Genesis 2:4-14

Man’s Special Place in the Garden

Introduction

Covenantal name of the Lord

Main Points - intimate communion with the Triune God

the text’s teaching of communion and fellowship with God

the doctrine of communion and fellowship with God

The Lord of the covenants

CoR

CoW

CoG

the usefulness of communion and fellowship with God

the text’s teaching of communion and fellowship with God

v. 4

two major transitions in the text

“Tolodoth” formula

Der from ילד to be born

“These are the generations of”

Major, distinct break in Bible

Always pay attention

Anticipatory to some change

Lord God

Covenantal name of God

God is a God of covenants

Personal and relational

God coming down to man

v. 5

vv. 5-7 anticipate the Fall in 3:8-24

Consequences of sin versus their initial intent as the source of Adam’s blessing

See Genesis 2 w/r/t a change of perspective

Hockey highlights

Cannot figure out who scored goal

Replay gives you diff. perspective

Genesis 2 is diff. perspective

Seems problematic in light of Genesis 1

“no bush of the field”

“no small plant of the field”

Two important perspectives

Forms a nice bracket

“no bush of the field” … because, man was not there to work it

“no plant sprung up” … because, the Lord had not caused rain

Man is to have dominion over plants (Gen 1.29).

Given for food

“Plant (ʿēśeb) of the field” describes the diet of man which he eats only after the sweat of his labor (3:18–19) after his garden sin, whereas “seed-bearing plants” (ʿēśeb mazrîaʿ zeraʿ), as they are found in the creation narrative, were provided by God for human and animal consumption (1:11–12, 29–30; 9:3).

God has dominion over weather

Only God causes rain, sovereignty in mind

v. 6

Mist/stream

Difficult to translate

Some form of water to supply the ground

Possibly related to waters of the deep which spring up during flood narrative

v. 7

“formed”

used of potter’s activity

Man = Adam

Play on words

“dust of ground”

Ground = Adamah, play on Adam’s name

The “ah” is reflective back on the noun

No question that man was created by God

Reflective of man’s destiny when sin enters

Genesis 3:19 “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.””

Ecclesiastes 3:20 “All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.”

“breathed the breath of life”

also translated as “set aflame” like a blacksmiths billow

“became”

Opposite to God’s eternality

Man had to become

Opposition to Christ who “always was”

v. 8

Garden of Eden

Heavenly realm

God does not dwell in the garden; rather it is the place where he meets with man

Resembled Holy of Holies

Adam as PPK

Importance of east, holding until application

v. 9

“pleasant to the sight”

God’s original creation was good

Transgression of this

Genesis 3:6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”

Two trees in the Garden

Tree of life

*Not mythological trees, real trees

Really pointed to something

More on this next week

Tree of knowledge of good and evil

Prohibition

Within the prohibition there is a promise

Again, more next week

vv. 10-14

Rivers flowing through Eden

Unknown the Pishon river

Gihon, not the same as used in 1 Kings 1.

Tigris (חִדָּֽקֶל )

Encounter of Daniel in 10.4 (see also Rev. 1).

Pre-incarnate appearance of Christ

Aspect of salvation, redemption in mind

Euphrates (פְּרָת )

Marker of promises land

Genesis 15:18 “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,”

the doctrine of communion and fellowship with God

God in covenant with mankind

Lord God - covenant name for Him

Important theme for Genesis

Pre-CW formula

What is a covenant?

A relationship between two parties

Often a higher and lesser

Elements of covenant

Parties

Promises

Penal sanction

CoR

John 17:1–5 “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”

CoW

Genesis 2:16–17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 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.””

CoG

Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.””

Common grace covenant

Gen 9.9-17.

the usefulness of communion and fellowship with God

Use 1. Only God can sustain creation

Promised in “common grace”

In light of Gen 2.

“It had not rained”

Continues to uphold all things by the Word of His power

Nothing outside of His control

Comfort when world is going sideways

Catastrophe

Cataclysm

Craziness

Use 2. Only God gives life to that which is dead

Creation leads to re-creation

Tied so closely to man’s being born and reborn

Ezek 37.1-14.

God breathing to life that which was dead

God breathes new life into you

Necessity of God being involved in all aspects of life

Use 3. Only God continues to shape and mold his people.

Potter and clay

Clay hardens if its not worked

Isaiah 29:16 “You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?”

Jeremiah 18:4–6 “And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.”

All of man is formed/fashioned by God

God works in our sanctification through the HS

Use 4. Only God generously provides the needs of His people

Adam had all he needed

Trees, plants, fruit

We take it for granted all God gives us

What is our greatest need?

Something bigger than food and drink

Salvation

Purpose of Eden

On the mountain

God meets with his people on a mountain

Sinai

Moriah

in the east, points to salvation

Obedience would have earned Adam eternal life

All throughout OT their is a theology of “east”

“in the east” —> pointing direction to eschatology

Sin expulsion further east

Cain killing Abel placed further east

Abraham returning to “promised land”

Moses and Red Sea

E direction = sunshine

Salvation, rising sun, Morningstar (allusion in 2 Pet 1.19; Rev 22.16)

East redemption for God’s people

East judgment for God’s wrath

Pharaoh’s army

Rel. to the temple

Sacrifice in Lev 16, Day of atonement

Blood sprinkled on E side of altar

Faced east, single entrance

One specific door for salvation, atonement

Coming to the sanctuary for atonement

Just as Christ is the “door” of our salvation

We come to our high Priest for atonement, salvation

Use 5. Only God can give man a sense of purpose

“no bush of the field” … because, man was not there to work it

Adam was given purpose and privilege

No meaning/purpose of life apart from God

“He put Adam in the garden of Eden”

He puts us in specific vocations/callings

That we can resemble PPK

Prophet - proclaim God’s Word and grace

Priest - keep lives holy, pure

King - Rule well, love servants

Use 6. Only God can fulfill that which was broken

Two overlooked aspects of Genesis 2.4-14.

Rivers

Tree of Life

Rivers in narrative

The fact that there is a river that flows out of the garden (Gen. 2:10) is significant not only because water is an important source of physical life,

but also because water flowing from the place of God’s presence becomes a picture in later Scripture of the abundant blessing of God that flows from the place of God’s dwelling

John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ””

Revelation 22:1–4 “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”

Tree of life

Sacramental sign/seal of eternal life

Vos, “The tree was associated with the higher, the unchangeable, the eternal life to be secured by obedience throughout [Adam’s] probation”

Revelation 2:7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”

God came to us

Immanuel

God the Son bore the wrath of God the Father for our sins

He gifts the Tree of Life

Could not be earned or taken

We all fell in Adam

He raises us to newness of life that we may be partakers in Him

True life in Christ

Fulfilling brokenness reaches to all aspects of life

Broken

Marriage, Christ heals

Family, Christ heals

Friendship

From sin

From world

From sinful desires

Broken and dead in sins?

Christ heals, saves