The Garden Of Eden

Genesis 2:4-17

In Genesis 1, we were given a brief outline of the order of creation. Here in Genesis 2, God goes into greater detail about how things were produced or generated, and how the ecosystem worked. In Genesis 1, we learned that plant life was created on the fourth day. Genesis 2 gives greater detail about the plants and how they were cared for.

“These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.” (Genesis 2:4-6)

It is very specific God designed every plant before it grew. He did not simply make already existing seeds begin to grow. The concept of a prior creation, the such as the Gap Theory, or evolution is rendered untenable. Clearly conditions were somewhat different than in our day, because there was enough dew or fog to water the plants, and no rain fell. Here in New Mexico, we receive very little rainfall, and for months, the weeds have grown very little. Yesterday we had high humidity, and this morning the weeds have almost doubled in size, making it clear how easily God could have done this. This condition continued until the flood, almost seventeen hundred years later. When he created the plants there was no one to care for them.

“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.” (Genesis 2:7)

Genesis 1:26 tells us that God created man specifically to have dominion over and care for the things God had created. He was created in the image of God for that purpose. Here we are told that he was physically formed from the dust of the ground, the materials god created in Genesis 1:1. God them breathed into him the breath of life. And man became a living soul, a living being. Human beings are comprised of a physical body, a soul and a spirit. The physical body is the part we see. The Soul appears to be the actual life part, while the spirit seems to be the attitudes and character of the person. Distinguishing soul and spirit is difficult without God’s guidance. Hebrews 4:12 states, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Mere human logic cannot make the distinction.

“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 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.” (Genesis 2:8-9)

God placed the man in the Garden to care for it. Apparently it was almost like a nursery for the plants around the world, with every kind of tree there. At that time, every plant was edible, according to Genesis 1:29-30. That would change after the fall in Genesis 3. Also growing in the Garden of Eden was the tree of life, which if it is the same plant, is described in Revelation 22:2. “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.” To have eaten of this tree would have guaranteed that mankind would never die physically according to Genesis 3:22-23. “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.” A second tree was growing in the Garden, the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

“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)

Havilah is believed to be on the southern edge of Arabia with the Pishon river now called the Wadi Bishain or Bisha. The Gihon may well be the Nile or one of it’s tributaries, and stretches across much of northeastern Africa. The Hiddekel is generally believed to be the Tigris flowing from Eastern Turkey into Iraq near Baghdad. The Euphrates originates in eastern turyey as well but flows past Babylon before entering Iraq. These modern rivers are remnants of the rivers which originated in the Garden of eden, and may well flow in the opposite direction as a result of topography changes during the flood and subsequent tectonic plate movement. It is possible that the original Garden is now submerged either under the Mediterranean or the Red sea. We know that the topography of the earth changed dramatically during the flood, but the book of Genesis lists these rivers as having once been part of the river originating in the Garden of Eden.

“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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.” (Genesis 2:15-17)

God gave man specific responsibilities and guidelines as to his treatment of the Garden, forbidding him to eat from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. Every other tree was freely available. It appears that Eve had not yet been created when the command was given.