What happened to God's good creation? Gen. 2:4-4:26

 

    The first chapter of the Bible describes for us the creative acts of God which brought into existence out of nothing the heavens and the earth. This was accomplished in six twenty-four hour days in two segments of three days each. In the first three days God formed the heavens and the earth by creating time, mass, space, light, seas, skies, land, and vegetation. In the following three days God filled the earth with luminaries and life. He filled the outer space with sun, moon, and stars. He filled the earth with creatures that lived in the seas, the air, and the land. The crowning act of God’s creative work was humanity, made in the image and likeness of God, created to worship and serve God in a perfect environment.

    We hear a lot about our environment today, don’t we? We are concerned about pollution, fracking, offshore drilling, what to do with waste materials, and myriad other things. Many people believe that we are destroying the world in which we live, but in many ways, we have devised processes to preserve it and keep it as clean as possible. We may strive for a utopian world of sorts, like it was in the beginning, but we will never achieve that goal.

    Imagine living in that world with no viruses or diseases, no crime, no pollution, no tragedy, no death – a perfect place to live. That is how the Lord created the world in which we live. He gave man every advantage to love, worship, and serve his creator God. He did not have a sinful nature; he did have the likeness of God in many ways. He lived in an environment with all he needed to prosper and be happy. It was a beautiful, abundant, peaceful and safe place to live. What we would call paradise today.

     He was invited to freely partake of all things in that paradise except for one. There was a tree in the middle of that perfect environment of which he was not to eat. If he did, his fellowship with God would end and he would experience death spiritually and eventually physically. The next section of Genesis tells us what happened to the perfect world in which man was placed. We may describe it in this way – Life in Paradise, 2:4-25; Paradise Lost – the temptation, fall, and curse upon man, 3:1-24; and the Degeneration of Life outside of Paradise, 4:1-26. Let’s seek God’s blessing as we continue.

 

    God’s creative work closes in the final paragraph, 2:1-3. God’s creation is now complete in all its vast array from the infinity and wonder of space, to the minuteness and mystery of single atoms. Out of the original chaos without form and uninhabitable, he has formed and filled the world in an orderly fashion. He has looked upon it all and declared it exceedingly good – how could it be anything else!

    But the seventh day is distinct from all the others. On this day God ended his work, he did not need to make anything else. He rested on this day which means he ceased from his labors. That is the primary meaning of “shabbat” from which is derived our word Sabbath.

     God’s third blessing is given to this day and he also sanctified it. That means he set it apart from all the other days and made it holy or separate or distinct. In this he set a precedent for mankind which he later included in the Ten Commandments, Ex. 20:8-11 (read). His intention was to give needed rest to his people through the cessation of labor. In this way they could reflect upon their creator, worship and serve him, and experience joy in their earthly labors.

    Although the NT does not repeat this commandment, I believe its principles continue in the Lord’s day that shifts the focus from creation to redemption. On this day we cease from our physical labors so that we may honor and worship Christ who is the mediator of the new covenant and the new creation of those who believe on Him. Waltke – “A person who feels inclined to work seven days a week should examine what god he or she worships.”

It is also indicative of the sabbath rest that all God’s people will experience when they cease their labors on this earth and enter the eternal joy of heaven with their Maker and Savior.

                At this juncture, we begin a new narrative which depicts for us . . .

 

I. Life in Paradise, 2:4-25.

A. God’s Formation of Man for Paradise, 4-7.

    1. The first toledoth, 4a.

·         “The history” – introduces a term that is used to divide Genesis into distinct sections. This is the first of eleven occurrences. It is usually translated “generations” and comes from a root meaning “to bear children” indicating descendants. For instance, 5:1 and 6:9. In each occurence, it records for us a narrative associated with the person who is the first progenitor or one of his children.

·         However, in v. 4, it is not a person that begins the narrative. This is the history of the heavens and the earth … The last phrase indicates a subtle reversal indicating a change of subject although it is still related to God’s creative act. “in the day the LORD God made the earth and the heavens” – the focus now changes to the earth.

