From Dust To Dignity (Genesis 2:4-8)
We live in a society that does not treat others in a dignified manner. If you are a conservative, then it is likely that you listen to and read people that frame every opponent as a socialist or communist. Sometimes that’s fair, but oftentimes it is not. And, if you are a liberal in our society then it is likely that you listen to and read people who frame their opponents as bigoted racists. Rather than dealing with the ideas and arguments people are belittled and treated as if they are less than human.
The race issues have caused a lot of problems in our country as well. We’re not going to argue for or against modern ways of viewing racism in this message. I only want to say that the racial divide is growing in America. There are actually people teaching a form of racism in our society today and belittling people of different races.
And if you look at other ethical issues of our day, such as cloning and physician assisted suicide, you see that a proper understanding of the dignity of mankind should help us to understand how one ought to behave in our day. Our understanding of how people should be treated should come directly from God’s Word.
What I want us to see today is that God gave humans dignity or worth. Our worth as humans is God-given and this should help us to see how we should treat others.
As we look to our text today, Genesis 2:4-8, I want us to start by thinking about Genesis 2:4.
There is a significant change to what is going on beginning with this verse. Every time “these are the generations” comes up in the rest of Genesis there is a history of a certain family dealt with. This tells us plainly that we are given a brief history of the world beginning with this verse. This brief history will take us all the way to the end of chapter 11.
- Chapters 2:4-3 are going to tell us why the world is as it is. We are going to see in the Fall how the world became corrupt.
- Chapter 4 is going to show us sin’s expansion.
- Chapter 5 outlines God’s blessing and fulfillment of the “blessing” God pronounced in Genesis 1.
- Chapter 6-8 will give us the account of the Flood.
- Chapter 9 helps us to see that sin still existed after the Flood.
- Chapter 10 outlines God’s blessing and fulfillment of the “blessing” God pronounced in Genesis 1 again.
- Chapter 11 is Babel and the confusion of languages.
And so, it is no wonder we see similar creation stories, flood stories, and other ancient stories in ancient pagan mythologies. It’s not that we borrowed them from other people. It is that these are echoes of the true story found in God’s Word that find their way into the stories of the world.
These stories help to explain how things became the way they did. They help us to see why the world did not remain “very good”. And they help us to understand the world as it is. And the first of those stories is the creation of man and woman in Genesis 2, where we will be over the course of the next few weeks.
What we will see today is that God gave humans dignity. Our worth as humans is God-given and this causes us to see how we should treat others.
Your Humble Beginnings (Genesis 2:5-7)
When we reach verse 5, we zero in on the creation of man. Genesis 1 did this very briefly and quickly in Genesis 1:26-31. This gives us more focus on that event. This means that the background to everything we read about human beings in Genesis 2 must be read with the understanding that man and woman were created in the image of God to have dominion and work. I know that we started a new section of the book but that does not mean that we dump everything that we already read and start over. All of this needs to be kept in mind as we proceed.
Vegetation had been created, but because God had not watered it and man had not worked it there was no growth (Genesis 2:5). This is not every plant. There is debate about what is meant in the text by “small plant”, but rather than debate what this means we should point out what is needed for the growth of these plants. The plants need God to water them and for man to work them. And since these things had not yet occurred it, there were not plants.
And here is where I want to focus our attention. God formed man from dust.
The creation of man was different. We have already pointed out the specialness of the moment in Genesis 1:26 when there is a Triune Divine Deliberation concerning the creation of man. And here the word that is translated “formed” has a similar type of idea. The word is often used to describe what a potter does with clay. With great care a potter will create a vessel out of a lump of clay. And here God does that with the creation of man. Man was not simply spoken into existence like the rest of creation. He was “formed”.
But I want you to think about something for a moment. There is nothing special about the dust. In fact, this is not dust from the Garden of Eden. This is dust from outside of Eden. God will later place man into the Garden (Genesis 2:8).
How much is dust worth?
What made that dust special?
There is a constant attempt to define ourselves in a way that will bring ourselves honor and dignity. This has become very prevalent in our day and it is seen in the response that people expect us to give to them when they make decisions about their selves. Think of it this way. Why does it matter that I approve of someone else’s lifestyle? Why is it not okay for me to simply say, “I think you’re wrong” and go about my day? The reason is simple. They are looking for self-worth from my approval. But why? The reason is simple. They have made decisions about their self that they are seeking your approval for. But there is a major problem with this that goes beyond the fact that this is a horrible way to estimate your value.
