Genesis 2:4–17 (ESV)
These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,
when no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,
and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—
then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.
The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.
The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush.
And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
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.”
How should we read this text?
As we look at Genesis 2:4–17, we're actually seeing a slower and more intimate retelling of how humanity began. The passage zooms in on how God formed the man and placed him in the lush garden and gave him good work to do. And right away, we notice that God created Adam, but he cared for him too.
Instead of a cold, mechanical process, God has personally shaped Adam out of the dust. And he breathes the breath of life into his nostrils. We need to see that there's this deep connection between God, the Creator, and Adam, the creature, whom God had created to look out for and after the creation. It kind of sets the stage for the whole rest of the biblical story.
There's also a big question that arises—why do we have all this detail about the rivers and the precious metals and location names? Well, I think we're supposed to see that Moses is emphasising the goodness and the abundance of creation. The garden is a lush and living place, not a bare patch of land. There's water and gold and edible plants. God has created this rich world that is beautiful and great for filling us up. Eden is a place where creation is meant to flourish under God as we serve him as his under-stewards.
There are two unique trees in this garden, and we need to notice them. There's the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Often we forget that the tree of life was also in the garden because we focus on Adam and Eve eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But right away we see there are these two different trees, and it sets up a profound truth.
Why are these two trees here? The tree of life represents God and his ultimate source of life and blessing. Later in the story, God casts Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden so they can’t eat from it. We’ll see this tree again at the very end of Scripture, in Revelation. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, meanwhile, warns us that God has set moral boundaries in place in the world for our good and well-being. We humans are called to trust in God's boundaries—not because he's withholding something good, but because we will thrive when we live according to the design he's made us with.
When the Lord places Adam in the garden, he says, Adam, here is a job for you. You are to work it and keep it. Adam is given a calling. He’s set aside to work. This is important for us to wrestle with, because often we think of work as a kind of curse. But actually, work was created before the curse of sin came into the world. Work is not a punishment. It's part of what it means to live according to how God has made us to be. God has called us to work for him.
This passage points us to the fact that God has lovingly created and designed everything in this beautiful and bountiful setting. And so he calls us to live according to his moral order.
How should the text read us?
Again, this story points us to the fact that we are not self-made people. No matter how well we're doing in the world, ultimately humanity has come from the dust. That’s why, at funerals, we say things like, “From dust you have been created, and to dust you shall return.” Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
God is the one who gives life to this dusty thing. And that challenges the deep pride that exists within each of us. We like to think we’re in full control of our future. But actually, God is the only one who can give us life and purpose and meaning. Our limitations remind us that we need God’s breath in our lungs. That’s a gift from him.
So we see this universal dilemma—we’re made to trust in God’s good design. But if we’re honest with ourselves, we think our rules are better than his. And the thing is, his rules are for our good. The boundaries God puts in place are there to give us abundant life. They’re like a fence that keeps us within the pasture of his provision.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a permanent reminder that the God who shaped us from the dust truly knows what's good for us. So the fact that God put up a boundary and said “Don’t eat from that tree” is a way of caring for his creation.
When we choose to step outside of God's limits, we inevitably bring harm. And as we’ll see in the next passage, when we transgress God's law, it has terrible and ongoing consequences. So we need to look at our own lives today and see where we reject God's call—whether in our relationships, finances, how we treat our neighbours, or how we read his word. We may be ignoring or twisting Scripture, thinking we know better than what God has revealed. These are all ways we depart from the beautiful boundaries that keep us safe.
But remember—there’s also the tree of life. Not just the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This passage points to the hope we ultimately have in Jesus. The tree of life, placed in the garden of abundance, tells us God is not stingy. He’s extravagantly generous.
Even today, when we see the beauty of creation, we are reminded that God is the one who made all of this. And we’re reminded in this passage that we will one day return to a place where the tree of life lives in the city of God. Revelation 21 tells us about that. God is moving all creation from the garden to the garden city. And that’s something for us to look forward to.
Prayer
Father,
Thank you for giving us life and breathing life into us,
even though we have a dusty heritage.
We pray that you will help us when we often question your wisdom,
when we think that the boundaries you put in place are not for our good.
Please forgive us when we do that.
Help us to trust in the rules you put in place to keep us safe and help us flourish.
We pray this in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
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