·         Now we have the story of what happened to God’s creation. It is not retelling the creation story by highlighting how man and woman were created. This is the history of how man began in paradise but ended up a fallen creature cast out of paradise.

2. We also note the change in God’s name – LORD God.

·         In ch. 1, exclusively “Elohim” – alludes to the majesty and power of God displayed in creation.

·         LORD – Jahweh, personal and covenant name of God. He is the God who comes to us in grace and gives us everything we need. When these names are combined it indicates that Jahweh, the personal God of Israel, is the powerful, almighty God who created all things.

3. Description before the fall and curse on the ground, 5-6.

·         It is best to look at these verses as a parenthesis which indicates to us that what follows is what the paradise was like before conditions after the fall.

·         Plant of the field – this is descriptive of uncultivated growth that cannot be consumed by man. The herb of the field is descriptive of grains and vegetables that provide food for man. These usually develop from cultivation of the soil. This suggests to us that what is described in man’s formation and the Garden in Eden existed before the condition described in these verses, or conditions after the fall.

·         Why were these conditions present? 1) Because God had not yet caused it to rain on the earth. Water for life in the garden did not depend upon rain, but the river that derived from it. Mist that rose from the ground – most believe that this refers to streams that welled up from beneath the earth. 2) There was no man to till the ground – in other words, before man was cast out of the garden when he would have to cultivate the ground by the sweat of his brow.

·         Before this time, God formed man for life in his gardenlike paradise.

4. Formation of man from the dust of the ground, 7.

·         In chapter one, man’s creation is from the spiritual/moral perspective. He was created in the image and likeness of God. Here we find the sentient or earthly nature of mankind.

·         Verb “to form” = this word is used of artistic work, such as a potter making a vessel from clay. It speaks of a deliberate act, not an accidental one. In this sense, we are God’s work of art. He deliberately designed our being and put his very life into us.

·         His creative material is very basic and humble – formed man out of the dust of the ground. This is a play on words – ha adam, ha adama. It displays the close relationship of man to the land upon which he lives and from which he sustains life. Part of the curse is associated with a return to dust in death, “for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

·         The first man does not live until God gives him life by direct means. This makes him different from the animal world. Like them, his basic composition is ground or soil. But unlike them, God breathes into his nostrils the breath of life. This phrase is only used of God or man in scripture, it is never used of any other life form. In Job 32 the phrase is associated with spiritual understanding and in Prov. 20:27 with inner consciousness of God. Perhaps these are included in the divine act of creating us as a soul or living being.

·         To the Hebrew mind, man as a living being speaks of the whole person. They did not think of soul and body as separate entities but one personhood. We do not speak of animals in this way as much as we may love them. They are not persons, they do not have the same kind of being and existence as we do.

·         Now that God has brought man into being as a physical and spiritual creature, where is he going to place him?

B. God’s Provision for Man in Paradise, 8-14.

     1. A garden in Eden, 8.

·         The noun garden – derived from a root meaning enclosed, fenced off, or protected. This indicates that God put the man in a safe place where he would be content and enjoy the fellowship of God.

·         Eden is not really the name of the garden, but its location. It was an area located in the east called Eden which means delight or pleasure. The garden itself was a delightful place in a pleasant land.

·         East – a direction from the narrator’s viewpoint, likely Canaan. East is the direction from which the sun rises, a metaphor for life. However, east in other parts of Genesis suggests negative things associated with the curse and evil as we shall see.

2. Provision in the garden, 9.

·         It seems this garden was more like an orchard with trees from which you could eat fruit. Not only were they good for food, but pleasing to the eye. This is something the devil used to captivate Eve concerning the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. One wonders why it would have been any more luxuriant than the multitude of trees in the garden.

·         Two specific trees are centrally located in the middle of the garden. The Tree of Life which later takes back seat to the other tree in the narrative. We should not think of this as having a fruit bearing eternal life, but fruit that sustains one’s youthfulness in physical life.

