The True Beginning of Human History

[0:00] I have a bit of a surprise for you this morning. Oh, no. That's what you should be thinking.

[0:12] I don't have anything novel for you. Praise God. That should encounter a wonderful amen. So 11 sermons for chapter 1 of Genesis from me.

[0:30] Today, chapter 2, one sermon. Are you praying? So far. I reserve the right to come back next Sunday if I just can't stand myself and I need to do some more in it.

[0:46] But I intend to give you chapter 2 and one sermon. Now, one of the reasons I elected to do that this week as I went through it is I have already said some things about chapter 2 as I preach through chapter 1.

[0:58] I had to. I had to bring it in. So it's not like some of the detail that I might not go in today you haven't heard already from this pulpit as I dealt with chapter 1.

[1:09] Well, the title for today, The True Beginnings of Human History. You know, there's so much out there, even among other churches, denominations, lots of quote-unquote Christian literature that has a lot to say that isn't scriptural about human origins.

[1:30] The true history of human origins. The true history of mankind is contained in the Bible. And it's trustworthy. It is not anti-scientific.

[1:42] It is not unsophisticated. This is the most sophisticated treatment of the history of mankind you will find.

[1:53] How can we say that? Because it is the only eyewitness account of how it all started. God was there to do all of this, and he wrote it down for us through his servant Moses so that we could have a wonderful, trustworthy account of our history.

[2:13] There is no such thing as necessarily prehistoric history. This is where it started.

[2:25] We have a recording of history as God wants us to know it from the beginning. We can know from day one what was going on as God created a habitable planet for you and I.

[2:39] And he did that so we could have communion with him. Now isn't that amazing? He didn't make the earth to wow everybody. He made the earth for us to live on it and declare his glory and companionship with us.

[2:56] But he didn't stop there. He allowed you and I then to share in that companionship as we loved him and knew him with each other.

[3:08] And that's what this is about today. I want to take you back as you think about Psalm 8. Psalm 8. Psalm 8.4 asks God a fundamental question about us.

[3:23] And that question is something that our sinful pride would never, ever allow you and I to consider. I know that in my sinful pride before Christ, I never considered anything like this.

[3:37] What is man that you remember him and the son of man that you care for him? In my pride and in your pride and in the pride of all unbelievers, that isn't even on their radar.

[3:52] You understand that? It's not even on their radar. There was a time in your life. There's a time in my life and in their lives as unbelievers when self was at the center of everything.

[4:05] And so why would we even give consideration to God? Or why it is that God even has anything to do with us? After all, I'm all that.

[4:16] Of course he wants to know me. Just ask me and I'll tell you I'm all that. But friends, when our hearts are humbled before God, when our hearts are made thankful, like we read about as we were taking the table to God as our creator.

[4:36] Hear me. When our hearts are humbled and made thankful before the Lord is our creator. The question of verse four takes on a different attitude.

[4:49] It becomes a reflection of our worship. Unbelievers don't even consider it. And if they did, they wouldn't know what to do with it. Verse four becomes an attitude of worship when our hearts are humbled and made thankful before the Lord.

[5:07] And this is expressed in verse three. I'm going to highlight it up here so you can see what I want to emphasize. When. When I see your heavens.

[5:19] You see, when God brings us to the place where we recognize him as creator. These are your heavens. You made all of this.

[5:30] When. I am able to see that through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When I see the works of your fingers.

[5:41] The moon and the stars. Which you. Have established. When my heart is giving you the glory and the credit and the honor.

[5:52] For having established the world in the way that you have. What. What. What then is man. That you remember. Him.

[6:03] And the son of man. That you care. For him. Who am I. In light of this great majestic God.

[6:15] But folks. The truth is. That's a heart of worship. For God is creator, caregiver and sustainer. And God has done that work.

[6:26] In our hearts this morning. He has made it possible for you and I through the Lord Jesus Christ to offer him. Worship. He didn't stand aloof. He condescended to come to us.

[6:39] And he shows us the glory of the heavens. That our hearts would reflect on who he is. In Genesis chapter 2. The narrative is moving us from this.

[6:52] This macro. Of creation. To this micro. Of God's special. Special attention. On mankind.

[7:03] So what we have in Genesis 2. Is not a. Another telling. Of a. Another creation. Account. God did everything in chapter 1.

[7:14] Now he comes to chapter 2. And tells us. Oh and by the way. I did some other stuff too. In addition. To what I told you. In chapter 1. Here's another.

[7:25] Separate. Account. Of another creation. Operative. That I was engaged in. No. That's not what chapter 2 is. Many liberal scholars.

[7:36] Liberal seminaries. Liberal colleges. Will teach that. I think I actually sat under that one time myself. But that's not what chapter 2 is all about. This is simply God.

[7:48] Focusing in. In a micro way. On his special attention on mankind. So we're seeing God's design for mankind. In chapter 2. The astounding.

[7:59] Astounding care. God has taken. God has taken to create his world. For us. To inhabit. This is what God is highlighting. And bringing to the fore. And that he did all of this.

[8:12] That we might be. In communion with him. Now don't miss that. Please don't allow yourself. To sit there this morning. And take in some facts. And miss the reality.

[8:23] That God is doing this great work. Of telling us. And filling in the details. In chapter 2. So that we will be able. To be awed. By the reality. That God wants to be.

[8:35] In communion with you. That he made. You and I. And put us in a habitable world. So that he could know us. And we could know him. That is the power.

[8:47] Of what we're seeing. In chapter 2. It's a wonderful testimony. To God's grace. God made. The original creation. As the place.

[8:58] For you and I. To live. In relationship. With him. If somebody ever asked you. Out in the world. Why did God even make the world?

[9:09] The answer is straightforward. Right out of the Bible. God made the world. A habitable place. For human beings. That we might. Commune with him.

[9:22] That's why he did it. That we would know him. And be known. By him. So from chapter 2. Here's what I'll do. I'm going to highlight.

[9:33] God willing today. In the time that we have. I'm going to highlight. Four activities. Of God. Establishing. And here it is. His authoritative design.

[9:45] For mankind. This is the authoritative history. Of mankind. Kind. These are four. Actions. Around which. God provides.

[9:56] His own. Trustworthy. Account. Of the true. Beginnings. Of human history. I'm trying to find. Every way I can. To put forward to you.

[10:07] That this is the real deal. This is the trustworthy. Accounting. Of how humankind. Came into existence. And why it's so important. For you and I. To pay attention. To the details.

[10:17] That God will now give us. About that account. These acts of God. Give us today. For our sermon. My sermon this morning. The outline.

