A fire consumes before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but a desolate wilderness behind them, and nothing at all escapes them. - Joel 2:3
I hope you are enjoying our current sermon series titled “The Unnamed Church”. From the days of creation until the calling of Abraham and his descendants, there were no specified people of God. Instead, the LORD strictly revealed Himself to various individuals and families at His discretion. There was no broader, organized community or particular ethnicity of believers.
This morning we are going to begin the 2nd part of this series. We have finished discussing creation, and now we are going to spend a few weeks talking about The Garden of Eden and the fall of mankind. We will begin with a message about the 1st person that God created, a man that He named Adam. Although this name does not appear in today’s passage, I have used it in my sermon title. The name Adam means “ground”, “earth”, and/or “mankind”.
I. BEFORE THE RAIN (v4-6)
Up to this point, the Bible has provided a sweeping account of God’s creation of the heavens and the earth. In chapter 2 the focus shifts to the interaction between God and mankind, providing a more detailed description of some events that were summarized in chapter 1, particularly the creation of man.
Although there were already plants growing naturally on the earth, there were no agricultural crops being produced just yet. In other words, there was no farming taking place. This is because God had not yet created a man to till or cultivate the earth. These verses clearly describe the time span between the end of Day 3 (after God created plants) and the middle of Day 6 (before God created humanity). They also indicate that there were no other people before or besides Adam, as some suppose.
Furthermore, prior to the creation of man God had not yet caused it to rain. Instead, He watered the earth with a mist or dew that appeared on the ground. The Bible doesn’t explicitly say when the 1st rain took place, but some believe that it didn’t happen until the Great Flood during the days of Noah, well over 1,000 years later. If so, pre-flood agriculture was made possible by the moisture that appeared on the ground, not by rainfall.
II. FORMED AND FIXED (v7-9)
As we learned earlier, God created mankind on the 6th Day. Rather than just speaking him into existence (as He had done with many other things), God skillfully formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Not only did this animate the man physically, but also endowed him with an eternal spirit making him unlike any other living thing that God had created. As discussed earlier in this series, only people (male and female) are created “in the image of God”.
Then God personally planted a garden in the eastern part of the land of Eden. He took the man He had formed (Adam) and placed him in this garden. He caused every type of desirable fruit tree to grow there so that the man would have an ample and tasty food supply. Among these many trees were the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
III. A DIVIDED RIVER (v10-14)
There was a river that ran through the Garden of Eden that watered it. From there it split into 4 other rivers, the Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. The Pishon River no longer exists, but the Bible associates it with the ancient land of Havilah (northwest Saudi Arabia) which was rich in gold and precious stones. The Gihon River doesn’t exist today either, but the Bible associates it with the ancient land of Cush (Sudan/Ethiopia). The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers still exist today, running through the Middle East, though it is possible these weren’t the original rivers described in Genesis.
Many efforts have been made to pinpoint the location of the Garden of Eden using the description of these rivers. The most widely accepted view is that it was somewhere in Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq. Some believe it is submerged under the waters of the Persian Gulf. Others suspect it was further north, in the region of Armenia. Still others place it in north eastern or north central Africa. The bottom line is that we do not know. That said, it was located where the single river divided into 4 others, not where the 4 rivers converged or emptied into 1. To me, this sounds like head waters and would seem to place it farther inland.
IV. INSTRUCTION AND WARNING (v15-17)
God instructed the man whom He had placed in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. He told him that he could eat from any tree in the garden except for The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He warned the man that if ate from this particular tree, he would surely die.
Just as God blessed humanity with rest, which we discussed in last Sunday’s message, so also He blessed him with work. God gave mankind something to do. Specifically, He commanded the man He’d created to tend to and take care of the garden. This work was not intended to be burdensome, but rather joyful and fulfilling. It gave the man a task and a purpose. In the same way, God has gifted each of us with work and we should approach it with a sense of gratitude and dedication.
If God did not want the man to eat from The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, why did He place it in the garden to begin with? Good question! God created man to love, worship, and serve Him. True love requires a choice, so God made mankind with the ability to make their own free decisions. They could choose to obey or disobey, to do good or do evil. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil provided them with this opportunity.
CONCLUSION
Before we close, let’s briefly highlight the major points we’ve covered this morning:
One last observation… Although the Garden of Eden will not be restored in the Last Days, certain aspects of it will be seen in the New Heavens and Earth. There will be a crystal clear river, filled with the water of life, flowing from the throne of God down the middle of the New Jerusalem. The Tree of Life, now more like a vine, will grow up from both sides of the river forming an archway or canopy over it (Revelation 22:1-2). The redeemed saints of God will have access to it for all eternity.
In next week’s message, we will study the remaining verses of the chapter. We will talk about the creation of the 1st woman, among other things. Hope to see you then.
I hope you are enjoying our current sermon series titled “The Unnamed Church”. From the days of creation until the calling of Abraham and his descendants, there were no specified people of God. Instead, the LORD strictly revealed Himself to various individuals and families at His discretion. There was no broader, organized community or particular ethnicity of believers.
