Dust Oriented, Breath Oriented, or Both? (Genesis 2:5-7)

*5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.* (Genesis 2:5-7)

With conditions perfected, God made the first man from the dust from the ground (7). Everything had been readied, so now God fashioned humanity from the soil, the raw material of the earth. Man came from the dust of the earth.

But humanity is different from the rest of creation. Like all of creation, we come from the raw material of the earth but are different in that God has put in us the breath of life (7). So we are earthy — the name Adam relates to the Hebrew word for ground — but God has put special breath into us.

We are not like the animals. We are natural creatures — we came from the dust — but we are also spiritual beings whom God gave the breath of life:

“But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.” (Job 32:8, ESV)

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” (Proverbs 20:27, ESV)

We have spiritual thoughts (Job 32:8) and active consciences (Proverbs 20:27). We are designed to express His image, to love, and to know Him.

So humans are from the dust of the earth, but with the divine breath of life in them. And I think every human being leans toward one or the other. Vast portions of our society think satisfaction will come by leaning into their earthiness. Bodily appetites and desires fill their minds. But God has made us with a desire for Him. He is the only One who can satisfy our thirsty souls, for we have the breath of life in us.

Where is your life trending, towards the dust or the breath? Let your spiritual person develop. By the grace of God, and because of the blood of Jesus, we can now know God, unlocking this side of who we are. When we do, truly, the earthy part of us is redeemed, and we successfully enjoy both the physical and spiritual dimensions. By the blood of Christ, with the spiritual man alive and well within us, the earth becomes better too. We begin to enjoy creation as God intended. When the spirit comes alive, so does the earth. Thank you, Jesus!