"A man after Gods own heart"

"A MAN AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART"

After: In pursuit of

Heart: The seat or source of life, the seat of emotions and affections. the inner part of anything courage warmth, or affection

"Stage 1 of the creation of man"

Genesis 1:26-31

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 creepeth upon the earth.

It's important you take note at the fact the plan for the creation of man was making man in our (Plural) image, referring to the Godhead.

The Father,(Body)

The Christ,(Soul)

The Holy Spirit. (Spirit).

Now the scripture also references the fact of plural man and woman or mankind with the phrase (and let them have)

1.MAKE: 

To fashion, to practice, to appoint. Exercise, fashion,

Notice the two things Gods plan was about to carry out:

1. Make IN our image

IN: to be enclosed wrapped to indicate a location of someone.

IMAGE: illusion, representative. The 5 meaning number of Grace.

2. AFTER our likeness

AFTER: in pursuit of, to imitation #5 meaning number of Grace

LIKENESS: to resemble the # 8 meaning resurrection and new beginning

"Stage 2 of the creation of man"

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

This indicates that both man and woman were created with both male and female characteristic. Now for you religious folks this is a spiritual significance only as the word is referred to on the masculine side and the spirit is always referred to on the feminine side.  It's important that we always remember that the OT is a type and shadow of the NT. What God done in the natural thru the OT he would do thru the spiritual in the NT. So actually the OT is the blueprint for NT.

2. CREATED:  To bring into existence out of nothing. To originate a production

   A MAN AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART:

The blessing was placed on man and woman prior to creation

The 5 commandants:

What this is is actually a prophetic word and blueprint of what would be done!

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 moveth upon the earth.

1. Fruitful: To grow, to increase

2. Multiply: be in authority, continue, enlarge, excel.

3. Replenish:  accomplish, confirm, + consecrate, be fenced, fill, fulfill, [over-] flow, fullness, furnish, satisfy.

4. Subdue:  to tread down; hence negative to disregard; positive to conquer, subjugate, violate :- bring into bondage, force, keep under, subdue, bring into subjection.

5.  Dominion:  to tread down, subjugate; to crumble off:  have dominion, prevail against, reign, rule over.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you (singular form) 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 (singular) it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

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.

"Stage 3 of the creation of man"

Genesis 2:7-8 

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 soul.

FORMED:  (through the squeezing into shape); to mould into a form; especially as a potter; frame, make purpose.

8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward (this location is vitally important) in Eden;  (DELIGHT) and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Singular form only)

Eastward: The tabernacle was a symbol of Christ as the entrance to the tabernacle was at the east side and the tribe that guarded the entrance was Judah meaning praise guards the way into the presence of the Father.

A garden (as fenced) : to hedge about, protect: - defend.)

Now, it's important that we now understand again the importance of the OT and the purpose of the NT. And how the OT is a type and shadow of the NT or a blueprint of what God would do in the spiritual realm in the NT. For this reason let's look into the word of God:

                         Ezekiel 28:13-19
¹³ Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
¹⁴ Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
¹⁵ Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
¹⁶ By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
¹⁷ Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
¹⁸ Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
¹⁹ All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (This is the seed that impregnated Eve with Cain and Abel).

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it, which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

The Lost Rivers of the Garden of Eden

The quest for pinpointing the exact location of the Biblical Garden of Eden and the four rivers almost rivals the quest for the location of fabled Atlantis. And the theories that abound are almost as numerous as the interpretations of the seven days of Genesis. Before tackling this question let's look at what is written in Genesis about the four rivers: And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

(Genesis 2:10-14

The Bible says that a single river flowed "out" of Eden and then does something that most rivers DO NOT do; specifically, split into four separate "rivers" downstream all fed from a common single river source. Almost all rivers start from a single source or are fed by multiple sources (tributaries).  So the "names" of rivers are an arbitrary thing, usually denoting only a portion of a greater complex stream system, with one stream flowing into another, which in-turn, may flow into yet another. This pattern of rivers, as observed in nature, is just the opposite of what the Bible describes about the river of Eden

All are connected to the Great Rift system. And that is the key to the mystery.