I can’t give worth to an individual. Worth is inherent in humans, not given to humans. The truth is that we don’t have that sort of dignity apart from God. Without God to give worth I’m nothing but a bag of flesh and bones.
And let’s get to the real issue here. Humans have rather humble beginnings. We are dust. And not just dust, but dust outside of the Garden of Eden. You know, plain old dust. And I’ve got news for you. Starting from dust is much more humble than evolving from monkeys. At least a monkey is a pretty intelligent creature. Dust is…well…dust. And, dust is our heritage.
I have met many people who thought very highly of their self and very little of other people. They fancied their self so much better than others that they thought it was okay for them to belittle others. They looked at someone else and called them names in many people’s hearing. They didn’t mind hurting their feelings because they thought so highly of their self and so little of the other person. They forgot that on their own they are dust.
I have met people who believed that their color of people was superior to others, as if we didn’t all come from the dust. Racism is something that still exists. Don’t let the politicization of racism through the CRT discussion cause you to think there is no racism. It does still exist. Racists simply believe their race is superior to others. But here the dust of Genesis 2 levels us all. We come from dust. But people forget this and see themselves as superior.
The KKK is headquartered in Zinc, Arkansas. That’s right down the road from Harrison, where I grew up. I would occasionally see flyers for the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. My Mom would always get frustrated by them and throw their stuff away. I asked why one day in a grocery store, because she was angry and pulling these little cards off the shelves someone had left. She said she’d explain it in the car. Mom and Dad told me that there are some people out there that think white people are better than black people and were very mean to black people because of it. Later I would learn about the KKK from history books in school and see how horrible it was.
And here is what we should understand about racism. We have the same heritage. We all come from dust.
Racism is not the only thing that should be discussed here. If we look at our lives we understand that we have not always treated people as they should have been treated. I know that I have not always treated other people as they should be treated.
When I was in middle school, I was picking on someone when a friend of mine did what any good friend in that situation should have done. He pushed me to the ground and told me to cut it out. He knocked me down to the dust of the playground from whence I came.
What is dust worth?
Without God to form it into something it isn’t worth much. And that is just where we see something glorious about us in this text. God took the time to form us from the dust of the ground. And He gave this dust dignity.
Your God-Given Dignity (Genesis 2:7-8)
God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him and gave him “the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7 ESV). Man was formed not just of dust but of the breath of God. And at this point man became a living creature.
Genesis 1:27 is helpful here. This is God creating man in His image. This is what God did to make that happen. This more focused account reveals to us the great care with which God accomplished that task.
The result of this event was that God had given dust incredible dignity.
Everyone, everywhere that is a human being has tremendous dignity and should be treated as such. All people have inherent dignity because God created humans from dust and gave them that dignity.
Current secular philosophies that are debated in the public square are oftentimes a way of bestowing dignity upon people without God or His Word. And, we should learn from history that a secular society is not able to bestow dignity upon people or decide how this should happen. A simple look at the last century gives us abundant proof of that.
The last 100 years in America and across the globe have revealed that human beings cannot have these discussions apart from God’s Word. I’ll give you an example that will move us through a stream of history that is mind-bogglingly bad in this area.
My ethics professor was Dr. Ken Magnuson. He has since left to go teach Ethics at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He showed us a paper that he found from a college textbook from 1934. The textbook was on Applied Eugenics. The paper was a study guide for a test for this class.
If you don’t know what Eugenics is this might not be shocking to you. Eugenics is the idea that you can manipulate humanity by causing certain human beings to breed together. Americans taught this to Germans just before they started putting mentally handicapped people into concentration camps. And it was the reason that Americans were forcing the sterilization of certain people in the early 1900’s. It is also the reason that Planned Parenthood clinics were created and strategically placed in locations that would rid America of what Margaret Sanger and others believed to be the “undesirables of society.”
Things went so horribly bad that you would think that we would learn from these mistakes. A simple Google search of the words “designer babies” will send you into a tailspin of ethical news and dilemmas. It simply helps me to see that we have not learned our lesson.
Secular society cannot and will not solve the human dignity problems it so longs to solve. And the reason for this is that without God to give worth I am nothing but a bag of flesh and bones. I am dirt. I can’t go looking for worth in different types of people or different parts of society.
Your worth does not come from your position at work, who you date or marry, your accomplishments, or anything else that you do. You cannot give yourself worth and other human beings cannot give you worthy. You come from dust and to dust you shall return. The thing that makes humans special is that God created them in His image. All people have dignity because it was bestowed upon them. We don’t have dignity or lack it because of our race, ethnicity, disability, weight, or anything else. Every person you meet on this Earth has been given this dignity. Without reference to Scripture humans cannot wrap their minds around this issue.
