From the Dust of the Ground

Going back for a moment to Genesis 2:7 – "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and man became a living being." (Amplified Version)

My Amplified bible note says this: "The same essential chemical elements are found in man and animal life that are in the soil. This scientific fact was not known to man until recent times, but God was displaying it here."

In other words, the writer of the book of Genesis, generally agreed to be Moses, had no way of knowing (when he wrote this odd thing about man being made "from the dust of the ground") that centuries later scientists would confirm the very thing that he was writing. We know, of course, that what he was writing was truth, because we know that it was written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God Himself; therefore it would have to be true. Thus the confirmation of the chemical composition of man being equal to that of the dust of the ground comes as no surprise to Christians who understand the truths that this Book holds and where they come from. Yet, it is always delightful to have it confirmed…for the sake of those who don't yet believe.

I thought that was an interesting side note.

But of greater importance really, is the section of the passage that says "breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life." This evokes for me a sense of intimacy from the beginning; intimacy between the Creator and His creation. Such closeness is involved in order to breathe into a person's nostrils.

Then compare this scripture passage to that in John 3:8 when Jesus is explaining the need to be "born-again" to Nicodemus:

"The wind [pneuma] blows [pnei] where it wills…but you do not know from where it comes…so is everyone who is born of the Spirit [ek tou pneumatos]."

I have included the Greek words for "wind", "blows" and "of the Spirit" so that we can see they are tied together by a common root word: pneuma which means wind, breath, or a movement of air as in a gentle blast.

Here we see that just as in the beginning, when the Spirit of God gave man life, now after the Fall, the Spirit restores or creates new life once more in those who are "born-again." Sin brought death to us, but the Spirit of God (through Jesus Christ who conquered death) gives us life again.

As it was then, the breath of a Holy God being intimately transferred to man, so it is now….to those who would receive it.