kind. And God saw that it was good. The making of these animals is represented as having received the special attention of the Lord in forming the game animals of the earth and the domestic animals, mammals, most of them, and the reptiles of the ground each one after its kind, and each one perfect in its own environment.

THE CREATION AND BLESSING OF MAN. V. 26. And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Man is the crown of creation; the Triune God held a special council session with Himself, determining to make man in His own image, with a blessed knowledge of the heavenly Father and possessed of a perfect righteousness and holiness. Man was also to have power and government over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the animals in general, in brief, over the whole earth and over every reptile and similar animal that might be creeping on the earth. Thus the relation of man to the animals was clearly stated. V. 27. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. God made an impression of His own essence upon the soul of man, making his intellect keen for the knowledge of Himself, and his will eager to perform only that which was good and righteous. As man and woman, as male and female, God created the two first human beings, the two sexes being a creation of God from the beginning. V. 28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Thus was the blessing of the Lord given to man and the power to reproduce his kind according to God's laws transmitted to him. But the fact that God

gives to him the power and government over all the animate and inanimate things of the earth indicates that the propagation of the human race is not the process of mere animal reproduction, for man, as the crown of creation, is living on a higher plane. V. 29. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. Having created man, the human race, and provided for their propagation, God also provides the necessary food to sustain their life, the vegetables and seed-bearing plants and the fruit-bearing trees. V. 30. And to every beast of the earth and to every fowl of the air and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat. And it was so. That was the food which the Lord had provided and intended for animals of every description, whether mammals or birds or reptiles or any other kind, namely, the tender green grass and vegetation. It follows, then, that neither did man use animal food before the Fall, nor were there any beasts of prey that stalked their prey; they all lived together in perfect harmony and partook of the food which the Lord provided in richest measure. V. 31. And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. This is God's own opinion and verdict of the entire work of creation as it was before Him at the end of the sixth day: "Good exceedingly." There was not a single mistake, not even a flaw, in the perfection of God's work.1)

1) For the discussion of the scientific questions which have come up in connection with Genesis 1, see "Evolution und die Bibel," Lehre und Wehre, 1909, Juli ff.; "How Old Is Man?" Theol. Quart., XX, July ff.; Lindberg, Apologetics; Gruber, Whence Came the Universe? Bettex, Science and Christianity; Patterson, The Other Side of Evolution; Fairhurst, Organic Evolution Considered.

The Creation of Man, Paradise, and
Woman.

THE SABBATH OF CREATION.-V. 1. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them. The actual work of creation had been done in six days, all the created beings in heaven and earth, angels, birds, animals, and men, all organic and inorganic matter having been called into being, and men, beasts, and plants having been endowed with the power to reproduce their own kind. V. 2. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested

on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. The work of creation did not extend into the seventh day, but was finished at sundown of the sixth day, which marked the beginning of the seventh. God devoted the seventh day to rest after the creative activity of the preceding days. Not that God was tired out, or that He now turned from the world to devote Himself entirely to the enjoy ment of the bliss of heaven, but that the work of creation was finished. V. 3. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because that in it He had rested from all

His work which God created and made. In the blessing of the seventh day as a day of rest for Himself and as a type of the great Sabbath of heaven, Heb. 4, 4, God blessed the entire creation, for His blessing is an imparting of the powers of salvation, of mercy, and of peace. And He hallowed, or consecrated, the day, appointing it for His own rest and intending that the peace of the Sabbath should rest upon the world until the eternal Sabbath would continue this rest, Heb. 4, 9. There remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of God. God, literally, created His works to make, His divine activity remains in the world in the form of preservation, of providence.

THE CREATION OF ADAM. - V. 4. These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. The author, having given a short account of the creation, now proceeds to narrate some facts pertaining to it in greater detail. His heading is: This is the further history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, at the time when Jehovah God made earth and heavens. The earth is mentioned first in this case, as the scene of the events about to be related. V. 5. And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew; for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. This is a description of the earth before Paradise was made. At that time the plants of the field had not yet started to grow, to sprout and to bud; they had not yet matured. There had, till then, been no rain on earth, and the tilling of the soil had not yet begun. V. 6. But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. This is the manner in which God provided moisture for the vegetation of the earth at that time, not by means of rain, but by a heavy fog, which arose from the earth and soaked the entire surface of the soil. Having described the earth as the home of man and as the place of his later labors, the author relates the creation of man itself. V. 7. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. This is one distinction of man: Instead of merely being called into being by a word of God's almighty power, he was formed, as it were, by the finger of God, the material being an earth-clod, dust of the soil. This being done, God blew the breath of life into the figure which He had formed. As the dust, by virtue of the creative omnipotence, formed the figure of a man, it was charged with the living breath and thus became a living soul, named after the more important part of which he consists. The Spirit of God has made us, and the breath of the Almighty has given us life, Job 33, 4. This shows the superiority of

man over irrational brutes, his being endowed with an immortal soul as well as his being formed in the image of God.