[10:30] This. Activity of God. That I'm highlighting. In four specific ways. Will be. Filling in. The details. That God wants us to know.

[10:41] About his special. Attention. Toward mankind. And so the very first. Action of God. Serves as the foundation. In his authoritative design.

[10:51] To make and care for us. In unique ways. Let's pick it up. In chapter 2. Verse 4. And I'm going to read down. Through the entire chapter.

[11:02] For us. These are the generations. Of the heavens. And the earth. When they were created. In the day. That Yahweh. God. Made earth.

[11:13] And heaven. Now no shrub of the field. Was yet in the earth. No plant of the field. Had yet grown. For Yahweh. God. Had not caused it. To rain upon the earth.

[11:24] And there was no man. To cultivate the ground. But a stream. Would rise. From the earth. And water the whole surface. Of the ground. Then Yahweh. God. Formed man.

[11:34] Of dust. From the ground. And breathed. Into his. Nostrils. The breath. Of life. And so the man. Became. A living being.

[11:45] And Yahweh. God. Planted a garden. In Eden. Toward the east. And there he placed. The man. Whom he had formed. And out of the ground. Yahweh. God.

[11:56] Caused to grow. Every tree. That is desirable. In appearance. And good for food. The tree of life. Also. In the midst. Of the garden. And the tree. Of the knowledge.

[12:06] Of good and evil. Now a river. Went out of Eden. To water the garden. And from there. It divided. And became. Four rivers. The name of the first. Was Pishon. It is the one.

[12:19] That went around. The whole land. Of Havilah. Where there is gold. Now the gold. Of that land. Is good. The bedellium. And the onyx. Stone. Are there. And the name.

[12:30] Of the second river. Is Gion. It is the one. That went around. The whole land. Of Cush. And the name. Of the third river. Is Tigris. It is the one. That went east.

[12:40] Of Asher. And the fourth river. Is the Euphrates. Then Yahweh. God. Took the man. And set him. In the garden. Of Eden. To cultivate it. And keep it. And Yahweh.

[12:50] God. Commanded. The man. Saying. From any. Tree. Of the garden. You may. Surely. Eat. But from the tree. Of the knowledge. Of good. And evil.

[13:01] You shall. Not. Eat. From it. For in the day. That you eat. From it. You will. Surely. Die. Then Yahweh. God. Said.

[13:11] It is not good. For the man. To be alone. And now. I will make him. A helper. Suitable for him. Out of the ground. Yahweh. God. Had formed. Every beast. Of the field.

[13:22] And every bird. Of the sky. And he brought. Each. To the man. To see what he would. Call it. And whatever the man. Called a living creature. That was. Its name. And the man.

[13:32] Gave names. To all the cattle. And to the birds. Of the sky. And to every beast. Of the field. But. For Adam. There was not. Found. A helper.

[13:44] Suitable. For him. So Yahweh. God. Caused a deep sleep. To fall upon the man. And he slept. And he took. One of his ribs. And closed up the flesh.

[13:54] At that place. And Yahweh. God fashioned the rib. Which he had taken from the man. Into a woman. And he brought her. To the man. Then the man said.

[14:06] This one finally. Is bone. Of my bones. And flesh. Of my flesh. This one. Shall be called. Woman. Because this one.

[14:18] Was taken. Out of man. Therefore. A man. Shall leave. His father. And his mother. And cleave. To his wife.

[14:29] And they shall become. One flesh. And the man. And his wife. Were both naked. And they were not ashamed. So if you look back up. In the text with me.

[14:41] And notice. In verse four. Yahweh. God. Made. Earth. And heaven. That's number one. Then in verse seven.

[14:51] Yahweh. God. Formed. Man. That's your. Second activity. Verse eight. Yahweh. God. Planted. A garden. That's number three.

[15:03] And then in verse 18. I will make him. A helper. Suitable. For him. In those four activities. We have God. Filling in. All of the details.

[15:13] He wants us to know. About this account. So is this a myth? Is it an allegory? Is it just a sweet story. Intended to. Teach us some. Principles.

[15:23] And general ideas. About. What it is for us. To relate to each other. In sweet. Sentimental ways. No. This is a true account.

[15:34] Of what God wants us to know. About why. He made us. What he instituted. In making us. In this way. And what we're supposed to do.

[15:45] About it. So. Let's start with this first one. This. First action. Of God. Yahweh God. Creates. Heaven. And. Earth.

[15:56] And I could have put it. The other way. Around. Around. Because if you'll notice. In verse. Four. These are the generations. Of the heavens. The earth. When they were created.

[16:06] Now notice this. In the day. That Yahweh God. Made. Earth. And heaven. That's going to be significant. What we have. Beginning. In this particular section.

[16:18] Is this combined. Name. Don't let that go by us. Yahweh God. Is the way that. The. Legacy standard. Brings it out. Yahweh God.

[16:29] That's new to chapter two. Now your Bible. Might read. Read. Lord God. How many of you. Have a translation. Yes. Okay. That's great. That's fine. In Genesis chapter one.

[16:40] It was simply. God. Or Elohim. The plural name for God. Is the ruler of all. You might remember. A sermon that. When I started bringing that out.

[16:50] From chapter one. Yahweh. Is the name. God wanted. Israel. To know him by. It's his majestic name. It's the name. That comes through.

[17:01] I am who I am. I'm Yahweh. Yahweh. Elohim. So this combination. Appears. Approximately. Sixteen times.

[17:13] In the rest. Of the Old Testament. Folks. Here. In Genesis chapter two. And three. We have it. Twenty. Times. In the rest. Of the Old Testament.

[17:23] We only have. Sixteen or so. Twenty times. In two chapters. It's significant. So pause. To consider. What's happening.

[17:33] Here. As God. Expresses. This new. Combination. Of his name. To these people. And to you and I. As we read it. And take it in. What is happening here.

[17:45] Friends. The majestic. God. Of creation. This God. That we've been. Reading about. Doing these. Incredible. Miraculous. Things.

[17:55] For an entire chapter. This majestic. God. Is revealing. His character. And his care. For. Mankind. For us.

[18:07] By sharing. His name. With us. It's as if. The Lord has said. You have seen me. In this. Big. Picture. View. Of me. Doing these. Incredible.

[18:18] Things. Through chapter one. And what. An incredible. Powerful. Display. That God. Has put on. In chapter one. Now he brings it down. And he wants. To make it.

