These three verses are very important. This devotional reading looks at the one law God established with humankind.
Nuggets
- The man didn’t get to just sit around and be given everything for nothing; he had to work.
- God’s law consisted of one prohibition, designed to determine humankind’s obedience.
- When we are disobedient, punishment is inevitable, and those punishments can be biting.
From Genesis 1: 1, God wanted us to approach Him with faith. In the middle of Genesis 2, God calls us to obedience.
In three verses in Genesis 2, God establishes His law with humankind. He did it with one concept: obedience based on faith.
Let's Put It into Context
To read devotions in the Creating Everything theme, click the button below.
Devotions in the Celebrating Creation’s Story series
Tend and Watch Over The Garden
“The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, ‘You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden — except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die’” (Gen. 2: 15-17 NLT)
The man didn’t get to just sit around and be given everything for nothing; he had to work.
Isn’t that showing that we were made in God’s image? He worked; we work.
Boardman argued that humankind must work for the sake of our souls. Gray helped us with what this means. He said that it helps our “… Lowly, healthful; needing diligence, forethought, etc.”
- Lowly: It helps build humility. We must humbly approach God, recognizing that we are not in control. Gardening drives that home quickly!
- Healthful: Seeking God also takes time and work that builds a healthy relationship with God. We have to work out our salvation (Phil. 2: 12-13). Gardening is hard work that produces healthy food.
- Needing diligence: We have to persevere — endure. Only if we endure to the end will we have salvation (Mt. 24: 13). Gardening takes extended time to get ahead of the weeds and making sure the plants are watered.
- Forethought: God wants us to make conscious decisions to follow Him. You can’t just start planting seeds. You have to till and prepare the land. You have to decide what and how much you are planting.
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The man’s work consisted of two things. They had to care for the ground. Then they had to watch over it.
Remember, the ground wasn’t cursed yet, so this would have been an easy, rewarding task. The man wouldn’t have grown weary or upset.
Still, God called us to work. “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically” (Rom. 12: 11 NLT).
But we cannot let this work overshadow the most important aspect of humankind’s work. God provided a place for us to seek Him.
Horne talked about it. He wrote, “It hath been already suggested, that a garden is calculated no less for the improvement of the mind, than for the exercise of the body; and we cannot doubt but that peculiar care would be taken of that most important end in the disposition of the garden of Eden.”
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The Garden of Eden was created for the improvement of our minds — to allow us to have access to God to get to know Him.
Humans were made to worship God. The best way to do that is through getting to know Him better. He loves to reveal Himself to us.
But Horne didn’t think that happened to the man. He thought the man did get the immediate, one-time download.
I can see that. We aren’t told that the man was created as a baby. That means he was formed to be a man — a pure man. He was — I assume — like we will be in Heaven.
Look at it this: substitute the man for Moses in Exodus 33: 11 and correct the location. Inside the Garden of Eden, the Lord would speak to the man face to face, as one speaks to a friend.
We, on the other hand, didn’t get the download. We have to work out our salvation. “… Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Phil. 2: 12-13 NLT).
Eat Freely – Except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
God’s law consisted of one prohibition, designed to determine humankind’s obedience.
Just as God created the heavens and earth, He created the Garden of Eden. Therefore, He was able and well within His right and authority to impose laws.
No, we are not gods who have the authority to govern ourselves. God is still our Creator and Judge.
The laws God uses to judge us are moral. They show us His Will for our lives.
But at this point, God focused on one law. Humankind wasn’t overly burdened by a lot of laws to follow. It was plainly stated.
No, the first law did not address some social implication. It didn’t address what we would think of elevating us to make us better people.
The first law addressed our relationship with God. It showed our willingness to enter into the covenant that God was proposing.
Moore pointed out what the law didn’t do.
• It didn’t address the man’s enjoyment of anything.
• It was a mental decision rather than a physical decision that carried physical consequences.
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The only thing I disagree with Moore is, I feel it did address self-denial. We must deny our own wants and desires at times to show our submission to God.
Why would God put that restriction on us?
I like what Witsius said. He wrote, “That God was the most absolute Lord of man, whose sole will, expressed by His law, should be the supreme rule and directory of all the appetites of the soul and of all the motions of the body.
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- God is an absolute Lord. God is self-existent, omnipotent, omniscient, and immutable.