Here is the difference in what the world tries to do and what we do as believers. Christians believe that God bestowed dignity upon people. The secular worldview, without God, has no method for bestowing dignity upon all people. For the secularist we will always be competing clusters of cells at war with one another to benefit those clusters of cells most like my tribal clusters of cells. We have a cataclysmic worldview difference here.
We are Christians, those people who intimately understand the problem here. As God’s people we must lead the way in this, especially among ourselves. You must treat those in our congregation with dignity and respect. And if you hear someone in this congregation belittling someone else then you are obligated to say something. Stand up for the dignity of others. And we take this behavior to the outside world as well. And both in here and out there we should be people who uphold the dignity of others.
We live in a culture that demonizes and belittles those we disagree with. That is satanic. And if you participate in such behavior then you are acting in a satanic manner. If you feel the need to insult your brother or sister in Christ every time their name is mentioned then you are behaving in a satanic manner. Our culture may act satanically, but you will not. You are God’s children, not children of the evil one.
Teach this to your children. Teach them that everyone has dignity. We all come from dust, and we’re all given dignity by our Maker. No race or social status can change this. And we should treat all people as though they stand on that equal footing. Honor those you are to honor because of their position, but all people have inherent dignity.
Now, since we all watch the news we have to think about those people that have totally rejected God’s design for them. How are we to think through transgender discussions and homosexuality. Do we treat them with dignity as well?
Yes. They are making horrible decisions that could possibly maim them for life, but they are still people created in God’s image. Sinful rejection of the Lord has consequences and leads to insane behavior, but they are still human and owed dignity because God bestowed it upon all human beings. This is true of all manner of sinfulness. We would say the same thing about a person whose life has been enveloped in drug and alcohol abuse or any other manner of sin. Our hearts should break for those who have chosen to reject the Lord with their entire lifestyle. But they are still owed dignity as image bearers of God.
And here is what I want to emphasize. We are all dust that has been given dignity. I do believe that there are some sins that are worse than others. There is nothing in Scripture that would make me think otherwise and plenty of times where certain sins are stated to be worse than others. Matthew 11:20-24 makes this plain. But we are all part of the human race that began with Adam. Adam was created from the dust and given dignity. So, even though some sins are worse than others people are on the same footing. Made from undignified dust and given dignity as image bearers of God. But the story doesn’t end there. We also rebelled against God and marred that image. Every single one of us has marred the image of God in us. Every single one of us has defamed the dignity that God bestowed upon us.
We were created from dust and given dignity. And this makes the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ all the more incredible. There is nothing special about us in and of ourselves. God created us from dust and any dignity we have was bestowed upon us by Him. Yet, God set His love upon humans in such a way that when they fell, He would make a way for them to be redeemed. You see, in the next chapter the Fall is going to occur. And from that point forward all of mankind is going to have God’s justice hanging over their head. All of mankind is going to be rebellious and actively rebel against God. But rather than letting them all be destroyed, He made a way of salvation. God the Father sent His Son to accomplish our salvation for us. We rebelled against God and ruined our lives, but God made a way. God the Son took on human flesh and dwelt among us. He lived a perfect life on our behalf, accomplishing everything we should have accomplished. He then went to the cross and paid the punishment for our sins. Three days later He rose from the grave having completely accomplished our salvation. And all those who trust in Him have eternal life. The marred image of God in them will be restored and they will be with God forever.
So, we call on people created in God’s image to trust in the Lord. We call on them to abandon saving their self and trust in Christ who accomplished it for them.
One of my favorite statements on the Church’s obligation to spread the gospel gets to the heart of this issue. It is from the Canons of Dort 2.5. It says,
“Moreover, the promise of the gospel is, that whosoever believeth in Christ crucified, shall not perish, but have everlasting life. This promise, together with the command to repent and believe, ought to be declared and published to all nations, and to all persons promiscuously and without distinction, to whom God out of His good pleasure sends the gospel.”
I was once a part of a church that decided to do some visitations on Wednesday Nights. I suggested that they just start closest to the church and work out from there. They did not like that idea because the people closest to the church didn’t have as much money. But that thought should not even enter our head. We should be spreading the good news to people “without distinction”.
Let us go with the good news to a lost and dying world. We were all made from dust. We were all given dignity. We have all fallen short of God’s standard. We are all in need of salvation. And the only remedy for our dire predicament is Jesus Christ.
R. Dwain Minor