Genesis 2:5-6, Rain Brings Forth Life, Part I of II

…before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

//Understanding the Bible is harder than you think. We are 2-3000 years removed from the culture which generated these words. Take today’s verse as an example. Nothing could grow on the earth until God made rain. Have you ever wondered why no shrub or plant could grow, when there was a mist (some translations say streams) which watered the  whole earth?

Commentators who laugh at this absurdity are missing the point. They are trying to read literally where the words are written metaphorically. They miss the second condition which requires life: “there was no man to till the ground.”

But does this really explain why no life could grow? Who do we men think we are, pretending that God couldn’t grow a single plant without our help?

I’ll let you ponder the mystery, and provide the answer tomorrow.

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