Genesis 2:1 So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make human beingsin our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” 27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them;male and female he created them.

· Moses, who had seen God and had a unique perspective on who He is

· Presents God’s dialogue as with others using a plural pronoun. Let US.. in OUR image.

· But in addressing what God did from His perspective returns it to a singular pronoun.

· John 1:1 In the beginning the Word already existed.The Word was with God,and the Word was God.2 He existed in the beginning with God.3 God created everything through him,and nothing was created except through him.4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.

Genesis 2:4 This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the soil. 6 Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land. 7 Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.

8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. 9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

· We come to one of the greatest challenges for humankind to comprehend in our judgment of God.

1 Corinthians 3:18 Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say,“He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.”

1 Corinthians 2:14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For,“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?Who knows enough to teach him?”But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

Genesis 2:15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

· Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil – Crossroads for humanity to The Choice

· Why was the Tree placed there? For the sake of integrity. God’s actions are absolute

Genesis 2:21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.“This one is bone from my bone,and flesh from my flesh!She will be called ‘woman,’because she was taken from ‘man.’”24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.25 Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.

· They were naked yet not self-conscious.

Genesis 3:6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

· Eyes opened means their "action of independence" no longer kept them from a perspective that considered evil. Evil did not exist to them until they rebelled.. which is the origin of Sin.

· Moments before they were content and safe, suddenly they were vulnerable and afraid.

· The tree that provided the opportunity for man to declare his independence from God becomes the platform for us to be restored to a Christ centered life.

Galatians 3:13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

· The first tree brought the curse, the final tree brought redemption

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!