[18:28] Very personal. He wants. To take all. Of that. And aim it. Right at you. Right at your heart. He wants you. Now. To take in. Personally.

[18:39] Something. Of who this. Majestic. Sovereign God. Is. It's about. To get. Very. Individualistic. For you. And for me. It certainly.

[18:49] Was the case. For Adam and Eve. Wasn't it? And that's why. He's filling in. These details. For us. In this particular. Section. Of scripture. God's name.

[18:59] Is telling us. So much. About who he is. What's one of the first things. That you and I do. When we meet someone. For the first time. Perhaps a handshake. Perhaps a little bit of a hug.

[19:11] Or something like that. But hi. How are you? My name is. And your name is. It's a way that we begin. To get to know each other. Take it from.

[19:21] The real. Real general. Down into something. A little more. Personalized. That's exactly. What's happening here. It's why God wants us. To know it. Yahweh.

[19:32] Elohim. Stresses. God's. Sovereignty. Over. And his. Sustaining. Care. For. What he's. Created.

[19:43] So we're talking. About. Majesty. Here. That's why we read. The psalm. And I've been using. That word. With you. Majesty. Or sovereignty. Means. God's.

[19:54] Supreme. Greatness. His. Supreme. Authority. You can't get any further. Or higher. Or better. Any greater. Than the sovereignty.

[20:04] That God expresses. Over what he's made. His majesty. His supreme greatness. And yet. Listen now. He is infinitely. Higher. Than us.

[20:15] But. The point of chapter 2. Is. He made us. To know him. And to know his. Care for us. Over six days time.

[20:26] God. Instantaneously. And from nothing. Fiat creation. Brought the elements. Of his universe. Into existence. The earth. The heavens.

[20:36] Display. God's eternal power. And his divine nature. According to Romans 1. God. So even. Even unbelievers. Who do not. Who do not. Have faith in Christ.

[20:48] They're not here. Worshiping with us. They're out doing. A million other things. Because they have no regard. For God. Even those people. See the eternal power.

[20:59] And divine nature of God. All around them. In what God has made. But the Bible tells us. That in their sin. They push that reality down. So as not to acknowledge it.

[21:11] And bow to God's authority over them. That's the sin. That's the deception. That's the power. Over us. That we need Christ to break. The vastness.

[21:23] Think of this with me friends. The vastness. And complexity. Of the universe. That we rehearsed together. As we went through chapter one. That shows no signs.

[21:34] Of any other habitable place. Like earth. Can you think about that? Now I'm going to. I'm going to go out. On a bit of a limb here. And say to you. What I've already said. To you sermons ago.

[21:45] I personally don't believe. There's any other life. In the universe. I think we're it. And I think the Bible. Makes a case for that. As fun as it is.

[21:57] To think about UFOs. And watch science fiction flicks. I don't think there's any other life. In the universe. There could be. I'm not saying God couldn't do that.

[22:08] I'm saying. I think the Bible. Makes a case. That he didn't do that. What am I talking about? Think about it with me. In all of what we've explored so far.

[22:18] We have not found one trace. Of any kind of life. Even remotely close to what we enjoy. On planet earth. There are over a hundred billion stars.

[22:31] In our galaxy. Alone. Our ongoing explorations. Reveal that among the billions. And billions. Of diverse planets. Moons.

[22:42] Galaxy. And stars. That we can know about. God created earth. As his special place. For mankind. To dwell. In communion.

[22:52] With God. In other words. What we're talking about. In this. God made the heaven. And the earth. God made earth. And heaven.

[23:03] We're talking about. A way that God has set. Earth in the universe. Given us the ability. To explore. Out in the universe. By the way. We have learned.

[23:13] That the universe. Is expanding. Some mathematical reality. It's expanding. That as far as we can reach out. With our telescopes. And other instruments. That we've used. This is the only place.

[23:26] Like it. That we know of. We still can't find any place. Even close to this. And I think that's the point. This is a special place.

[23:37] And it has a very special. Special. Created. Being. Or beings. On it. That's us. Mankind. And it's wonderful.

[23:49] To think about. The text says. Notice. These. Are. The generations. Of the heavens. And the earth. Now this is a way. Of introducing us.

[24:00] To what happens next. This is just setting up. Everything for us. He's setting up. What's going to happen next. In this sphere. Of God's creative.

[24:11] Ability. In this world. That God made. For mankind. Kind. So the end. Of verse four. As I've already pointed out. Look at the end. Of verse four. Reads. In the day.

[24:22] Yahweh. God. Made earth. And heaven. Why did he switch it? Is that just arbitrary? No. Nothing about the word of God. Is arbitrary. Earth. And heaven.

[24:34] That's not the usual. Word order. For what we've been. Accustomed to. Through chapter one. Heaven and earth. Even in the first part. Of verse four. We have heaven and earth.

[24:44] Now he switches it. At the end of verse four. Earth. And heaven. What's he doing. With all that. He's trying to bring. The focus. Of his special.

[24:55] Attention. On Adam. And Eve. And their place. On God's. Earth. The design. That God has. For these two people.

[25:06] To occupy. Earth. Together. And do. What? That's the point. That's what he's answering. Occupy. The earth. Together. And do.

[25:16] What? Function. Function. As what? Why are we here? What's the purpose? Why did he make some of you male? And some of you female?

[25:28] What's the purpose of all of this? This is where we get the answers to those questions. Right at the beginning. We go to the author of creation. And we ask him to tell us.

[25:39] Why did you do it? This way. This is the only place in all the universe. The earth. Which God made for these two people. To dwell together.

[25:49] And to have offspring. This is it. This is plan A. There aren't any other planets out there. That are plan B. Just in case this one doesn't work out.

[26:00] That is so prideful. Isn't it? You read the Bible. And you see God's plan. And you see the majesty of this plan. And now we're going to tell the Lord. We're building spaceships.

[26:11] As fast as we can build them. Because we know that this plan. Isn't going to work out. And we're going to need to find another plan. For ourselves. Just so prideful. No.

[26:22] This is God's good plan. Go a little further with me. Notice in five and six. How do we understand this? In light of chapter one. Now no shrub of the field. Was yet in the earth.

[26:32] No plant of the field. Had yet grown. For Yahweh God. Had not caused it to rain upon the earth. There was no man. To cultivate the ground. But a stream would rise from the earth.

[26:43] And water the whole surface. Of the ground. Verses five and six. Are speaking of a time. Between. The creation days. Of three and six. Day three.

[26:53] Day six. Now the verse. Folks. Is not. Because it would contradict chapter one. The verse is not talking. About all. Plant life.

