The Resurrection Power of God From CG Workbook Six: Standing With Israel According to a casual reading, the first Adam awoke to a lush, green garden. Because the additional Creation account describes a world in which no shrub of the field had yet sprouted, many believe there are two different Creations because it appears Adam awakes to an entirely desolate world. The second account, however, gives more insight to the first. According to the first account, the Third Day was one in which the sprouting of plants is described as deshe, which is an immature stage of growth like grass which covers the earth. It is not yet matured into a seed grain, although it will. At this point, according to the Genesis Two, rain had not yet fallen in order to sprout (tzmach) plants of the field. The difference is subtle, but it explains why the sprouts of Creation were good for beasts, but not for man. Tzmach is a more mature budding of plants to produce fruit and grain. Although it was “good” during the era of the mist-watered plants, the plants did not achieve the “very good” until the Sixth Day when Adam was created to tend to the garden and to pray for rain to cause the plants to grow to maturity. The Third Day presented the budding young sprouts, but the Sixth Day brought them to their full growth when Elohim caused them to continue growing, and within the earth He created the garden of pleasure for the crown of His Creation. The clue is found in the text describing the progression of plant life: 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, and every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew (tzmach): for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and [there was] not a man to till the ground. (Genesis 2:4-5) Another verse describes the fullness of harvest at the end of the year, which is the season of Rosh HaShanah, Yom HaKippurim, and Sukkot. In the Jewish tradition, the symbols of the throne and crown are identified with the turn of the year at that season: You have crowned the year with Your bounty, and Your paths drip with fatness. (Psalm 65:11) Adam’s job was to take that jubilee growth and continue in it by sowing the Word and praying that the blessing of rain would fall. The plants would continue to sprout (tzmach) if he continued to pray for the blessing and communicate with His Creator. The additional subtle hint to the mature plant growth of tzmach is that it also figuratively means the power of speech! Prayer brought the good rain upon the earth, and man continues to pray three times daily for rain and dew upon the earth. It is a process of requesting the spiritual Word to fall down into the physical realm for very goodness, and like Adam’s prayer, the request is for the good of the entire earth, not just our own private gardens.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 14:38:22 +0000
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