GOD CREATED THE GARDEN OF EDEN

GENESIS 2:4-25
KEY VERSE 2:16,17

On the 6th day, he created man in his own image. Man is the crown of his creation. In chapter 2, the writer looks again at the 6th day of creation and gives us deeper insight into the mind and heart of God the Creator. He not only created all things for his own pleasure and glory, but he also created a world in which man could be happy. God who planted the Garden of Eden is God who wants mankind to be happy. Many people don't know how to be happy. As we study this chapter, we can discover what we really need in order to be happy.

Read verses 4-7. Describe the condition of the earth before God created man and the Garden of Eden (4-6).  How did God create man?(7)

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth[ HYPERLINK "https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2&version=NIV" \l "fen-NIV-36a" \o "See footnote a" a] and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams[ HYPERLINK "https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2&version=NIV" \l "fen-NIV-37b" \o "See footnote b" b] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.

Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground
Heaven and earth had been created, but the world was still sleeping, waiting for God to make a man to take care of it

 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being
God made man out of the dust of the ground. In Hebrew, the word "Adam" means "man", but its original meaning was "dirt" or "soil" (2:7).
Men are indeed dust. They are weak. Man's body came from the dust and it will return to dust. We have nothing of which to be proud. We must stand humbly before our God. Once Abraham stood before God and prayed, "I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes" (18:27b). We have nothing valuable in ourselves to boast about.
Verse 7 also teaches us that we are valuable. God breathed his breath into the man he had formed out of clay and man became a living soul. God breathed his own breath, his Spirit into us, so we are living souls. We have physical life and we have God's life, spiritual life. 
He made us a little lower than God and crowned us with glory and honor (Ps 8:5). We must live our lives on a higher level, on a spiritual level, in fellowship with God. 
When God made man he made him with a physical body; he gave him a spirit or mind and he gave him a soul. There is a very close relationship between the mind and the body. When the body is sick, one's mind becomes tired. When one becomes tired in his mind and spirit, his body becomes weak. 
Man can never be satisfied with only those things which satisfy his physical desires; he has or is a soul. His spiritual life must be nurtured and satisfied. He must know God and have fellowship with him in order to be really alive. The joy of the soul is real joy.

Read verses 8-15. What did God do for the man (8)? Describe the garden.(9-14) Why do you think the garden was perfect place for man to live?  What can we know about God who made the garden for man?

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 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.10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin[ HYPERLINK "https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2&version=NIV" \l "fen-NIV-43d" \o "See footnote d" d] and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.[ HYPERLINK "https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2&version=NIV" \l "fen-NIV-44e" \o "See footnote e" e] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

God created the Garden of Eden : Garden of Eden was a special creation of God for man. And he put the man there as if a father makes a beautiful backyard and put his son or daughter there.

- In planting paradise on earth, God made very clear his second purpose in creation: He wants man to be happy.

a)  There was plenty of fruits which was good for food and pleasing to the eye. Even fruit satisfied man's sense of beauty.

b) There was a lot of water and jewelry as well. These were all for man's physical life.

God gave the man beautiful environment. 
verse 9b. "In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." God made the tree life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. These trees have to do with man's spiritual life. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil has no meaning until God gives instructions concerning it, but we can know that man's spiritual life is essential to his happiness.

a)  God wants to bless man. Already, God blessed man so much.  He made man in his own image, and set him as a ruler of his creation.  Now He gives the man a paradise beautiful and glorious.

b)  God has deep concern about man's happiness.  

All things bestowed upon man in the Garden of Eden were necessary things for man's happiness.  In other words, they were the conditions of happiness.  

c)  God wants man to keep the Garden of Eden and be happy all the time.

Everything in the Garden of Eden was perfect.  If any of the conditions of happiness was missing, the Garden of Eden would not be the Garden of delight.  God wanted man to enjoy this happiness continually.  

b)  Man is to keep the conditions of happiness.

Man is not the one who must create happiness but the one who must keep the conditions of happiness, which come from God.  Happiness comes from God, and man is to protect God-given happiness.  Man finds happiness only in God.

People try to be happy through satisfying their desires.  But it does not work because happiness comes from God.  

Read verses 15-17. What work did God give man to do?  How does this relate to man's mission (1:28)? What command did God give man concerning the two trees in the middle of the garden (16,17)?  Why did God give this command?

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

Man is to serve God's mission.  Man is to work on the Garden of Eden.

To serve God's mission, man was created and brought to the Garden of Eden.  Serving God's mission is the way to obey God's will and to keep spiritual order.

Without serving mission, there is no meaning for man to exist.  Without serving God's mission, there is no happiness or satisfaction in man's life.
A man without any mission is miserable, for his life is meaningless. God gives to every person his own small garden to take care of.

Verses 16,17.  16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
This is a holy commandment which establishes a right relationship between God and man.  God is the one who commands; man is the one who obeys. Man the creature can meet God the Creator only on these terms
Before giving man the command, God confirmed that man was free to do whatever he wanted to do.  This shows us:

God did not make man like a robot.

God wanted man to choose to obey His command with his own choice.

God wanted to establish personal relationship with man.

With a robot, which works according to program, you cannot have personal relationship.

In order to establish the spiritual order between God and man - God first, man second, and everything third.

God knew that keeping the spiritual order was very necessary thing for man to enjoy God's blessing and be happy.  So He established the spiritual order between God and man through giving this commandment.

Man can enjoy happiness as long as he is in this spiritual order.  Once he goes beyond this spiritual order, he will surely die.  Using his perfect freedom and power, man has to keep the spiritual order between God and himself from all kinds of attacks and temptations.