[27:04] On earth. This is not a comprehensive statement. The text. The text. Helps keep the focus. On man's. Special. Role. On earth. How so.

[27:15] How does it do that? Verses five and six. Seem to underscore. That God. God. In his plan. For earth.

[27:26] Needs. People. To cultivate it. Now are you with me? Following five and six. What's the point. Of what he's saying here. I'm. I'm doing this with you.

[27:36] Because many liberal scholars. Will take these verses. And say. Aha. See. This whole idea. Of the chronology. That we're given. In chapter one. Is bogus. Because here.

[27:47] Is a contradiction. Of that chronology. No. That's not what this is. At all. The chronology. That we're given. In chapter one. Is legit. He did make.

[27:58] What he made. When he made it. In the order. That he made it. For chapter one. And this is not threatening that. This is simply telling us. That God is underscoring his plan.

[28:10] For the reality. That God. Wants people. To cultivate. The ground. It refers. In these two verses. To two categories. Of plant life. Check it out with me.

[28:21] The vegetation. Referred to here. Are cultivatable plants. They need mankind. They need rain. Or they won't grow. They will not grow.

[28:32] Apart from man's efforts. And so all of this. To this point. Is focusing. The movement. Of the text. On exactly. Where God wants us.

[28:43] To put our attention. On the question. Where. Is. Man. So he's filling in the details. From what he's told us.

[28:53] From chapter one. Now he's bringing this down. To an understandable. Micro level. For us to see. Into some of the details. Of how he did this.

[29:03] And why he did it. Where is man. And of course. One verification. That we're on the right track. In this interpretation. Is exactly where the text.

[29:13] Takes us next. Look at verse seven. Then Yahweh God. Formed man. Of dust. From the ground. And breathed into his nostrils.

[29:24] The breath of life. And so the man became. A living. Being. So verse seven. Takes us to this second activity. Yahweh God. Forms.

[29:35] Man. The universe. Is indeed. An awesome display. Of God's eternal power. And divine nature. But. But. Notice what God's doing here folks.

[29:46] He isn't pausing here. To talk more about the universe. Is he? What's he pausing to talk about? Mankind. Mind. Specifically Adam.

[29:59] We don't have in chapter two. This. Running summary. Restating all the great things. God did in chapter one. We have God zeroing in. On a specific aspect.

[30:10] Of what he did. In chapter one. He uses chapter two. To tell us. How and why. He made. Adam and Eve. Now I'm belaboring that point.

[30:21] Again. As a counter. To all the liberal nonsense. That you're going to read. And come across out there. If you watch different programs. On why chapter two.

[30:32] Is what it is. There's. Just lots of nonsense. Mankind. Is the most awesome display. Of God's goodness. Power. And divine nature. Because. We bear his image.

[30:45] In who we are. In the very DNA. Of who we are. We bear the image of God. Every person does. So we can say. God made us. To reflect him. To reflect himself.

[30:57] We are not God's. We are God's creation. And we are the pinnacle. Of that creative power. But notice this. As God rehearses this for us.

[31:10] From it. Starting in verse seven. Where did God begin. This creative design. For mankind. These are important questions. That I want to walk you through.

[31:21] Where did God begin. In this creative design. For mankind. In verse seven. He started with. One. Man. Man. One. Man.

[31:32] One male. The historical. Adam. Once again. You will find. A plethora. Of material. Out there. That says. That Adam and Eve.

[31:43] Were not historical. Characters. Adam and Eve. Are figments. Myths. Given to us. To teach these. Nice ideas. But they weren't.

[31:54] Real people. So say. Liberal. Scholars. That's not true. Adam and Eve. Were historical. Figures. If we don't have. The first Adam.

[32:04] What does that tell us. About the second Adam. Right. The gospel. Is at stake. In the historicity. Of Adam and Eve. As real people. If you don't know.

[32:16] What I'm talking about. When I say. The first Adam. And the second Adam. When you go home today. Read. Romans chapter five. And you'll see something. Of the critical importance. Of Adam. Being a real person.

[32:27] All through the New Testament. Different New Testament. Writers. Talk about. Adam. As a real person. Now I'm not going to go through. All of that with you. But it's true. This is where.

[32:40] God begins. In his creative act. Of drawing special attention. On to mankind. He begins by. Making a man. And that man. Is Adam.

[32:50] God made the first man. From the elements. Of the earth. He formed. This. Adam was formed. By God. As a potter.

[33:01] Does the clay. So the Hebrew imagery. Here. With both Adam. And Eve. I'll point that out. When I get to her. Is that of a potter. And the clay. But now look. The Hebrew. Doesn't describe.

[33:13] These. Clods. Or clumps. Of clay. You know. These. This raw. Yucky. Gross. Icky. I don't even want to.

[33:24] Really touch it. Stuff. That's not what the Hebrew. Is here. Well. What is. What does it say? Instead. It speaks of. Dust. Finer material. That's not.

[33:35] Splitting hairs. It's an important. Reality. Of what God's doing here. This is a master craftsman. Working with finer material. So notice this. This dust doesn't come.

[33:47] From. The ground. So. Or this dust comes from the ground. So that. Adam. Is formed. From. Adam. Ah. It's a word play. A Hebrew word play.

[33:58] It has the idea. Of finesse. Artistry. Craftsmanship. In the finest. And most detailed sense. Our God. Is intimately. Involved.

[34:09] In designing. This man. And creating him. In his image. He's careful. He's attentive. He's crafting something. Very special. To him. And yet.

[34:20] Adam. Is not yet. Alive. He's forming. Carefully. Crafting. This creature. But this creature. At this point. Is not yet. Alive.

[34:33] Then. The text says. God breathed. His own life. Into Adam. And Adam. Was made. Alive. All life.

[34:44] Comes from. The spirit. Of God. And yet. In this instance. This life. Was specially. Breathed. Into Adam. By God. I don't know. How all the.

[34:54] All the other ways. That God did it. As he brought. The animals. To life. And all of that. We're not given it. As much detail. Here. We're being told. However. That this is a nuance.

[35:05] This is a different detail. This is a very special way. That God. Animated. Human beings. This is how he got. Adam. Started.

[35:16] In terms of being. Alive. In that moment. What a moment. Have you ever. Have you ever. Have you ever. Thought that when you get. To eternity.

[35:26] You'd like God. To let you sit down. And hit rewind. So you could see. Some of this stuff. You know. We'll be enamored. With Jesus. But what a fascinating. Excursion.

