Author: Beth Duncan

Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 

Don’t think about hamburgers. Just the act of saying something like that makes us think about the thing–in this case hamburgers–even if it had been nowhere near our minds before. I get God setting healthy boundaries with verse 17, but in my mind, it feels like saying “Don’t think about hamburgers.”

Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 

Maybe it’s just me and my curious nature, my need to know why. At some point, had I been in the garden, I would have wondered why I could not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, why that alone would cause me to die. I’m not saying it’s healthy. I’m saying it’s human nature to be curious, to wonder, to test boundaries. Jesus, Help me.

Genesis 2:17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for Your Kingdom, for You goodness and compassion. Thank You for helping to establish for us healthy boundaries that keep us safe. Forgive us when we get too curious and abandon common sense in search of answers we may not want to find. Use all things for our good and Your glory. Amen.

Genesis 2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 2:10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 

Two things strike me about today’s verses: The river with its four headwaters and the mention of gold and onyx. Water, symbolically, can represent birth, rebirth, new life. A river watering the Garden that separated into four headwaters could have some significance with taking the goodness of the Garden and spreading it outwards–the goodness of this new utopia, flowing for all.

Genesis 2:11-12 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 

Gold is a precious metal, symbolizing value and worth. Onyx is a symbol of protection and strength, and in some cultures is used as protection from evil. These items could symbolize the richness, the rebirth, the sanctity, the value of this place, this Garden. Or they could just be a lovely description of all that God created.

Genesis 2:13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the gift of looking more deeply into Your word, searching for meaning, searching for connection. Thank You that we bring meaning to Your word through our lives. Help us to see You, to see Your creation, more clearly, to draw closer to You as we read Your word. Help us, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 2:14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 2:8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 

I have never really had a green thumb, but I have found as I’ve gotten older a love of, a fascination with keeping plants alive. If you ask me, I’ll swear I’m *not* a gardener, but if a piece falls off a plant as I’m moving or watering them, that piece going into water is automatic with the hope it will grow roots and I can plant it and nurture it, too.

Genesis 2:9a The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—

And more than once I have seen a plant that seemed absolutely dead, that I stubbornly kept watering out of sheer hope, come back from the brink, sprout again, grow again, bloom again. That is an amazing feeling. Growth, rebirth, renewal are beautiful things to see in the plant world.

Genesis 2:9b trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the garden, a place where plants can be nurtured and grow, a place where we can be stewards of Your creation and participate in some small way in Your miraculous world. Help me never to lose my wonder at watching Your world grow. Amen.

Genesis 2:9c In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 2:4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

We humans tend to think that we are a pretty big deal, but I find it incredibly interesting that God created light and darkness, sky and sea and dry ground, vegetation of all kinds, the sun and moon, the creatures under the sea and the creatures on the land AND He rested, all BEFORE creating human beings.

Genesis 2:5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 

All of this helps me with perspective. If I think *I,* as human, am the center of God’s creation, I am going to act like everything revolves around me. I am most important. But if *God’s creation,* light and darkness, sky and sea and dry ground, vegetation of all kinds, the sun and moon, the creatures under the sea and the creatures on the land, is the center, then my role as steward of all these things becomes infinitely more important.

Genesis 2:6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.

Precious Savior, Forgive me when I make myself more important, more central in this life than You intended. Help me to focus on my role as steward of Your creation. Help me to understand my place in it, without getting caught up in my own self-importance. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 1:24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 

God created light and darkness, sky and sea and dry ground, vegetation of all kinds, the sun and moon, the creatures under the sea and the creatures on the land, and he saw that it was good. Only then did he make mankind in His likeness, to rule over the sea, the birds, the sky, the livestock, the wild animals, “over all the creatures that move along the ground.” I find this progression fascinating.

Genesis 1:25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Sometimes, often, I think humans see themselves as the star of the show of creation, and while verse 26 does say “so that they may rule over…,” it is hard for me to believe that God would create everything from nothing and then create humans to rule over everything and not expect humans to be stewards of all those things. I think sometimes we forget the stewardship part and just focus on the “ruling over all” bit. Jesus, Help us!

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Precious Savior, Your creation is awe-inspiring and sometimes terrifying. Thank You for the care that you took with all of creation. Thank You that You saw fit to allow us to be stewards of all that You created. Help us to take that role seriously. Help us to tend to Your world with love and care. Amen.

Genesis 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 1:21a So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. 

When I think of the creatures of the sea, I’m immediately transported to a beach, with a cup of coffee, watching the sunrise, seeing dolphin fins cresting the water. Beautiful. And watching the sand crabs and ghost crabs skittering across the sand, burrowing into their homes. They aren’t exactly beautiful, but they definitely make me laugh. I can see why God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:21b And God saw that it was good. 

But there are also sharks, which terrify me–though I did see a baby hammerhead washed up on the shore once. It was fascinating and deeply sad. There are also jellyfish, which I try to stay away from, though watching them undulate in the water is truly hypnotic. There are fish of all varieties, so much life teeming under the seas. Yeah, I can see why God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 

Precious Savior, As I started this devo this morning, I was going to talk about the “good” sealife and the “bad” sealife. Thank You that You know my heart. Thank You for reminding me of the fascination and the sadness, the hypnotic allure, and the utter breadth of life under the sea. Thank You for seeing that it is all good, even when I try to label it otherwise. Thank You for whispering to my heart. Amen.

Genesis 1:23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 1:17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth,   

Again today this scripture has me thinking about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls,” perhaps simply because of the poetic nature of these verses in Genesis, the rhythm and repetition of those words.

Genesis 1:18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.

The rhythm, the music of each line, the repetition of phrases such as “And God saw that it was good,” “And it was so,” “And there was evening, and there was morning–the XX day” definitely lend an air of poetry to this scripture.

Genesis 1:19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for Your creation, for the ability to watch it unfold in Your perfect plan by reading Your Word. Thank You for the poetry that Your words create, for the beauty, strength, calmness of nature. Help me, always, to see You, to praise You, as I look at Your creation. Amen.

Genesis 1:20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 1:13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.   

God’s creation in these verses is not chaotic. He’s not skipping through a forest sprinkling pixie dust willy nilly. His creation here is very controlled, very measured. There’s a well-executed plan, and I appreciate that.

Genesis 1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,

But I think, for me, problems arise when I am too tied to my plan, too regimented. Then I have a narrative of the way things “should” be, the way they are “supposed to” be, and when life does not go according to my plan, my world does not feel ok.

Genesis 1:15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 

Precious Savior, I love Your detailed, controlled, plan for creation in these early chapters of Genesis. There is absolutely a place in Your world for a good, well-executed plan. But when I become so tied to my plans that I can’t move forward when things go astray, that’s when things get dicey for me. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 1:16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

Have a blessed day.