This morning we are going to begin the 2nd part of this series. We have finished discussing creation, and now we are going to spend a few weeks talking about The Garden of Eden and the fall of mankind. We will begin with a message about the 1st person that God created, a man that He named Adam. Although this name does not appear in today’s passage, I have used it in my sermon title. The name Adam means “ground”, “earth”, and/or “mankind”.
I. BEFORE THE RAIN (v4-6)
Up to this point, the Bible has provided a sweeping account of God’s creation of the heavens and the earth. In chapter 2 the focus shifts to the interaction between God and mankind, providing a more detailed description of some events that were summarized in chapter 1, particularly the creation of man.
Although there were already plants growing naturally on the earth, there were no agricultural crops being produced just yet. In other words, there was no farming taking place. This is because God had not yet created a man to till or cultivate the earth. These verses clearly describe the time span between the end of Day 3 (after God created plants) and the middle of Day 6 (before God created humanity). They also indicate that there were no other people before or besides Adam, as some suppose.
Furthermore, prior to the creation of man God had not yet caused it to rain. Instead, He watered the earth with a mist or dew that appeared on the ground. The Bible doesn’t explicitly say when the 1st rain took place, but some believe that it didn’t happen until the Great Flood during the days of Noah, well over 1,000 years later. If so, pre-flood agriculture was made possible by the moisture that appeared on the ground, not by rainfall.
II. FORMED AND FIXED (v7-9)
As we learned earlier, God created mankind on the 6th Day. Rather than just speaking him into existence (as He had done with many other things), God skillfully formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Not only did this animate the man physically, but also endowed him with an eternal spirit making him unlike any other living thing that God had created. As discussed earlier in this series, only people (male and female) are created “in the image of God”.
Then God personally planted a garden in the eastern part of the land of Eden. He took the man He had formed (Adam) and placed him in this garden. He caused every type of desirable fruit tree to grow there so that the man would have an ample and tasty food supply. Among these many trees were the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
III. A DIVIDED RIVER (v10-14)
There was a river that ran through the Garden of Eden that watered it. From there it split into 4 other rivers, the Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. The Pishon River no longer exists, but the Bible associates it with the ancient land of Havilah (northwest Saudi Arabia) which was rich in gold and precious stones. The Gihon River doesn’t exist today either, but the Bible associates it with the ancient land of Cush (Sudan/Ethiopia). The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers still exist today, running through the Middle East, though it is possible these weren’t the original rivers described in Genesis.
Many efforts have been made to pinpoint the location of the Garden of Eden using the description of these rivers. The most widely accepted view is that it was somewhere in Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq. Some believe it is submerged under the waters of the Persian Gulf. Others suspect it was further north, in the region of Armenia. Still others place it in north eastern or north central Africa. The bottom line is that we do not know. That said, it was located where the single river divided into 4 others, not where the 4 rivers converged or emptied into 1. To me, this sounds like head waters and would seem to place it farther inland.
IV. INSTRUCTION AND WARNING (v15-17)
God instructed the man whom He had placed in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. He told him that he could eat from any tree in the garden except for The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He warned the man that if ate from this particular tree, he would surely die.
Just as God blessed humanity with rest, which we discussed in last Sunday’s message, so also He blessed him with work. God gave mankind something to do. Specifically, He commanded the man He’d created to tend to and take care of the garden. This work was not intended to be burdensome, but rather joyful and fulfilling. It gave the man a task and a purpose. In the same way, God has gifted each of us with work and we should approach it with a sense of gratitude and dedication.
If God did not want the man to eat from The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, why did He place it in the garden to begin with? Good question! God created man to love, worship, and serve Him. True love requires a choice, so God made mankind with the ability to make their own free decisions. They could choose to obey or disobey, to do good or do evil. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil provided them with this opportunity.
CONCLUSION
Before we close, let’s briefly highlight the major points we’ve covered this morning:
- Even though God had already created plants, there was no farming nor agricultural crops being produced prior to the creation of mankind.
- There was also no rainfall prior to the creation of mankind, and perhaps none prior to the Great Flood centuries later.
- God formed a man (Adam) from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. He placed him in the Garden of Eden and told him to tend it.
- A river ran through the Garden of Eden that split into 4 other rivers. The location of the Garden of Eden is uncertain.
- God placed The Tree of Life and The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden, and commanded the man not to eat from The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
One last observation… Although the Garden of Eden will not be restored in the Last Days, certain aspects of it will be seen in the New Heavens and Earth. There will be a crystal clear river, filled with the water of life, flowing from the throne of God down the middle of the New Jerusalem. The Tree of Life, now more like a vine, will grow up from both sides of the river forming an archway or canopy over it (Revelation 22:1-2). The redeemed saints of God will have access to it for all eternity.
In next week’s message, we will study the remaining verses of the chapter. We will talk about the creation of the 1st woman, among other things. Hope to see you then.