- God is the Lord of man. He is our Creator. He has not given His ownership of us to anyone else – except Jesus.
- God’s Will is expressed by His law. God’s Will is that we worship Him and become as He is. We learn about Who He is through His laws. Our obedience to those laws make us as He is.
- All the appetites of the soul mean that being obedient to God should be our chief desire. Our total focus should be on God and doing His Will.
Being obedient to God brings us a life of happiness. Being disobedient will bring punishment.
But then, White had it correct, also. We don’t have the knowledge or the aptitude to withstand evil.
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Why didn’t God hide the tree of knowledge of good in evil and some steep ravine where the two couldn’t get to it? Why did he have to put it right beside the tree of life?
The choice is ours. God freely allows us to choose whether we will obey Him or disobey Him. He doesn’t hide the testings.
Eden said that it was to our advantage that we have God’s laws to govern us. There are several reasons for this.
- It is for our betterment to follow God’s laws.
- It promotes our happiness.
- In doing so, it keeps our thoughts on Him.
- Yielding our will to His provides a sweetness we would not have otherwise.
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No, we don’t get to do whatever we want and have it be deemed acceptable. We were the ones who disobeyed. We have to show that we want to obey.
Humankind is given a choice to either follow God’s directives or not. The choice is up to us.
Bottom line. God instituted this law for our benefit and safety.
God established this law knowing the man would disobey but also knowing that he could obey it.
We don’t know how big the Garden of Eden actually was. Because of that, we don’t know how many trees and plants were in it.
That being said, the man had an adequate food supply. God would not put him in this beautiful garden and not provide for Him.
But God did put one tree off limits. God called it the tree the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Was it poisonous? Maybe, but probably not. The man didn’t die a physical death.
Bradford said that the man should have considered the warning to mean eating of the tree would be death itself. (And really, it was when he did – but we’ll get there.)
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Eating of the tree caused the death of obedience. By being disobedient, the couple would see what evil is.
I have to process what Hannah was saying. He wrote wondered while knowledge itself was not forbidden, why was this knowledge off limits?
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“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (Jas. 1: 5 NLT).
God wants us to have knowledge – but not this knowledge. God wants us to have knowledge that points to Him.
It appears that knowledge that can only be gained through sin or for a sinful reason is forbidden. Keeping with our theme, an example would be using science to disprove that God created everything.
I think we also have to backtrack a bit and talk about good and evil. “He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!” (Deut. 32: 4 NLT).
Money isn’t evil – the greed for money is evil.
The flip side of that is that nothing is good or holy until God deems it to be good and righteous as He is. That is how He can declare us “… holy because I am holy” (I Pet 1: 16 NLT).
Eat and You Will Die
When we are disobedient, punishment is inevitable, and those punishments can be biting.
If a law is instituted, the ruling authority has to police its enforcement. If it is broken, people must be sentenced.
The consequence if the couple would sin would be huge. “… for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Gen. 2: 17 ESV).
No, the man had no concept of what death was. Moses hadn’t documented that it had been used prior to this.
Adam didn’t understand that disobedience would cause humankind physical death. He surely didn’t recognize that death meant separation from God – the worst kind of death that there is.
No, death was a mystery to the man at this point. How could he? He was created as an immortal being.
That disobedience has a specific churchy word. It is called sin. Sin is an offense of a moral law.
I guess this can be interpreted two different ways. “… for in the day that you eat of it …” (Gen. 2: 17 ESV) can be taken to mean if you eat of it. It was always Adam and Eve’s choice to bite or not.
Offenders will be punished immediately.
I hear you. There is a lot of sinful activities going on in this world that it doesn’t seem that God is NOT addressing.
True, but not true. What God addressed then – and with us – is our spiritual condition.
I’ve never thought of it this way before, but God addresses our spiritual condition as well as punishes us for sin.
In other words, there are two sides to everything. One side is the physical side, which we see. There is also a spiritual side, which we do not see.
The spiritual side is addressed immediately. The physical punishment may be deferred.
We can interpret it to say when they eat of it. Yes, the outcome of them eating it was always going to be death.
While it was always their choice to bite or not, God knew before He created them that they would bite.
Making the Connections #1
We have to realize that the man was not created in the Garden of Eden. After his creation, he was placed in the Garden. The man was given the law about what he could and could not eat when he was placed in the Garden.
