Genesis 2:8-17

2006.May.29 15:44

A home for humanity

Read Genesis 2:8-17 | Full Chapter

God makes a home for man, that is, the dust-figure. The sort of home he makes for man is a garden, which he names Eden (or, at least, that’s what we’ve decided he might have named it). The garden is full of trees and watered by a river which then divides into four rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates–at least thus sayeth the translation. And, as it turns out, that’s nearly all this passage has to say about Eden. I can suppose that is quite beautiful and lush, filled with all sorts of vegetation and animals, despite, from my limited geographical reckoning, being in what is now a desert. Go figure.

What he places in this garden of particular importance are two special trees:

1. The tree of life
2. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil

I would guess that these are symbolic in nature. That is, the fruit of either tree is not particularly special, but by naming the trees as he does God sets them up to have meaning. The tree of life is only named in this chapter; it is not really discussed. However, in addition to God setting up a labor for man, to cultivate the garden, God instructs man not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Romans 5:20 says "”The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”" (Romans 5:20, NASB) This is the first example of the Law. Because humanity, in my guess, wishes to be as God, wherever there is Law, we will try to break it as a statement of our own godhood. This fits with God’s plan because then he can offer us grace and if we humble ourselves and accept his grace, we can develop a relationship with him not disturbed by our trying to attain equal or greater status to him. And having committed one sin–that of taking of the fruit–humanity realizes this way of attaining a pretense at godhood and will now continue to do so, until we receive God’s grace and he has perfected us.

In other words, everything is beautiful and good for humanity but we desire to be as God and so the one thing forbidden is the one we will take to prove our power. Only in doing so, we reveal to ourselves our sin and separate ourselves from God. Could God somehow have sidestepped all the resulting havoc and heartache? I don’t think so, if we are really to be the bride of Christ. But it is sad to realize how much pain we put him through because of our pride.