In Summary:
Genesis 2 revisits the Creation story with a focus on some of the specifics of how God worked through the processes of creating. Genesis 1 had given us the summary of the first six days, but now there are some details that flesh out “God spoke” and how the elements responded to His word. Don’t rush past the wrapping up of the Creation Week at the beginning of the chapter, though.
That is the first place to look in this chapter. Do not disconnect the Seventh Day of Creation from the rest of God’s initial design. People who stop working, stop striving, and pause to rest and worship are the kind of people we are designed and created to be. When you wonder about eternity, remember that work and worship are both part of the original design.
Now, the rest of Genesis 2 gives us some interesting quirks. The land has been made, but nothing has sprouted. The text connects the lack of growth due to there being no rain and to the lack of mankind to till and work the earth to bring forth growth. We are a necessary part of how God designed the world. We also see in this chapter a general description of the location of the Garden of Eden. I am inclined to agree with the idea that later rivers were named by people in memory of Eden, not that we should look for the remnants of Eden in modern-day Iraq.
God gives Adam an assignment and some limitations for his life in Eden. First, he is supposed to work the garden and take care of things. Second, he is to eat from all but one of the trees. That was about it. Then God takes action on man’s need for community. This God deals with by creating the woman, to establish human community. This also establishes marriage and family units. People are intended to work well together.
In Focus:
Let’s focus on God’s command to Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. I would take this literally, that there was a real tree that God used to symbolize obedience and trust. One thing that appears to be the case here is that God tells Adam this command, and then entrusted Adam with telling Eve after her creation. We do not know that, but if the text here is sequential, and being a narrative story it definitely reads sequentially, then that’s the order of events.
This suggests that an unstated command is that Adam was supposed to help Eve know how to relate to the Lord God.
In Practice:
Practically, then, I would suggest we see helping one another know how to relate to the Lord God as part of our creation design. This lines up well with our New Testament commission to tell the world about the grace of Jesus. Part of original Creation involved sharing God’s Word and works, our New Covenant commitment includes telling people about God’s Word and works, and so likely one thing we will do in the New Creation is share what God has said and done.
Might as well practice now!!!
In Nerdiness:
Note that some translations use the “Orchard” for what we traditionally call the Garden of Eden. Why? Well, because the word in Hebrew refers to a “fenced or walled garden” or even “oasis.” Garden tends to bring in our cultural assumptions of row crops and orderly planting and scarecrows. This was probably not the approach of the Garden in Eden. It was more common in that era to see orderly growth in orchards, at least per the notes in the NET Full-notes edition. It also lines up well with general history. Plants for food were usually on farms. The “Garden” of Eden had trees, which fits more with a relaxing orchard idea. Either way, though, it’s a planned location with purpose and intention.