[35:37] For us. That we would be able. To sit there. And see scripture. Verified. Visibly. In these different accounts. That God told us about. And said.

[35:47] Believe this. And have faith. This is the way. It went down. That's what's going on here. Adam. Came alive. As God. Literally. Breathed.

[35:59] Into him. The breath of life. It's amazing. Our life. Then. This is why. This is important. Oh. You just want people.

[36:10] To read the Bible. With faith. Right. Our life. Doesn't come. From earth. Do you see that? I'm making a big deal. Out of the fact. That God made us.

[36:20] Out of the earth. But we weren't yet alive. Crystals. Can't give us. Life. There is no life force. In crystals. Hanging around your neck.

[36:32] Or sitting at an altar. In your house. There are people. Who do this. There's a place. In Arizona. That Suzanne and I. Would visit. We would visit. Early in our.

[36:43] Life. Didn't. We went there. Before we were. Married. Right. And I loved it. It's in Sedona. And it's called. Talakapaki. Really. We used to call it.

[36:53] Wacky backy. There's a good reason. For that. You walk around there. And you kind of. Have to get out. Every once in a while. Go. It's liberal. As the day is long. All.

[37:04] All of the hippies. And all of the spiritists. And all the tree hergers. They converge on. Talakapaki. It wasn't that way. When we first went. But then it became that. And they.

[37:15] They have. This place is huge. You guys. And there is no small amount of money. That has been packed into. And it's quaint. You walk around to these shops. And this. It's just.

[37:26] Beautiful. The way they've done it. Several stories. And you're walking around. There's trees. Big old huge trees. Growing. Out of the shops. You walk into a shop. And you have to. Whoa. Walk around a big old tree.

[37:37] Growing there. That's the vibe. That's the feel of this place. But there are so many shops there. That sell these crystals. And all kinds of things. That these people have made.

[37:48] That are supposed to help you. Get in touch with your life force. They help heal you. They help. Help bring you mental stability.

[38:00] Do you want me to tell you. What these people are getting. For these things. What they're charging. It's. We walk through. I got. We went there the last time. I don't even remember. And I said. I don't.

[38:10] I can't come back here anymore. This is. The place has lost it for me. Damn it. I used to love this place. Now I can't even come back here. It just makes me want to weep. That these people are putting their faith.

[38:22] In things from the earth. Created things. No. We don't get our life. From the earth. Is the point. God. Is the author of life. God.

[38:33] Is the author. Animating us. Amen. Amen. From his life. We are made alive. Both physically. And spiritually.

[38:44] Very important. Our bodies and souls. Are expressions of God's careful. Good design for us. God designed Adam. From the very beginning. To have a body.

[38:54] And a soul. Or a body. And a spirit. Spirit. Soul. Same thing. Not spirit. And soul. Or. Same thing. In keeping with our need.

[39:06] For God. To give us. Spiritual. Life. Spiritual. Life. More on that. In Genesis chapter 3. Jesus said of himself. I am the way. And the truth.

[39:17] And what else? The life. The life. No one comes to the father. But through me. Jesus said. I am the life.

[39:28] Making possible for you. To have life. With God. No one. Comes to have life. From God. Except through. Me. Jesus said that.

[39:40] Now that's worth. Investigating. Isn't it? Spiritual life. Why do we need. Spiritual life. Because something. Very. Very. Tragic. And dramatic. Happens in Genesis 3.

[39:51] We're not there yet. This is all. Setting that up. Everything. I'm telling you. Right now. From the original design. Is setting up. Genesis chapter 3. We have to be very careful.

[40:02] About how we believe this. How we ask questions. And answer them. From the text of scripture. All right. Now follow the text with me. Having carefully crafted Adam.

[40:14] The text then moves us. To the next action. Look at this one. Yahweh God. Plants. A garden. And Yahweh God. Planted a garden. In.

[40:26] Eden. That's how yours should read. In. Eden. Toward the east. And there. What did he do? He placed the man. He placed the man.

[40:37] Whom. He had formed. Very interesting. Now I'm not going to spend much time here. I read it just a little while ago. As I introduced the text to you. But several things are important for us.

[40:49] To know and take note of. First. These. In this account. Of the garden. These verses that go through what? 14. Verse 14. These are real.

[41:00] Geographical places. All right. Eden. Was a geographical area. On earth. And God planted. A real garden. In.

[41:12] Eden. He put the garden. In. This. Geographical. Location. That's what the text. Tells us. Now we cannot know.

[41:23] The location. Of this place. Now. Why. Why can't we know. Where Eden is today. Why. Why. Will we. Likely. Never. Never. Ever. Find. Eden. Today.

[41:36] God. Protected it. And how. How did he do that? What great event. Changed. The whole geography. Of the earth. The flood. The flood. And so just like.

[41:46] So many other places. In the earth. Eden. Is probably buried. Under at least. Hundreds. Of layers. Of sediment. If not thousands. We'll never know.

[41:57] It's. It was wiped off. The face of the earth. Like so many. Many other places. So we'll never. Know that. It does. It doesn't matter. God. Made the garden. And he.

[42:08] Said. It says. He placed. Adam in it. Man. I love that. Boy. If we take time. Like I did. We just sit down. And meditate on this. Phrase by phrase. There's such tenderness here.

[42:20] Through this. This entire chapter. Is just oozing. With the tenderness. And care. And specificity. Of God. As he deals.

[42:30] With mankind. Every little item. Is intended. To draw us. Into this. Mix. Of God's goodness. And specific care.

[42:42] For these two. People. The first humans. On the planet. Now. I understand. As we come. To. The trees. That's the second item.

[42:52] We want to take note of. We have these two trees. Now. There's mystery here. Folks. If you came today. Hoping. I get to chapter two. And answer all your questions. About these two trees. You're going to be disappointed.

[43:04] Let's lower the expectation. On that note. Just a little bit. And let me just tell you. I'm going to stick with the text. These were. Real. Trees. Set.

[43:14] In the garden. These are not figures. These are not metaphors. Or ideas. Or concepts. Some people will say. The tree wasn't real. It was the concept. Of evil. The other tree.

[43:26] Wasn't real. It was the concept. Of good. No. These were real. Trees. Bark. Leaves. Fruit. Real trees.

[43:36] Set. In. The landscape. Of the garden. Of Eden. And while there's mystery here. I think we could say. A couple of things.

[43:47] Adam. Was. Created. Immortal. You understand. That the scripture. Teaches that. Adam was created. Immortal. Would Adam have died. If he had never sinned.