THE GARDEN OF EDEN.-V. 8. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. Although the entire work of creation was perfect, God chose to do still more for man by planting an enclosed garden, or park, commonly called Paradise, in Eden, a country toward the east. Into this covered and sheltered place the Lord put the man whom He had formed. That was to be his earthly home, a place of wonderful bliss, a fitting vestibule for the eternal home with its unequaled Sabbath rest. V. 9. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This shows the manner in which the Lord prepared the garden. Jehovah God caused to sprout and grow out of the soil trees of every kind, pleasing to the eye and with fruit that was good for food, the agreeable thus being combined with that promoting health. But, above all, there was in the midst of the garden the tree of life, whose fruit would have given to man perfect health and strength always and thus prepared him for the perfection of eternal life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, placed there for the purpose of testing man; for by obedience to God's command concerning it Adam would retain his concreated righteousness and holiness and progress to the perfection of heavenly bliss, while by disobedience he would become guilty of sin with all its attendant harm. V. 10. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. This great river thus had its beginning in the land of Eden, flowed through the entire length of the garden, and then divided into four beginnings, or heads of streams, which formed separate arms, or rivers. V. 11. The name of the first is Pison; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; v. 12. and the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone. Although the garden of Eden was long since destroyed and the entire contour of the country changed by the great Flood, it is probable that we may assume its location to have been in the central tableland of Asia or Armenia. There was the river Pison, the full-flowing, whose place may now have been taken by the Indus or by the Kur. It flowed through a sandy land, where gold in great quantity and of an excellent quality was found, also bdellium, an odoriferous and very costly gum, and onyx, or sardius, a precious stone which had the color of human finger-nails. V. 13. And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

This river has been identified most plausibly with the Ganges or with the Araxes, and the country which it watered with Kossaia, which extended in a westerly direction to the Caucasus. V. 14. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. This seems to point quite definitely to the Tigris. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

ADAM PLACED INTO THE GARDEN. V. 15. And the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. The earthly home of man being ready, he was placed there by Jehovah God to enjoy the peace and the happiness of the garden, but not in a state of inactivity. He was to be the caretaker of the park, to till and develop it, as well as to keep it, probably with reference to an existing power of evil which has as yet not been mentioned. V. 16. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; v. 17. but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. This was a very general permission or command: Of every tree of the garden eating thou shalt eat. There were fruit-trees of every kind in the park, and their fruit was at the disposal of man, even the tree of life with the fruit which was intended to sustain him until the Lord was ready to make his body spiritual and to take him up to heaven. But the prohibition was absolute with regard to the tree of knowledge in the midst of the garden. This tree was placed there for the exercise of man's obedience toward God, and the transgression of God's command would result in man's becoming mor

tal, becoming subject to death. From the day

that he would eat of this forbidden fruit, the germ of death would enter his body, and his final dissolution would be inevitable. If man had stood this test, he would have been confirmed in his possession of Paradise, and through his eating of the tree of life he would finally have been enabled, without pain and death, to enter into the life of eternity. Death is the consequence of disobedience, of sin.

THE LACK OF COMPANIONSHIP FOR MAN.V. 18. And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. A divine decree introduced the creation of man, a divine declaration precedes that of woman. It is a fundamental truth: It is not good for a man to be by himself, without companionship. The life of the anchorite, of the hermit, of the monk, of the nun, is not in agreement with the principle which governs the world. The normal adult person should seek the companionship of marriage, as the Lord stated that He would make for man a help, or helper, that would correspond to himself, be a counterpart of himself. In further explanation it is stated: v. 19.