More specifically, those waters could have originated near Jerusalem in present-day Israel. The Israel/Lebanon region as the location of Eden and the lost river finds considerable support in the Bible. Support for this line of reasoning in found in the fact that God considers the land of Israel as His Holy land. It was upon one of the mountains in the "land of Moriah" (Genesis 22:2) where Abraham was told to Sacrifice his son (a type of the Lord's sacrifice of Jesus). Solomon was told to build the Temple "at Jerusalem in mount Moriah" (2 Chronicles 3:1) and Jerusalem was where the Lord Jesus was actually crucified. By extension, we can assume that when God sacrificed an animal to cover Adam and Eve with its skin (Genesis 3:21), that animal was a Lamb (Revelation 13:8). Therefore, we can be certain from the typology that Adam and Eve, and the center of the Garden of God, were somewhere at or very near geographical Jerusalem. Now, what exactly do those spiritual realities have to do with the location of the river of Eden? In the future, when the Lord Jesus Christ establishes His Kingdom and Righteous Temple in Jerusalem, the Bible speaks of a river flowing from below the Temple.

And this corresponds with what John said about the New Jerusalem: And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

(Revelation 22:1-2)

Since the original "Tree of Life" was in the Garden of Eden, does it not make sense that, when the Lord makes all things new, that the future "Tree of Life" would be restored to its proper place? And that place is in Israel. The same place, upon the mountains of Moriah (Jerusalem), where Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac (see Genesis 22:2); where Solomon was told to build the house of the Lord (see 2 Chronicles 3:1); and where the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified; where the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8 and Genesis 3:21.) All these things fit, in Scriptural type.

Yes, the Bible tends to indicate that the river from the Garden of Eden originated in Judea and from there became four heads. A forensic study of the region's geology tends to support the theory over the alternatively proposed locations of Turkey or Kuwait. What we have not shown is that the geologic model for the source of these waters originates from the area of Jerusalem. We can only assume that the block faulting along the Great Rift zone which has changed the courses of rivers and created the Dead Sea basin and its present southern aquaclude, has also disrupted the main aquifer(s) that once were the underground source for the fabled river of Eden. Only a remnant of this water system remains today. There is a spring of Gihon near the old temple mount and there are historical accounts of past Springs and Pools in and near Jerusalem in the Scriptures. Keep in Mind that Jerusalem sits just west of the Great Rift valley. It is quite possible that legendary river of Eden originated from a massive artesian aquifer, the source of which has long since been disrupted by block faulting along the Rift. We know for a scientific fact that there is a considerable amount of "fossil" water under the Middle east in the deep-rock sandstone aquifers of the region such as the Nubian sandstone aquifers and equivalent formations. Keep in mind that in the days of Adam and Eve, a "mist" went up and watered the face of the Earth within the Garden.

(Genesis 2:6).

Fountains of waters (underground waters under pressure gushing upwards) would certainly be a logical source for the generation of such a mist and would be a logical feed-source for such a river. Certainly, we cannot exclude this possibility. In summary, although the modern-day geology and topography of the Middle-East does not readily reveal the exact location of the Garden of Eden and the four rivers source, guidance by faith from the Holy Bible and a forensic study of the region's geology reveals the matter. The available data appears to suggest that present-day Israel was the central location of the Garden of Eden. And leaders. Ceder trees are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible as references to Lebanon

(Judges 9:15, Psalms 29:5 & 104:16, Song of Solomon 5:15, Isaiah 2:13,

Jeremiah 22:23 

15 And the Lord God took the man,(singular form) and put him (singular form) into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

DRESS: to work; be a worshipper.

KEEP: to guard; to protect, attend.

John 4:20-24
²⁰ Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
²¹ Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
²² Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
²³ But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
²⁴ God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Spirit and Truth

Is simply the Word and the Spirit

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

"Woman is still not present"

All instructions are still directed to the man

18 And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Help meet: aid, support or bodyguard

(The purpose of the spirit)

19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

21 And 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;

Not only the fact of the rib, but also looking even deeper into and seeing that Adam, meaning to be ruddy and to show blood, and then understanding there were two adams the first Adam in the garden of Eden, and the second Adam being Christ the quickening spirit.  I Corinthians 15:45

Also notice the fact that the scripture says he took one of his ribs, Medical science teaches us that the human being as 12 main ribs on each side, in the human body

There are twelve pairs of ribs in human body that is a total of 24 ribs with 12 on either side of the rib cage. The 11th and the 12th ribs are called floating ribs. So now we see that God took one from one side, so with saying that Adam must of had 13. Now this important because the # 12 is the number of Gods government. So the Government of God is still in tact and that government is the word. But now dealing with the #13  meaning bridal praise and the 13 realms of praise in Psalms 150  we find that God took a bridal rib from the word and made Eve representing the Spirit. 