[43:59] Well if he was created. Immortal. The answer is no. Right. Now I don't know. How all that works. And neither do you. Neither do the scholars. But that's the truth. Adam was created. Immortal. But. But folks.

[44:10] It seems from the text. That the tree of life. Was a means. A means. God used. To sustain Adam. In his immortality. You with me?

[44:22] So this was a way. God sustained him. In that immortality. It didn't give him immortality. It helped sustain him in it. Once again. Can I understand. And get my mind. Around all of that.

[44:32] No. But that seems to be. To me. What the text is suggesting here. About this tree. If we look at verses 15. Through 17. Then Yahweh God.

[44:45] Took the man. And set him in the garden. We saw that earlier. That he placed him in the garden. This is a very beautiful. Tender. Wonderful thing. God's doing. And he put him in.

[44:56] The garden of Eden. To cultivate it. And keep it. And Yahweh God. Commanded the man. Saying. From any tree of the garden. You may surely eat. Now the Hebrew there. And the grammar.

[45:07] Is emphatic. It's suggesting. Please. Go. Eat. And eat. Of all the trees. In the garden. It's suggesting two things. Great. Great. Great. Variety.

[45:18] We would never be able. To comprehend. The wondrous variety. Of this. These trees. In the garden. Many. Many. Many. Multiple. Trees. In the garden.

[45:28] Of all different kinds. Perhaps some now. That we don't even have. With us. And what he's saying is. Look at the abundance. Go and eat abundantly. You can do that.

[45:40] And he's emphatic about it. Surely eat. Go eat. But. Now. The but. Gives us the huge contrast. With what he just said. It would have been a very sharp.

[45:51] Sharp reality. From the tree of the knowledge. Of good and evil. You shall not eat. From it. For in the day. You eat. From it. You will. Surely.

[46:02] Die. Notice. Notice what he's doing. In the two verses. At the end of verse 16. Surely. Eat. Of one of the trees. At the end of the next verse.

[46:12] Surely. Die. If you eat. Of this tree. Now. Some people have said. Did Adam. Understand death. He'd never experienced it. Personally. Do you understand concepts.

[46:23] You've never experienced. Personally. I've never been drunk. In my life. I've seen drunkenness. Do I need. To get drunk. To appreciate. What drunkenness is. And does.

[46:35] Adam. Was a brilliant. Human being. He was created. As the perfect man. In the perfect place. In a perfect relationship. With God. Did Adam. Understand. The cessation.

[46:46] Of life. Death. Yes. He did. He'd never experienced. Death. He'd never seen. Death. But God's telling him. In that day. You will surely die.

[46:57] Well was Adam. Supposed to walk away. And go. Whatever. Die. What's die. I don't know what die is. What's he talking about. I don't get it. No. Why would he.

[47:07] Why would God tell him. If he couldn't absorb. The reality. Of what that meant. Here's what he knew it meant. Life will cease. And he knew that. That's what he's holding on to.

[47:18] It's got to be. This is just you and I. Trying to understand. The text. And what God is. Detailing for us. In this. About this first person. That's what's going on here.

[47:29] I think. I'm pretty sure. It was all part of what God was doing. As he set these trees in the garden. And gave these special special instruction. For Adam to care for these two trees.

[47:42] Particularly this one. He was not supposed to eat from. So I can see him out there. Tending around it. And cultivating. And doing whatever he wanted to do. I don't know if you had to rake leaves in the garden.

[47:52] But he's out there doing that kind of stuff. It was part of the garden. And part of his stewardship as well. But he had special instructions about it. So go and eat from all the varieties.

[48:04] This particular prohibition on this tree though. God said no. I don't want you to have this. It's death producing. So violating this command would create.

[48:16] Here it is folks. This is what we need to understand. And this is what Adam understood. If he violates this command. It would create some kind of separation. Between Adam and God.

[48:27] And that separation would leave Adam. Making moral decisions apart from God. Did you hear that? In other words. We have another place in Judges. That tell us what this is like.

[48:38] It's doing what's right in your own eyes. That's the issue. You eat this fruit. And you will surely die. And part of the death producing element.

[48:50] In all of that. Will be this separation. Where you'll begin to make judgments about your world. Not according to the word of God. But according to you. That is not a good place for us to be.

[49:01] And that's what's going on. In this particular situation. Instead of judging his world by God's word. Adam would quote unquote.

[49:13] Be like God. Isn't that what the serpent promised? God knows that in the day you eat of it. You will be like God. That's right. There's a truth in that statement.

[49:27] You'll be like God. In the sense that you're going to be your own final judge. Of what you deem to be good and bad. Right and wrong. Instead of what God has told you.

[49:38] Is good or bad. Or right or wrong. Now you become that person. More on that in Genesis chapter 3. But the text continues to move us. And here's the highlight of the whole thing.

[49:49] I couldn't wait to get here. I've been hurrying to get here. Here it is. Yahweh God makes the helper for Adam. One of my favorite subjects in all the Bible. Is what God does here.

[50:02] As a married man. I can tell you I celebrate this constantly. I'm so thankful to God for this reality ladies. Then Yahweh God said.

[50:12] Verse 18. It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him. So out of the ground Yahweh God had formed every beast of the field.

[50:22] And bird of the sky. Now what he does is he brings each of them. To see what Adam would call it. And whatever the man Adam called a living creature. That was its name. And the man gave names to all the cattle.

[50:34] The birds of the sky. To every beast of the field. But for Adam the man. There was not found a helper. Suitable for him.

[50:44] What's going on? I will make a helper suitable for him. Notice that this is God's solution. You notice that? This isn't Adam figuring it out.

[50:56] This is God's solution. To what? To what it says. It is not good for the man to be alone. Whose assessment is that? Adam's or God's? God's.

[51:07] God has said it's not good for the man to be alone. I'm going to do something about that. So Adam is not the agent of action here. Who is? God. As we've seen throughout.

[51:19] This is one of those activities that I'm trying to highlight for us. To see through all of this. God's answer to Adam's. Hear me now please folks. Aloneness. I'm going to be very careful.

[51:29] Slow down a little bit here. This is God's answer to Adam's aloneness. Now how do we understand this? Very critical. How do we understand this? Aloneness. Alright. Is Adam lonesome?

[51:42] Now just follow me. Is Adam lonesome? Personally? I don't think so. I don't think that's the emphasis of the text. At least not in the sense that you and I understand lonesome.

[51:53] You know being empty. Sad. Perhaps depressed about it. No. Remember we have a perfect man in a perfect environment. Serving a perfect God in a perfect relationship.