·         Tree of knowledge of good and evil – it is difficult to know exactly what this entailed. But it is somehow related to knowledge that should be retained by God alone, 3:22. Adam and Eve were moral creatures and would have known what good is because they were experiencing it in the garden. But they were ignorant and innocent concerning evil. Furthermore, they had fellowship with God who would have informed them of all good things he had planned for them. This knowledge then seems to indicate taking upon yourself a prerogative that should be God’s alone. It would be the capacity to know evil, that which hinders good, and to decide and effect for yourself what is morally good or evil. Only God knows absolutely what is good and bad, and he is the one who should be consulted to obtain that knowledge. Waltke – the “tree represents knowledge and power appropriate only to God.” The temptation was to take that power to ones self even when we do not have the capacity to use it correctly. We see the evil results of it in the world today – truth and right are relative to our limited knowledge and desires. Therefore, good is evil spoken of, and evil is good. We make the choices, not God. It is the fruit of the first temptation.

3. River in the garden, 10-14.

·         Water is needed for life and an abundant supply of it came from a river in the garden that flowed out of it into four more heads from which much of that part of the world was sustained.

·         We know little of the names or lands mentioned and they were probably drastically changed by the flood. The Hiddekel is likely the Tigris river and the Euphrates may be the one that we know today and was prominent in biblical times. However, these could have been renamed after these great prediluvian rivers.

·         The land was also known for its gold and precious stones.

·         Taking all of these descriptions together, they can be compared to the new earth described in Revelation. There is a river flowing from God’s throne, a tree of life, other beautiful fruit bearing trees, precious stones in the foundation of the temple, and all of redeemed mankind in the presence of God.

C. God’s Purpose for Man in Paradise, 15-17.

     1. To work in his garden paradise, 15.

·         To tend and keep it. “Tend” may be translated work. God did not want Adam and Eve to lay around in luxury doing nothing. They were to care for the garden, keep it up in whatever ways God instructed them.

·         “To keep” means to guard and may have other nuances. Working was no doubt a purpose of God for man and still is, but there is also a deeper implication.

2. To worship and serve the LORD.

·         The verb “to put” here is different than the one used previously. It alludes elsewhere to a place of safety or rest. It is also used of dedicating something in the presence of the Lord. God put man in the garden, in a safe environment where he could have direct fellowship with God. It was a sanctuary, or a temple with Adam as its priest who enjoyed a personal relationship with LORD.

·         The verb to tend can also be translated as serve. We should have an attitude of serving the Lord through our work, but this verb is also used of priestly service done by the Levites.

·         The verb to keep is rendered to guard, observe, or give heed. As priest of the garden sanctuary, Adam was to heed God’s word and perhaps guard the garden from demonic attacks against it.

3. To love and obey the Lord, 16-17.

·         The man was given only one commandment to test his love and loyalty to his creator God. The Lord has graciously provided him with a beautiful and fruitful environment from which he is free to eat anything save from only one tree.

·         “Freedom has no meaning without prohibition.” How will you show your love to God other than obeying the commands he gives you? Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

·         Failure to keep this one prohibition had deep consequences – death. Death in the Bible speaks of separation. In the day that Adam and Eve would eat that fruit they would be separated from God. They would experience immediate spiritual death in that sense. The process of physical death would also begin in their bodies and be passed on to all humanity. It would be a most terrible consequence of their deviance.

 

So God, in his loving creative purpose determined to make mankind, place him in a beautiful paradise, a perfect environment, in which he could worship, serve, obey, and have fellowship with his Creator God. That is still God’s purpose for us in a fallen world full of lost people. Every human being born into it is like Adam in his fallen condition -sinful, separated from God, doomed to die physically and spiritually. Yet, we can respond to the gospel of the last Adam, Jesus Christ, who came to redeem our souls and restore us to right relationship to Christ. We then have the prospect of sharing eternal life with him in the future paradise of the new heavens and the new earth. While we await that day, he has given us through his Spirit the capacity to worship, serve, love and obey our Lord. May we do so until we die or until He comes!