Genesis
Lesson 9Living in The Garden
In this lesson, we will be taking a closer look at the story of the garden that God created for man—God’s purpose behind creating the garden, the specific instructions that God gave man, and the helper whom God created for man. In the lesson that follows this one, we will study what happened next—The Fall.
The Garden God Created: Eden
In both Genesis and Revelation, we are provided a picture of God’s intended relationship with mankind, and a preview of the restored Garden of Eden that is coming, for which God will be in the center.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:1-5 [NIV]
Read Genesis 2:4-14 and list below the description of the components of God’s Garden.
- Genesis 2:4-6
- Genesis 2:8
- Genesis 2:9
- Genesis 2:10-14
We see from this description that in a world where "no plant or shrub had yet appeared," God created a beautiful, lush, garden that included trees pleasant to the eyes and was full of food. He provided a source of water, a river, running through it—just as His coming new creation, the new Eden, the new city of Jerusalem, will have a river running through it. (Revelation 22:1-5)
Three things were not included in God’s garden: birds, other animals, and men & women.
God’s Purpose for Creating the Garden
As mentioned earlier, God had a purpose for creating the garden—a specific, intentional purpose.
Read Genesis 2:15
- What does this verse impart to us regarding God’s purpose for man?
God has a specific purpose for man: man was to work and care for the garden. He was not simply placed there to enjoy the garden; man was created with responsibilities, and more are coming—as we examine shortly. Man had a purpose. As I have also mentioned in other studies lessons, we are not clones, and we weren’t brought to this earth with the specific objective of seeking pleasure. God made man to work, to lead, to be responsible, to be caring, and to achieve. God tells us that His plans for us are to prosper and not to fail, all of which implies activity on man’s part. (Jeremiah 29:11)
The Instructions God Gave Man
And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die." Genesis 2:16-17
God created a garden and placed man in the garden to work the garden and take care of it. Then He gave man his first instruction, his first commandment, if you will, in Genesis 2:16-17. It was the first "you must not" in the Bible, and it was direct and easy to understand. Note in the description of the things that God put in the garden, that all of the trees and plants are plural, but not so for the singular Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. There was only one of each.
Now respond to the following questions:
- Where did God Place these two trees?
- Which tree’s, or trees’, fruit was forbidden to eat?
- When did God give this instruction to Adam, before He created Eve or after?
- Did Adam understand God’s instruction?
We now see a clear picture of a lush garden with everything Adam needed: a source of food, a source of water, and a perfect environment in which to live and work. What more could a man need? Further, we see that, although the garden was perhaps large (given that a river ran through it), God planted the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil right in the middle of it. There was no mistaking these two trees from all of the rest.
The Helper that God Created for Man
As it turns out, everything in the garden wasn’t yet perfect. Man was missing something, i.e., a helper to carry out his responsibilities.
Respond to the following questions regarding God’s creation of Eve:
- What is the first thing God acknowledges once he has placed man in the garden? See Genesis 2:18.
- What does God create for man so that he is not alone? See Genesis 2:19-20. Careful…take a close look at the verse.
- Seeing that birds and animals weren’t the complete answer, God then creates a helper suitable for man. What does He create, and how does He do it? See Genesis 2:21- 22.
- What did Adam say about Eve when he saw her? See Genesis 2:23-24.
- When did Adam marry Eve? See Genesis 2:24-25.
What a perfect environment God created for man! A beautiful garden, abundant food and water, animal companions, and a helpmate for Adam to carry out his responsibilities. All were provided as a gift from God. Perfect in every way, or was it? In the next lesson, we will study the fall of all mankind and God’s plan of redeeming and saving His fallen creation.
In Christ,
Wes
[2022]