[52:03] Right? Alright. So we know that. Adam isn't complaining. Complaining would be sin. There's no sin. So that's not the issue is it? He's not complaining.

[52:13] He didn't go to the Lord. And say hey look dude. I don't know man. I'm looking around and I'm just. It's not happening for me. I'm not getting it. Right? Come on. There's got to be something else.

[52:25] No. That's not what's happening. That's us. That's not Adam at this time. That's not what's going on in all of this. Adam doesn't know what a woman is.

[52:36] Bless his heart. Poor guy. He does not know what a woman is. Alright. Let's do something about that. So he's given the task of naming the animals.

[52:49] You see that there in the text? And it's interesting to me. Look now. God is personally supervising every single aspect of this process. God is bringing each animal.

[53:01] Personally. Bringing each animal. To Adam. To see which name Adam will give to them. So you see that happening. Right? God is bringing each one of them. He's right there. Everything about the grammar.

[53:12] The syntax. The flow of the passage. Is showing us how intimately involved. And personally involved. Our majestic God is in this process. I tell you.

[53:24] Spend some time. Meditating on this chapter. You guys. This next week. You should weep in worship. Listen. I've done this before.

[53:35] I came away from this chapter this week. Weeping in worship. And I said. Lord. This is. This is one of the most beautiful. Places in scripture. I know of.

[53:46] And I don't. I don't think I thought it. Thought it like that before. See how we grow. Then in the Lord. Your pastor is growing in the Lord. It can't be taught.

[53:58] Praise the Lord. You just can't wear the scripture out. This is so beautiful. And I won't do it all justice. I've prayed and prayed.

[54:08] God help the boy. Help me. Help me. Put this across. God is supervising this. So Adam responds. He names them one by one. It indicates both his brilliance.

[54:19] Brilliance. Brilliance of mine. But it also indicates the authority. God is giving Adam over creation. To include the woman. Who's coming next. Now keep in mind.

[54:31] All of this that Adam's doing. And naming the animals. And don't get lost in all of that. All of this is being done. Under the auspices of. I will make him a helper suitable for him.

[54:46] That's that's the activity isn't it. Now we got the naming of the animals and all that. And it's almost like. Come on. Come on. Come on. Get to the good stuff. Get to the good part. This is all part of it. God's taking him through a process.

[54:59] Very intimate. Very specific. Very hands on. Wonderful. So much for this God who wound it all up and just walked away from it.

[55:11] No, no, no. That's not at all the case here. So he names all the animals. I'll make a helper suitable for him. Notice what the text says next friends. And the man and the man gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to every beast of the field.

[55:29] Now notice this. It seems that this little exercise produced a result that God had intended all along. He's not setting Adam up. He's simply walking him through a process to help him understand and know something that he did not know previously.

[55:46] This is tender and caring and wonderful. It's patient. God is being patient with his creature. So now we have this this thing he comes to that he intended all along.

[55:59] And here it is. But for Adam, there was not found a helper suitable for him. There was not found. What's going on?

[56:11] Well, here it is. Adam is incomplete. Because he lacks human companionship. In other words, I can say it this way.

[56:22] Creation at this point in the details God's giving us as he takes us back into chapter one and takes a slice of chapter one. And he says, now let me fill in the details here about how this how this happened.

[56:35] Creation is incomplete. And that incompletion means that it's not good for man to lack a companion suitable or fit for him. That's what it means. It doesn't mean creation isn't good.

[56:48] Creation is still good. It's just not finished yet. We need an Eve. We need an Eve, ladies. That's what we need. That's what Adam needs.

[56:59] Oh, he doesn't know it yet. He's starting to get clued in. Now, imagine God. I don't know. What did he do? Did he go to Adam and say to him, now, look, here's what's going to come down.

[57:12] I'm going to put you to sleep. Put me to sleep. Yeah, I'm going to put you to sleep. You're just going to go to sleep. You're not going to feel it. I'm going to take. You're going to do what? I'm going to take. No, no, no, no.

[57:22] You're going to do. You're going to. And I'm not going to feel this. That's right. It's all good. You won't. I don't know. But God is so involved in this. It's so intimate. I can see him having a discussion with Adam about this.

[57:34] No problem. I'm sure Adam was thinking, you've got this. I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm good. So now he's he's got this this plan to give Adam this helper.

[57:47] Now, just hear your pastor here. I think it's so awesome that God did not make Adam another guy to hang out with. You think about that?

[57:59] He could have. He could have said, OK, I'm going to give you a buddy. I'm going to give you a buddy. And so he makes a guy and they hang out. This is not about hanging out. This is not about bromance.

[58:12] That's not what this is at all. That's going to come down the road somewhere where guys are like Jonathan and David, you know, men's men who step forward and do the righteousness of God together.

[58:25] But that's not what this is. This is a whole nother animal. And I am so glad for this. Animals and guys are not the plan. Animals and guys are not the companions God has in mind.

[58:40] So how will God make him a helper suitable? How's he going to do that? Now, the answer, ladies, the answer comes and it's just incredible. It's just marvelous. It comes from a place that you and I really couldn't have imagined in a thousand years of trying to figure this out on our own.

[58:56] We just couldn't have done it. It comes from the mind and heart of God. And so we ask. Let's ask this question right now before I move to a close. Why does God want us to know these details about making Eve from Adam?

[59:09] Why didn't he just leave it at what he told us in chapter one? Why does he got to circle back around and give us a chapter two? That's fair. I know I thought that. Verses 21 and 22.

[59:23] So Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man and he slept and he took one of his ribs and closed it up at the flesh. Then Yahweh God fashioned the rib which he had taken from the man into a woman and he brought her to the man.

[59:41] Now, friends, only God could pull off a marvelous act like this. Right at the beginning of making the first human being, this is exactly what he wanted to do. So look, look, this is how the Hebrew spells it out for us.

[59:54] He uses a rib from Ish, the Hebrew for man, to finally craft Isha, a woman, and he brought her to the man.

[60:06] He brought her to the man. These Hebrew words are from different stems, but they have a sound alike, don't they?

[60:17] And that's the whole idea. It's another wordplay in the Hebrew to help us understand. Ishah comes from Ish. And there's a very important reason that that's the case.

[60:32] You may have in this questions about, well, how did it all work out? Well, listen, let's just do this. The whole scene is bursting with anticipation.

[60:42] I'm trying to capture that. It's just, oh, it's building and building and building. We've come through all these verses now in chapter 2, and we're at this place where something miraculous is about to happen in Adam's life.

