Sabbath School

Adult Sabbath School Bible study guide.

Genesis 1 and 2 tell the Creation story. God created a beautiful world, and in it He put Adam and Eve, the crowning act of Creation. Humans differed from every other creature on earth because they were made “in the image of God” (Gen. 1:27, NKJV), something said only about them and not, for example, about the birds or about other animals. As such, they were to live wholistically abundant lives, experience love in all its forms, and walk in communion with God Himself.

Also, we read in Genesis 2:18–23 that God created Eve for Adam because, God said, it was “ ‘not good that man should be alone’ ” (Gen. 2:18, NKJV). Right from the beginning, then, humans were created as social beings. Sociologists today teach that human interaction provides numerous benefits to our physical and mental well-being, while loneliness is a killer.

It is no wonder, then, that after the creation of Eve, Adam exclaimed, “ ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man’ ” (Gen. 2:23, NKJV). The familial structure established by one male and one female joined in matrimony is the first social institution God provided for humans, in order for them to experience wholistic relationship and communion. It is no wonder that one of Satan’s main goals always has been to destroy the fundamental dynamics of the original family.

Read Genesis 1:27, 28; Genesis 2:15–17; and Genesis 3:9. What kind of communication existed between God and humans in the Garden of Eden?

Adam and Eve enjoyed face-to-face communion with God. As intelligent beings, they were able to meet with God and to listen to His instructions. As stewards of God’s wonderful garden, they grew in knowledge and skill as they cared for the living flora and fauna. Each day they also had special time with God “in the cool of the day” (Gen. 3:8). The Sabbath day in particular, an essential part of God’s creative act, was to be a specially dedicated time of communion between God and His children (Gen. 2:2, 3; Exod. 20:8–11). On that day, our first parents experienced God’s love and care for them in a special way.

It’s hard for us today, thousands of years from Eden, to imagine what it must have been like before sin. Yet, even now, how does the natural world point back to God’s original creation?

Supplemental EGW Notes

In their original perfection all created things were an expression of the thought of God. To Adam and Eve in their Edenhome nature was full of the knowledge of God, teeming with divine instruction. Wisdom spoke to the eye and was received into the heart; for they communed with God in His created works. . . . The earth is now marred and defiled by sin. Yet even in its blighted state much that is beautiful remains. . . . The beauties of nature have a tongue that speaks to us without ceasing. The open heart can be impressed with the love and glory of God, as seen in the works of His hand. The listening ear can hear and understand the communications of God through the things of nature. There is a lesson in the sunbeam, and in the various objects of nature that God has presented to our view. The green fields, the lofty trees, the buds and flowers, the passing cloud, the falling rain, the babbling brook, the sun, moon, and stars in the heavens—all invite our attention and meditation.—The Faith I Live By, p. 25.

God’s created works testify to His love and power. He has called the world into being, with all that it contains. God is a lover of the beautiful; and in the world which He has fitted up for us He has not only given us everything necessary for our comfort, but He has filled the heavens and the earth with beauty. . . . The same creative energy that brought the world into existence is still exerted in upholding the universe and continuing the operations of nature. The hand of God guides the planets in their orderly march through the heavens. It is not because of inherent power that year by year the earth continues her motion round the sun and produces her bounties. The word of God controls the elements. He covers the heavens with clouds and prepares rain for the earth. He makes the valleys fruitful and “grass to grow upon the mountains;” Psalm 147:8. It is through His power that vegetation flourishes, that the leaves appear and the flowers bloom. The whole natural world is designed to be an interpreter of the things of God. To Adam and Eve in their Eden home, nature was full of the knowledge of God, teeming with divine instruction. To their attentive ears it was vocal with the voice of wisdom. Wisdom spoke to the eye and was received into the heart, for they communed with God in His created works. As soon as the holy pair transgressed the law of the Most High, the brightness from the face of God departed from the face of nature. Nature is now marred and defiled by sin. But God’s object lessons are not obliterated; even now, rightly studied and interpreted, she speaks of her Creator.—Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, pp. 185, 186.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.