The woman, on the other hand, was not created when the man was. She was created inside the Garden of Eden. She hadn’t been created when the law was given.
Originally, both was created pure and immortal. Their disobedience ended that.
Making the Connections #2
Because God is our Creator and has given us much, we should endeavor to serve him.
White put it this way. He wrote, “Let us then tender unto God, after the measure that we receive from Him, the most acceptable presents of our cheerful services …”
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White identified four verses at which we need to look.
- “If you do not serve the LORD your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have received, you will serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you. You will be left hungry, thirsty, naked, and lacking in everything. The LORD will put an iron yoke on your neck, oppressing you harshly until he has destroyed you” (Deut. 28: 47-48 NLT).
- “I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your regulations. I cling to your laws. LORD, don’t let me be put to shame! I will pursue your commands, for you expand my understanding” (Ps. 119: 32 NLT).
- “Afterward you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household. Remember to include the Levites and the foreigners living among you in the celebration” (Deut. 26: 11 NLT).
We need to serve God willingly and joyfully. We choose whether or not to follow God’s laws. Our obedience brings blessings.
Making the Connections #3
I love what Sherwood said. He wrote,
“The Holy Scriptures answer our question with solemn and startling emphasis. They reveal a holy God, hating all iniquity, and pledged by every attribute of His being, and by every principle of His government, to oppose, subdue, punish, and hedge up the way of sin.”
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- We have a guidebook that we can access to provide us the answers for which we are looking.
- God’s true holiness can only be seen through revelation by the Holy Spirit.
- God hates all sin, so we are wrong if we try to convince ourselves that He is allowing us our pet sin.
- God is all in with His punishment of sin.
Making the Connections #4
God, through His Holy Spirit, teaches us to obey Him. He teaches us so that our moral character will become more like His.
Murphy told us how this teaching occurs.
- God delivers a command to identify the moral obligation on which He is instructing us.
- We are required to follow God’s law, or we will be punished for sin.
Think of it this way. Yes, they didn’t know about sin or evil until they bit. But the act of biting was a sin or evil.
That puts a lot of emphasis on being obedient even if we don’t understand. Pastor Steve says that is a big part of faith. We have to trust God when we don’t understand.
Let’s talk about the tree itself. Murphy said that the tree itself was good.
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Wait! What????
Well, remember. Everything God made was very good (Gen. 1: 31).
The couple received discernment. That is the ability to determine what is good and what is evil.
We question why God would even allow humankind to choose between obedience and disobedience. If He didn’t, He would be a dictator.
And God definitely is not.
By the couple’s sin, God gave us the whole picture of His Plan of Salvation. We sin, God has the Plan to redeem us.
Making the Connections #5
Don’t think that God wanted us to sin. He didn’t.
God chooses obedience every time.
Oh, yes. God will test us to see if we will be obedient. But that is how our faith grows.
Making the Connections #6
Sheldon made a good observation. He wrote,
“On the whole, these intimations in Genesis (and we know of no conflicting statements in other parts of the Bible) lead us to conclude that the bodily constitution of Adam and Eve was, from the beginning, in every respect essentially like our own. They had just such skin and bones, just such muscles and nerves as we have. They fed on similar food, and would just as surely have hungered and died without it. They were placed in like relations to all natural agents and natural laws.”
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Think about it this way. Jesus was God in flesh and blood. He was, basically, as the couple were pre-bite.
No, they weren’t God, but they were in the image of God. Jesus was God in the image of God.
And Jesus was totally obedient and didn’t sin.
The couple could have been obedient – if they had chosen to do be.
How Do We Apply This?
- Perform the tasks to which we are called.
- Show our love to creatures.
- Observe God through our work with creatures.
- Keep our hearts from conceited, worthless thoughts.
- Exercise our mind as well as preserve our health.
- Take advantage of all inward and outward opportunities.
- Faithfully walk with God.
- Follow God’s laws.
- Seek the good of others.
- Work until God tells us the work is complete.
- Except that God will punish them.
- Use all the helps and means that God has given us to withstand sin.
- Surrender all our lives to God’s Will.
- Realize that God only rewards obedience, not our success in completing the task given.
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Father God. Above all else, You expect faith and obedience from us. That is why You included them in Your Word from the beginning. That is why You gave only one law to us. Forgive us and save us through Jesus’ blood and sacrifice. Amen.
What do you think?
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