[60:56] It's wonderful. God now brings Adam to the most excellent of all of God's gifts for a man. A wife perfectly suited to or corresponding to Adam.

[61:12] That's what verses 23 and 24 give us. Then the man said, this one is finally bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh. This one shall be called woman because this one was taken out of man.

[61:26] Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh. Now, the New American Standard starts all of that in Adam's response with this is now.

[61:37] That's how the New American Standard, the ESV that some of you have, says this at last is bone of my bones, right? The LSB says this one finally is, and I love that.

[61:52] So there is a deep, settled satisfaction in all of this and celebration being expressed here.

[62:04] Now, at the risk of seeming a little over the top with you, I'm just going to risk it. I want to try to show you what the Hebrew syntax and flow of the passage is doing here.

[62:17] If you were Hebrew and you were reading through this, it would just spill out all over you. But this is the idea. I'm not trying to trivialize. I'm trying to tell you this is what the picture it's trying to portray for us.

[62:29] It's as if the Lord came over and had this woman, this Eve, that he's made out of this rib. And he's got her here and he says to Adam, all right, close your eyes.

[62:42] Close your eyes. All right. Eyes closed. No peeking. When there's no peeking, no cheating because there's no sin yet. So we don't have to worry about that. No peeking. So he has the woman here and he's telling Adam, close your eyes.

[62:56] You got your eyes closed. All right. So he's he's getting. OK. All right. All right. Don't move. Don't move. And he runs over and he grabs Adam.

[63:08] He says, all right, keep your eyes closed. Keep your eyes closed. All right. Open your eyes. And God, I know, right?

[63:27] Huh? Come on. And he brings her. To the man. This is my gift.

[63:40] And there's nothing like it on the planet. And I made it just for you. Everything about this creature is made for you.

[63:55] For your joy. Happiness. Fulfillment. And together, the two of you are going to know a bliss that's going to blow your minds. This is God's design.

[64:08] Now, for everyone in here who's married, please don't get depressed. This was the original idea.

[64:21] And then Genesis 3 happened. We're not there yet. I'm going to help you in Genesis 3. Right now, I'm just going to hang on and say, yes, that dude, that ain't me, man. I know that.

[64:32] I understand that. And yet. And yet. In Christ. Can we know something of that bliss? Yes. Can we know something of that treasure? Open your eyes.

[64:44] What do you see? And he brought her. He brought her to the man.

[64:58] Adam and Eve perfectly, perfectly correspond to each other. They are complementary. This is why we teach complementarianism in our church.

[65:10] Not egalitarianism. And if you were here a couple of windy nights ago, we went through that together from the scripture and outlined for you what all of that means in terms of our faith and our understanding of men and women.

[65:25] And yet. With this in place, we compare verse seven with verse 22 and 23 B, the last part of 23. And what do we see? We see God highlighting distinctions between.

[65:43] Corresponding distinctions between the man and the woman. Well, what is it, Jeff? Are they complementary or are they distinct? And the answer is both. And friends, these are not.

[65:54] These are not areas of contention. You understand where we are in the text. This is a perfect man and a perfect woman brought into perfect union together. These are not in contention.

[66:06] So starting with Adam's creation in verse seven. God gives us a concise description revealing a critical distinction in God's original design for men and women, particularly for husbands and wives.

[66:22] What is that? Here it is. Adam is made first from dust. Eve is made after Adam and from Adam and for Adam.

[66:36] It's why I'm dramatizing and making such a big deal of saying, and he brought her to the man. Here, I am giving her to you as a gift.

[66:46] What? Like to own? No. To share. To share. God made them equals. To share in the beauty of life with God together.

[67:03] Adam's authority set well with Eve. Eve's submission set well with Adam. It was a perfect design. The only thing that's going to mess it up is what happens in the next chapter.

[67:16] But right now, this is what God designed for all of us. So, the distinctive nature and roles of our maleness and femaleness were designed into us to complement each other in companionship.

[67:29] That's a critical statement. So, as we can say this. As husband and wife, you are made for joy and soul oneness.

[67:39] Marriage. So, God made us male and female and he gave us marriage. Marriage. Marriage is a relationship of worship.

[67:51] It is God's gift of companionship between a man and a woman who expressed the unique depths of oneness achievable between two souls. A man and a man cannot touch this.

[68:04] That's an aberration. A woman and a woman cannot touch this. That's an aberration in the sight of God. And this is very, very, very clear in Scripture.

[68:15] And finally, I'll share this with you and I'm done. In his wisdom, God made one human race with two genders divinely designed for diversity within complementarity.

[68:27] That is the beautiful wisdom of our God in chapter 2 of Genesis. And look, the fall marred it, but it didn't destroy it. This is still God's plan for married life and for the companionship that a man and a woman share together when they're married.

[68:46] Folks, marriage is a serious, serious thing in the sight of God. It's the most important thing that you and I will enter into in the way of an institution beyond the salvation that we enjoy in Jesus Christ.

[68:59] And so we want to take a very sober-minded and biblical view of what God is instituting here between a man and a woman. It's a precious thing in the sight of the Lord.

[69:10] Let's pray together. Amen. Dear Father, we thank you then for the joys that we experience in our marriages here at Grace.

[69:25] And for those who are single, maybe single because they've lost a spouse, but they've known that joy before in their marriage. Maybe because of divorce, because of some type of sin in their spouse's life.

[69:41] And now they're experiencing a separation in that relationship. Perhaps some people here are single because they've never been married. And they're contemplating one day possibly being married.

[69:54] Lord, for all of us, as we look into the Scripture and see the beauty of your design, help us simply to be sobered at the reality that you are a good and loving God and you are in the details of every aspect of our life, married or single.

[70:10] And so help us to rejoice in you. Wherever my single brothers and sisters find themselves today, they're not lesser people for not being married. I pray that you would help us to show them that love and that value and that caring in who they are as a part of this fellowship, vital to who we are.

[70:30] You brought them here to us. And so their souls are valuable and important to this local church assembly and to the work that we do together. And that for those of us who are married, help us to be sobered in a joyful way about what you've put before us.

[70:45] Help us to see this as something that you've designed for our good and your glory. Help us to embrace it with joy, humility, and a teachable spirit. We thank you, God, and pray that you would help us to encourage each other in these truths, not chafe at them, but bend into them, lean into them, to know the joy that you've built in to us being male and female, husband and wife, and offering our submission to you as a couple and then to each other.

[71:16] We thank you for the glory of your goodness in us through Christ. In his name we pray. Amen. Amen.