Genesis 2:7

all-caps">b. c. 4004.) 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, 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. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 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. In these verses, I. Here is a name given to the Creator which we have not yet met with, and that is Jehovah —the LORD, in capital letters, which are constantly used in our English translation to intimate that in the original it is Jehovah. All along, in the first chapter, he was called Elohim—a God of power; but now Jehovah Elohim—a God of power and perfection, a finishing God. As we find him known by his name Jehovah when he appeared to perform what he had promised ( Exod. vi. 3 ), so now we have him known by that name, when he had perfected what he had begun. Jehovah is that great and incommunicable name of God which denotes his having his being of himself, and his giving being to all things; fitly therefore is he called by that name now that heaven and earth are finished. II. Further notice taken of the production of plants and herbs, because they were made and appointed to be food for man, v. 5, 6 . Here observe, 1. The earth did not bring forth its fruits of itself, by any innate virtue of its own but purely by the almighty power of God, which formed every plant and every herb before it grew in the earth. Thus grace in the soul, that plant of renown, grows not of itself in nature's soil, but is the work of God's own hands. 2. Rain also is the gift of God; it came not till the Lord God caused it to rain. If rain be wanted, it is God that withholds it; if rain come plentifully in its season, it is God that sends it; if it come in a distinguishing way, it is God that causeth it to rain upon one city and not upon another, Amos iv. 7 . 3. Though God, ordinarily, works by means, yet he is not tied to them, but when he pleases he can do his own work without them. As the plants were produced before the sun was made, so they were before there was either rain to water the earth or man to till it. Therefore though we must not tempt God in the neglect of means, yet we must trust God in the want of means. 4. Some way or other God will take care to water the plants that are of his own planting. Though as yet there was no rain, God made a mist equivalent to a shower, and with it watered the whole face of the ground. Thus he chose to fulfil his purpose by the weakest means, that the excellency of the power might be of God. Divine grace descends like a mist, or silent dew, and waters the church without noise, Deut. xxxii. 2 . III. A more particular account of the creation of man, v. 7 . Man is a little world, consisting of heaven and earth, soul and body. Now here we have an account of the origin of both and the putting of both together: let us seriously consider it, and say, to our Creator's praise, We are fearfully and wonderfully made, Ps. cxxxix. 14 . Elihu, in the patriarchal age, refers to this history when he says ( Job xxxiii. 6 ), I also am formed out of the clay, and ( v. 4 ), The breath of the Almighty hath given me life, and ( ch. xxxii. 8 ), There is a spirit in man. Observe then, 1. The mean origin, and yet the curious structure, of the body of man. (1.) The matter was despicable. He was made of the dust of the ground, a very unlikely thing to make a man of; but the same infinite power that made the world of nothing made man, its master-piece, of next to nothing. He was made of the dust, the small dust, such as is upon the surface of the earth. Probably, not dry dust, but dust moistened with the mist that went up, v. 6 . He was not made of gold-dust, powder of pearl, or diamond dust, but common dust, dust of the ground. Hence he is said to be of the earth, choikos — dusty, 1 Cor. xv. 47 . And we also are of the earth, for we are his offspring, and of the same mould. So near an affinity is there between the earth and our earthly parents that our mother's womb, out of which we were born, is called the earth ( Ps. cxxxix. 15 ), and the earth, in which we must be buried, is called our mother's womb, Job i. 21 . Our foundation is in the earth, Job iv. 19 . Our fabric is earthly, and the fashioning of it like that of an earthen vessel, Job x. 9 . Our food is out of the earth, Job xxviii. 5 . Our familiarity is with the earth, Job xvii. 14 . Our fathers are in the earth, and our own final tendency is to it; and what have we then to be proud of? (2.) Yet the Maker was great, and the make fine. The Lord God, the great fountain of being and power, formed man. Of the other creatures it is said that they were created and made; but of man that he was formed, which denotes a gradual process in the work with great accuracy and exactness. To express the creation of this new thing, he takes a new word, a word (some think) borrowed from the potter's forming his vessel upon the wheel; for we are the clay, and God the potter, Isa. lxiv. 8 . The body of man is curiously wrought, Ps. cxxxix. 15, 16 . Materiam superabat opus—The workmanship exceeded the materials. Let us present our bodies to God as living sacrifices ( Rom. xii. 1 ), as living temples ( 1 Cor. vi. 19 ), and then these vile bodies shall shortly be new-formed like Christ's glorious body, Phil. iii. 21 . 2. The high origin and the admirable serviceableness of the soul of man. (1.) It takes its rise from the breath of heaven, and is produced by it. It was not made of the earth, as the body was; it is a pity then that it should cleave to the earth, and mind earthly things. It came immediately from God; he gave it to be put into the body ( Eccl. xii. 7 ), as afterwards he gave the tables of stone of his own writing to be put into the ark, and the urim of his own framing to be put into the breast-plate. Hence God is not only the former but the Father of spirits. Let the soul which God has breathed into us breathe after him; and let it be for him, since it is from him. Into his hands let us commit our spirits, for from his hands we had them. (2.) It takes its lodging in a house of clay, and is the life and support of it. It is by it that man is a living soul, that is, a living man; for the soul is the man. The body would be a worthless, useless, loathsome carcase, if the soul did not animate it. To God that gave us these souls we must shortly give an account of them, how we have employed them, used them, proportioned them, and disposed of them; and if then it be found that we have lost them, though it were to gain the world, we shall be undone for ever. Since the extraction of the soul is so noble, and its nature and faculties are so excellent, let us not be of those fools that despise their own souls, by preferring their bodies before them, Prov. xv. 32 . When our Lord Jesus anointed the blind man's eyes with clay perhaps he intimated that it was he who at first formed man out of the clay; and when he breathed on his disciples, saying, Receive you the Holy Ghost, he intimated that it was he who at first breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life. He that made the soul is alone able to new-make it. The Garden of Eden. (

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Genesis 3:19

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Genesis 3:23

Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

Genesis 7:22

All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. the breath: Heb. the breath of the spirit of life

Numbers 16:22

And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?

Numbers 27:16

Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,

Job 4:19

How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?

Job 27:3

All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; the spirit: that is, the breath which God gave him

Job 33:4

The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

Job 33:6

Behold, I am according to thy wish in God's stead: I also am formed out of the clay. wish: Heb. mouth formed: Heb. cut

Proverbs 20:27

The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly. candle: or, lamp

Ecclesiastes 3:7

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

Ecclesiastes 3:20

All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Ecclesiastes 3:21

Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? of man: Heb. of the sons of man goeth upward: Heb. is ascending, etc

Ecclesiastes 12:7

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Isaiah 2:22

Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

Zechariah 12:1

The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

John 20:22Acts 17:25Romans 9:201 Corinthians 15:451 Corinthians 15:472 Corinthians 4:72 Corinthians 5:1Hebrews 12:9