And out of the ground the Lord formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. V. 20. And Adam gave names to all cattle and to the fowl of the air and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. This is a parenthetical remark, preparing for the next paragraph. This the Lord had done after the creation of man: He had taken the beasts of the field and the birds of the air as they had been called into being from the earth by His almighty word and brought them to man, in order to give to the latter the proper opportunity to exercise his brilliant mind by giving to each animal the name which fitted it, which properly applied to it according to its structure and manner of living. And so great was Adam's understanding, so keen was his mind in penetrating into the marvels of God's creation that he gave to all animals, to the birds as well as to the game animals of the field, the names which distinguished them with the greatest exactness. But among all these there was not one that was his converse, that corresponded to him, that supplemented him. No animal was fit for intimate companionship with man, owing to the entire dissimilarity of body and spirit.

THE CREATION OF WOMAN. — V. 21. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof. Sleep is the natural restorer of man's bodily and mental vigor and not the result of sin. But here was the unusual factor: God

purposely caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, thus taking from him all consciousness of the outside world and of his own life. He then removed one of the man's ribs, closing up the vacant space with flesh. V. 22. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. Jehovah God literally built the rib which He took from the side of man into a woman. He did not form a second creature out of the dust of the soil, but created woman out of the rib of Adam, because she is destined to enter into an indissoluble communion with man, because she is to stand at his side as his helpmeet, and because God wanted to make of one blood all nations of men, Acts 17, 26. The Lord also brought the woman to the man, thus signifying that He, in the manner prescribed by Him, brings man and woman together in holy wedlock. V. 23. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. The eagerness of Adam for proper companionship is here expressed: This finally is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. This

is another remarkable instance of Adam's unusual understanding, which caused him to know at once both the origin and the purpose of the woman whom the Lord brought to him. This was the counterpart of himself for whom he had been longing, her name properly being woman, "maness," because from the man, out of the man, she was taken. V. 24. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh. Whether Adam spoke these words, or whether Moses wrote them in explanation of this wonderful relation which was to obtain between the man and the woman made to be his helpmeet, it was God that inspired them, Matt. 19, 5. When, in the manner approved by God, a man has been given the woman whom God has destined for him, then the tie which binds these two together is so close and so indissoluble that the man will sever the former intimate ties of home and be joined with his wife as her husband, under obligation to observe all the duties that this rela

tionship implies, Eph. 5, 29, even as the wife will be guided in her entire life by God's will, 1 Cor. 11, 8. 9, as the helpmeet of the man. Man and wife are supposed to be united by the ties of common interests, sharing weal and woes, joy and sorrow, as though they were one single person. Note that this excludes the idea of polygamy. V. 25. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. There was no necessity for clothes, either physically or morally, before the Fall. Nakedness is here the expression of perfect innocence, since the bodies of both Adam and his wife were sanctified by the Spirit that lived in them. Shame did not enter until sin came into their hearts and caused desires and lusts to corrupt the pure order of God. It should be noted here, as well as throughout these two chapters, that all theories and idle speculations concerning creation, Paradise, the state of man's integrity must be put aside for the simple truth of Scriptures. What God has not revealed no idle speculation will uncover.

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The Fall of Man and God's Punishment. THE TEMPTATION AND FALL. V. 1. Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. In Paradise man had everything that he needed for the proper development of his nature and for the fulfilment of his object in life. But now temptation came to him from outside. Just as in other parts of the Bible animals are characterized by certain physical or mental features, so the serpent is here described as being cunning or crafty by nature, this fact distinguishing it from the other animals of the field. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? The devil, or Satan, chief among the fallen angels, made use of the natural cunning of the serpent and spoke out of her mouth in order to seduce man. The words of the Tempter are: Should God really have made such a statement? or: Even if God did make that statement, — intending to add that such a prohibition on God's part was unbelievable. He is interrupted before he has finished his thought: V. 2. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. The devil had implied that God's command referred to every tree, to all trees of the garden. This appeared especially in the tone and form of questioning surprise, which was intended to excite doubt. The woman corrected this statement by limiting it: Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we eat. That was good enough, as far as it went. But the next words are less positive: V. 3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God

hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. By exaggerating the prohibition of God, the devil intended to shake the woman's trust in God, to create doubts in her heart concerning the truth of His word. He succeeded inasmuch as the woman allowed herself to be drawn into an argument with the Tempter, not only stating that God had forbidden them to eat of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, but adding also: And do not even touch it, lest ye die. This exaggeration of God's command showed that the woman felt it to be harsh and severe, that her love toward God, her trust in God had been undermined. That was the beginning of her sin, the setting aside of God's Word and command; for doubt, unbelief, is the root of all sin. The devil was alert to take advantage of her weakening: V. 4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; v. 5. for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Not satisfied with having awakened doubt in the woman's heart, the Tempter now boldly denies the truth of the divine threat and casts suspicion upon the genuineness of the divine love: Ye most assuredly will not die. He insinuates that God is a jealous tyrant, withholding from man some of the advantages to which he was entitled, by means of an empty threat. Instead of becoming subject to death, so the devil asserts, the man and his wife would have their eyes opened for a greater and better understanding of both good and evil. Like untold numbers of tempters since that time, the devil suggested that they

would then be able to choose the good and follow it always, while they would certainly shun that which was wicked. But this condition is not brought about by the transgression of God's commands, for such a course, as in this instance, results in driving the fear, the love, the trust in God away, making the carnal mind enmity toward God. V. 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. The evil was done; the woman's heart was turned from the Lord. The lust appeared in her eyes: she saw what had never struck her before, that good was the tree for food as well as pleasant to the eyes. The striving after a false independence and liberty further incited the desire for the forbidden fruit; the longer she looked, the more desirable it seemed to her to gain understanding of the kind which she deemed hidden from her, to feel the pleasure of possessing forbidden secrets. Thus in the heart of natural man, who has turned from God, there grows every form of evil lust and desire, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes. And this lust brings forth sin. The woman took of the fruit and ate. Then, sin having taken her captive, she persuaded her husband to eat of the fruit also. The sinner seeks company and tries to seduce others.

THE INVESTIGATION OF GOD. - V. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons. With their transgression, the eyes of the man and woman were indeed opened, but not in the way that they had supposed. The ignorance of primeval innocence was gone. Whereas they had not been aware of their nakedness before, they now felt shame before each other. Sin had corrupted and defiled their entire nature, like the poison of a serpent which penetrates into every part of the body with the circulation of the blood. In their painful embarrassment they sewed together the large leaves of the paradise fig-tree for aprons to gird about their loins. Modesty or bashfulness naturally centers in this part of the body, requiring that the organs through which the impurities of the body are expelled, and which are now defiled for the service of indecency, be covered. V. 8. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. This is related to fit the human understanding, Jehovah God being represented as walking in the garden, at the time when the refreshing wind of evening arose. As soon as they heard His voice calling them in eager search, Adam and his wife hid before the face of God in the

midst of the thicket. The sinner has a bad conscience and dreads exposure. But God wanted to visit the sinners that had yielded to disobedience, and perform the work of a true father and educator for them, by making them realize their sin and revealing to them the way of mercy.

The manner in which God dealt with the transgressors of His commandment is now shown. V. 9. And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, Where art thou? It was the call of anxious love as well as of stern justice. God summoned the sinners before His court. Sin is easily done, but not so easily undone, for it weighs down upon conscience as guilt before God, in spite of all attempts at excuse. V. 10. And he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. Fear, the consciousness of nakedness, shame: they all cried out aloud the guilt of Adam. Though Eve had been the first to sin, the Lord called Adam, because he, as the stronger vessel, was more guilty than his wife; upon him rested the greater responsibility. It was evident that Adam felt the consequences of sin more than its guilt. This state of affairs the Lord proceeds to remedy. V. 11. And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? Adam would have remained in the state of blissful innocence if he had not eaten of the forbidden fruit; he would not have known his nakedness. The fact that he was aware of his nakedness was a definite proof of his having transgressed the command of the Lord; for this consciousness came from within and was a mark of his guilt. V. 12. And the man said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. This excuse reveals the depravity of Adam's heart, even at this early stage. For he not only tries to place the blame upon the woman, but there is even a charge against God in the words: The woman whom Thou didst place at my side. He forgets that he had hailed her coming with delight, and herself as a gift of the Lord. He indicates that the entire matter might not have taken this turn if God had not made the woman as his helpmeet. Incidentally, the loss of love which followed the transgression is shown by the fact that Adam does not call her Eva, or wife, but only that woman by his side. V. 13. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? It is a call full of reproach: Wherefore hast thou done this? What a terrible thing to do! How couldst thou be so forgetful of the command! And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. There is indeed a confession of the fact, but not of the sin, just as in the case of the She placed the blame on the serpent as having deceived and seduced her. What was

man.