The Garden Of Eden (MP 7)

In His own image God created Man;
By so doing, He honored Man a’er all,
Hoping that Man would keep it spic and span,
Yet He foreknew Man’d smear it by his fall!
God put Adam in a wonderful place,
The Garden of Eden, with food to spare;
He would never die, nor the human race,
If he obeyed God, and for the place care!
God also said, “You can’t eat of one Tree,
Knowledge of Good and Evil, or you’ll die!.”
If he’d obeyed, all men would ever be;
There’d be no death, no grave, no teary eye!
Think of how much grief Adam could have stayed,
If God’s one command, he would have obeyed!

Scripture Quoted: Genesis 2:15-17 (NIV)
“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.’ “

Commentary
When God created the first man from the dust of the earth, He made him the “federal head” of the entire race of human beings. Thus, by God’s standard, every man and woman, including you and me. are bound by Adam’s actions. Though God foreknew what he and each descendant would do—whether obedient or disobedient—Adam was meant to remain obedient and live forever, and so were his descendants. God loved man so much He made us in His own image and gave each one a soul and free will. Adam was given only one command: He was not to eat fruit from one tree, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Had he obeyed God’s command, the first man would have never died, nor would we. That was not to be; God knew it and His Master Plan, as we shall see, included an alternative. He knew the future before Adam was created—His plan for our salvation was not like an ambulance rushing to an accident; every stage was pre-planned to occur precisely as it did happen.

God gave Adam all the animals of the earth and told him to rule over them. God brought them to Adam for naming, and he gave each his name. They were also made from the dust of the earth, but God did not give the animals souls. At that time there was no enmity between man and beast. There was no rainfall, but God caused water to rise up from beneath the ground, and beautiful trees and plants grew.

The location of the Garden of Eden has never been identified. From the names of rivers whose source the Bible says was in Eden, it is generally thought that it was in the Middle East, probably Iraq. However, after the development of DNA, scientists traced human life back in time to a single woman, who lived in Kenya, Africa. They even call her “Eve”, thinking she may have been the female God created from Adam’s rib and the mother of the human race. The Bible says when Adam and Eve were turned out of the Garden later, that God put angels around it to guard it from being invaded. There was also a Tree of Life in the Garden; anyone who ate its fruit would live forever. I’m sure God would not allow anyone to find it! I believe God “unmade” the Garden, leaving no trace.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)