Memory Verse: Genesis 2:8
Life Application: God provides for man.
Bible Text:
Genesis 2:8-9
1 John 2:15-16
Genesis 2:10-15
Genesis 1:26-28
Genesis 2:16-17
The Garden of Eden is described in the Bible as a wonderful and beautiful place and the original home of man. The exact location of the Garden of Eden is impossible to know for certainty.
Genesis 2:8-9 NKJV “The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
We see from the above scriptures that God made man and immediately gave him a home. God called it the Garden of Eden. God personally planted the garden – He personally designed a special garden where man would live. The word “Eden” means “delight.” This garden was beautiful to look upon and there was good food for man. God appreciates beauty and He gave man within his makeup the ability to appreciate beauty also.
Genesis 2:8 NKJV “The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.”
The term Eden is not explained except that it is eastward. The planting of a garden is a touch of God’s meticulous, loving, and personal care toward His creation.
Genesis 2:9 NKJV “And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
As created, man was able to enjoy beautiful and pleasant sights – something that would later become corrupted by sin and give rise to lust
1 John 2:15-16 NKJV “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”
The Garden of Eden was an extraordinarily garden. It had choice specimens of the finest trees and plants. Two trees of very special importance were planted in the center of the garden, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:17 NKJV “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.”
The Bible reveals that a river flowed out of the garden and was divided into four branches. The four branches were: the Tigris, Euphrates, Pishon, and Gihon. With great care, God prepared the habitation of His people, including their water supply.
Genesis 2:10-14 NKJV “Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.”
The names Pishon, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates relate to later rivers that were known to the first readers of the text. The Flood obliterated earlier river courses, therefore later rivers likely would only approximate the location of the original ones. In the world today the Tigris (Hiddekel) and Euphrates rivers flow from the Persian Gulf up and through the countries of Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The other two branches, the Pishon, and Gihon are a mystery. The lack of present day reference indicates to us that the Garden of Eden can not be placed geographically in the world today. The geography of the post-flood earth is much different than what earlier existed.
Genesis 2:15 NKJV “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.”
The garden was man’s home. It was perfectly prepared however, it had to be tended to and cared for. Even the Biblical paradise required work. What God gave to man (a home / the Garden of Eden), He required man to be responsible for. The garden needed dressing and keeping. To cultivate the garden and be sustained by it was to be the occupation of man. Man was not to be waited on hand and foot but was given a job and purpose – to be productive in providing the management of the Garden.
Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
God give man permission and restriction. The permission was broad and the restriction was narrow. Man could do almost anything he wanted – he could eat of every tree except one.
Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
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.”
The tree of knowledge of good and evil suggests “full knowledge”. We know little about this tree, but what do know is: Adam was told not to eat of the tree and that the penalty for disobeying this command was death – separation from God’s presence.
Review
1. Genesis 2:16-17 “And the Lord God ________________ the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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 surly die.’ ”
2. What is a commandment?
3. The Garden of Eden is described in the Bible as a wonderful and beautiful place and the ______________ home of man.
4. De we know where the exact location of the Garden of Eden is?
5. What was the name of the garden?
6. As created, man was able to enjoy beautiful and pleasant sights – something that would later become corrupted by ___________ and give rise to lust
7. The Bible reveals that a ___________ flowed out of the garden and was divided into four branches.
8. Name the four branches.
9. The _________________________ of the post-flood earth is much different than what earlier existed.
10. Two trees of very special importance were planted in the center of the garden. What were they?
11. Man could do almost anything he wanted – he could eat of every _________ except one.
12. Adam was told not to eat of the tree and that the penalty for disobeying this command was ______________ – separation from God’s presence.
13. Man was not to be waited on hand and foot. What job was he given?
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