(For example, fish has perfect freedom in the water.  But what will happen if fish goes up to the land, for it is bored of the life in the water?  It will surely die.)

Freedom is the gift of God bestowed upon us.  We must use this gift to keep the spiritual order.  Abusing this precious gift to break the spiritual order will cause death.  The wage of sin is death.  

The  commandment which establishes a right relationship between God and man.  God is the one who commands; man is the one who obeys. Man the creature can meet God the Creator only on these terms. 
This holy commandment in man's heart becomes a fixed point from which he can find direction for his life. It is an unconditional commandment. In this commandment is the power to maintain the order of the universe as God created it. 
Man has unlimited freedom because he has freedom of choice to obey or disobey this commandment. On the other hand, man is a lump of clay. He is weak. So men need a fixed point in their hearts.
In my heart there must be a holy word, an unconditional command from God. What is the holy commandment which you have received from God?

Read verses 18-20. What was one thing in the garden that was not good in God's eyes?(18)What can you learn about the truth of marriage? How did Adam work in the garden?(19,20)  

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. 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. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

It is not good for the man to be alone.

After each day's creation was over, God said, "It is good."  And after creating man, He said, "It is very good."  Everything of His creation was good.  But there was one thing, which was not good in his eyes, that was, man was alone.  So He decided to make a helper suitable for him.

God called woman "a helper suitable."

Woman was created to help man to serve God's mission more effectively and fruitfully.

Man and woman have the same level that both of them were created for God's mission.

God created a woman to help the man fulfill the mission God had given him. She was to be his companion, his friend. She, too, was created in God's image, out of Adam's rib. So she was a part of him, a continuation of God's creation of man. No suitable helper could be found for Adam among animals because the animals could not share man's spiritual life or his mission. They could not think or reason or communicate with him on his level, and they could not help him produce children in his image.  

First, who made the marriage system?  God did.

The one who had the sense of problem was not the man but God.  God initiated to make a helper suitable for him.

Second, why did God make marriage?  For man's happiness and for the purpose of serving God's mission more effectively.

It looked not good for man to be alone in God's eyes.  So in order to make man feel good and happy, he established marriage system.

Another purpose of marriage is to serve God's mission more effectively.  So the name of the marriage partner is "a helper".  Marriage exists for God's mission.  

We must marry to serve God's mission more effectively.  Man exists for God's mission and must marry for it as well.

Third, who prepared a marriage partner?  God did.

While the man was serving God faithfully, God struggled hard to find a helper suitable for him.  So God brought all the animals to the man to see if the man would name of them "woman" or "coworker".  But the man never named any of animals "woman" or "coworker."  Among animals was no suitable helper for the man.

Since there was no suitable helper among his creation, God decided to make one newly for the man.  And from man's own body, He made woman and brought her to him.

We do not need to worry about our marriage partners.  The man was not so concerned about his lack of a suitable helper. God was concerned. The man welcomed the animals God created and brought to him. He gave them names. He was their shepherd. God was the one who saw man's need and understood it and filled that need in his own way at the right time. God knows us better than we know ourselves, and he is ready to give us the best co-worker, and lead us into the most fruitful life.

In these days, the truth of marriage is destroyed.  As the result, the divorce rate exceeds 60%.  The corrupt concept about marriage is the hot bed of all kinds of evil, which is destroying the whole society.  Restoring marriage truth is one of the most urgent and important things we must do.

To get married for God's mission and to seek the helper of faith to serve God's mission effectively, this is the truth of marriage.  If you have this view of marriage, God will send you a suitable helper.

Read verses 21-25 How did God make woman (21,22)?  What did God do with the woman he created (22b)?   What did Adam say then (23)?  What should a man do before being united to his wife (24a)?   What does the expression 'they will become one flesh' mean?  Read verse 25.  What does this show about their relationship?

V21  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. v22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. v23 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."  V24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.  V25  The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

From man's rib. Using Genetic code, this will be possible.

He brought her to the man.- God is the match maker.  God knows the original pair.  Marriage partner is not one of many alternatives but an absolute one.

Adam's confession of the love. The man welcomed the woman God brought to him. God himself united them into one flesh and thus created the first family. Adam was very happy as he worked with his coworker to till the soil and take care of the Garden of Eden. He was so happy that he made this confession of love: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman', for she was taken out of man" (23).

We can see from this confession that man and woman are not separate entities. They are united into one body. A home is built on this confession of love and on this union of personalities

He needs to leave his father and mother.  

The relationship between parents and children is the most strong, close and natural relationship.  But in order to make complete commitment to his marriage partner, a man must leave this relationship.  He needs to be independent from his parents and from any other relationship with others such as girl friend.

God created the family and showed us that man is basically a social creature. The family is the first building block of society. It is a part of God's perfect creation. The family was not created to be an end in itself, however. When a man leaves his father and mother and makes a life-long commitment to his wife, it is so that he can be an independent and responsible servant of God, working together with his wife to fulfill his mission and glorify God. God gives man happiness as a gift and a blessing.

Marriage is to make one independent unit to be used by God.  One desire, one hope, one vision, one mission and one faith.  Perfect unity.
Jesus commented on this first marriage by saying, "What God has joined together, let not man separate" (Mk 10:9). Verse 25 implies that they were free and innocent and uninhibited in their relationship with one another. There were no artificial barriers and no competition between them. They joyfully served God and loved each other and were happy.

They did not hide anything from each other. Also they had no shame and perfect relationship.-It is possible only in family established by God.