Rib: figurative of a door or chamber (and if the man is a symbol of the word than the rib that comes from him, is a picture of a door or chamber of the word. thus fulfilling the word in the creation: God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. and  John 10:1, 10:7, 10:9. And then showing in John 1:1-14 How Christ was the word made flesh.

In Jewish writings of history we find a most intriguing thought, that Eve was actually Adam's second wife that the name of his first wife was actually Lilith

In the beginning the Holy One, blessed be He, created Eve, and she was not flesh but the scum of the earth and its impure sediments, and she was a harmful spirit.  And the Holy One, blessed be He, took her away from Adam and gave him another in her stead. (Patai81:453

Zohar 1:34b

When the letters of the name of Adam, descended below, together in their completeness, the male and the female were found together, and the female was attached to his side, until God cast a deep slumber upon him and he fell asleep. And he lay in the place of the Temple below. And the Holy One, blessed be He, sawed her off him, and adorned her as they adorn a bride, and brought her to him.... In an ancient book I found that this [refers to] the primeval Lilith who was with him and conceived from him, but was not a helpmeet for him.... (Patai81:454)

Zohar 3:19

Come and see: There is a female, a spirit of all spirits, and her name is Lilith, and she was at first with Adam. And in the hour when Adam was created and his body became completed, a thousand spirits from the left [evil] side clung to that body until the Holy One, blessed be He, shouted at them and drove them away. And Adam was lying, a body without a spirit, and his appearance was green, and all those spirits surrounded him.    In that hour a cloud descended an pushed away all those spirits.    And when Adam stood up, his female was attached to his side. And that Holy Spirit which was in him spread out to this side and that side, and grew here and there, and thus became complete. Thereafter the Holy One, blessed be He, sawed Adam into two, and made the female. And He brought her to Adam in her perfection like a bride to the canopy.    When Lilith saw this, she fled. And she is in the cities of the sea, and she is still trying to harm the sons of the world. (Patai81:455)

And the Serpent, the Woman of Harlotry, incited and seduced Eve through the husks of Light which in itself is holiness. And the Serpent seduced Holy Eve, and enough said for him who understands. An all this ruination came about because Adam the first man coupled with Eve while she was in her menstrual impurity -- this is the filth and the impure seed of the Serpent who mounted Eve before Adam mounted her. Behold, here it is before you: because of the sins of Adam the first man all the things mentioned came into being. For Evil Lilith, when she saw the greatness of his corruption, became strong in her husks, and came to Adam against his will, and became hot from him and bore him many demons and spirits and Lilin. (Patai81:455f)

The Zohar is a collection of commentaries on the Torah, intended to guide people who have already achieved high spiritual degrees 

22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

Now we finally see the creation come about of the woman (or the spirit made manifest). It's important that we remember that NO where did it indicate that Eve was present at the time God told man of the blessing of the garden of eden, and of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. At this point she was still a rib in the man (a symbol of a door or chamber of the word).

Notice here had taken from man, (stop and think) made he a woman, (stop and think) and brought her unto the man.

Understanding this we know that the only way to take someone back somewhere is if you have already been there........

John 16:13
¹³ Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

John 14:1-3
¹ Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
² In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Ephesians 1:18-23
¹⁸ The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
¹⁹ And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
²⁰ Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
²¹ Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
²² And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
²³ Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.

23 And 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.  BONE: Substance

Now, we find the first Adam is declaring that the woman Eve is bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh... and looking at this we can also see a picture of the blue print of what God was setting in preparation for in the NT. The word bone meaning SUBSTANCE. So the woman is of the substance of the man.

Substance: essence necessary ingredients of something.

Now we look at the NT and see how Christ is of the substance of the Father.

"BONE OF HIS BONE AND FLESH OF HIS FLESH"

John 1:1
¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14

¹⁴ And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

By: Dr. Michael N. Smith Sr.

Comments are appreciated