Eden that God created for humankind. The beauty, the vegetation, the abundance, the water flowing out of the midst of the Garden. I’d like to note just a couple of things about this Garden. First, the God of the Garden is,unlike how we often think of Him, NOT just a God of the “No.” The Garden shows God gifting the man with a Vocation (to till and keep the garden), with immense Permission or freedom to enjoy almost everything, and only thirdly a Prohibition.

Second, the Garden has two distinctive Trees in it. The Tree of Life, which is right at the center of the Garden. In some ways, this tree represents God Himself. The Tree of Life is at the center of Adam’s life, and everything else about his life is defined in relation to this one tree which is at the very center. There is also a Tree of Death, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eating from this tree brings death. At first that seems confusing, because certainly God wants His people to know the difference between good and evil.

There is a profound mystery in this tree. It tells us that there are things in life which we must simply trust God for. Things which God will gift to the human being or not, but only in God’s wisdom. Not for the human to grab ahold of. The tree of death puts the ONE limit on Adam. Just one! God says, “I’m giving everything to you, all your eye sees, it’s all for you…just trust me on this one thing. And the question that really comes from the Garden is this: God says, “Adam, will you live on my terms?” It’s the same question for us: Will we live on God’s terms? or insist on our own?

Let’s take a peek at a characteristic of God that is very strong in this story. Over and over and over again, at every step of creation, God pauses and says, “This is good, this is good, this is good…this is VERY good!” And you know what? It WAS good!

Look at the environment of the Garden: a bumper crop in the Agriculture Dept., ZERO unemployment…no labor strikes, no backlog in the court system, no traffic (Adam could take any path he wanted in the Garden!), no pollution, no bickering…it was GOOD! Now, in fairness…there WAS only ONE person in the Garden. Adam (human) formed from the Adamah (ground). Adam lived with God. And it was good. And so it’s a little shocking to read verse 18, and suddenly out of left field…God says “It is not good for the man to be alone!” I don’t know if Adam knew he had that need, it doesn’t say he complained or anything. The point is, that God looks, sees the need…and PROVIDES. God is a provider.

The interesting thing is that, though God saw the need…he didn’t meet it right away. He waited.

Genesis 2:18-21

He has Adam first act as the first zoologist, looking at and naming the animals. Why the wait? I don’t know. Maybe Adam needed to feel the need himself. Maybe he needed to understand his dependence on God. He waited.

Our staff here at Bethany started memorizing Psalm 27:13-14 two weeks ago. We decided to make it fun, and agreed that it was okay to ask each other to recite…at any moment! So you never know who’s going to pop out from behind a door, and ask you the verse. And then, of course, the pressure is such that even if you know it, you stammer and stutter! But here’s what Psalm 27 says:

“I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. WAIT for the Lord. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, WAIT for the Lord.”

As often happens when you immerse yourself in some part of the scripture…that phrase has surfaced at least 7-8 times for me this week. In my own life, in conversations with some of you, the right word for the moment has been: Wait for the Lord. He will provide what is needed.

I came back from Camp Casey last night with Steve Lympus, our new Youth Director. Steve and I began to share parts of our stories, and Steve is a good question asker. I found myself telling him part of my story of experiencing God’s provision. I’ve told you parts of it before as well. Over twenty years ago now, I hit a time in my life that was very, very bumpy. All of the things I had valued up to that point: sports, girlfriend, academic achievements…for one reason or another had fallen away. I felt like I was in the darkness. I spent many months walking around this hill at night, crying, arguing with God, wondering where God was, why He didn’t care about my pain.

And one particularly painful night as I walked and shouted into the darkness…something happened. I felt as though God spoke to me in as audible a voice as I have ever heard, saying simply, “Dan…I love you. And that will be enough for you.” And it was. What I needed in that moment was to know that God loved me. Not that He loved you (which is true), not that He loved the world (which is true), but that He loved Dan Baumgartner, that in Christ his grace and comfort was for ME. God provided that.

Let’s take our third peek, now…at community. Adam had a need…to not be alone.

Genesis 2:19-25

No longer does the Hebrew use the words “Adam & Adamah” (human from the ground), but now it switches to the specific words “ish and ishah,” related words just like our words “man and woman.” And the woman (Eve) is called the Helper.

