I will tell you what John Ray my teacher told me. If there is something you do not understand please ask I will try and answer it and if I can't I will find out the answer. The other thing is if you don't quite understand something just put it on the shelf and come back to it later.
If we do not understand the beginning how can we understand the ending
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeper upon the earth.
Let us make man in our image: we will pick that up in verse 27. Man was to be over the fish,the birds, the cattle and all the other animals.
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his
own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Strong's Concordance - Hebrew #H6754
צֶלֶם tselem {tseh'-lem} From an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, that is, (figuratively) illusion, resemblance; hence a representative figure, especially an idol.
We have a body just as Jesus had, we have a soul, and we have a spirit.
Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that movement upon the earth.
They were given dominion over the fish (fisherman) Fowl of the air and every living that moves upon the earth. (hunters and headsman)
Genesis 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which
is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which
is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
This last group are gathers of nuts, barriers, fruit anything growing wild.
Genesis 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeper upon the earth, wherein
there is life,
I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
And that is the way that God intended it to be.
Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold,
it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
God saw everything He had made
and behold it was very good! Everything that included man, animals, . . . ECT.
Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
The heavens and the earth were finished. The seventh day God had ended all his work and He rested
Genesis 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Everything was finished; or was it?
Genesis 2:4 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,
Generations Strong's Concordance means history. That is the history for everything from verse 1 of Genesis all the way to Genesis 2:4.
Genesis 2:5
Berean Standard Bible
Now no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth, nor had any plant of the field sprouted; for the LORD God had not yet sent rain upon the earth,
and there was no man to cultivate the ground.
King James Bible
And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth,
and there was not a man to till the ground.
Do not over look what this verse says Genesis 1:30 talked about the trees, plants etc for the wild animals and man. What does this verse say no plant, no herb of the field. There were no crops. No corn, wheat, no barley ect. Why was that? Reason 1 God had not made it rain upon the earth; but that had not stopped the trees and wild plants from growing; Why? They had the waters from day 3 of creation. Reason # 2 This is the big one. If you do not understand the beginning you will never fully understand the end.
THERE WAS NO MAN TO TILL THE GROUND. God mad man on the 6th day to be hunters, fishermen, gatherers and herdsman. God had not made a farmer.
Genesis 2:6:But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
The whole ground was wet for the first time. So what did God do? Lets find out.
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man
of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
I am going to copy chapter 1:27&28
27So God created man in his
own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that movement upon the earth.
Using the common sense that God gave you look at these two descriptions and tell me they are the same. Chapter one God created male and female. Chapter 2 says God took the dust of the earth. Genesis 2:4 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,
This is the first place in the bible where dust is used. It is # 6083 in the Hebrew of the Strong's Concordance. Dust; hence, clay, earth, mud, ashes.
As the potter takes the clay God took the dust of the earth and formed Adam and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. The spirit, and man became a living being. Did God give the people on the 6th day a spirit He sure did just like every other person from the fall of Adam until today 10/11/2022 till Jesus returns. If that is not enough reason to understand who the first man was lets jump to the 2:21-23
21And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23And Adam said, This
is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
How could Adam and Eve been the first people created on the 6th day if Eve came from Adam's rib and was created countless days after the 6th day of creation.
When we stop and read Gods word with understanding and the leading of the Holy Spirit and leave all the traditions of man to the side Gods word makes sense.
Here is what Jesus said to us,
Mark 13:23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.