|
In this blog post, we explore the meaning and significance of Genesis 2:4-25 in which God plants the Garden of Eden, and creates the first human beings. We will see that Eden was also God's temple and that Adam and Eve were priests in this Edenic Garden-Temple. We will also see that God's creation of Adam and Eve ultimately points to Christ and the Church, and reminds us of Jesus' great love for us. Let's go through our passage verse by verse... Genesis 2:4–6 NKJV 4 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; 6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. When the earth was first created, there were no vegetation, no rain, and no one to till the ground. As we will see, God dealt with the absence of vegetation by planting the Garden of Eden. God dealt with the absence of rain by causing a mist to water the ground. God dealt with the absence of a worker by creating the first human, which is described in verse 7: Genesis 2:7 NKJV 7 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 being. In the seven days of creation, God was referred to simply as “God” (“Elohim” in Hebrew). But in this passage, notice that God is now referred to as “the LORD God”. In Hebrew, that is “YHWH Elohim”. So now God is being referred to by His name - “YHWH” (often pronounced "Yahweh", but the correct pronunciation is uncertain). In other words, in this passage God is described in a much more personal way. We see God’s personal touch demonstrated in that He does not merely speak the human into existence. Instead, He takes a hands-on approach and actually forms the human from the dust and breathes into his nostrils the breath of life. This reminds us that God is a personal God. He has a name and wants us to know him. Our passage continues in verses 8 and 9... Genesis 2:8–9 NKJV 8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We were told earlier that there were no plants because there was no human to cultivate the land. Yet, here we read that God causes all these trees to grow in the garden of Eden without the human first cultivating the land! This teaches us that God doesn’t need us. He created us because He wants us. In the garden there were lots of trees. Two of which were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life would enable humans to live forever. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil would enable humans to know good and evil for themselves, instead of depending on God for moral direction. More about that in a moment... But first, our passage will give us an idea of where this Garden of Eden was situated. It continues... Genesis 2:10–14 NKJV 10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. Now, we know where the Euphrates is, and where the river Hiddekel is (which is also known as the river Tigris), but we don’t know where the other two rivers were. Nonetheless, from what we do know, it is clear that Eden was situated somewhere in the Ancient Near East. Suggested locations include the Persian Gulf (southern Iraq) or the mountains of Ararat. Our passage continues... Genesis 2:15–17 NKJV 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” As mentioned before, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would enable humans to be their own source of moral wisdom instead of getting that wisdom from God Himself. But notice that God didn’t want humans to eat of that tree. This is because God created us for relationship with Himself. God never wanted us to live independently of Him, but rather to live in fellowship with Him. But to this day, people still are, so to speak, eating from that tree. They live according to their own wisdom and ideas, instead of looking to God’s word for guidance and wisdom. God warned the man, “the day you eat of it you shall surely die”. And that is what happened. The man died spiritually when he ate of the tree. And as a result, all of his descendants, except Jesus, are born spiritually dead. As Paul said to the Ephesians, about their existence prior to following Jesus: "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins" (Ephesians 2:1 NIV). But, we haven’t yet reached the point in the story where humans partake of this tree, so let’s continue with our passage... Genesis 2:18 NKJV 18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” In other words, it was going to be a lot for the man to take care of the garden all by himself. So God decided to make a suitable companion for him. So it continues... Genesis 2:19–20 NKJV 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. So, the first man is now referred to as “Adam” and he names the various animals. This is not the initial creation of animals. That happened before humans were created as we saw in chapter 1. This particular creation of animals was specifically so that Adam could name them. But none of the animals were a suitable companion for him. So our passage continues... Genesis 2:21–23 NKJV 21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 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.” So God was the first surgeon to perform surgery under general anaesthetic. He also was the first minister to officiate a wedding. But notice the contrast here: whereas the animals were formed from the ground, the woman was constructed directly from Adam’s body. As such, she was a companion of equivalent quality - equal to