Don’t get sidetracked by this word “helper.” Some think it makes the woman sound like some sort of inferior being. In reality, this word is used 21 times in the Old Testament. In 15 of those uses, it refers to…God! God, the “helper” of humankind.

Now, this story of course has produced many, many jokes, and I have limited myself to just one this morning. You have no doubt heard about the group of people studying Genesis together. One of the men rather smugly said, “We can see here that woman really was created as an afterthought.” To which one of the men said, “The way I read this, God created Man…stepped back and looked at him and said “Hmmm. I can do better!” So don’t get sidetracked by this word.

Also don’t get sidetracked by the end of the story, with Adam and Eve naked and unashamed in the Garden. It is part of this very brief moment of innocence and goodness there in the Garden. Even today, it seems, people try to return to that situation. Maybe you read the article in the paper this week about Nudist Camps in the United States?! Much to my surprise, there are at least 245 Nudist Camps, with some 75,000 members here! Now, you know I love words. And did you know that they no longer call these groups “Nudist Camps?” No, they call them “Textile-free!” AND…the camp featured in the Times…was in WISCONSIN. Now, I have lived in Minnesota, which is right next to Wisconsin. Do you know how many MOSQUITOS there are in Wisconsin?! Do you know how COLD it gets there?! So don’t get sidetracked…though I guess I already have.

But there are a couple of things I want you to get sidetracked by. First, I want you to see how much importance this passage puts on marriage. In Hebrew culture, the highest emphasis was put on one’s relationship with one’s parents. Honoring, obeying, caring for parents meant everything. And so it was an incredible statement here at the end of chapter 2 when it says that “a man shall leave his father and mother and cling (literally, stick) to his wife.” God values marriage far more than our culture does.

It was not good that the man should be alone. And so woman was created. The truth is, men and women need each other. Now, that’s pretty clear in a marriage relationship. But what about in singleness? Is someone who is unmarried somehow less important? Well, there are a couple of pretty good role models of people in singleness. Paul, and Jesus come to mind. But regardless, men and women need each other. The scripture says, “In the image of God He created them, male AND female.”

We need each other. Somehow, in God’s mystery, the image of God is reflected best in male AND female. That can take place in marriages. It can also take place in families. And it particularly takes place in the COMMUNITY, like this community here…that God has called together. We need each other.

Ten or twelve years ago, my wife Anne encouraged me to deepen my understanding of community. It was a very busy period in our lives, when we had small children…and Anne had just made several new friendships which were very enriching for her. And she pointed out that it didn’t seem like I was investing anything in relationships outside of our family. I did the only rational thing I could have…I got defensive! I thought and thought about it, and finally remembered that I was playing on a basketball team. But quickly remembered that I showed up for games five minutes before the game, and left immediately afterwards. Not much chance of investing, or being part of this larger community. Only later did I begin to intentionally invest in a couple of friendships… which have since enriched my life immeasurably. We are not meant to be alone.

It makes perfect sense that God would create us in such a way as to need community…because God Himself IS community. In the Christian concept of a trinitarian, 3-in-1 God, Father-Son-Holy Spirit…God IS community. A Son who was with the Father from the very beginning, a Father’s voice coming from heaven upon the Son, the Son leaving the earth but promising the arrival of the Holy Spirit.

I told you I love words. There is a great theological word called “perichoresis” which describes this trinity. Perichoresis, where we get “choreography” from, a “dance around.” The dance of God within himself, complete and in community.

We were made in THIS image. We are wired in two particular ways. First, we were made to be in relationship with God: Augustine said, “My soul cannot find rest until it finds its rest in Thee.” But we were also wired to be in relationship with other people. It’s part of who we are. It’s not good to be alone. We are made for God, and for others.

Perhaps that’s why Jesus said that the most important call we have is to “Love the Lord our God (with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength)… AND to “love our neighbor as ourself.”

So then…three questions from this scripture. First, the Question from the Garden:

“Will you live on My terms?”

Second, the Question from God’s character:

“Will you trust ME for what you need?”

And third, the Question from the creation of Eve:

“Will you be together?”

There is a dark part of Genesis coming, next week in fact. It will get complicated and confusing. And we will be reminded that we are to read this Old Testament in the light of the coming of Christ in the New Testament. For there, these questions receive some answers: God longs for us to live obediently in Christ. God has provided for our deepest need in Jesus. And God is calling us to be together…as His people. Let’s pray.