Genesis 2:8-15 Eden
8 And 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 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. 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14 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. 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Eden was distinguished from the entirety of creation and had specific geographical boundaries. The narrative does not say what the rest of the creation was like, only that Eden was the unique dwelling place of God. Thus, it is not certain if all of creation was like Eden—ideal and without death.
The abode, which God prepared for the first man, was a “garden in Eden,” also called “the garden of Eden”
it must not be confounded with the Eden of Assyria
it must not be confounded with the Eden of Assyria (2 Kings 19:12, etc.) and Coelesyria (Amos 1:5),
After the preparation of the garden in Eden God placed the man there, to dress it and to keep it.
12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?
nature was created for man, it was his vocation not only to ennoble it by his work, to make it subservient to himself, but also to raise it into the sphere of the spirit and further its glorification
Work is not a result of the fall; manual labor is prefall
was probably a very extensive region in Mesopotamia, distinguished for its natural beauty and the richness and variety of its produce. Hence its name, signifying “pleasantness.”
Adam is put into the garden to work it and to take care of it
God has been doing the work thus far, and now he shares that responsibility with his image bearer
The Lord God’s provision is a model of parental care.
The fledgling is sheltered but not smothered
there is ample nourishment (as 9 alone displays) for his aesthetic, physical and spiritual appetites
further, there is a man’s work before him for body and mind
God appointed him business and employment
He put him there, not like Leviathan into the waters, to play therein
but to dress the garden and to keep it
Paradise itself was not a place of exemption from work.
He that made us these souls and bodies has given us something to work with
he that gave us this earth for our habitation has made us something to work on
If a high extraction, or a great estate, or a large dominion, or perfect innocency, or a genius for pure contemplation, or a small family, could have given a man a writ of ease, Adam would not have been set to work;
he that gave us being has given us business, to serve him and our generation, and to work out our salvation
Secular employments will very well consist with a state of innocency and a life of communion with God
The sons and heirs of heaven, while they are here in this world, have something to do about this earth
have its share of their time and thoughts;
if they do it with an eye to God, they are as truly serving him in it as when they are upon their knees
The husbandman’s calling is an ancient and honourable calling
it was needful even in paradise
garden of Eden, though it needed not to be weeded (for thorns and thistles were not yet a nuisance)
yet must be dressed and kept
Nature, even in its primitive state, left room for the improvements of art and industry
, making provision for life, not for lust
giving man an opportunity of admiring the Creator and acknowledging his providence
while his hands were about his trees, his heart might be with his God
There is a true pleasure in the business which God calls us to, and employs us in
Adam’s work was so far from being an allay that it was an addition to the pleasures of paradise
he could not have been happy if he had been idle
it is still a law, He that will not work has no right to eat
10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
23 Know well the condition of your flocks,
and give attention to your herds,
24 for riches do not last forever;
and does a crown endure to all generations?
The situation of this garden was extremely sweet. It was in Eden, which signifies delight and pleasure
The place appointed for Adam’s residence was a garden; not an ivory house nor a palace overlaid with gold
a garden, furnished and adorned by nature, not by art.
As clothes came in with sin, so did houses
The heaven was the roof of Adam’s house, and never was any roof so curiously ceiled and painted
The earth was his floor, and never was any floor so richly inlaid
The shadow of the trees was his retirement
under them were his dining-rooms, his lodging-rooms, and never were any rooms so finely hung as these
Solomon’s, in all their glory, were not arrayed like them
The better we can accommodate ourselves to plain things, and the less we indulge ourselves with those artificial delights which have been invented to gratify men’s pride and luxury, the nearer we approach to a state of innocency
Nature is content with a little and that which is most natural
No delights can be agreeable nor satisfying to a soul but those that God himself has provided and appointed for it
no true paradise, but of God’s planting
Garden -> [Tabernacle ->] Kingdom of God
Adam [we] lost paradise but Christ restored
We will be in Garden [Kingdom of God] in Christ Presently, we can enjoy the Kingdom of God in Christ.
43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 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.