him. So, Adam called her Ishshah (pronounced "eeshah") which means “Woman”, because she was taken from Ish (pronounced "eesh") which means “Man”. So it's a play on words in Hebrew. She was called Ishshah because she was taken from Ish. Our passage continues... Genesis 2:24–25 NKJV 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. So, we have here this wonderful picture of bliss and innocence. But whilst this is very much about human origins, ultimately this story points to Christ and the Church. Paul wrote: Ephesians 5:28–32 NKJV 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. The woman being taken from Adam represents the fact that the Church is Christ’s body. We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. The tradition of a man leaving his parents to be joined to his wife represents the fact that Jesus left His Father in heaven, came to earth, so that we could be spiritually one with Him. The duty of a husband to love his wife represents the fact that Jesus loves us. Furthermore, notice that Adam had to be put to sleep in order for the woman to be made. Even so, Jesus had to experience the sleep of death so that the Church could come forth. Also notice that God Himself was in the Garden of Eden. He was there when He formed the animals. He was there when He operated on Adam and built Eve. So the woman was in the Garden, not only with Adam, and also with God. This reminds us that there is an Eden waiting for us in heaven, where we will be with Jesus, and with God: John 14:1–3 NLT 1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. Jesus said to the church in Ephesus: Revelation 2:7 NKJV 7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’ The Greek word for "Paradise" is paradeisou. This is the word that was used for the Garden of Eden in the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament (i.e. the Septuagint). The Paradise of God that Jesus mentions here is the heavenly Eden, where we will be reunited with the tree of life and be with Jesus and God forever. The fact that God was in the Garden indicates that Eden was also a Temple, and Adam and his wife (who would later become known as Eve), were priests in that Temple. This seems to be why when Solomon built the Temple, we read the following: 1 Kings 6:29 NKJV 29 Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. Why were palm trees and flowers carved on the Temple walls? Because the temple was also a garden. Notice also that cherubim featured in the Temple. In Genesis 3:24, cherubim were positioned at the east of the Garden of Eden. Again, Garden imagery is applied to the Temple. The fact that Adam and Eve were priests in this Garden-Temple corresponds to the fact that Christ and His Church are priests. Jesus is called "a great High Priest" (Hebrews 4:14), and the Church is called "a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9). It is only priests who can enter the temple. So the fact that we are priests reminds us that we have the privilege of approaching God. But priests not only have the privilege of approaching God, they also have the sacred duty of offering sacrifices to Him. Even so, as God’s royal priests, we have the sacred duty of continually offering God sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving (see Hebrews 13:5). Because Eden was also God’s temple, whilst Jesus referred to our future inheritance as “the Paradise of God”; He also referred to our future inheritance as a temple, saying: Revelation 3:12 (NKJV) 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God... So whilst Genesis takes us back to the beginning, it also points us to the future. It shows us where we are going. Yes, things went wrong in the Garden, but the good news is that Paradise will be restored when Jesus comes again. I want us to be left with the thought of how much Jesus loves us. When He thinks of you, He says, “You are my flesh and my bones.... you are part of My very being". He died for you so that you could be with Him forever in Paradise. We can therefore be assured that whatever we are facing, whatever we fear, whatever our circumstance may be, the One who truly loves us is with us, and cares deeply about us. He will do for us what is best. And He will see to it that His good purpose for our lives comes to pass. Paul prayed for the Ephesians that they would “know the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:19). To know the love of Christ, there is one place that we must look, and that place is the cross. There, on the cross, the love that God has for us was revealed in Christ. The following verses testify to this: Revelation 1:5 (NKJV) 5 [Jesus] loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, Romans 5:8 NKJV 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 1 John 4:10 NKJV 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. The word “propitiation” means that Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice to appease God’s wrath against sin and sinners. Jesus bore God’s wrath in our place so that our sins could be forgiven, escape eternal condemnation, be restored to Eden, be restored to priesthood, and be restored to closeness with God. As the old hymn says, "Hallelujah! What a Saviour!" Summary
Comments are closed.
|
Stuart PatticoPastor of Joy Community Church, Milton Keynes. Archives
August 2023
Categories |
RSS Feed