Genesis 2:1-16: a reflection

1The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. 2On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 3God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done. 4This is the history of 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. 5No plant of the field was yet on the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth. There was not a man to till the ground, 6but a mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7The LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8The LORD God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9Out of the ground the LORD God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted, and became the source of four rivers. 11The name of the first is Pishon: it flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12and the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and onyx stone are also there. 13The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the same river that flows through the whole land of Cush. 14The name of the third river is Hiddekel. This is the one which flows in front of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15The LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. 16The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;

After the sweep of creation, Genesis pauses on the making of the human being, and it is a striking combination: the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Two things are held together here that seem opposite: we are made of dust, the humblest stuff of the earth, and we are filled with the very breath of God. Lowly origin and lofty dignity, joined in one creature.

Notice both halves, because both are true of us. On one side, we are dust: formed from the ground, humble, fragile, dependent, destined to return to the dust from which we came. There is no room for pride in our origin; we are made of the same earth as everything else, and to it we return. On the other side, we are filled with God's own breath: God stooped to breathe life into us personally, so that we are not mere dust but living beings animated by the breath of God, made for relationship with him. Dust and divine breath together.

Holding both keeps us in the truth about ourselves. Remembering we are dust guards us against pride and self-sufficiency; we are humble, dependent creatures, not gods. Remembering we bear God's breath guards us against despair and worthlessness; we are not mere matter but living beings God personally enlivened, precious to him. You are dust, and you carry the breath of God. Let the first keep you humble, and the second keep you from ever thinking yourself worthless. You are a lowly creature of great worth, formed from dust and filled with God's breath.

Lord, you formed me from the dust of the ground and breathed into me the breath of life, joining humble origin and lofty dignity in one creature. Let the truth that I am dust keep me humble and dependent, never proud or self-sufficient. And let the truth that I carry your breath keep me from despair, knowing I am not mere matter but a living being you personally enlivened, precious to you. Hold me in the truth: lowly, and yet of great worth to you.