Back to Eden

Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden, and there he put the man he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him."

Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the the field.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

The man said,
"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called woman,
for she was taken out of man."

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh.

The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Genesis 2 ( not in its entirety)

Ahhh... that's a good story. A true story. I like it. Obviously God did too. Genesis 1:31 says, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."

I like the part of God planting a garden for man to live in. Can you imagine a garden that was designed and planted by God? Butchart Gardens... Minter Gardens... lovely, but I doubt they could compete with a garden planted by the Creator of the universe. Think of your favorite places where you delight in the sights and sounds and smells of nature. We love beauty around us. And there the man and woman lived.

These days I'm enjoying the tiny little seedlings that are sprouting in my vegetable garden where I planted seeds a week ago. The hot sunshine and my faithful watering each day have brought about the desired results. Adam didn't have to water the plants in the Garden of Eden. God had taken care of that. A river watering the garden flowed out of Eden. A river... pure water, life giving, refreshing, soothing. Beautiful plants and trees, birds, what we call domestic and wild animals all living in peace in a garden with a river flowing through it. What more does one need?

God sees another need. It is not good for man to be alone. Although the man had a pure relationship with God, God knew man needed more. He needed companionship, a suitable helper, a person at his side...his counterpart to do life with. So God in his infinite wisdom made woman, in God's own image, and brought her to the man. And Adam loved her and they became one flesh. Beautiful. This was God's design.

The man and wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. I like this part too. Naked and no shame. Since my husband and I are now empty-nesters, we're enjoying the benefits of having our privacy. It all began the morning after our son's wedding... our last child to leave home. I was at my computer, much like I am today, when I heard my husband coming down the stairs from our bedroom. He came around the corner and stood at the open door of our office where I was sitting. I looked up at him and there he was wearing his tie from the wedding celebration and a smile. Back to the Garden of Eden.

Do you see how God planned it? Do you see God's goodness in what he purposed? Even though Adam and Eve got it wrong and we've suffered the consequences of evil ever since, God designed it all beautiful, lovely, perfect... He made it good. Praise God for His plan of salvation. Satan the serpent didn't have the last word and that was that. God came to redeem man from the curse through His Son, Jesus Christ. He came to restore us fully to Himself which only became possible through Christ's death and resurrection. One day that restoration will be complete and we will all live in peace and harmony, and the world will be made new.